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ORGANIZATIOINAL CHANGE.
Term Paper ID:30464
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Essay Subject:
Analysis of how a fictional company handles re-organization.... More...
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10 Pages / 2250 Words
3 sources, 4 Citations,
APA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Analysis of how a fictional company handles re-organization. Resistance of the organization to change. Key issues faced by the company in re-organizing (new information system, return on investment analysis, lack of communication). Challenges facing the organization. Performance indicators. Reasons for communication breakdown. Factors of resistance to changes. Table of Contents.
Paper Introduction:
Table of Contents
Background 2
Key Issues Facing the Company 2
Requirements Definition 3
Quality 4
Communication 6
Resistance to Change 7
Conclusion and Recommendation 9
References 12
Background
Jim Toy, Customer Services Director (UK) for French-owned Lyon Assurance Company, is faced with a perplexing challenge. The parent company has invested three (3) million pounds associated with the implementation of information systems that were intended to reduce the cost of processing new insurance policy applications. Senior management perceived this as a necessary move in order to remain competitive in the European insurance market. Unfortunately the results promised with respect to productivity improvement and customer service, are not apparent to management a
Text of the Paper:
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Human resistance to change (Anderson, 1999) can be based onsituational variables, social-psychological and personalityvariables/characteristics/mechanisms, and other personality-relatedvariables. (2 1). Resistance due to previous exposure to failed change efforts. Senior managementperceived this as a necessary move in order to remain competitive in theEuropean insurance market. Resistance to change that occurs too rapidly for the organization to adapt. As such, these members know the bestway to do just about everything and their arrogance shows. Resistance to change within the organization typically brings a gooddeal of emotion to the surface. In the absenceof additional technical information, the recommendation is for Jim to focuson those issues pertaining to the resistance of the organization to change. Key Issues Facing the Company Ron Smith manages the UK Customer Service Department and was one ofthe architects of the new system. Project management for business and technology. Alternatively this may be specified as being able to function for a given period of time before failure occurs. Table of ContentsBackground 2Key Issues Facing the Company 2 Requirements Definition 3 Quality 4 Communication 6 Resistance to Change 7Conclusion and Recommendation 9References 12 Background Jim Toy, Customer Services Director (UK) for French-owned LyonAssurance Company, is faced with a perplexing challenge. . 9. . Moreimportantly, the reinforcing nature of this process can be very powerfuland defeating to outside attempts (i.e. The end result is a team with a greater feeling ofcommitment to the process. In spite of the new system, Ron'sdepartment has a four (4) week backlog of work, very few of the workers arenot performing well, and there is a growing level of complaining going onwithin Ron's department associated with the difficulty of performingqueries because of the complexity associated with the new system. Scalability-Measures the ability of the system to be enhanced or expanded to include new functionalities, technology, or be adapted to respond to new business conditions. 3. Resistance due to habit and inertia-i.e., "What we have always done is the way it should be." 4. Securing solid requirements and expectations from the user community. From the information provided it is difficult to assess if softwaresystem quality is anything more than a secondary factor. Especially in the case of financially related software systems, when closing the books for the month or the quarter, it is essential that the organization can plan around the time impact of systems being down and under repair. Rumors will characteristically develop aroundchanges that were inadequately explained. Other negativevalue terms can also be applied. One must remember that all of thishas happened in the middle of a "takeover" situation, and as such,overcoming the long established traditions and habits internal to theabsorbed enterprise can sometimes be very difficult. Compatibility-This represents the ability of the system and associated subsystems to be integrated into the entire infrastructure of the overall (or enterprise) system and/or operating environment. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. . Some of those that are due to "situational" variables arelisted as follows: 1. The following are typical of someof the challenges that will influence the degree of success. . Testability-This refers to the degree to which the system can be monitored with respect to its performance capability. Anexperienced project manager will work with the user community to establishguidelines and thus help to show continued value add during the lifecycleof the project. Quality Just as was discussed the importance of defining requirements, so isthe definition of performance indicators. 3. While the information provided only serves to criticize Ron Smith'soperation, it is likely that there is some level of resentment by the"directors" and those close to them that is associated with loss ofposition power as well as loss of the rewards and privileges associatedwith position power. Thepreferred approach is the consultative one where subordinates are allowedto develop and test their own approaches, with individual initiative beingrespected and rewarded. Resistance to change brought about by new information systems and the associated technology and infrastructure. It is unlikely the problem will be completelysolved by making changes within the Customer Service Department. The following represents a sample of some of the morecommon types of performance indicators placed upon a system design(Nicholas, 2 1, p. It is in this area that isbelieved to be the central core of the challenge facing Jim Toy. Resistance due to loss of rewards and privileges. 4/ 161.html. There is a general inability to present an accurate return on investment analysis to management. 8. Was this individual highly respectedwithin the absorbed enterprise, or was this someone who was no longerproviding a benefit to the organization? 6. In the latter case, the statementsmade regarding the difficulty in making the system queries is suggestive ofa fundamental shortcoming in the system design and/or a lack of adequateuser training. 7. (1999). Resistance due to prejudice against the change agent. User requirementsneed to focus on the critical elements associated with the desired endresults and avoid the non-essential. Information technology projects, when measured in accordance with thetypical return-on-investment (ROI) analysis, are usually not successful.Many will argue that the arena is so markedly different that it needs to bemeasured against a different standard. Of equal importance is the influence of other departments upon thescope of the problem. Von Stackelberg, P. Mostlikely it is some combination of both factors. Given he is in agreement, then itwill be necessary to remove and/or reassign those managers and directorsthat are not willing and able to effectively embrace the change ofownership and the new technology infrastructure that has been mandated. Resistance to change model LO792-A STELLAmodel of a complex system. 5. In the situation under review, communication between the departmentsmay have originally been quite good based upon the way the company wasorganized. 2. Those individuals resistant of the changesare often labeled (correctly or incorrectly) as operating from a differentagenda, being stubborn or poorly informed, or lacking in terms of a generalunderstanding of the organization's goals and/or missions. Resistance due to the threat of the loss of position power. Ease of Use-Relates to the amount of special training or abilities needed to operate and maintain the system. Commonality-This represents the ability of a component (or coded object) to be used on an interchangeable basis with an existing component (or object) of a different type. From the information provided, the company previously consisted of ahighly structured environment where four (4) key directors (Managing,Finance, Customer Services and Personnel) directed information flow alongrestricted channels. 4. AndersenConsulting White Paper. 2. 1. Conclusion and Recommendation Of the issues presented, it is believed that those dominant to thesituation facing Jim Toy are the resistance of the organization to changeand the quality of the deployed system. Of the nine (9) "resistancefactors" presented herein, the information provided suggests that thedominant ones are those associated with resistance due to the threat of theloss of position power, fear of the unknown, habit, loss of rewards andprivileges, not enough time for the organization to adapt to the change,and prejudice against the change agent (Ron Smith). . Resistance due to forced change and the lack of participation in the change. Routine measurements of software and network performance are regularly kept and/or logged, the information analyzed to predict potential areas of performance degradation. Normally in this type of specification, there are levels of failure specified. Maintainability-The ability of the system to be brought back on line within a given period of time is also a critical factor. Once the crisis is over, the organization goes back tobeing highly change resistant-i.e., the normal state. Resistance to change is an ongoing issue both at the individual and atthe enterprise level. Nicholas, J.M. Available on-line at http://world.std.com/~lo/95. Therefore a self-reinforcing flow of increasing resistance can be seen to develop asindividuals create an environment in which resistance to change is acultural norm. From the organizational point of view, this approach ismost likely conducive to long-term organizational health because it permitschange to be introduced at a constant rate. While some of these issues may be rooted in the actual deploymentprocess associated with the new information system there are other issuesfacing the organization, which include the following: 1. Use of small teams with high levels of skill 2. 2. The parentcompany has invested three (3) million pounds associated with theimplementation of information systems that were intended to reduce the costof processing new insurance policy applications. When the purpose of the change is not clearly articulated, resistancedue to poor communication may develop. (1995). Communication between participating departments. Having robust, reliable software and systems. 125). 3. This environment in turn encourages increased resistance tochange among individual employees as well as between departments. Highly object-oriented software design makes careful use of commonality to reduce cost of coding and development. Resistance to change. Those individuals most affected bythe change must know why a change is being made and how they will beinfluenced by this change. The new informationsystem was intended to improve productivity and customer service since itwould not only give vital information to the directors (information theyheretofore tightly controlled themselves), but would be an adjunct to goodbusiness planning and control. Requirements Definition The first step in this process must be a clear determination of whatthe user community expects to see from the solution. This represents themeasures by which either the user and/or management will determine whetheror not the final result or system solution is acceptable. 26 reasons for resistance to change. Individual resistanceto change can give rise to organizational resistance. This is not an all-inclusive listing. References Anderson, T. This resistance impairs concerted efforts to improveperformance (Von Stackelberg, 1995). Another reaction toconstantly changing environmental situations is to adopt a posture ofconstant change. When thecrisis occurs, the resistance to change is reduced-organization is lookingfor a solution. . For this reason, this factor will beconsidered of secondary importance in this analysis. Traditionalmanagement methodology is losing ground to that which establishes mutuallysatisfying relationships between management, subordinates and client.Factors to enhance communication include (McLeod & Smith, 1996, p. The organization represents a complexsystem of relationships between people, leadership, technologies and workprocesses. Resistance due to the fear of the unknown. The introduction of the new information system, has caused thiscommunication to break down for reasons that appear to be more due toresistance to change as opposed to a lack of communication. Available on-line at http://www.andersonconsulting.com/org/resist.html. Regardless of the answer, thisscenario can set up a dangerous resistance in that no matter how hard RonSmith works, no matter how well the information system has been designedand implemented, neither will be good enough to overcome the resistance ofhis being on the receiving end of prejudice associated with being the"change agent." Before overly chastising Ron Smith, Jim Toy needs to look atvalidating the factors presented above. Lack of communication within the department and potentially external to the department as well. In the information technology arena, there are many managers (andindividual contributors) who believe themselves to be technically superiorto just about everyone, and certainly to those whom they believe possessless than "equal" technical acumen. the new system) to break theorganization out of this circular mode of behavior. Secondary to this would be the issues of resistancedue to habit and fear of the unknown that comes with any new system, butthese factors would most likely impact staff level performance as opposedto executive level performance. Without some sort of performancerequirement, one is unable to judge just how truly strong (or robust) thefinal solution. Unfortunately the results promised with respectto productivity improvement and customer service, are not apparent tomanagement and they are concerned. Reliability-Represents the ability of the system to function at a given level without fail. While resistance to change is an inherent part of the organization'sattempt to maintain a certain level of stability for itself, there is atendency for organizations to attempt to halt external change so that theirinternal state does not need to be altered (Von Stackelberg, 1995).Similarly, many organizations seem to move from crisis to crisis. He is concerned about the level of urgency in thedepartment and wonders if Ron was correct in his assessment of the keyissues. Subordinates aswell as clients are not able to develop their own approaches. . Most likely it is some combination of both. Jim has to assess the situation andreport back to headquarters. Breaking the task(s) into manageable chunks with minimal coupling between them. System level complexity is increasing. Each of these directors had two senior managers,below this second level, were staff and secretaries. Use of highly structured, graphics-oriented specification and design techniques that reduce communication problems. Ron believes the only way to solve his problem is to increase hisdepartmental headcount by ten (1 ) percent. Time is also a factor and it is not clear as to whether or not seniormanagement is willing to give the new system any additional time to "settlein" to the culture of the organization. Communication Traditional writing and speaking skills not withstanding, thechallenges faced today by technology, staff turnover, and a myriad of otherissues, make the building and maintenance of human relationships more andmore important. From the information provided, it isdifficult to determine how much of the lack of desired improvements inproductivity is caused by inadequate definition of requirements at thebeginning of the initiative. 3. Jim remains unconvinced thatincreasing staff is necessary and does not understand why things havebecome more problematic. It is also easier for thoseindividuals already resisting the change to spread disinformation,especially when no concrete facts can be presented to counter the rumorsand disinformation. 87): 1. Finally, since Ron Smith is considered to be one of the "architects"of the new system, and he was "rewarded" for his good work by beingappointed the new manager of the department, the question must be posed,what happened to his predecessor? Thus, organizationalresistance to change becomes an emergent property. Resistance due to limited resources and/or due to vested interests. Resistance to Change One of the most difficult and frustrating challenges faced by anyorganization is that associated with change. From this interaction is derived organizational behavior,culture and performance that is tightly interwoven. However, thestatements made regarding the difficulty in making system queries indicatesto the experienced viewer, a likely and fundamental shortcoming in thedesign of the system and/or a lack of training of the user community.
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