change management f

Change is unavoidable and a main force behind strength, improvement and progress. The vision for change for ABC Electronics will be in offering new technological products superior to those of the competitors, increase market share as well as penetrate new markets. The change will include embracing new technology to be able to produce products that are competitive in the market (Jayatilleke, 2018).

For change to happen in ABC Electronics the company will need to change the organizational culture that is the habits, norms and expectations of the company. As the project manager I will need to rally people behind the transformation agenda to be able to overcome the resistance to change and the need to retain the same culture. This will require ability to get the people moving in the same direction.

I in collaboration with the management will need to identify change agents that is people in the company that are able to push through number of problems to push change through (Rosenbaum, 2018). This will include people that have shown enthusiasm in embracing new technology and this will most be the younger generation.

Also focusing on working with the lead users of our product as ABC Electronics. These are customers that are pushing our products and services to their limits. These are the customers that will point out our areas of weakness in the products and services offered and what we can do to improve.

As ABC Electronics we will have to do a thorough market research that will involve stepping out and asking customers of their wants and needs. This will assist in making products tailor made to solve these particular needs and wants.

The technology we are using is a bit archaic and therefore we will need to embrace new technology. The external innovation from competitors is slowly pushing us out of the market and it is therefore important to keep up. One of the challenge on this could be the cost of setting up new technological advancements so the project will look at cost effective ways of implementing new technology.

The firm will also consider the competition. This will involve looking at products that they are offering and at what prices to be able to offer similar or better products thus have a competitive edge. The challenge may arise with competitors who lower their prices to make themselves appealing to customers. However ABC Electronics can put up competitive prices that are neither too high nor too low.

The customer needs, perceptions and preferences will come in handy while making a change plan. This will involve taking into consideration the ideas, the needs and wants of the customers on the particular products they will prefer to consume.

All the regulations put up by the government should be adhered to while making the change plan. Also the economic stability and availability of funding should be considered while setting out the change plan. The demand for the products should also be estimated so that there is no under or over production that is the demand should match the supply. Politics is also another constraint that need to be factored especially looking into trade barriers and political stability in areas that ABC Electronics want to venture into.

The dilemma facing ABC Electronics is whether to do away with the old products and technologies that they had mastered and embrace new product line and new technology. Change management is a procedural approach towards handling change (Frezatti, 2017). Various tools can be used to build change.

Use of process maps and flowcharts is a good way to visualize the diverse processes in the organization for everyone. This will assist to view the current state of the processes of ABC Electronics.

The ADKAR Analysis can also be used. This is a change management model that is used to ensure that the employees or people involved in the process support and have belief in the change (Auster, 2018). It stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. The first step is to spread awareness by communicating to the employees of the change that is occurring and reasons why the change is occurring. Then inspire desire to support the change by the employees so that they are doing it naturally than coercing them to do so. It is important to also impart knowledge. This can be done through job aids, training programs, tutorials, checklists and coaching programs. Improving the ability of employees through evaluations and feedback will also be important. Finally, reinforcing the changes whereby the employees don’t go back to the old ways of doing things. This can be achieved through giving rewards and incentives to the employees.

Another change management tool that will be used is Culture Mapping. A culture map is a tool used to visualize the culture of the company which is influenced by norms, values and employee behavior (Auster, 2018). This will assist to know the employees with potential to be positive enablers and ways to reduce risk during the project. This will involve, identifying the subcultures that is different groups that belong to different subcultures in the organization. For instance finance, IT, marketing and sales teams in ABC Electronics. Then interviewing each of the groups to be able to find out the cultural enablers or blockers that have been reinforced by management either intentionally or unintentionally. This information will then be organized. The information can be organized into behaviors, blockers, enablers, desired and current outcomes.

The other tool that can be used is the Forced Field Analysis also referred to as a barrier and aids analysis. This helps to investigate forces that are for and against implementation of change. This will involve defining the plan for change that is defining the goal for the change. Then brainstorm on internal and external factors that are for the change. Then brainstorm also on forces that are against the change.

The other tool that would be important is the Stakeholder Analysis. This involves identifying people that will be affected by the project both internal and external. The stakeholders should be prioritized into those that are affected and care about the project and those that are unaffected and do not care about the project. Then they are placed in different categories in what is called a stakeholder map.

The Kotter’s 8 step model is also another change management tool that can be used on ABC Electronics change plan. There are eight steps used to manage change in this model (Rajan, 2017).

The first one is to create a sense of urgency so that the employees get the motivation to embrace the change quickly. This can be done through use of SWOT analysis to show the opportunities and threats that are in the industry. This can also be used to show how the stakeholders will be affected by change or the lack of change.

Then building a guiding coalition that is forming strong teams made of influential people from all expertise and statuses that can convince people on the necessity of change.

The third step is formation of a strategic vision and initiatives; creating a vision that is clear on the necessity of change and the reason to involve the employees in it. Link values considered important by the company to the goal.

The fourth step is to clearly communicate the vision to the teams every now and then to have it embedded in their minds.

Then enabling action by removing any obstacles that are preventing implementation of change. This should be followed by generation of short term wins that will encourage the employees. This involves creating short term targets that will lead to quick wins.

Then build on the change by identifying the right moves and building momentum. Finally making any change gained part of the culture.

References

Auster, E.R. and Hillenbrand, L., 2018. Summary Of Stragility Diagnostic Tools. In Stragility (pp. 135-140). University of Toronto Press.

Jayatilleke, S., & Lai, R. (2018). A systematic review of requirements change management. Information and Software Technology, 93, 163-185.

Rajan, R., & Ganesan, R. (2017). A critical analysis of John P. Kotter's change management framework. Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and Management, 7(7), 181-203.

Rosenbaum, D., More, E., & Steane, P. (2018). Planned organisational change management: Forward to the past? An exploratory literature review. Journal of Organizational Change Management.