Change Management Process - SolarTech Ltd - Coursework Example

Module Table of Contents Introduction 1 Strategies 1.2 Structural 1.3. Process oriented 2 4 Changes in technology 2 1.5 Workforce expectation 2 1.6 External drivers 2 1.6.1 Globalization 2 1.6.2 Technology 3 1.6.3 Political factors 3 1.6.4 Competition 3 1.6.5 Customer satisfaction and preferences 3 2. Lewin’s Force-field analysis 4 2.1 Forces for the change 4 2.2 Forces against the change 4 3. Change management theories 5 3.1 Lewin’s Freeze model 5 3.1.2 Unfreezing phase 5 3.1.3 Transition phase 5 3.1.4 Freezing phase 6 3.2 Kübler-Ross Model 6 3.3 ADKAR model 6 3.4 The Beckhard model 7 3.5 Management strategies 8 3.5.1 Empirical-rational strategy. 8 3.5.2 Normative –reductive strategy 8 3.5.3 Power-coercive strategy 8 3.5.4 Environmental –adaptive strategy 9 4 Conclusions and recommendations 10 4.1 Recommendations 10 References 11 1 Introduction SolarTech Ltd. is a limited company operating in United Kingdom which manufactures solar panels and also deals with installation. The company is medium sized company with a capital of close to $10 Million dollars. The management wants to change its manufacturing process by introducing a new machine that will increase efficiency of production and save on costs. Change management is a planned approach for transitioning persons, teams, and organization from the existing state to a preferred future state. According to Hayes (150) change management is a process that an organization undertakes to empower employees. In addition accept changes in the current business environment and embracing the desired change. Organizational change is a planned approach for ensuring smooth transition and successfully implementation of change (Hayes 150). The business needs to keep changing to remain relevant in the industry. Changes in the organization are brought about by internal and external factors of the business. According to Jabri (20) internal drivers to change in any business include: 1.1 Strategies To compete effectively, it is mandatory at times for businesses to change their strategies. Adjustment in business strategies is in response to external environments. These adjustments may involve changing some fundamental approaches by the business like the target market. 1.2 Structural Structural changes in the business may involve changing the hierarchy of authority. These changes are influence by internal and external factors. All changes in the management of the business are structural. Structural changes may involve change in management or change in simple polices in the organization. 1.3. Process oriented The business may be forced to reengineer its processes to optimize on productivity. The introduction of the machine in the business is one way of changing the process. This internal driver influences only organization’s with production processes. SolarTech Ltd. is influenced by this type of driver. 1.4 Changes in technology Restructuring of the organization is crucial to benefit from new technologies. The main goal for any organization is minimizing costs and maximizing revenue. According to Treat (160), technology helps maximizing output while minimizing inputs. With that in mind the organization changes its structure for the new technologies to save labour costs. The introduction of the new machine is due to this driver to change. 1.5 Workforce expectation This is a modern internal driver to change. The tradition notion of ‘going to work’ has changed drastically in many organizations. A recent survey has shown generation Y and generation X prefers to tackle their problems themselves. The current generation values work/life balances much more than all the proceeding generations. With that in mind organizations have to design a workplace that can accommodate this generation. 1.6 External drivers 1.6.1 Globalization This is the major external driver to change in SolarTech Ltd. According to Creasey (45) the business world is changing constantly and the issue of globalization is the reality of organizations. Advancements in technology have made it possible for businesses to link together with much ease. The result of this is having heavily distributed teams working cross-culturally. A recent survey indicates more virtue teams in the last two years have been on the rise. The change has been drastic as only few organizations could manage to have virtual teams. Working with a diverse team has proven useful insight to issues and challenges due to different perspectives (Michie 200). 1.6.2 Technology Change in technology is another important source of external driver to change in the business. Technology has revolutionized businesses in the past ten years. Technologies like web conferencing, mobility and cloud computing has made globalization possible. Employees can work from anywhere in the world and still be connected with their organization. Technology has enabled sharing of information between organizations easy and cheap. Mobile devices and internet devices in the recent times have enabled people to work remotely. Technology has enabled employees to work remotely without having to change locations (Treat 120). 1.6.3 Political factors Different countries have different government involvement in business through regulations and rules. This involvement is mainly in taxes and which business practices are legal or illegal. Any change in government rule will force the organization to change accordingly. This is to reduce conflicts with the government. 1.6.4 Competition The organization is operating in a competitive market environment. When other organization adjusts their price, the organization has to adjust its prices as well. This is to reduce movement of customers from the organization to the rival organization. The business can introduce promotional services for attraction of customers together with trade discounts. 1.6.5 Customer satisfaction and preferences The organization in efforts to retain customers will change according to the customers’ tastes and preferences. Fulfilment of the customers demand is the guiding factor when implementing the change. The organization must follow the interests of the customer to ensure satisfaction and retention of customers. The organization should be aware of the latest trends in solar panels business to avoid loss of customers. 2. Lewin’s Force-field analysis The management of SolarTech Ltd. has to undertake Lewin’s force –field analysis with the introduction of the new manufacturing machine. 2.1 Forces for the change Lower maintenance costs are the main forces for the change in the organization. Saving on maintenance costs is crucial for the organization’s profit making strategy. Improved production speeds for the organization during production is another force for the change. Completing assembling in improved speeds will ensure more units are completed in minimum time. The organization in efforts to provide new products for their customer a change in manufacturing is inevitable. The change in manufacturing machine is one way of increasing customer’s satisfaction with the products being offered. Reduction in training costs. The new machine is highly automated and the training required is very minimal to the operators. This will save the organization money and time in training. 2.2 Forces against the change The fear of losing overtime allowances by employees. The new machine is going to double up the speeds in production and consequently overtime working will be eliminated. Elimination of overtime allowances by the new machine is a source of the business to save on expenses. Employees fear of the new machine/technology. New technologies and machines are ways organizations use to reduce the workforce. The fear of the employees is based on that business fact. Environmental effects of the new technology are other force against the change. Before the company undertakes any change, there must be an analysis on the effects of the technology on the environment. The most important force against change is the cost involved. The costs involved should not outweigh the benefits that will be accrued. 3. Change management theories 3.1 Lewin’s Freeze model According to Lewin change involves moving from one static state to a new static state. This model has three phases which mangers must implement in a change environment to reduce resistance. 3.1.2 Unfreezing phase This phase involves creating the precise conditions for the new change. The main challenge the managers have to undertake is creating motivation to change. The management task is proving to the employees the current state is undesirable. Paternalism style of leadership is most appropriate in this phase. 3.1.3 Transition phase Transition period in Lewin’s model is the most important. This phase has the most resistance as the workforce is aware their traditional ways are being challenged. Managers’ challenge in this stage is bring order out of confusion brought by the new ways of doing things. Communication about the changes is very important for the success of the change being implemented. Persuasive management style is the most appropriate in this phase as every employee’s contribution is important. The main aim of this phase helping the employees cope with the change. 3.1.4 Freezing phase The final phase in this model is freezing stage. The main challenge for the management is reinforcing the new environment and behaviour. To reduce resistance to this new environment management uses rewards and good communication channels for the employees. Transactional leadership style is the most appropriate in this phase (Goldsmith 120). 3.2 Kübler-Ross Model This model is used when major changes are to be implemented and are likely to be perceived as bad news. The importance of the model is to guide the managers through the emotional environment of the employees due to change. Paternalistic leadership style is the most applicable in this model in reducing resistance. The model has five stages: 1. Denial stage. In this stage the response to change is that of denial. The affected party has not come into terms of the effects of the change. 2. Anger. This stage comes after the affected party fully accepts the consequences of change and frustrations kicks in. 3. Bargaining. Employees resisting to change will bargain with managers for more time before the change can be effected. 4. Depression. At this level the employees who were resisting change have accepted the inevitable and have to deal with depression. 5. Acceptance. The change being fully implemented, employees who were resisting change are coerced to accept the change. 3.3 ADKAR model This model reflects the essential building blocks for individual change. The model is based on analysis of over 900 organizations in a time span of 10 years. According to Jabri (118) the model is based on two issues: 1. The organization does not change, only the people in the organization changes. 2. Successful transformation occurs when organizational change is in line with individual change. For the change to occur with reduced resistance, employees must go through number stages. The employees must pass through the awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement stages. The success of change according to Jabri (82) is focusing on people more when making changes. This will reduce resistance and increase chances of success of the changes to be implemented. The most appropriate management style is Laissez-faire to reduce resistance to change. 3.4 The Beckhard model The model represent a shift in ’control and command’ of the management to ‘people centric’ approach practiced today the most appropriate management style is democratic style. His model has four main themes: 1. The management must determine the need for change. Employees must be communicated the reasons why change is inevitable. The management must show why the present situation is unacceptable or undesirable. 2. Communication of the desired future. Resistance to change from employees is minimized when the desired change is communicated to them. They should be made to see themselves in that future environment. 3. Assessment of the present conditions. To avoid resistance the management makes sure all the employees understand the need to change. This makes the employees be prepared for change and also reduce resistance to it. 4. Transitioning to the desired position. To reach the desired position managers may use the help of a specialist. The specialists should reduce as much as possible the resistance in the process of transitioning. 3.5 Management strategies According to Nickols management strategies can be dived into four broad categories. The categories are on the basis of how management views the employees and the degree of resistance. 3.5.1 Empirical-rational strategy. The assumption in this strategy is that people are rational. A successful implementation of change in the organization is influenced by communication. Employees being rational beings, they can be reasoned with about the benefits of the change being implemented. During the implementation of change management should introduce incentives to persuade the employees accept the change. The main limitation of this strategy is failure to communicate well to employees and providing modest incentives. The most appropriate leadership style is transactional to reduce resistance to change. 3.5.2 Normative –reductive strategy People being social beings, adherence to norms is paramount. For successful change, norms should be redefined and reinterpreted during the implementation. Resistance to change is neutralized by redefining the old norms and traditions. Dynamic leadership is the most appropriate in this strategy’s implementation. 3.5.3 Power-coercive strategy This strategy is most suitable in authoritative leadership style. The success of change is based on exercise of power by the management. The exercise of authority by the management may be through sanctions and dismissal threats. Any type of resistance to change in this strategy is dealt with strictness. When using this strategy the management should have a precise timing and seriousness when issuing commands. This strategy basically uses power and authority to implement change in the organization (Goldsmith 144). 3.5.4 Environmental –adaptive strategy The success of this strategy is based on building a new organization. This involves transferring people from the old organization to the new organization. Resistance to change is monitored while the employees are being evaluated for transfer. Those showing signs of resistance to the new organization are retained in the old organization until they are ready to adapt to the new organization. The limitation of this strategy is the expenses incurred in its implementation. When selecting the strategy to employ to neutralize resistance the following factors are put into considerations: 1. The degree of change required. If the change is radical then the environmental strategy is the most applicable. 2. The levels of resistance. If the change has strong resistance, the most appropriate strategy to use is the power-coercive strategy. For weak resistances to change the management can choose between rational and normative strategies. 3. The population of the workforce. If the organization has a large population workforce then the management should mix all the strategies. This because of the mix nature of resistance to change among the population. 4. The stakes. A mix of the four strategies is used when the stakes are high or in some cases power-coercive is used. This is to ensure the change goes through with minimal resistance. Power-coercion strategy should be avoided when the stakes are low. 5. Time frame. When change is to be implemented over a short time span then the most effective strategy is power-coercive. If the time frame is long then a mix of the remaining three are used. 6. Dependency. The level of dependency of employees by the organization limits the strategy to use. If the dependency is high then rational-empirical strategy is the most appropriate. In cases where dependency is not high then the managers are not limited to one strategy. 4 Conclusions and recommendations SolarTech Ltd. should implement change in their process by introducing the new machine in manufacturing. The management should take into consideration the change management strategies before undertaking the change in manufacturing. Key findings 1. Communication is the most important factor in achieving a successful change. Communication should be two ways and easily channelled. 2. The style of leadership/management is influenced by the degree of resistance. 3. Drivers to change in the business are from within the business (internal drivers) and from outside the business (external drivers). 4. Change management theories are to be applied to any change in the business according to the prevailing business conditions. 5. The available business strategies to this organization are power-coercive, normative, adaptive and rational strategies. 6. Resistance to change is normal and should be neutralized without making drastic measures. 4.1 Recommendations The most effective change management strategy for the business is rational strategy. The management of the business should introduced rational strategy to implement the change. Rational strategy in change management is used because of its assumptions about people affected. The introduction of the new machine must be communicated and the employees persuaded to accept it References Change Management Learning Center - Tutorials and articles for consultants and team members. (n.d.). Change Management Learning Center - Tutorials and articles for consultants and team members. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.change-management.com/tutorials.htm Creasey, T. J. (2012). Best practices in change management -- 2012 edition: 650 participants share best practices in change management. Loveland, CO: Prosci. Encyclopedia of management (7th Ed.). (2012). Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning. Goldsmith, M. (2010). The AMA handbook of leadership. New York: American Management Association. Hayes, J. (2011). The theory and practice of change management (3rd ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Helping Improve the Performance of People, Processes and Organizations. (n.d.). Fred Nickols Web Site. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.nickols.us How Does Laissez-Faire Leadership Work? (n.d.). About.com Psychology. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/laissez-faire-leadership.htm Jabri, M. (2012). Managing organizational change: process, social construction, and dialogue. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Michie, J. (2011). The handbook of globalisation (2nd Ed.). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Pub. Treat, T. (2011). Technology management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Read More