Assessment 2 - Lead and manage organizational change

Write a report that identifies the change requirements and opportunities needed to determine a strategic change and support organisational objectives. The report must include the above-mentioned evidence to submit. You may use the example scenario in Appendix 9-11 below.

This Project has been split into six separate tasks. Please complete each task in the order they appear. (2000 words minimum in total)

Appendix 9 – Example scenario

DrySeed scenario

DrySeed Inc. is a large organisation that manufactures outdoor furniture. The company has been operating for 30 years and is based in Sydney. It now has 50 employees and is seen as a market leader because of its commitment to sustainability. DrySeed supplies to retail stores across Australia and to customers directly from its show room in one of its largest factories.

In 2001, DrySeed merged with a retail furniture company, hoping to expand its breadth of consumers as many of the stores were located in newly developed housing estates that attracted first-home buyers. Unfortunately, due to poor planning and communication, the merger was not successful. Thirty employees were impacted by the merger, either by a restructure and redesign of their jobs, or by a forced redundancy.

Operationally, DrySeed’s objectives include having all products meet their standard of excellence guidelines, including customer service, guarantee on workmanship and quality materials used in the manufacturing process. Management would also like to see 30 per cent of sales made online to reduce overheads.

DrySeed has recently come under new management. The management team that now reports to the board is significantly younger and more innovative than their predecessors. The new team believes the organisational objectives are strong, but that the processes and structures of the organisation need some work.

DrySeed’s key objectives are currently based around expansion. Management wants to expand sales to new customers by offering new product releases each year. They feel it is important to invest in research, and to follow trends in Europe and the US to ensure their products have the latest designs and are attractive to customers.

The majority of middle managers, such as supervisors and department managers, have been with the company for more than 20 years. They will have to implement changes with their teams. Some of them have already expressed they are hesitant to change due to having experienced the failed merger in 2001.

Appendix 10 – Sample continuous improvement policy

DrySeed continuous improvement policy

Scope

This policy describes our commitment to continuous improvement and the use of the define, measure, analyse, improve, control (DMAIC) quality system to perform process improvement activities or projects.

This policy applies to all employees of DrySeed – including casual, part-time, full-time, permanent and temporary employees. It is part of everyone’s role to continuously look for ways to improve processes and systems to ensure they remain effective and efficient.

Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing process of review and evaluation to find ways to improve processes and systems.

Continuous improvement forms part of DrySeed’s overall business philosophy. The

company is committed to the continuous improvement of policies and procedures. When performing improvement activities, you should:

· define an improvement project

· measure process performance

· analyse opportunities

· improve and control processes.

This process is referred to as the DMAIC quality system, which is outlined in the continuous improvement procedures.

Responsibilities

Management is responsible for ensuring continuous improvement procedures are applied. The manager of the section or department in which the continuous improvement project takes place is responsible for supporting the project and removing barriers to success.

All employees are responsible for:

· Applying continuous improvement procedures in their work areas, as outlined by management in the relevant plan for each improvement activity or project

· Identifying and reporting opportunities for improvement.

Appendix 11 – Sample continuous improvement policy

DrySeed continuous improvement procedures

Continuous improvement forms part of the DrySeed overall business philosophy. It is part of every employee’s role to continuously look for ways to improve processes and systems to ensure they are effective and efficient.

Process improvement activities or projects should be performed using the DMAIC quality system:

· Define

· Measure

· Analyse

· Improve

· Control

1. Define an improvement project

To define an improvement project, take the following steps:

· Identify the improvement opportunity.

· Develop the business processes.

· Define critical requirements.

· Prepare a project team.

Someone at managerial level supports the project and removes barriers to success. This is usually the manager of the section or department in which the project takes place. The plan also includes a statement of how progress should be reported and who to report it to.

Tools to assist with this step include:

· gap analysis

· customer feedback

· process mapping

· action plan.

2. Measure process performance

Steps to measure process performance:

· Identify measures to evaluate the success of project.

· Develop a data collection method to measure process performance.

· Establish baseline Six Sigma to show the standard deviation for a process

Tools to assist with this step include:

· charts

· graphs

· data analysis.

3. Analyse opportunities

Steps to take to analyse opportunities:

· Analyse the opportunity to identify a problem.

· Identify and validate the root causes.

Tools to assist with this step includes

· process mapping

· hypothesis testing

· fishbone diagram

· root cause analysis

· Statistics.

4. Improve processes

To improve processes, take the following steps:

· Identify, evaluate and select the best solutions to improve processes.

· Develop a change management strategy to help the organisation to implement solutions and improvements.

Tools to assist with this step include:

· cost–benefit analysis

· project planning tools

· Change management tools.

5. Control processes

Steps to take to control the process:

· Understand the importance of planning and executing against the plan.

· Determine the strategy to ensure the targeted results are achieved.

· Understand how to disseminate lessons learnt.

· Identify opportunities for standardisation. Tools to assist with this step include:

· project planning tools

· Plan–do–check–act cycle.

Task One

Analyse the internal and external environments for change and prepare a change requirement report:

a. Identify strategic change needs by analysing organisational objectives.

b. Review existing policies and practices against strategic objectives.

c. Monitor the external environment to identify events or trends that may impact on the

achievement of organisational objectives by conducting a PEST analysis (refer to the

template in Appendix 5).

Appendix 5 – PEST analysis template

Political	Economical
Social	Technological

d. Identify major operational change requirements due to performance gaps, business

opportunities and threats, or management decisions by conducting a SWOT analysis

(refer to the template in Appendix 7).

Appendix 7 – SWOT analysis template

Strengths	Weaknesses
Opportunities	Threats

Task Two

Develop a change management project plan that outlines the change management strategy:

a. Undertake a cost–benefit analysis for high-priority change requirements and

opportunities you have identified.

b. Identify barriers to change by undertaking a risk management plan, including a risk analysis (refer to the template in Appendix 8).

Appendix 8 – Risk management plan template

Risk management plan

Background:

Context:

Level of access and restrictions:

Reporting requirements:

Risk matrix

Level of likelihood	Level of impact
	1 (Insignificant)	2 (Minor)	3 (Moderate)	4 (Major)	5 (Catastrophic)
A (Expected)	Medium	Medium	High	Extreme	Extreme
B (Probable)	Medium	Medium	Medium	High	Extreme
C (Possible)	Low	Medium	Medium	High	High
D (Improbable)	Low	Low	Medium	Medium	High
E (Rare)	Low	Low	Low	High	Medium

Risk evaluation

Priority	Risk	Likelihood	Impact	Level of risk

Risk action plan

Risk	Priority	Proposed	Actions	Resource	Costs	Responsibilities	Schedule
description		controls	required	requirements
			to
			implement
			controls
Risk:
Risk:
Risk:
Risk:
Risk:

Record-keeping procedures

Updates	Person responsible	Date
Risk register
Lessons learned register

c. Determine resource requirements, such as human, physical and financial resources.

d. Chart time lines and schedules, such as by using a Gantt chart.

Task Three

Develop a communication or education plan in consultation with managers and other relevant stakeholders:

a. Consult with relevant individuals to determine how you will promote the benefits of

change and minimize loss to the organisation. You may seek feedback via email, video

conferencing, etc.

b. Organise and manage the activities required to deliver the plan, including time lines for

implementation. This may include managing the frequency of reports and

communications between relevant individuals.

Task Four

Identify and respond to barriers to change as outlined in the risk management plan. This may include developing strategies that will mitigate risks and effectively respond to barriers.

Task Five

Begin the change management process:

a. Implement the interventions and activities as set out in the project plan.

b. Carry out the strategies for embedding the change.

Task Six

Prepare for the evaluation and review of the plan to achieve objectives and modify the plan where appropriate. This may include conducting a gap analysis and distributing an evaluation form to stakeholders (refer to the template in Appendix 4).

Appendix 4- Gap analysis template

Gap analysis

Business objective	HR requirements to meet objectives	Gap – does the organisation have what it needs?	Outcome of not addressing the gap	Potential solutions to address the gap

Appendix 6 – Key stakeholder analysis template

Key stakeholder analysis

Student name: Date of analysis:
Name of stakeholder/company	Contact person	Level of importance	Level of influence	Stakeholder needs	Stakeholder interests	Strategy for engaging the stakeholder