Making Sense of Change Management - Case Study Example

Case Study Goal Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Problems Macro Level At the macro level, several key problems exist for the organisation because of its outdated and under designed policies. The issues create unnecessary debt for the organisation, and cannot allow it to implement changes. Again, the organisation lacks strategic planning and design capacities (NOGO Railroad, n.d). Imperatively, the duplication of roles and responsibilities has resulted in strategic problems. Essentially two problems arise because of these macro issues Inadequate communication with train operators because of geographical location Outdated contracts with the employees, especially the telegraph operators, which has reduced role capability and responsibility structure. Again, the organisation lacks competitors from the macro environment, and as such, it is not keen on modernizing its operations, and other aspects. Micro Level At the micro level, the HR practices at the organization are the biggest problems because the organization lacks a Human Resources structure. The strategic HR functions in a workplace are essential because they include HR practices that fit into the structure of an organization, its planning and mission and vision. Because of lack of an effective HR structure, there are no recruitment procedures, no specific job descriptions. The implication is that the organization lacks formal policies, design of authority, and a mechanism to review skills before one gets promoted (NOGO Railroad, n.d). Additionally, employees, managers, and leaders are not trained because the organization lacks a comprehensive training programme. Secondly, the performance of the employee is poor because of featherbedding as related employees lower their output to ensure that they have jobs. Therefore, the two macro problems in the organization are The Micro Problems at the Organisation Include Favoritism is displayed where employees are hired not based on meritocracy, but on other considerations like physical conditions. For instance, Dave is promoted to the position of communication manager partly because of his physical condition and not solely on experience and education. Featherbedding is rife in the organisation because of nepotism. NOGO Company has historically been employing related people and these employees deliberately lower their output to ensure that their relatives do not lose employment. Other internal problems include nepotism, internal politics, informal communication and structures, and poor contractual engagements like in the communication department where women are not supposed to work directly with communication and train crews. Causes As outlined, NOGO Rail Company does not have competition in the regions that it has operations. Consequently, most of the problems are internally generated because of poor management approaches and no interest in organisational development and change processes. It seems that the management is happy with the status quo and not keen on pursuing market and performance driven strategies, especially in its planning and human resource activities. The main causes of problems at the company include having excess human resource because of poor HR practices due to a non-existent HR policy. The excess employees result from bad HR practices like nepotism, featherbedding, favouritism, and nepotism. Secondly, the resistance to change is a huge cause of the situation at the organisation. For instance, the position of fireman is not necessary because of the change in the engine technology. However, unions at the organisation still want the position to remain, a situation that increases the cost of operations, especially salaries (NOGO Railroad, n.d). The communication department is full of employees who cannot perform and are keen on practicing and promoting nepotism and featherbedding instead of allowing change to occur for future development of the organisation. As a result of resistance to change, these employees lack necessary training and skills development. The employees think that it is not necessary to have change in the organization. However, organisational change must start from the management through processes that ensure its own survival. The third cause of problems in the organization is lack of organsational development and reinventing. NoGo Railroad Company has been relying on systems and practices that it designed long ago, and has not seen the need to reinvent and have change processes. For instance, the contractual position that all clerks must be women and work within certain kilometres from their homes is an outdated practice that demonstrates the lack of the organisation’s motivation to embrace change. There are no planned interventions in the system, and people like Dave may find it difficult to implement change, partly because of the company procedures and due to outdated practices that are not designed to sustain future operations of the organisation. Allen Yates selects Dave Keller as the communication manager. However, upon his appointment, Dave is given responsibilities that do not align with his duties and job description. In fact, Dave has no clear job description and duties because he is asked to take on other roles that are not communication-related (NOGO Railroad, n.d). Employees, especially those who believe that they have enough “seniority” to remain when others are laid off consider such layoffs as opportunities that the company wants to increase their duties without increasing their pay. In other words, the organisation deals with a very rigid union that cannot see the essence of change. Systems Affected These problems have affected the organisation’s structure. Dave is promoted to the position of a communication manager despite little experience. Further, the company’s structure is affected since Dave’s ratings have never been excellent and despite the average performance that he demonstrates, he is offered the position. The structural system is negatively impacted by inappropriate division of labour. For instance, the clerks (women) have just one specialty to undertake in a limited geographical reach. Secondly, the telegraph operators (men) carry out many tasks and are expected to work anywhere when required (NOGO Railroad, n.d). Surprisingly, the processes executed in these positions are technically similar. In fact, on many occasions, these employees do not have enough work to go around. Imperatively, most of them idle around, yet the company has to pay them because of the contractual agreement. The Psychosocial system in the organisation has been affected by the poor recruitment process and HR policy. One of these practices is featherbedding where employees reduce work output to protect their positions. Featherbedding is as a result of nepotism and favouritism at the company. Further, the union at the company is so loyal to the employees and afraid of change (NOGO Railroad, n.d). The union’s position demonstrates that the employees do not have the commitment and loyalty to the company; their trust and commitment is how they will protect their jobs and their families’ income. They are so resistant to change as they see change as capable of making them lose their jobs. The technical system at the company is impacted by some of the remaining outdated techniques and procedures, especially communication techniques between the telegraph operators, the trains, and dispatchers. In fact, some of these methods are health hazards to the employees. The managerial system is impacted by the non-existence of an open, structural, and result-based managerial support structure required in implementing necessary changes (NOGO Railroad, n.d). Again, the different family-based promotions, and the never-ending political issues hamper the growth of the NOGO Railroad Company. The Goals and Value system does not exist in the organisation. Whatever the values and goals of the company are, they cannot be practiced by the employees or the managers since they have not been identified because NOGO does not have an organisational culture (NOGO Railroad, n.d). To the employee, the most important value and goal is to have jobs, protect their relatives, and achieve a comfortable equilibrium, whether it affects the organisation or not is not their concern. Alternatives While the situation appears to be complicated, a several alternatives can be explored. Firstly, there is need to have an overall overhaul in the labour distribution and allocation. For instance, the clerk and telegraph operator are one and same position. There is no reason why necessary training should not be pursued to merge the two positions so that the company gets a workforce with capabilities in different ways. Secondly, the position of the fireman is not necessary; and the best alternative is to eliminate it because it is redundant due to technology (Cameron & Green, 2015). Other alternatives include having an updated technology for the company to help it in its in-house operations and expedite the communication process. Again, the communication gap in the organisation must be addressed. The management and subordinates seem to be reading from two different scripts but with a good communication protocol, an open and feedback-based system will assist the organisation to implement fundamental changes in its structure. The organisation needs to institute proper job training; planning and analysis to ensure that complete information on job description, job specification and other essential components are outlined for the employees and the management (Poell & Van Der Krogt, 2014). The organisation should institute and have HR practices like performance appraisal to ensure that employee’s output is evaluated periodically. Recommendations The essence of an effective organisation’s growth and sustenance drive is to capitalise on change, especially in technology. NOGO Railroad Company needs to embrace organisational change and renewal. Organisational development is concerned with the management of change in work processes, norms, and culture. Organisational development focuses on the structure and behavioural processes; it is concerned with how people perform in line with organisational goals and objectives. The tenets of organisational development include the need to improve the quality of an individual’s work life, and the effectiveness of an organisation (Carter et al., 2013). OD will help the organisation to survive, increase its competitiveness, become more adaptive, especially to technology, and change its corporate culture, particularly for its employees. NoGo needs change to remain competitive in the market, even if it does not have a competitor. It must understand that sooner or later it shall have competition because of its inefficiencies and need to apply new technology. For instance, it is still stuck in having a fireman’s position, yet technology has changed and most rail companies have done away with the position. Modern organisations have faster processes and procedures; they are quality conscious and involve their employees. Further, they are customer focused and smaller. These are attributes that NoGO Railroad Company does not have (Cameron & Green, 2015). The organisation’s systems, procedures, and processes are slow. For instance, the clerks and telegraph operators work have lower output, the quality of services offered to the customer remains low, and the workforce is bloated. Further, the existing communication gap between the management and the employees leads to little employee involvement in decision-making. NoGo Company is not keen on having a smaller number of employees because of a non-existent HR policy that hinders quality hiring process. The change process at the organisation will ensure that the company has the right people who can perform and get better outcomes for the long-term development and competitive advantage (Poell & Van Der Krogt, 2014). The change rumours at the organisation present a delicate balance for Dave because the potential reaction is resistance from the unionised employees. Therefore, Dave as a change practitioner must possess the necessary skills to advocate for and implement change at the company with the support of the management team. Dave must follow the five-step model for organisational development process that include the need for change, developing practitioner-client relationship, the diagnostic phase, having action plans, strategies, and techniques, and lastly, self-renewal, monitoring, and stabilisation. By pursuing organisation development plans, Dave will be focusing on improving the effectiveness of the individual employees, teams, and the organisation. The goals of individual effectiveness include the improvement of managerial, and technical skills, and enhancing interpersonal competence. Most of the employees at the company do not possess these attributes (Poell & Van Der Krogt, 2014). Secondly, team effectiveness will improve their ability to solve problems, work through conflicts, and enhance achievement of team tasks. Organisational effectiveness must focus on the overall change in the company’s system that consists of structure, technology, and management. It is important for Dave Keller to get the management support before he can embark on the change process at the organisation. At the moment, the verbal commitment from the operations manager, Allan Yates, is not enough. Organisational change and transformation begins when the management buys-in to the idea. With the goal of improving the long-term prospects of the organisation and individuals, Dave must ensure that the management is involved in assessing and giving a go-ahead on the systems to be changed. Dave has identified the need for change in the organisation and must present the case to the management as an urgent task to transform the ailing company, as the firm seems to held hostage by employees and their demands (Cameron & Green, 2015). Once the management is on his side, Dave Keller can start gathering critical information and research for presentation to support the need for change in the structure of the organisation. References Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. CASE: THE NOGO RAILROAD (n.d). Organization Renewal: The Challenge of Change Carter, M. Z., Armenakis, A. A., Feild, H. S., & Mossholder, K. W. (2013). Transformational leadership, relationship quality, and employee performance during continuous incremental organizational change. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(7), 942-958. Poell, R. F., & Van Der Krogt, F. J. (2014). The role of human resource development in organizational change: Professional development strategies of employees, managers and HRD practitioners. In International handbook of research in professional and practice-based learning (pp. 1043-1070). 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