Pilkingtons Organizational Change Process - myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about thePilkingtons Organizational Change Proces for Modification. Answer: Introduction Organizational change is the modification and redesigning of management structures to adapt and survive against competition and other forces by making the organization more efficient and effective. On the other hand organizational development is alignment of organizational processes to align them with the changing environment that they operate in. the business environment dynamic requiring strategies to keep the business going (Bradford Burke, 2005). Pilkington has chosen to undergo organizational change and development due to internal and external forces with the environment that it operates in. This report highlights Pilkington change process through analyzing the causes of change and the whole change process. Factors that moved Pilkington towards change Change within the organization can be caused by both internal and external factors. Internal factors for change are caused by the need to change the structure of the organization to improve business processes(George, 2007). The need to improve the organization by adopting new business practices and management styles led to organizational changes within Pilkington as a way of developing new business competencies to catch up with the ever-changing environment. The organization was operating on an old system that had been in place for the last few years and the employees were old. These changes were therefore, transformation periods that led to solutions to internal management challenges that were being witnessed. External factors of change exist outside the organization and are caused by the need for the organization to create new competencies for competition. Pilkington external changes were caused by competition from overseas competitors who caused external pressure on its business operation. The need to accommodate diversity and compete in a global environment led to the need for organizational change. Lewins model of change suggests that an organization is an open system which experiences forces that fight and resist change at the same time (Rizescu Tileaga, 2016). Change occurs when the factors for change overcome the resisting factors. Change process phases at Pilkington Phases of change will vary depending on the focus and nature of the change itself. The process of change in Pilkington took three phases. Phase one was based on the need to refine the organizational structure in readiness for the changes that will occur. This entailed restructuring of the organizational structure of the traditional hierarchy system to an inverted system that allowed for bottom-up communication. This can be seen as the unfreezing phase from the Lewins model of change. Here Pilkington identified the major areas that need restructuring and preparing the organization for radical changes to come. Functional theory emphasis stability as a way of adapting to new changes in the environment. Pilkington developed phase one of its changes as a way of adapting to the internal and external factors of change. Phase two was the refinement of the organization to achieve harmony and efficiency. This is related to the moving plan of the Lewins model where new goals are set, resources allocated to the change action and plans set on how the process will be executed(Schultz Ellen, 2006). This was implemented through several changes in organizational programs like changes in the training program, and development a consultative management style. This face was characterized by problem-solving which sought to provide solutions for previous challenges and vision orientation which entailed aligning the organization towards a new vision. However, this was met by different resistance levels since employees were not consulted in any of the processes. The last phase was a revolutionary one based on the employment strike that was witnessed after the second phase. Lewin calls this the freezing stage where change has to be achieved through developing strategies for meeting change. The strike led to investigations into employee challenges that led to the formation of new rules that regulate members leading new behaviour and improved relations between management and employees. This phase led to new agreements and policies that guided employees and even disciplinary mechanisms put in place for managing such behaviors. Type of organizational culture problems at Pilkington Hartnell, Ou, Kinicki (2011) state that organizational culture includes values and behaviors that are attributed to a unique social environment within the organization. Organizational culture enables employees to develop cultural traits that will be inculcated in new members when recruited and highly utilized at work. Pilkington was struggling with the employee performance culture that was based on overtime allowances. Employees were working less during normal hours to create work for overtime. This go-slow was intentional rather than process wise thus becoming and extra expense to the organization since output was slow and overtime costs had increased. This cultural problems had been caused by the traditional hierarchical structure of management that was based more on instruction and orders rather than leadership(Luthans Doh Jonathan, 2015). This led to resistance to work. The culture was changed through inverting the traditional management structure to a more consultative style o f management that allowed employees to take part in business processes. Further, teams were used to increase output as a way of achieving better results. Reconfiguration of the production process from individuals to teams led to encourage participation and involvement of all employees in the production process. Motivation in the organization Employee motivation entails intrinsic and extrinsic strategies put in place to improve internal drive and action of employees towards work. This leads to development of psychological forces that push employees behaviors towards the intended organizational direction(Fernandez Pitts David, 2007). Pilkington used to training and monetary incentives to motivate its employees. The employees were not driven by the passion for work but rather material benefits that they received at work. Overtime was compensated well and thus employees developed a go-slow culture during working hours to get overtime incentives. Further, trainings that took place in the organization were not need-based thus leading to sessions for employees to be off work without benefiting anything. Resistance to These changes was highly witnessed in the organization leading to a ten days strike that led to lose of 10 million. Bovey Hede (2001) argue that organizational change causes change in the status quo which leads t o reaction from employees. Ways to overcome resistance to change Employee resistance to change is normal since change causes stability at one point in the organization. The need to maintain status quo and the fear of what change may bring leads to resistance on new strategies for change(Agboola Aalawu, 2011). One way to overcome resistance to change is employee engagement. This allows employees to suggest better ways of inducing change and also the major areas that need to be restructured. Organizations that involve employees in decision-making and restructuring have lower resistance levels. After involving employee, new strategies were put in place by management in Pilkington that led to successful change. Habib Shah (2013) add that organizations can overcome resistance through positive motivation. This entails putting structures in place that can make employees see the benefits in change. This entails adequate training on new system restructuring and ways to improve workplace. This allows employees to appreciate and accept new changes (Serban Iorga, 2016). When employees are involved through training, they understand the needs of the organization and their needs thus seeking a balance between them to accept change and move on. How Pilkington attempted to undertake change in the organizational structure The organizational structure in Pilkington was one of the major challenges that the organization was going through. The traditional hierarchical structure needed to be changed to allow for an inverted structure that will empower employees more. The new structure promoted upward communication and prevented conflict between management and subordinates. Through reconfiguring of the production process, employees were put in teams that ensured support for each other to increase efficiency. Salas, Shuffler, Thayer, Bedwell, Lazzara (2014) argue that team work leads to emergent states and processes of work performance that increase efficiency and effectiveness. From a systems theory perspective, teams are part of the whole system where each member plays a part that is important in the operation of the whole system. Teams allow members to understand their role in the organization and the effect that their work and effort plays to the organization thus creating stronger and reliable teams(Be al, 2003). Pilkington new structure gave teams autonomy to handle their tasks and report results rather than have someone make plans, decisions and set targets for them. Habib (2013) suggests that rrestructuring has to occur both at the company level and at the level of parts within the organization. One way of restructuring is making changes in organizational policies to address gaps that have caused system inefficiencies. Through changes in training and work safety policies, the organization was restructured to reduce accidents and trainings were need-based. The focus of the organization was result delivery through efficiency rather than command. Efficiency ensured that lost work days were reduced and employees got proper trainings. This was initially resisted but after consultations, employees agreed to adopt the new changes in the structure. Conclusion Organizational change is inevitable since organizations operate in an ever-changing environment. Whether evolutionary or revolutionary, management must be prepared for organization change as a way of keeping abreast with the globally changing business environment. Management as a field is slowly changing leading to new concepts that are used to ensure system efficiency. Managers must accommodate the needs of employees when design organizational change strategies like restructuring. It is evident that employee involvement in change solves bigger problems and reduces resistance to change. Therefore, change is a process that leads to better organizational outcomes if the changes are properly planned and instituted in the organization. From the case study and literature, it is evident that change needs to be slow and must accommodate all the parts of the organization to reduce conflict between them. References Agboola, A., Aalawu, R. O. (2011). Managing Deviant Behavior and Resistance to Change. International Journal of Business Management, 6(1), 235-242. Beal, D. J. (2003). Cohesion and performance in groups: A meta-analytic clarification of construct relations. Jo. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(6), 989-1004. Bovey, W. H., Hede, A. (2001). Resistance to organizational change: the role of cognitive and affective processes. 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