QUESTION
- Introduction/ Problem Statement:
*Choose an existing business within Australia and provide an overview of the background of the business. What problem is the business facing? Explain why there needs to be a change.
- Goal and Objectives: Clearly define your goals and objectives using SMART
- Summary of the research: Include a summary of the research you undertook to help justify your selected change.
- Benefits of the change: List & explain the benefits of the changes you are to make
- Swot Analysis: Include SWOT analysis to help justify why you have selected this option or why you have chosen to take this course of action (Include resistance to change).
- Risk Factors:
Discuss any risk factors to the business that this project might present.
Determine risk and provide solutions to those risks (Include dealing with resistance).
- Provide an organisational structure of the business and your project team structure. : Explain why stakeholders are important to consider when gathering information on your change. Explain why it is important to involve your stakeholders when introducing your change & determining best solution?
Outline the reasons why you have selected your team members (why are they on the team?)
- Action plan:
Produce an action plan that includes milestones and timeframes from the start of the project until its completion.
Explain the methods you will use to monitor your change plan.
- Explain or discuss:
How will you encourage your team members to provide you with feedback or suggestions for other possible work improvements?
How would you as a manager ensure that feedback you give to staff is prompt and constructive in relation to the change project progress and personal/team development?
What organisational systems and technology will you use to monitor the progress towards the objectives?
How will you plan to communicate with your stakeholders?
SOLUTION
ASSESSMENT: MANAGE ORGANISATION CHANGE
Introduction/ Problem Statement:
Retail in Australia is one of the strongest vertical in the country and contributes to the economy. The retail industry in Australia is famous for employing the largest people and it employee more than 50% of its total population that is currently working or has worked some time in the past in the retail sector. Australian economy’s major portion is its retail segment which contributes a lot in the economy. (Barbara, 2011) The Australian retail sector is a big $329 billion industry which has employee count of more than 1.5 million people, according to retail.org.au. Retails also comprises of various business segments and sectors. The various segments in the retail sector include supermarkets, fast food stores, specialty stores, convenience stores, and wholesale, supply chain or logistics companies, which employs most of the people in the country. According to the data provided by Australian Government Productivity Commission 11% of the total employed population work in Australia’s retail sector but 40% of those that work in this industry are part time workers.
As change is a part of business dynamics, the recent rends and changes that have taken place in this segment are as follows:
1. The sales hours have been increased
2. More specialty stores have been established and there are very less individually owned stores and boutiques
3. Decrease in the direct customer sales service resulting in the trend of self service amongst the customers
4. The technological advancements have reduced the use of labour and hence saved the labour and subsequently the training costs
5. Due to the timely data and the use of automated softwares the productivity and efficiency has increased considerably
6. There has been more number of hypermarkets in the recent years
7. Private brands have been popular and have increased considerably
8. Australian-based retailers have very well spread globally and have taken the profit of globalization and a global customer base.
(Warner, 2002) Change is required in any organization to flourish and sustain the profitability in the long run. And in an industry like retail it is imperative to bring about the adequate change in the organisation so that the business can survive competition in the long run and amongst so many competitors who are ready to grab the opportunity to eat the largest piece of cake in terms of market share. The question arises is why a change required at all and why cannot business perform and apply the same processes as they have been doing prior to the change. The answer to this is very simple. The retail sense and for that matter the variables that affect the way business is being done keeps changing and hence the way things are should also change in order to keep pace with the competitive world. Just specifically speaking about the retail segment it is heavily dependant on luring the customers because it operates on the business to consumer (B2C) model. The firms which lies in this vertical need to constantly keep a check on what is the latest trend in the market with regards to the products and services that they are offering to the customers, what are the exact customer needs and expectations, and the changing consumer behaviour from time to time and then subsequently devise strategies to make profits from the consumers. The focus is not only on the customer acquisition but also on the customer retention.
Though we know that change is very much required it should be known that where the changes are required, to what degrees it is required and how it should be implemented and within what time frames. Having all these answers will give a very clear vision and direction to the entire change management process which is though initiated and directed by the senior level management and the extreme willingness and support, yet is exercised mostly by the managerial level people who make their team mates to adapt to the change. When the firms decides to make a change in the department, unit, or the entire organisation it should take in to careful consideration about the cost that is involved in the project, the communication that is to be provided to the employees and the stakeholders for minimum resistance to change, the training that should be provided, the clarity of vision and the transparency so that the stakeholders know the benefit of the change that is being implemented, and the adequate control over the entire process.
In the current scenario where I, as a manager need to implement relevant changes in my team the process will be as follow. The change that needs to be implemented is the use of information systems for the proper and smooth functioning. The retail firm has thought of eradicating the manual system of maintaining records and data and has enforced the use of IT in the corporate office and the retail stores. The team that I have is the team which maintains the backend records of inventories, prospects, suppliers, and customers and all of these are very crucial information which helps a lot to plan and strategize the business and also supports in taking operational and strategic decisions for the betterment of the firm.
(Avison and Fitzgerald, 1995) Data are very crucial to attaining competitive advantage. (Porter, 1980) Michael Porter in the year 1980 had depicted the use of five forces that any of the firm must take in to consideration while it is developing any strategies which is related to the five aspects which are namely, threat from the new entrants in the market or industry, bargaining power of the customers, threat which is due to the substitute products or services offered by different companies belonging to the same industry, bargaining power of suppliers, and the rivalry or competition that exists amongst the various firms in the market.
(Earl, 1989) had variably and critically commented on the Michael Porters five forces model by saying and laying stress on the importance of strategic use of the information systems on all of the above laid down forces by porter. (Bullen and Rockart, 1984) have laid down the strategic IS process which is based on analysis of the critical success factors. The process involves the entire analysis of the goals and objectives, important aspects and factors which are very crucial in achievement of all of those goals and strategic objectives.
There are always different categories of employees which exist in the organisation who would either resist to the change, be neutral to the change, or would accept the change whole heartedly. Keeping this in mind the manager or team leader needs to carefully think of the aspects and implement ways in which the change is smoothly implemented with minimum or no resistance. There are immense requirements of IT in the department. All of the information which is related to inventories are to be stored and this will helpful to analyse the current position of the stocks and what needs to be ordered and when. The data and information related to the new and repeat customers are also important to strategize the plans which are related to customer acquisition, customer retention, and devising the customer loyalty programs. The sales information relating to when the sales are increasing and in which of the month it is not so very progressive will lead to the formation of a sales growth or decline pattern which will be helpful for analysis of the future opportunities and how to tap them. All the supplier related information also goes in to the same database and which is very helpful in depicting all the information of their payments and the offering that come from them. Apart from this the system can store all the employee related information which can range from their personal data from the joining data to the payroll and incentive related information.
In order to execute all of this it is imperative that the senior level management should have a vision and enforce this to the entire firm so that employees are accountable and would feel that this is a serious affair. Care should be taken to communicate the change to everyone. The benefits of this change should be communicated to all the stakeholders so that they pose minimum resistance, if any. The employees should be trained so that they feel comfortable using this new system and so that their productivity is not hampered in any way. A training manual should also be provided to them in case they want to refer till the time they are not comfortable with the features of the system. An external change consultant can help a lot in these kind of situation where they can come and consult the employees who will get affected by the change so that they remain loyal, engaged, and productive to the company and the company can also benefit from their greatest assets which is the personnel. The cost factor should be kept in mind and even after the change is implemented in the organisation proper control and measurement technique should be applied so that it is known that the firm is going in the right track and that the change is being effectively implemented. If there are any loopholes in the process and the management feels that there is something which is not being implemented in the correct fashion or order, then they can take immediate and effective measures to rectify it immediately without any further delay and thus saving a lot of time and cost which can arise due to the negligence at a later stage.
The CEO should consult all the relevant heads of marketing of the strategic business units, the financial head, the analysts, the technology head, and other relevant decision making authorities and take the strategic business decision of bring about innovation and change into the organization.
Unilateral decision by the CEO may be the ignition point of resistance by many employees. It is a stated fact that any organization is run not only by the CEO alone but by the endless contribution of the top level executives, the efforts put up by the middle level managers, and the tiresome work by the junior level personnel. There have always been seen circumstances when there was forced implementation of the plan and it was also seen that if there does such a kind of implementation without the employees actually believing in the vision, the outcome may not be up to the mark or may not meet the quality standards because there is a greater probability that the employees who were productive earlier may turn out to be non productive or less productive due to their disengaged nature.
There are primarily three kinds of employees in any organization: Engaged, Disengaged, and Neutral. The engaged employees are the ones that are close to their organization and they are the ones who accept changes easily and do not resist at all. Disengaged employees tend to resist change and they are the ones who need more attention while implementing change. Neutral employees are the ones who do not have any issues with change and they are not the ones who will openly accept the change but they will not resist change either. In incorporating all the employees’ transparency and communication is very important. Collaterals and any form of printed or online communication explaining all the changes, outcomes, and the process helps create any confusion and miscommunication amongst employees. Also they are very clear headed in terms of where the organization is heading and are also not insecure about anything. This insecurity takes away their productivity and it is usually seen in the case or mergers, acquisitions, and divestiture when the parent company acquires any other company and the employees are left unsecured. They are insecure of they will still continue doing the same job, or will they be removed from the firm thinking that the firm does not need them anymore. Keeping all the above things in minds there can be a smooth transition in the change management process.
Reference:
Avison & Fitzgerald 1995, Information Systems Development: Methodologies, Techniques and Tools 2nd ed. McGraw Hill, Maidenhead.
Barbara, F, 2011, 2011 Retailers in Australia on World’s Largest List – Biggest and Best
Australian Retail Industry Companies and Chains, Global Powers Retailing Report, viewed on http://retailindustry.about.com/od/largestaustraliaretailers/a/2011-australian-largest-retail-
comapnies-chains-stores-industry-supermarkets.htm
Bullen and Rockart, 1984, A Primer on Critical Success Factors, CISR Working Paper 69, Sloan Management School, MIT, Boston, Mass. (In Avison & Fitzgerald 1995).
Earl, 1989, Management Strategies for IT Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey (In
Avison & Fitzgerald 1995).
Porter, M, 1980, Competitive Strategy, Free Press, New York. (In Avison and Fitzgerald 1995)
Richard, L, 2003, Managing Organizational Change, Harvard Business Essentials.
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