Importance of Change Management and its Models

Question 1: Provide a brief introduction with the purpose of the change initiatives and clearly articulate the problem in the case study organisation in relation to change management.

Change is inevitable and change is necessary for the improvement of the present organizational policies, procedures, structure, IT, management and so on, the result of change management is enhanced productivity of the employees, improved management, clearly defined SOP & SLA’s and improving the day to day operations of the firm(Todnem, 2005). In order to implement change in the organization, change initiative is the first step towards it. Change initiative can be understood as a sequence of steps or actions which are taken to implement a transformation process starting with planning and then moving forward with communicating as operational implementation, problem solving, evaluation of the situation and making decisions(Aladwani, 2001). Initiative change management helps with the steps and actions to be taken at the project level which supports thousands of people who are working on that project and will be impacted by it (Doppelt, 2017). One of the few problems identified in the case study pertaining to MAS holding can be the high turnover rate encountered due to the female workforce leaving the job after they get married and joining once their kids are put through school, following and applying the lean principle of operation followed by Toyota in order to customize catering to the needs of the individuals. The company’s lean principle has been pivotal in responding to the fluctuation in the business environment and enhancing the employee engagement through the system.

Question 2: Discuss and critically debate the importance of change management to an organisation along with the models of change management.

Changes can happen in organization in many ways, it can range from strategic change to leadership and to technological change, the reason for the change management is to ease the implementation process and reduce any underlying tension among the employees. For the purpose of understanding the benefits of change management lets understand it from the perspective of organization and the employees (Hayes, 2014)

• The organization is in a position to respond faster to the customer needs
• Aligning the existing resources with the organization(Certo, 2015)
• The time required for implementing the change management is reduced
• Better return on investment.
• Provides an excellent platform for leadership development, team development and technology enhancement(Cummings & Worley, 2014)
• It can be seen as a way to anticipate the challenges and tackle them beforehand.
• Productivity of the employee increases manifold when they understand the importance and relevancy of change process.
• The costs pertaining to the change can be controlled with the effective implementation of change management(Cameroon & Green,2015)
• Increased efficiency of the organization and the efficiency are stabilized with the management acknowledging the concern of the employees.

• Helps in providing management and the staff support for concerns regarding the changes.
• Facilitates efficient communication strategies.
• Helps in improving cooperation, collaboration and communication(Jestin & Nelis, 2014)
• Helps in improving the morale of the employee, productivity and his quality of work.
• More and more employees accept the change.
• Reduces tension, stress and fear surrounding the topic of change.
• The most important benefit is the reduction of resistance related to the change(Gollenia, 2016)

There are 8 models of Change management which helps in facilitating the change smoothly and effectively:

One of the widely used and accepted model of change management, it helps to understand the elements of the change and the relationship and the effects on these elements pertaining to the change. The 7S are: Structure, Size, strategy, symbol, shared values, staff and skills (Pugh, 2016)

Comparing and Contrasting MAS Holding’s Approach

This theory focuses less on the change itself and more on the people behind it; it is a top down point of view. The theory works by:

• Creating a source of urgency
• Building a core coalition
• Form a strategic vision
• Getting everyone on board
• Remove barriers and reduce the friction
• Generate short term wins
• Sustain acceleration
• Set the change in store(Burke, 2017)

The Nudge theory states that nudging change along the way is much more effective than someone trying to enforce it on the employees, it is better if the employees are provided a way to choose for themselves rather than telling them what has to be done. The principles one needs to follow while nudging changes are:

• Defining the change
• Thinking of change from the point of view of the employees
• Using evidence to show the best option
• Present change as a choice
• Listening to the feedback
• Limit the obstacles
• Keeping momentum with short term wins(McSmith, 2010)

Lewin’s Model of change

Another popular model of change management which is easy to implement by breaking the entire process of change management into three simple steps of unfreeze, change and then refreeze. Lewin’s model comes in handy when the business requires in depth analysis and requires great improvements (Worley & Mohrman, 2014)

Question 3: Compare and contrast the case study organisation’s approach to your topic – do this by comparing their practices against the literature discussed.

MAS holding, one of the largest US conglomerate with estimated revenue of USD 1.75 Billion boasts an extensive product portfolio comprising of Lingerie, Sleepwear, performance wear, inner wear, swim wear, lifestyle wear and smart clothing. Some of the changes incorporated in the company according to the change management concepts are:

• MAS holdings was one of the leading and the largest design to delivery solution providers in the world, the company took a very bold and daring decision of producing lingerie and introduced manufacturing lingerie to South Asia, it was a niche field for the company and they had no experience of the same. Then CEO Mahesh along with his brothers pooled in their resources and got 40 sewing machines, they themselves travelled to places like Hong Kong and China to have a deeper understanding of the manufacturing process.  The company took a great initiative by taking the work to the workers and not the other way round. This helped the company in overcoming the shortage supply of the skilled labour and also taking full advantage of the cost. Later when the company realized that the manpower is available in the countryside, they opened their units their and employed women to help them. A problem was identified when it was seen that females after working for quite some time left the jobs, get married and get kids and joined the company back when their kids joined school. This was definitely a problem for the company and they were looking for a change. The Management was forward thinking in approach and hence asked the staff what they could do as a company, and the entire workforce resonated with providing them with English language coaching and IT in the workplace. The company left everything to fulfil the need of the workforce which helped in boasting the morale of the employees and development of their skills in leadership, attitude, industry knowledge, awareness and work life balance. This definitely earned MAS holding a lot of accolades for its work. In context to change management it was a novice thing the company did, change was required to improve the problem the management was facing and what is a better way to implement the change upon asking the employees, keeping them in loop of the change and implement the same smoothly.
• Moving the footsteps of Toyota’s Production system, MAS implemented lean principles with customizations catering to the needs of the customers. MAS considered continuous development of its people along with the organization. The lean system offered the radical benefits of lean thinking and practices to all the stakeholders including the employees. Lean thinking has been pivotal in responding to vigorous business fluctuation and better engagement with the employees. The process of change management states that there is a lot of resistance to change, but at the same time if the change is better communicated to the employees they tend to welcome the change after comprehending the nature of change management.

Question 4: Identify the key strengths and weaknesses in the case study organisation

MAS holding has successfully lead and managed its change process with effectiveness and efficiency; it can be said with great surety as there have been no signs of resistance and disturbance in the present or past ecosystem. Within the scope of the case study some of the strength and weaknesses that can be highlighted are:

• Strength the company displayed in introducing lingerie manufacturing to South Asia. It was definitely a strong, bold and a daring move by MAS holding as they had practically zero experience about the industry and the market. But its founders believed in themselves and were determined to bring a change.
• The company showed great strength in pursuing its dream and was always in hunt to grab the leverage it got from any sector, hence when the government was encouraging in moving the industries to rural areas, MAS holding saw it as a big advantage, as the skilled workforce was not available in city, thus moving to rural area was a big leap forward.
• The management was quick to figure out the increasing turnover rate the company was facing due to its female workforce, it quickly came up with a plan of action to overcome the problem. The correct solution was asking the employees what can the company do in order to keep them employed, the organization resonated and implemented what the employees wanted which further lead to boosting the employing morale and retention.
• MAS holdings was much focussed on sustainability, the leadership and the management of the company had some best practices of the world incorporated in the organization. Women empowerment, diversity in the workforce, key positions held by to differently abled, was some of the many initiatives the company took to promote the culture.
• MAS holding were a responsible citizen of the country and ensured that it had to take care of the environment. It was determined to generate renewable energy to reduce the use of energy and water and conserve it for the future. Similarly it planned to reduce it waste management.
• Adoption of Lean management in operation to inculcate the lean thinking in the organization was a step in making a better future Company incorporated lean operations in its company effectively and with the help of chain initiatives implemented all the changes.

MAS holding are one of the few companies in the world which works toward employability, taking care of the environment, sustainability, taking good care of its employees and working towards the betterment of both the organization and its employees. The company throughout has taken all the right steps which has ensured growth and profitability along with sustainability. In context to the case study some of the weakness identified is:

• MAS holding have no business diversification and hence all its revenue depends on the apparel manufacturing, the company on doing diversification can have more stream of revenue with balanced growth.
• Another weakness identified with the company is very less of marketing done under its own brand, it is a conglomerate yet the branding and marketing efforts of the company are not visible. Without have adequacy in marketing efforts the sufficient reach is not possible.

Question 5: Provide recommendations for improvements with relating to change management.

Until now the importance of change management is established. Below are some of the recommendations for the improvement of the process of change management.

 It is highly recommended that organization before implementing change should clearly identify which area has to be changed along with the business function and the changes required improving the day to day operation of the organization. Hence it is extremely important to identify the changes first before moving to the step two (Chandra & Kumar, 2014)

Strengths and Weaknesses of MAS Holding

The change does not affect only the employees but it encompasses the entire chain of the stakeholders. Hence it is highly advised to bring in a strong case forward to the stakeholders as to why the change is important and what will be the repercussions of change and what will it mean for the organization (Northouse, 2015)

Plan ahead for the change is keeping the roadmap ready along with the risk assessment in the path of change management. Once the roadmap is ready it becomes easily to walk the path and it also helps to comprehend any difficulties in the path of change management.

Openness and communication are the most important pillars on which change management rests. In absence of communication, grapevine is supposed to run deep in the organization creating resistance and obstacles in the path of change management. With the effective use of communication all the stakeholders including the employees can be kept on same page thus smoothening the process of change management (Cameroon & Green, 2015)

Resistance and change walks hand in hand, resistance is natural because it is the fear of unknown, hence clearing out this fear will do away with the resistance. In the similar manner having a better budget planning will help the managers in assessing the risk in budgeting and also when the spending in change management crosses the budget allocated.

Change is a process which has its own lifecycle, change is not something which happens overnight. Hence it is really important to celebrate the milestone in the process of change management and appreciate the people who are involved and impacted by the change management.

Question 6: Conclude the assignment by highlighting the key findings of the report with the author’s perspectives.

The assignment here is based on the change management and how MAS holdings implemented the changes in the organization effectively with the desired efficiency. It has been seen that MAS holding was pivotal in introducing Lingerie to the south Asian market, and this the company did with strong conviction and effectiveness. The company was quick to pounce upon the government initiative of moving to rural areas in order to set up the manufacturing units, MAS holding grabbed the opportunity and put it to good use. The workforce was cheap and diverse. It brilliantly handled the issue of female workforce turnover and empowered them by agreeing to their demands for change. The leadership of the company here can be seen as effective and absolutely in control of what is happening in the environment, leaders know what is expected out of them and how they have to lead from the front, absolutely exemplary. Implementation of the lean principles and apply the lean thinking in the organization was another one of the finest examples of the change management displayed by the company. Hence it can be said that MAS holding has been able to manage change and reduce the resistance which comes hand in hand with the process of change management due to able leadership and also planning the process of change management along with risk assessment and careful evaluation of the roadmap.

References

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Burke, W.W., 2017. Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications.

Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.

Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.

Certo, S., 2015. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Chandra, C. and Kumar, S., 2014. Supply chain management in theory and practice: a passing fad or a fundamental change?. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 100(3), pp.100-114.

Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage learning.

Doppelt, B., 2017. Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for business, government and civil society. Routledge.

Gollenia, L.A., 2016. Business transformation management methodology. Routledge.

Hayes, J., 2014. The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan.

Jeston, J. and Nelis, J., 2014. Business process management. Routledge.

McSmith, A., 2010. First Obama, now Cameron embraces “nudge theory”. The Independent, 12.

Northouse, P.G., 2015. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

Pugh, L., 2016. Change management in information services. Routledge.

Todnem By, R., 2005. Organisational change management: A critical review. Journal of change management, 5(4), pp.369-380.

Worley, C.G. and Mohrman, S.A., 2014. Is change management obsolete?. Organizational Dynamics, 43(3), pp.214-224.