Organization Assignment Help

     Introduction

Change is the only thing which is constant, whether it is life or organization. Change is essential for every organization in order to sustain in market and grow. However, it completely depends on how successfully the organization manages change. Change management can be effectively undertaken utilizing various change models developed by great philosophers. However, there may be many hurdles in implementation of these models due to resistance of change from stakeholders. These hurdles can be taken care of using various strategies depending on the situation and the kind of change.

In this report, the case of Everything Everywhere (EE), the largest mobile producer, takeover by British Telecom (BT), the dominant company in broadband services, has been analysed. After the appointment of Olaf Swantee as the Chief Executive Officer of EE, he laid off many senior level employees. His strategy was to bring cost cut and improve the customer service which will lead to improvement in revenues. Though he took some harsh decisions, EE progressed in revenue and turnover. However, the next move of EE takeover of BT required some improvement for successful takeover(Neate, 2011).

This reports discusses about the various leadership styles, change models and various strategies to manage resistance of employees to change. This report has attempted to recommend the leadership style Olaf Swantee should follow, and change models that can be utilized. In addition to this, this report also recommends various strategies to manage resistance for the EE takeover of BT.

2.     LEADERSHIP STYLE OF OLAF SWANTEE

Over the years of analysis, different styles of leadership have been observed.  Leadership may be situational or transformational depending upon the person implementing it, also the type of work and kind of the working environment.  In a way to see, both the styles are effective and approaches towards organisational leadership. Let us consider both the styles in spotlight.

Situational leadership is a kind of management style which is developed by the gurus like Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey. Situational Leadership banks on the idea that there is no best style of leadership. Successful leaders are the ones who can adapt their style to any given situation. It consists of following 4 main types(Joseph, 2015):

• Coaching: This needs great deal of leadership style that involves a lot of hands on involvement in an employees work process. This style would be most beneficial when employee displays his/ her weaknesses that need improvement.
• Directing: This involves taking over a challenging situation and applying specific knowledge and experience towards the right direction. It also includes framing of goals and objectives for work that are clearly established to the staff.
• Delegating: This style places more weightage on shoulders of employees than the manager, since manager provides guidance and support only when requested by any of the employees. This style is most effective when staff is more experienced and with the capacity of working independently.
• Supporting styles: Here, manager plays more of a motivational role, where the main function of manager is to instil confidence in workers, leading them on becoming more self-sufficient and productive.

In transformational leadership, the leader mainly focuses on taking up visionary position and motivates his fellow employees towards the achievement of the goal. It often provides right make up for the team to flourish. It quite well works as an incorporation of different theories to that encapsulates leading through inspiration(EBA, 2015).

A new dimension to this theory was added when it provided the base which was ethical and moral based in leadership and focuses on 3 main ways to transform the fellow people:

• Inculcating the culture of bringing up importance of the tasks
• Directing their focus, more towards the team goals than the individual interests
• Higher order needs activation and motivation for success

Moreover, leaders in this style create succession plans developed by people, whereby allowing them to take up the initiative.

Transformational Leadership model may be considered as following cycle(EBA, 2015):

• Idealised Influence: Lead by example is the key, while setting up the expectations.
• Intellectual Stimulation: Encouraging learning and growth.
• Individual Consideration: Coaching and empowerment towards success.
• Inspirational Motivation: Motivating to achieve new heights.

Considering Olaf Swantee, Chief Executing officer of EE, in running up the UK’s leading Communication Company. Before this, Olaf was a member of the Orange executive board, heading the Group’s Europe large division. In addition to this, he ran the chain of purchase and sales worldwide of the company(ME, 2015).

He can be considered to be implementing transformational leadership style since he envisions through a future in the field he is active in. He has a vision further also putting up the expectations for the Gen Y employees. Apart setting up the expectations, he also states cost and advantages of the upcoming trends in telecommunication industry. In addition to this, he has persuasive kind of personality. He is very informal and open which portrays his transformational leadership style.

However, for his next role in the Everything Everywhere takeover of British Telecom, it is recommended to adopt the situational style of leadership. He can follow the blend of situational type. This will assist him in managing resistance to change, boost the morale of the employees which will improve their work efficiency. Olaf Swantee should focus on supporting style as this will build confidence among the employees for the takeover and employees in turn will support him in the process of takeover productively.

3.     CHANGE MODELS USED IN THE TAKEOVER

3.1 CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Change Management can be described as process of utilizing various techniques and tools to manage the change in organization in order to achieve desired outcome. Change Management requires alteration in various disciplines of company such as strategy, structure and culture depending on the change in environment. Change Management integrates various change models to utilize tools that assist the organization as well as employees in successful transition and desired result.

3.2 MOTIVES TO CHANGE

There are various internal and external factors that demand the need for change. These external factors could be change in market environment, technology, macro-economic factors or legal environment. The internal factors that demand change includes restructuring, span of control, upgradation of technology or change in processes of work.

3.3 CHANGE MODELS

There are various change models proposed by philosophers to manage change in the organization. These models describe the techniques and steps that the organization can adopt in order to conduct smooth transition.

3.3.1 JOHN KOTTER’S CHANGE MODEL

Figure 1: Kotter’s 8step Change Model

Source: Nauheimer, H, 2009. Change Model 3: John Kotter’s 8 Steps of Leading Change. 

John Kotter has defined 8-step model for effective implementation of change. This steps are explained below(Nauheimer, 2009):

1. Form a quick sense to resolve: For the effective result of change, it has to be carried out quickly in order to evade loss of stimulus. The untimely or delay in implementation may lead to inefficiency of the change affecting the aim of change.
2. Creating alliance with stakeholders: Transformation cannot be instigated by one person or only top management. For the successful implemented of change, it is essential to communicate and convince the stakeholders of the organization for the need of change. With the alliance of stakeholders, the change can be effectively applied which results in desired outcome.
3. Creating Strategy and values:The organization has to create strategy to implement change. There has to be a vision for the change. This will give the clarity of the need for change. For creating strategy for change, the top management should involve stakeholders for better delivery.
4. Communication of vision: Once the vision is created and approved by the top management, it is essential to communicate to the employees involved in the process and initiative.
5. Empower employees: In order to manage resistance to change, the staff should be engaged with the process of consultation as they are one who are closely involved in the process.
6. Continuity in improvement: It is essential for organization to maintain impetus in successful implementation of change. This incremental and continuous improvement assist the organization in proficient short term success.
7. Consolidation and achieving more: the short term success on continuous basis encourage the employees to achieve and implement more change.
8. Implementing new approaches: It is not the thumb rule that the successful strategy or approach used earlier will give success in future too. Hence, it is essential for the organization to seek new approaches and become more innovative and effective.

3.3.2 7S CHANGE MODEL

Mckinsey Consulting developed 7S Change model describing how effectively the organization can manage change. The model assists to understand the objectives of organization and enhance the alignment of the seven elements of the organization. The model is explained using the seven elements which are divided in two parts, namely hard elements and soft elements. Each of them is described below(EBA, 2015):

Hard elements

• Structure: delegating task, line of reporting and co-ordination
• Strategy: developing competitive strategy to form competitive edge
• System: various processes and supporting systems of organization such as financial reporting, information technology system etc.

Soft Elements

• Shared values: developing values and behaviour in the organization to form the culture.
• Style: the leadership style used in organization
• Staff: type of employees and number of employees in the organization
• Skill: competencies and skill of the employees.

3.3.3 LEWIN’S THEORY OF CHANGE

Figure 3: Kurt Lewin Theory of Change

Source: Kaminski, J., 2011. Theory applied to informatics – Lewin’s Change Theory. CJNI: Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics, 6 (1), Editorial.

Kurt Lewin proposed the change model naming Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze Model. This model rely on prior learning of rejection and replacement. According to this model, there are three stages of change. Lewin is of the view that, firstly, the staff should be convinced for the change explaining and communicating them the concern areas. Next step would be finding the array of solutions to be undertaken. As a final point, refreezing that includes reinforcement and formalization of change. These steps are explained in three stages below(Kaminski, 2011):

• Unfreeze:This stage involves reducing the elements that are endeavouring to maintain position and disassembling the mind-set of current status. This can be done by convincing and giving the provocative to issue to make the staff understand the necessity for change and seeking for solution.
• Change: This stage is the transition phase wherein new values, behaviour and attitudes should be developed in order to bring change in processes, structure and techniques. Though, initially there may be muddle in the processes since the pattern of work is changed, things settle down with time.
• Refreeze:This final stage of refreezing requires crystallization and revision of new processes and team. Till the time the changes are not formalized and reinforced, the organization continues with the former processes. Hence, it is essential to formalize the team and process in order to avoid the low-level effectiveness and work efficiency of staff.

3.4 MANAGING BT TAKEOVER

In the case of merger of T-Mobile and Orange, Olaf Swantee, the Chief Executive of the company Everything Everywhere, adopted the sudden change which affected the mind-set of the employees. Within a day of his new responsibility, he fired employees from senior level and gave notice to other top level executives that their jobs too are at risk. He was of the opinion that there were many senior executives and their responsibilities were overlapping. Hence, Olaf’s strategy was to focus on the cost of the company and improve the customer service. According to him, the customers should be at the top of pyramid and at the bottom should be chief executives(Rushton, 2011). However, with his open style of leadership, he was successful in bringing the growth in return and improvement in customers’ service. Olaf was of the opinion that the strategy of British Telecom was similar to that of EE. The strategy of BT is majorly to improve experience of customers and achieve sustainable growth in revenue(Eurocomms, 2014).

However, the EE takeover of BT could be managing effectively and efficiently by using the 7S change model developed by Mckinsey consulting.  For the successful takeover, 7S model will be helpful in analysingand aligning of all the seven elements such as strategy, structure, system, staff, skill, shared values and style. Based on the framework of this model, the structure of the takeover is to be formed, so that appropriate strategy can be formed. Since the aim of both the companies is to improve experience of customer and increase the growth in revenue, BT can plan for setting the new systems or may continue with the current ones. Once the hard elements are designed and aligned, the soft elements such as sharing values, staff, skill requirement and style of leadership can be decoded upon. The integration and alignment of all these seven element is essential for the successful takeover and desired outcome.

4.     MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

4.1 REASONS FOR RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

The resistance by the stakeholder or employees for longer period or on large-scale can affect the efforts to implement change. Hence, it is essential to manage this resistancein order to implement change successfully. However, the four main reasons for change are(Jacoby, 2011):

• Less tolerance level for change: There are employees are interested only in stability of work and do not wish to accept or attempt for change.
• Self-Interest: Some employees are interest only in the gain for self and not the organization. Such people resist change if it is not for self-interest as they fail to understand that if change is beneficial to organization, then it is ultimately beneficial to employees too.
• Disagreement on the need to change: certain stakeholders do not understand the advantages of the change and assess the change differently. They may not agree for the reason for change.
• Communication issues:there may be chances of miscommunication or misunderstanding about change. So many stakeholders resist change since they are not provided with appropriate and correct information.

4.2 STRATEGIES TO MANAGE RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

However, in order to manage resistance to change, organization should attempt to know the correct and exact reason for this resistance to change. Accordingly the action plan and strategy can be adopted to manage the type of resistance. The following strategies individually or mix ox strategies that can be adopted for EE takeover ofBT in order to manage resistance to change are explained below(Jacoby, 2011):

Educating and communicating: Communicating up-front with employees for the need of takeover will make the employees understand better and avoid misunderstanding about the change.

Participating and involving: Engaging employees in the process of takeover will make them go as per flow and understand better which will ultimately lower their resistance to change.

Providing Support: The organization can provide support to the resisting employees by providing training, and counselling to deal with their anxiety for change.

Negotiating: The organization can offer incentives to the employees who are resistant and ask them to support in the effort for takeover.

Co-optation: The organization can adopt co-option which involves choosing the leader of employees who are resisters and engaging him in the effort of change.

Coercion: The organization can force the employees to either accept the change or resistance of change may result into loss of job or non-promotion.

4.3 RECOMMENDATIONS TO OLAF SWANTEE

Olaf Swantee has a transformational style of leadership. He has the persuasive personality to stimulate the employees. During the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, he had the vision and strategy to focus on improvement of customer service. So within a day, he laid off many senior level employees and sent notice to other executives about their job at risk. This preparedness of implementing change and strategy though was kind of harsh on the employees, but proved to be fruitful to the organization as Everything Everywhere grew to some extend and reflected progress in customer service. However, these kind of harsh step would have created anxiety and fear in the mind of employees. As a result, the employees would not find it easy to resist the Everything Everywhere takeover of British Telecom.

Hence, in order to manage the resistance of the employees to change, it is recommended to Olaf Swantee to adopt mix of managing resistance strategies. Since, he has persuasive style, he can adopt strategies of managing resistance such as educating, communicating, engaging employees and negotiating with them for the effective and successful takeover process.