Change_Strategy

Change Strategy In today’s technologically advanced world, many companies cannot adapt to the changing forces of global competition, the increase of highly skilled diverse people in the workforce, changes in business practice, and innovation to gain more market share to increase profitability. Some companies close their doors while others lose talent; however, if managers and employees can work together to develop training plans, provide feedback to each other about organizational changes, participate in implementing new strategies and goals, organizational success can be achieved. Evaluation The Gene One scenario presents an organization that is well developed. Proper talent is allocated at corresponding departments and each executive is highly trained in their respected areas; however, problems exist between employees about the ideas and objectives the company wishes to pursue. The company’s desire to expand and become a publicly traded company brings challenges to the organization. Challenges that relate to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act include the awareness of making sure that the company meets the demands and requirements of the SOA. Another challenge is to ensure that the individual in charge of assisting the company in going public is experienced. The dilemma is that the organization lacks the talent, skills, and experience to handle the required procedures to implement a new business plan. Due to not having proper talent to pursue those goals, various executives have decided to leave the organization; moreover, various employees feel that the CEO should dismiss certain individuals and hire appropriate personnel to assist in the expansion and the pursuit of going public. Another important issue at the Gene One organization is the desire and need to raise capital to pursue new product research and development. The thought process is going public so that the organization develops a better reputation as a public company to persuade investors to invest in the company. The organization promotes good intentions and desire to grow as an organization; however, not having the proper skill level set within the organization will create stress, internal organizational breakdown and the goals of the company will not be achieved. Decisions must be made so that everyone is in a winning position. A positive approach to pursue is to first take inventory of the skill set in within the Gene One organization. Upon completion of this task, management can see who is most qualified to receive advanced training. In the case scenario, the most qualified candidate would be the finance Director, Michelle Houghton. She might be interested in learning the processes and procedures to implement the Initial Public Offering (IPO) program. This positive approach empowers her and she will appreciate the consideration; furthermore, she is now committed in taking ownership of the new challenge. This also develops loyalty on her behalf. Opportunities like these are very important for employees. Opportunities that promote career advancement are incentives to keep employees in the organization. Focusing on the unique talents of individuals and ensuring that the right person is selected for the job ensures that organizational goals are achieved with very minor or no errors. Insights Management, in various forms can present change. The ideas can be communicated thoroughly to all personnel. This provides a clear understanding of the upcoming events involved with change; however, a problem with this strategy is that there are more employees to deal with and some will resist the change; furthermore, the resistance may prompt employees to leave the organization because they feel the insecurity of not being able to handle to the new processes and protocols that come with the challenges of change. On the other hand, employees may welcome the changes and would enjoy being part of the changing environment.  Being part of the changing process shows that employees are willing to adapt to change and are ready to implement new ideas and processes. Employees that are willing and ready to pursue new ventures with the organization prove to be an important asset to the company. Being part of the change process increases morale because the employees take part of the decision making process. As a leader and manager, the thought process for those that feel insecure to the forces of change is to request feedback as to why these changes affect their behavior.  The feedback allows management make necessary changes to the workforce and allows allocating talent appropriately within the organization. Obtaining talent within the organization and providing opportunities for improvement is ideal within any organization. Providing training for those that feel insecure about the new job skill requirements serves as an incentive to motivate the team members. Hiring new talent is beneficial but there is also a cost that is twice or if not, three times as more as compared to training the current workforce to improve the skill level; furthermore, there is no guaranty that new hires will stay with the organization as compared to those employees that have devoted time and have taken ownership at what they do.   Developing a mentorship program is a positive approach to develop an employee. The program is designed to promote camaraderie among the employees and develop teamwork skills.  The mentor can be someone within or outside the organization. In Gene One’s scenario, a professional can be hired temporarily to assist Michelle in implementing the Initial Public Offering program. This ensures that the program is implemented correctly and most importantly allows Michelle to feel secure about her new abilities, creating value for the entire company and investors. Another approach to promote change and influence the employee’s acceptance is to offer incentives.  Different individuals are motivated by different incentives.  Some prefer a bonus while others prefer more time off.  The manager is responsible in finding out what exactly motivates an employee; moreover, it is necessary to make sure that the organization agrees on the upcoming changes proposed by management. For example, if management proposes that sales must boost up this year by 20% and therefore we need more customer service reps to make the sales, certain employees and/or executives may disagree with that proposal.  Some think that more marketing will generate more sales while others think that producing new product will generate more sales. Coming to an agreement of the necessary change is important for it assists upper management to make a final decision. Changes necessarily do not always relate to exterior forces of business (clients, sales, more products). Changes can be proposed to change organization culture. For example, if communication seems to be a major concern within a department, the manager can propose to change the office layout, known as "Design of Facilities" (Yukl, 2006). Proposing a change in the layout of the office space can promote more communication between employees.  It also develops a positive environment because everyone is communicating, being more productive, and the overall morale of the organization is improved. Another example of cultural change that affects the attitudes of employees is changing the interior color scheme of an office.  This can drastically change the mentality of a person and how he or she behaves in an office. Colors that are bright with pastel finishes persuade employees to be bright, energetic, and happy while other dark colors persuade others to be serious and quiet.  These change theories are part of Industrial Psychology where psychologists examine the necessary changes to promote wellness and improvement in organizations. More research about these change theories can be found under the PhD curriculum offered at University of Phoenix. Change also occurs from the first level of employees, not necessarily from the management or corporate level.  These changes sometimes do not coincide with the thoughts and ideas that old norms and procedures are not part of today's business; therefore, the organization must adapt to the new trends of doing business (voicemail messaging services, online customer service, automated help desks, remote data entry processes).     Most recently, an organization surpassed major changes over the past holiday season.  The office was completely remodeled and the morale dramatically improved.  This major accomplishment was not easy to pursue for it involved thousands of dollars.  The obstacle was convincing the CEO of the company that this change needed to be implemented for various reasons. One was to create a positive working environment.  The furniture, the walls, the computer hardware, and light fixtures were old.  Another was to create a good representation of the organization.  Most often, representatives from various lighting industries all over the country walk through the doors to get literature and information about new product and innovations. The new office design saved the embarrassment and developed a good impression of the organization. An approach to persuade the CEO was to involve the CEO's siblings in which also worked at the company. They were able to influence the CEO and he authorized the remodeling of the entire office. Other changes have been implemented throughout the years.  A modern phone system has been implemented. An engineering group and a regional sales manager has been added. The website has been updated with modern features such as quick search function and an online, interactive, purchase order inquiry database to see status on orders.   The major changes the company has achieved were all initially driven from first level employees, not management.   Each change was an obstacle to overcome; however, the organization was able to involve the people that mostly influenced the CEO and together they were able to implement the changes.   The outlook on the company is positive and the security of having a job for next couple of years is satisfying. Final Thought Organizational change has various effects on all levels of the organization. Change sometimes causes organizations to close their doors because the organization lacks the proper talent to implement new tactics, procedures and develop training plans to improve the employee’s skills to adapt to new business trends. Some organizations lose talent while others encounter resistant from employees. To overcome these barriers, tactics have been developed to promote participation from employees to be part of the changing process. Together, employees and management can discuss change objectives and see what is most beneficial to every stake holder. Finding the right strategy to implement the right change is beneficial to everyone in the organization.