Factors That Might be Considered by The Management Before Proceeding With The Change

Need for Change

1. Identify The Factors That The Management Team Might Wish To Consider Before Going Ahead With Their Plan.

2. Identify And Discuss The People Management Issues That The Management Team Are Likely To Face In Implementing The Plan, Explaining The Reasons For This.

3. Develop And Justify Recommendations As To How To Proceed With This Project.

4. Identify The Factors That The Organisation May Need To Consider In Order To Build Its Change Capability.

SAR Health Services, is a multi-national enterprise which is based in Switzerland. The organization has been taking the initiative of adhering to the environmental concerns through the development of different staff training and induction sessions. The intensification of completion in the markets and the increased pressure on the equipment budgets for healthcare organisations mandated the need for the organization in developing ways of minimizing the operational expenses. In this connection, the organization aimed at unifying the production site A with B while closing the prior. However, there are significant resistance that was faced by the organization while implementing the project. Therefore, the report would outline the different factors that might be considered by the organization while implementing the project and the manner in which the issues in HR management might be resolved by the business in due course of time.  

Change processes are specifically based on the critical understanding of the urgency that is being faced by the organization and the immediate benefits that might be encountered by the same through the change process. The major factor constituents that might be considered by an organization while implementing a change are the need for change, resource and capabilities, the organizational culture, the interests of the stakeholders and outcome from the change process. In this connection, the case organization might take the initiative of evaluating the above mentioned factors with the purpose of identifying the feasibility of the change in the organizational structure and the manner in which the project plan might be approached.

The organizations take the initiative of identifying the urgency that is being encountered by the same while implementing any change in the operational processes. According to McCabe (2020) change in the organizations are specifically designed with the purpose of contributing to their competitive edge while operating in the different markets. Moreover, Ybema, Thomas and Hardy (2016) added that an organization moves towards a change in the organizational processes to cope with the uncertainties while improving their operational criteria and achieving the common goals of the venture. In this connection, the concerned business have taken the initiative of developing cognition on the change needs based on the current increase of their operational costs through a reorganized business model. It has been observed through the case of the organization that the business moved from a functional business structure to matrix structure which increased their operational expenses.

Clarity of Communication with The Stakeholders

The increased operational expenses affected their annual margins while competing in intense competitive markets. Therefore, the organization is facing a crucial need of minimizing the operational expenses through the unification of the production site A with site B and introduction of open planning. The strategies would enable the organization is reducing the energy and resource use of the organization. On the other hand, the organization is required to lay off 5- 8% of the workforce from the office and production departments with the purpose of minimizing the operational expenses. The reduction of the operational expenses would allow the venture in improving the annual margins while minimizing the cost of the propositions so that the offerings are afforded by the healthcare organisations.

Every organization prioritizes communication with the stakeholders with the purpose of empowering the engagement of the same in the different change processes. Negotiation with the employees and making the same aware of the different business needs are important factors that might be considered by an organization before implementing a change in the organizational model. Mathews and Linski (2016) opined that empowering effective communication assist an organizational management in making the key stakeholders aware of the different change processes for empowering readiness among the same. The concerned organization might consider communication of the organizational objectives and the overall change process with the stakeholders, specifically the employees, with the purpose of encouraging their engagement in the different business operations.  Moreover, Akbar (2017) observed in a research that effective communication empowers an inclusive approach while encouraging the involvement of the stakeholders while influencing their trust and commitment towards the business.  Therefore, the concerned organization must consider communication for empowering trust and commitment of the employees while making the same aware of the goals of the venture and the change process.

The evaluation of the resource and capabilities enable an organization in increasing the effectiveness of the business operations while operating in an international market scenario. The resources and capabilities of the organization encourage modifications. Resources like financial capital, human workforce, processes and technologies govern the change initiatives in an organization. Thakur and Srivastava (2018) stated that the different changes in the resource structure and capabilities enable an organization in improving the competence of initiating a change process.  Moreover, Moutousi and May (2018) observed in a study that effective functioning of an organization in terms of the change project is specifically empowered through specific knowledge on the resources capabilities of the organization and the manner in which the same might be invested. Therefore, the concerned organization might take the initiative of planning on the resource and capabilities of the same with the purpose of minimizing the operational expenses while retaining a steady annual return.

Resource and Capabilities

The organizational culture specifically aims at justifying the nature of change that is being planned by an organization. As per the case of the concerned organization, the business aimed at reducing a significant amount of carbon footprint by the year 2022. Moreover, the green strategies that are being planned by the organization not only aimed at reducing their environmental impact but also the operational expenses. In this relation, the unification of the production units intended to achieve the common goal of the venture in reducing the resource use along with the operational expenses for realizing better margins. Therefore, the organizational culture is one of the major factors that might be considered by the concerned organization while implementing the project and prioritizing the different activities.

The cognition on the interests of the stakeholders is an important concern that might be considered by an organization as the same supports a business in holding effective negotiations. The different aspects of change in the organizational operations are based on the effective functioning of the different system whole operating as per the common goals of the venture. In this relation, the organizational case reflected on some of the issues that might be encountered by the employees while traveling 100 miles away from Site A to Site B which might increase their traveling expenses. Moreover, the organization aimed at laying off 5- 8% of the employees from the production and other office positions which might again result to dissatisfaction among the employees and cause resistances towards the change process. Therefore, the assessment of the increasing concerns that might be faced by the employees during the change process and identifying the areas of their interests would enable the organization in improving the planning and implementation process.  

The judgement on the outcome of the change process is an important consideration that might be made by the organization while proceeding with the project. According to Dwyer (2019), most of the organizations undertake the initiative of facilitating changes on the basis of result oriented approach. Aligning the expected outcome with the need for change enables an organization in identifying the feasibility of the project in the organizational model and the manner in which the same would deliver sustenance (Evans and Evans  2018). The major issues that are being faced by the case organization are related to the increase in the operational expenses which has exceeded the annual margins, threatening the sustenance goals of the venture. Therefore, the concerned organization might take the initiative of assessing the different strategies and the manner in which it supports the venture in minimizing the operational expenses.

Organizational Culture

The people management issues specifically acts as restrictive forces to the change that is being planned by a business entity. According to Fors (2017), organizations take the opportunity of managing the human resources with the objective of encouraging their involvement in the different change projects. The increased involvement of the employees and the other stakeholders in the different organizational operations permits a venture in influencing the effectiveness of the business operations while addressing the common goals of a business.  In this connection, the case organization encountered several issues in managing the human resource. The section will be analysing the issues that are being faced by the organization in managing the human resource:

The conflicting interest of the business management with the employees have been noticed to be one of the major issues that are restricting the capability of the venture in managing the human resource. The organization initiated the project on the basis of empowering their profit oriented motifs while disregarding the concerns that might be faced by the employees while adhering to the change in the business system (Ferreira, Cardoso and Braun  2018). It has been observed through the case that the organization aimed to unify the production units at site A and site B and start the new unit in site B. The production teams will be relocated to site B as the organization has been encountering challenges in minimizing the operational expenses, resulting to diminished profit margins annually. In this connection, most of the employees complained that they would have to invest more for the travelling expenses as the site B was 100 miles away from site A. The organization made no efforts to compensate the transportation expenses that might be incurred by the employees while adhering to the new project requirements and change.

On the other hand, the organization aimed at laying of 5 -8 % of the employees from the production units and the overall office staffs. It again created dissatisfaction among the employees due to loss of employability of the same in the organization, affecting their lifestyle. According to Pereira, Maximiano and de Souza Bido  (2019), the different changes in the organizational operations are reliant on inclusive attitude of the management towards encouraging employees. Therefore, the case organization failed to identify the concerns that might be encountered by the employees while aiming towards ensuring their annual margins, resulting to disagreements and conflict of interests.  

Interests of The Stakeholders

The transparency of communication between the management and the employees play a major role in increasing the commitment and trust of the workforce. According to Ileri and Arik (2018), the transparency of communication permits an organization in empowering its negotiation skills and encouraging maximum involvement of the employees in the different business operations. In this connection, the case organization faced significant issues in maintaining the commitment and trust of the employees due to absence of transparent communication. It has been observed in the course of the case study that there were rumours of the change process among the workforce even before the organization made an announcement of the change project. The rumours created a negative impact and uncertainty among the employees associated with a high level of job security related concern among the employees. Therefore, the lack of transparency between the organizational management and the workforce have created a gap between the same and acting on the change needs of the venture while encouraging maximized participation.

The frequent modifications that were made by the organization in reduced span on time greatly affected the adaptability of the workforce in the case organization.  The different changes in the organizational operations are specifically reliant on the effective functioning of the different systems while adhering to the common goals of the venture. According to Grama and Todericiu (2016), the decreased adaptability of the employees to the different change processes that are planned by the organization might challenge the organizational capability of empowering the change projects. In the case of the concerned organization, it has been observed that the organization has implemented two restructuring in the last three years which affected the capability of the employees to adapt themselves to the common goals of the venture. Moreover, it might be noted that the frequent restructuring activity might affect the trust of the employees towards the competencies of the management.  The workforce might perceive the management of the concerned organization as a confused board which has limited knowledge on the course of changes and its impact on the organizational operations. Therefore, the frequent modifications in the organizational case affected the capability of the organization in influencing the behaviour of the employees towards the change project.

The assessment of the different issues in the organizational setting supports in identifying the recommended course of activities that might be considered by the concerned organization for issues that are being encountered while managing the human resource. The section will enumerate the different mitigation strategies for the case organization:

Providing the employees with amenities and creating alternative job positions: The organization has been primarily facing a major issue due to the dissatisfaction of the employees to move a further 100 miles to site B. Most of the employees in the organization complained of the increased cost of transportation that might be incurred by the same while adhering to the organizational change process. In this connection, the organization might take the initiative of providing the employees with a percentile of compensation for the extra miles that they are required to cover for the new business project. Compensating the employees on the increased transportation costs would allow the venture in encouraging the involvement of the workforce towards achieving the common goals of the venture. On the contrary, the organizational employees are feeling threatened of joblessness as the organization focused on laying off a certain percentage of employees from the production departments. In this connection, instead of laying off the employees the organization could take steps to train the employees and create alternative job positions for the same in the sales team. The creation of alternative job positions for the employees in the sales team would not only allow the organization in minimizing the conflict of interests with the chief stakeholders but also strengthen the activities of the sales team for better sales opportunities in the markets. The exposition of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needsin this situation would enable the organization in identifying the security and psychological needs of the employees (Serban  and Iorga  2016). The application of the theoretical context would allow the organization in assessing the dissatisfaction among the employees relating to increased transportation costs. Moreover, the theory would also allow in developing an idea on the psychological threat that is being experienced by the employees due to layoffs.

Improving links of communication: Improving communication between the management and the employees allows an organization in improving the inclusiveness of the same in the different business processes. In this connection, the concerned organization might take the initiative of improving communication through meetings and sessions with the employees while projecting different presentations aligned to the growth objectives. The conduction of meeting session would allow the organization in making the employees aware of the change and reduce risks of falsified rumours affecting the commitment and trust of the employees. Moreover, the meetings and sessions would also provide the organizational management with applying the concept of authentic leadershipand gathering insights on the concerns that are being encountered by the stakeholders while following the overall operations. Authentic leadership is a style of leadership that is specifically focused on promoting ethical and honest behaviour of the leaders for gaining support and commitment of the employees (Goksoy 2017). Therefore, meetings, open discussions and briefing sessions would allow the organization in upholding the clarity and transparency of the change objectives through application of authentic leadership principles.  Moreover, the open discussions would allow the organization in establishing collaboration between the employees and the management while empowering the values of LMX (Leader- Member Exchange) in the organization.

Negotiating and making the employees aware of the positive side of change: The negotiations with the employees would allow the organizational management in portraying the positive side of the change and its need in the organizational process design. Negotiations support an organization in overcoming the resistances that might be encountered by the same otherwise while operating in a business environment.  The case organization aimed at minimizing the operational expenses and resource dependency. In this connection, negotiation and sessions with the employees would allow the organization in encouraging maximized involvement of the employees in the different processes while achieving the common goals of sustenance.

The factor conditions that might be considered by the concerned organization for building on its change capability are being discussed in this section of the report.

Human resource: The organization is planning to reduce the cost of operations with the purpose of improving their profit margins annually. In this connection, the extensive support and involvement of the workfare in the different business goals contributes to the change capability. Managing the human resource and allocating the same as per the organizational objectives would support the business in empowering the change processes. Mismanagement of the human resource might lead to resistances which might challenge the implementation of the change project in the case scenario.

Financial resource: The financial resources play an important role in judging the change capability of any organization.  Financial planning identifies capability of the organizations in making investments as per the change needs. In this connection, the case organization is looking forward to merge the production units which requires renovation. Moreover, the change from a functional structure to matrix business structure also requires capital investments. Therefore, the assessment of the financial resource in the case of the organization would help in judging the capability of the same in influencing the change project.   

Training of the employees and awareness on resource use: The training of the employees and creating awareness among the same are the most important factor conditions that identifies the capability of the business in empowering change. Training of the employees in undertaking the sustainable measures would allow the organization in minimizing the resource use. On the other hand, the awareness among the employees would enable the organization in building on the change capability of the same while operating in accordance with the change plan. 

Conclusion

Therefore, from the above analysis it might be observed that SAR Health Services face significant issues relating to mismanagement of the HR, which might act as a restrictive factor for the change initiative that is being planned by the venture. The organization is planning to minimize the operational expenses with the purpose of improving their profit margins. However, absence of transparent communication and clashing interests between the employees and the management acted as restrictive force. Therefore, the report enumerated the recommended activities that might be considered by the business for mitigating the challenges and empowering change. Moreover, the research also identified the factors that the organization might consider for empowering the change capability.

References

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