Academic Master

Human Resource And Management

A Change Process within DC Consultancy

Executive Summary

DC Consultancy a security firm has been undergoing some changes that involve the restructuring of the staff. A few days ago we underwent a change process that specifically targeted the senior management team. The Head of HR, MD, and Business Development Director were among the staff members who have experienced the removal. I was chosen to act as the HR advisor to try and analyze all the changes and look for a way forward to make the company meet its goals since the change process had started impacting the firm negatively. For instance, some employees started resigning from their positions. This study tries to show the change process analysis and my role as an HR advisor in handling all the different aspects such as culture, employee emotion, power and politics within the firm.

Introduction

The changing trends in the business industry have forced some companies to undertake some critical changes in their organizational structure to be at the top (Burke, 2017). Most of the changes that are made in the firms are meant to correct any disputes that may make the company fail to achieve its goals. For instance, DC Consulting led by the CEO and the Group board decided to remove all the top management team because they had failed to meet the company’s overall strategy targets. The announcement was made in the morning, and all the mentioned top management team was asked to evacuate from the firm’s premises. As the HR advisor to the firm, I do believe that there are more efficient ways that the change process can be implemented and still the organization be able to meet its goals. The best change process should be in a way that it will create minimal or no employee resistance during the process.

My firm did not take into account the requirements that would have made the process easier. Due to this, there were severe consequences that the firm faced. A major impact was in the staffing department which included employee morale and employee retention. Most of the employees started resigning from their jobs and others lacking the morale to continue performing well towards meeting the company’s objectives. If necessary changes are not made, then this will be the end of DC Consultancy. As the HR advisor, I am interested in analyzing the entire change process in the firm and also point out the major issues that had an impact on the business. After the analysis, it will be crucial to evaluate the leadership and management during and after the change had taken action.

Analysis of what happened during the Change Process in DC Consultancy

Normally, all the organizational changes that occur are geared towards development and of advantage to both the employers and employees of a company (Bish et al. 2015). On learning of the challenges that the firm was facing, the CEO and the Group board decided to swing into action by removing all the top managers including the Managing Director, Head of Operations and the Business Development Director. This move restructured the entire organization since most of the commands and actions are from the top down in managerial hierarchy (Armenakis&Bedeian, 1999). Lack of a proper chain of command obviously would lead to catastrophic decision making that would affect the firm in the long run. According to my knowledge and experience as an HR advisor, the top management team is so important that its entire removal would mean a downfall of the firm. Most employees look up to the management team for guidance and control of most decisions. Even though the individuals knew that they were not performing as per the organization’s set targets, they never expected to be removed immediately. The change process that occurred affected the company’s key areas such as:

Culture

Edgar Schein defines organizational culture as a pattern that has shared common assumptions that a team learns in the process of solving its external and internal problems which in time has worked well to be adopted (Schein, 2010). One can also define organizational culture as the general beliefs, values, and assumptions and primarily how people relate that lead to an exceptional social environment of a firm. Each firm adheres to the culture of their firm. Any change in the organization might alter the culture of the organization which might lead to serious consequences for the firm.

As DC Consultancy decided to remove its top managers, the culture of the organization was automatically meant to change. The culture of my organization was that the chain of command should be from top to bottom so removing the top management meant that there would be a gap in the chain of command. There will be no smoother running of work as it used to be before the removal. The abrupt organizational change also will create poor working relations between the CEO and the employees who had remained. The change also meant that some individuals who may have not fully qualified for certain top positions would be promoted to fill the vacancy that had been created.

Every organization has a culture of only recruiting employees who have certain qualifications for specific jobs so by promoting employees due to necessity, will lead to poor performance. As an HR advisor, my role was to ensure that in case we needed to recruit, all the individuals who had applied for the jobs must meet the required qualifications. It was important to try and educate the other employees on why the organizational change is necessary for any firm. Also, as an HR advisor, I would suggest that the employees be empowered by the sense of cultural togetherness among themselves which in the long run will help in the progress of the consultancy and avoidance of issues that may affect its growth (Gabriel, 2015).

The clan culture of DC Consultancy was greatly affected. The organization used to treat each staff member like family. They used to go out on vacations together and always there to help one another. After the change was effected, most employees did not regard each other as they did before. Everyone did his/her things that were job-related. The adhocracy culture also lost its meaning in the organization since the change took effect (Gabriel, 2015). Previously employees used to take risks for the firm and come up with new ideas to help the firm meet its goals. But after the change, no one dared to do the things they used to for the company. Their attitude towards work changed completely. The issue of late coming started coming up as the level of productivity in the firm also decreased. The employees knew that they would not be directly answerable to anyone since their bosses have been laid off.

Edgar Schein came up with organizational culture theories that tried to explain different organizational scenarios (Schein, 2004). In his theory, he identifies three specific stages of organizational cultures. Many of these levels could have been useful in dealing with the issues at DC Consultancy. One of the levels is espoused values. These are the values and policies that have been set by the organization. All employees operate under the umbrella of these rules and values. For example, DC Consultancy required its employees always to ensure that they have in one way or another achieved the set organizational goals.

Trait theory

The trait theory can be assumed as the leadership capacity which is considered inherent, and the leaders who are recognized as great are not made but born. The trait theory assumes that everyone tends to inherit certain traits which suit them according to their personality. It has been observed that the CEO of DC consultancy tend to lack in the certain ground like knowledge, confidence, and charisma despite possessing the required traits. The trait theory identifies specific personality or behavior of the individual concerning the characteristics of that particular individual (Kuipers et al. 2014). The trait theory fails in explaining the failures of the leadership instances. In case of trait theory, the leaders of a company or respect to any ground fail at meeting the required traits that are needed to change the procedure of the consultancy. The DC consultant may acquire the trait theory to achieve motivation both inside and outside of the floor. As per the trait theory, there are certain objectives which the DC consultant might acquire to experience a change in the process of leadership and management. The objectives can be studied as below:

● It is mandatory to have the affiliation with a particular organization

● In implementing the trait theory in the respective organization, the company must uphold the power of effort so that the company can bring down certain changes in leadership and management processes.

The trait theory deals with the factors that describe flexibility, intelligence, integrity, and stability, internal locus of control, self-confidence, dominance and high energy concerning the lead management process in an organization.

Behavioral theory:

The behavioral theory of leadership can be described as the study that is made focusing on the behavior of the leaders of the organization (Edwards et al. 2015). In DC consultant the top management board of leader which includes the director of Business development, the accountant, the head of the HR department, the CEO, the operational head of the consultant were asked to leave the premises of the company on sudden notice. The employees and then the other members those who belong to the senior authoritarian group went through repetitive redundancies and restructuring of the consultant. DC consultant being a security company must provide with all the basic security that the employees of the consultancy deserve (Kok and McDonald, 2017).

According to the leadership potentiality, the Behavioral theory acts being one of the most effective predictors in managing the leadership quality of the individual or any organization. The behavioral theory tends to promote basic approaches towards the development of the leadership quality of the many respective organization. According to the behavioral theory, the DC consultant can be studied by task-oriented performance. As per the tasks, the failures and lacks of the consultant can be estimated, and the leadership management can be carried on accordingly. The tasks can be studied as below:

● By initiating the change in the process of leadership and management

● By organizing a board where the desired problems concerning the company can be discussed and evaluated

● By clarifying the failure and doubts concerning the organization can be thoroughly checked

● By gathering the information that can help the company from getting back to its organized and planned management facilities

● By encouraging the junior working staffs to take up few initiatives in building the developmental plan for managing the leadership process of the consultancy

● By monitoring the problems faced by the workers and the co-workers of the company concerning the management of the consultancy

● By listening and identifying the problems faced by the employers of the consultancy concerning the management and leadership which can be better checked to provide with a better development plan.

Power and Politics

Power and politics have a huge impact on a firm’s operations. It affects how the decision-making process is done, how the employees relate to one another and how the organization is managed. The main aspect of how the power and politics affects a firm is how the employee use the power. Positive and negative power affect a firm differently. Immediately DC Consultancy removed its top management team; the working environment changed in the firm. Most of the remaining employees feared that they would be next in line and there was a lot of politicking that had a negative impact on the firm. The employees were never satisfied with their positions, they were stressed, and job turnover was low. The best thing the firm would have done is to do the change officially by either distributing a memo on the change that is about to occur and give reasons for the changes. The high level of uncertainty that the CEO and the Group board caused led to politics. Due to this, employees were left clueless, and it led to overthinking. They made finally ended up with wrong conclusions.

Also to redirect the politics, the company would have redirected the entire change process. The CEO would have started by laying out new policies that the top management should follow to meet its obligations. And after the change had taken place and there are new vacancies left, the Group board and the CEO will have to educate their staff on the requirements needed for the promotion. This will also include employee participation instead of leaving them in the dark.

A few days after the changed had occurred, the employees started attending the firm’s meeting that was mandatory. No one sent an apology for missing the meeting. No proper communication of the firm’s new policies and objectives that were meant to be met. The resistance extended to some workers not coming to work and others resign. The influential employees used their power to motivate the other employees to boycott the firm’s activities. The subordinates began influencing most of the decisions in the firm. The leaders had no real power over them. Other staff members who had the skills and knowledge of their work were affected by the intensity of politicking that was going on in the firm. Those who could not keep up with the situation decided to quit their jobs.

Power and Politics Organization Theory states that essentially power is the ability to influence some things to be done in a way that one wants them to be done. Majorly, it is the ability to sway the minds of people. People with this kind of power in an organization are usually dangerous. They can affect the firm either positively or negatively.

Emotions

The organizational change that occurred at DC Consultancy affected both the top management team and the junior team emotionally. No one was expecting such a. The change affected the working environment starting from how the staff worked, how decisions were made, and the communication channel changed. Even though emotional reactions to organizational change are normal, they can lead to situations that may affect the company negatively (Doppelt, 2017). For instance, after the CEO and Group board of DC Consultancy had made the organizational change, a lot of employees were affected emotionally. They started unusual behavior that never existed before and which was against the company’s policies. Most of them begun to quit their jobs and those who remained had so many commitments that they could not attend mandatory company meetings (Burke, 2017).

The change also forced the employees to develop fake diseases as an excuse not report to work. The Chief Executive Officer never thought of such a situation before implementing the change. The productivity of the firm dropped, and most clients started complaining and threatening to find other better security firms. The emotional torture led to poor communication among the employees and the senior management. The number of cases in the firm increased, and these resulted in tribunal claims since most of the cases were handled unprofessionally. For instance, some employees contacted the former Managing Director following the change that the Chief Executive Office and the Group board were using some strategies to run the firm. The Managing Director decided to take the claim to a tribunal for hearing (Burke, 2017).

My role as the HR advisor was to try and address the mixed and confusion that was happening in the firm. Addressing the emotions was one way of motivating the employees to be focused on their work and ensuring that they meet the firm’s set targets. This would also help in looking into a new vision for the firm. It is important to avoid talking the employees out of what they are going through. Listening to them and encouraging them to express their emotions was the best way to deal with the situation. This will make them forget the past and cherish the future. The employees should also be advised to share their ideas and feelings. This will enable them to have a sense of commitment to the firm which will in the long run help in achieving the organization’s goals.

Strategy

The process of change in any organization needs good planning and laying down the necessary strategies to deal with the situation. The CEO and the Group board did not make the required strategies to make a good transition to the change process. Removal of the entire top management team was not a good idea. Any successful company primarily depends on top management. This is where important decisions involved in managing the firm are made. The result of the abrupt change was catastrophic to the company. This would have been done by either talking to the management team or asking them to work towards meeting the firm’s goals. Any individual who could not meet the target had to resign.

The change process had a great impact on the firm. There was a tribunal claim that resulted from the change. There were no set rules and guidelines that people followed. Employees were not working towards a certain mission. This led to the development of an emergent strategy. Mintzberg believes that this strategy develops after sometime when intentions do not connect with the changing reality. The employees had a feeling the firm was not run according to the set policies. Issues were handled about the set rules. The employees decided to contact their former MD who later filed a tribunal.

Evaluation of Leadership and Management

During the change process leadership and the management of the firm was greatly affected. The impact was felt in the following ways:

Communication

For an organization to be able to grow, it must have an effective communication plan. With efficient communication, the managers and leaders in a firm will be in a position to carry out their managerial functions such as controlling, planning, organizing and motivating in a better manner (Thompson 2018). After the CEO and the Group board found out that most of the management team were not meeting the firm’s overall targets, they were forced to leave. The mode of communication used was not good. The top management team would have been given enough time to prepare for the news. The leaders never communicated to the Human Resource Director about the change process. She received the news when she returned to work. Good leadership requires good communication strategies.

For better transition in the firm, the leaders and management would have employed Kotter’s steps of change. The steps are defined as follow;

1. Establishment of a sense of urgency

The leaders would have prepared a meeting to discuss the problem that had arose and prepared the driving force for the change.

2. Forming a strong alliance

Before implementing the change process, the firm would have looked for a group of staff members who were influential and could be forefront in the change process. Development of strategies that would have helped in achieving their goal of change process would have been necessary. By doing this, the leaders would have devised the best ways to pass the information and the remedies for the effects that may be caused by the change.

3. Creation of a vision

For a successful change process, the leadership and management team would have developed a vision that each would have been working towards. Creation of the vision also requires good strategies that will promote the fulfillment of the vision.

4. Bringing together the improvements and producing more change

The hiring process should have been done on individuals who share the same vision as that of the firm. It is also important to come up with skilled change individuals who will help gear the process.

5. Development of new tactics

Since the management team had been sent home and the gaps created, the leadership team had to look for means of getting new individuals. This should be done keeping in mind the new behaviors caused by the change process.

Conclusion

Ethics and Values

The backbone of any functional and successful business organization is the ethic and values that guide its members. The ethics and the values of the company tend to depend on the practices, languages, customs, ideologies, and beliefs. It can be observed that the goal and the objectives of the company mainly vary concerning the ethics and the values of the company. The leadership team did not act as per the code of ethics (Weaver, G.R. & Clark, 2015). Implementing the change process without preparing the staff is unethical. They also did not follow the right channels in passing the information. They communicated directly to the management on the same day and sent them home. The Human Resource Director was never informed about the move until she returned to work. Proper communication should be done since it will help in planning and meet the firm’s organizations.

References

Armenia’s, A.A. and Bedeian, A.G., 1999. Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of management, 25(3), pp.293-315.

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

Bish, A., Newton, C. and Johnston, K., 2015. Leader vision and diffusion of HR policy during change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(4), pp.529-545

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

Edwards, G., Schedlitzki, D., Turnbull, S. and Gill, R., 2015. Exploring power assumptions in the leadership and management debate. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(3), pp.328-343

Gabriel, K. (2015). Organizational Development, Organizational Culture and Organizational Change. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Kok, S.K. and McDonald, C., 2017. Underpinning excellence in higher education–an investigation into the leadership, governance and management behaviours of high-performing academic departments. Studies in Higher Education, 42(2), pp.210-231

Kuipers, B.S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J. and Van der Voet, J., 2014. The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public Administration, 92(1), pp.1-20.

Mintzberg, H. (1994). The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Hax, A. C. & Majluf, N. S. (1996). The Strategy Concept and Process, A Pragmatic Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

http://www.des.calstate.edu/glossary.html

http://home.att.net/~nickols/strategy_definition.htm

Schein, E.H. (2010) Organizational culture and leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco:

John Wiley & Sons.

Thompson, N., 2018. Effective communication: a guide for the people professions. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Weaver, G.R. and Clark, C.E., 2015. Behavioral Ethics, Behavioral Governance, and Corruption in and by Organizations. In Debates of Corruption and Integrity (pp. 135-158). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

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