ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
B.R. Richardson-Case Study
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ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
Name
Class
Subject
Unit Code
Professor’s Name
Date
Letter of Transmittal
To: Richard Bowman
Manager, B.R. Richardson Timber Product Corporation, Papoose, Oregon
From: Jack Lawler
Date: 15 September 2017
Subject: Transmittal of Report about introducing organizational changes for the development of the organization.
My staff and I have analyzed the working of B.R. Richardson Timber Product Corporations and identified the need for change in the organizational working theory and need to introduce some specific training sessions to meet different needs of the company for the organizational development. I am gratified to present the enclosed report, which compiles examination for each alternative.
Based on the conducted research, I recommend the company to introduce safety procedures in the production unit as it affects the morale of the employees majorly. The use of effective communication between the employees will help in clearing issues arising due to the misunderstanding arising due to lack of effective communication in the organization. There is need of defining specific role and responsibilities of the employees working in the organization that can happen by developing the organizational structure in the company. The reasons for the change are described in the report and are based on the management’s projections of anticipated company’s growth, development and the profit to be earned by the company with effects of such change management.
I would like to forward my thanks to the employees and the management of B.R. Richardson who gave full assistance to my staff and me in developing the given report. Thank you for your time and feel free to discuss the report in detail or for additional information.
Enclosure- Final Report.
Executive Summary
‘B.R. Richardson Timber Product Corporation’ is a company that is running its business in Papoose from last fifty-six years. The company has seen a lot of ups and downs, but with the support of the employees, the organization is running effortlessly. Due to recent incidents, the employees of the company are losing their motivation and morale and for that Jack Lawler is hired. The report presented here identifies the issues the company is facing and what strategies, theories, and models can be applied in the company to manage the challenges. The challenges are identified by the head of consulting and development firm Jack Lawler, and same suggests improvement through training and development programs and change management. After the identification of the issues and giving the solution, a single strategy is defined that is the change management theory that can help in majorly resolving maximum issues the company is presently facing. What actions are required to implement the change management is also a part of the report. In the end, the conclusion is given that summarizes the findings of the report along with some recommendations to improve the working environment further in the Lumber Division.
Contents
Introduction 4
Back Ground 4
Aims and Objective 4
Scope 4
Organizational Development of Lumber Company 5
Issues in the company 5
Interventions to Resolve Issues 6
Theory of Change Management 7
Action Need to be Taken 8
Conclusion 9
Recommendation 10
References 12
Introduction
With the increasing globalization, the nature and working of the organizations also demands, the change in the process and working style. The change in the organization is done with the aim of the development of the employees and management which ultimately result in the development of the organization as a whole. To explain the need and identification procedure of understanding the change required in an organization and its development, a case study of ‘B.R. Richardson Timber Product Corporation’ is taken into consideration in the given report (Koirala, 2015).
Back Ground
Professor Jack Lawler is being asked to provide consultation on the motivation and organizational development plan for Papoose Laminators, a division of ‘B.R. Richardson Timber Products Corporation.’ The company is facing issues in managing the staff and boosting their moral. The poor handling of human resources and undefined roles and responsibilities are acting against the profiteering Lumber Business (Brand, Croonen & Welsh, 2016).
Aims and Objective
The aim for the report is to identify the issues that are the reason of low sales and moral of the employees. After identifying the issues, the recommendation will be made to bring improvement in the overall working of the organization.
Scope
The company and its members are running on traditional methods of working, and there are many areas in need of improvement in the organization. Though the human capital of the company is majorly dedicated to the organization and has a lot of leadership potential which can provide the expected results to the organization after application of change for the organizational development (Stoltzfus, Stohl & Seibold, 2011).
Organizational Development of Lumber Company
Issues in the company
The management of the company is looking for improving the performance of the employees and the overall development of the organization and for that Jack Lawler’s consulting firm is hired. The analysis of the company shows the following issues: –
Lack of HRM department- Following the traditional methods the company is still running under the stick of the owner who does not visit the division anymore and the subordinates are running the division. Nobody has an identified roles and responsibilities, and the hiring process of the employees is also very poor. This is affecting the overall working of the company as no working process are being followed or worked on properly (Block, 2013).
Lack of effective communication- The biggest issue identified in the organization was the lack of communication between the employees and the management at hierarchy level or on the flat level. People working in different shifts are not aware of what is happening in another shift, no schedules are formed, and even the organizational goals are not clear to employees.
Lack of Human Resources- The Lumber market is identified to be profit earning, and the unit has a good share in the lumber market, but the company does not have sufficient human resources to manage the work taken by the division. This is affecting the employees as they are over-burdened with work which is affecting their personal life as well (O’Connor, Bigelow, Langlois, Hutchison & Tyrrell, 2016).
Lack of Safety Measures- There is a high need of specific safety measures those need to be followed by the management of the company. There is many health and safety issues in the division like no health insurance, dangerous situation to work in, damaged machinery, no or cheap quality safety gears that do not provide any protection, and falling lumbers. The lack of safe environment is affecting the moral of employees.
Unidentified roles and responsibilities- The human resources working in the division have no idea who is hired for what. There is no specific organizational structure present in the organization and due to that most of the people are working as per their choice and are not aware what the other person is there for, which create conflicts of actions and thoughts between the employees (Karp & Helgo, 2008).
Bad working conditions- the working environment affects a lot on the moral of the employees while working in an organization. The working environment of the lumbers division is not at all good which is affecting the people working for the organization negatively.
Interventions to Resolve Issues
The actions or interventions that can be taken up by the company to resolve the above-given issues are as follows: –
Training and Development
Due to the extreme turnover ratio of the employees at Lumber Division, the employees are not appropriately trained as per the requirement of the organization. The lack of training is resulting is mistakes and even accidents on the working site. There is an extreme need of proper training and development program for the employees of the organization. This will help the employees in learning the organizational processes and also help them developing career-wise (Moffat, 2017).
Health and Safety Measures
The company is need of standardized health and safety measures. The dangerous equipment and unorganized working environment of the organization are affecting the moral of the employees and lack of any proper safety measures affects the employees’ dedication negatively. The introduction of employee insurance and better safety measures will help the employees to take work seriously and with more dedication.
Human Resource Department
The company is need of a proper human resource department that will help in recruiting and selecting efficient human capital for the company, maintain the shifts, and define the roles and responsibilities properly. The HR department can develop training and development programs also for the employees in the area of need (Bulut & Culha, 2010).
Theory of Change Management
The management of the company currently operating is authoritative and unorganized. The company is need of more defined and cooperative management that can help in resolving the issues arising in the company. The owner of the company has the traditional ways of managing the place which are being effective presently in the organization. The new ways need to be introduced in the company and that can be only possible if the company introduces a new management as a department that handles the day to day working of the company and defiles the roles and responsibilities of the employees to achieve the organizational goals.
The human resource department has different roles while working in an organization. Introducing Human Resource Department in the company will help in most of the issues arising in the Lumber Division (Erkutlu, 2011). How Human Resource Department can resolve the issues at Lumber Division is explained below: –
Managing Human Resources- The main issue in the company is the lack of appropriate human resources which results in overburdened present employees and unfinished tasks. The HR manager will have the duty to identify the need for human resource need for a job and appropriate actions will be taken to hire the new employees or to promote the current employee to the place. This will reduce the burden on the employees and help them in performing in the more efficient way (Bambacas, 2010).
Recruitment and selection procedure- The HR manager will manage the process of recruitment and selection procedure of finding the right candidate for the job opening in the Lumber Division. This will help in managing the work load of the employees working in the organization.
Defined Organizational Structure- The HR department will help in defining the correct organizational structure of the company as it will explain the roles and responsibilities of individuals working in the company. A well-defined organizational structure will help the company to achieve the organizational goals of the company (Gabriel, 2015).
Training and Development- Once the roles and responsibility will be given to the employees there will be a need of proper training and development of the employees and that can be managed by the HR manager. An HR manager helps in preparing the training and development program for the employees that will improve their efficiency as well as help in achieving the aims of the company.
Team-Building- The HR manager helps in making individuals work as a team. Working as a team help in reaching the assigned task quickly and efficiently and that needs the inspiration and working from the HR manager.
Safety and Health Measures- A team could be built only when the employees are motivated, know their roles and responsibilities and feel safe and happy with the working environment. Currently this is not the situation at Lumber Division which demands the proper safety and health measures which can be checked and applied by the HR manager, or a person responsible to manage the health and safety measures can be recruited by the HR manager (Biswas & Kapil, 2017).
Action Need to be Taken
To introduce the change management theory in the organization and bringing the Human Resource Department in the organization there are certain actions that need to be taken by the company and its current management. These actions include the following: –
Gain Consensus- The people associated with the change or the people who will get affected by the change should agree with the planning of the change management.
Building a team- Change management cannot be applied alone. There is a need of excellent team that can help in properly implementing the change management in the organization.
Development of a practical and reachable plan- The plan to implement the changes and that plan should be well-communicated to the members associated with the change (Boxall, 2013).
Resources- All resources required to implement the change plan like paper work, authorized personnel, equipment, and capital are available for use.
Realistic Schedule- Nothing can be achieved in a flash and same goes with the change management plan. A realistic schedule should be developed to make the implementation of the change management successful.
Communicate- the change and its progress should be communicated to the people associated and their feedback should also be taken to avoid any issues (Gashi, 2013).
Conclusion
The organizational development is an essential feature to achieve success in the changing and globalized nature of organizations. Organizational development may include the need of bringing a change in the traditional ways followed in the organization and implement new methods of management. This change need to be managed and that process is known as change management. The repost presented here is a great example to identify the need of change management and introducing it to the organization. B.R. Richardson is a company with four division, Jack Lawler was appointed to develop a motivational and development plan for the Lumber Division of the company. After visiting the division and meeting the employees working for the organization it was identified that there are many issues in the company that are in need of resolving.
Resolving the issues identified in the Lumber Division needs a drastic change in the working of the organization and that is huge task for the management. A change management plan is suggested that includes the introduction of HR department in the organization. An HR manager has many duties in an organization. An HR manager in the organization can bring huge changes but in an effective way also the identification of other issues can also be done by the HR manager. Hence, after analysing the whole structure, people, processes, and strategy of Lumber Division it is clear that the organization is in great need of introducing the change management for the purpose of organizational management but there are many hindrances that the company should identify while planning the change management and implementing it.
Recommendation
Certain recommendation for the Lumber Division of B.R. Richardson Timber Product Organization are as follows: –
Effective Communication- There is an extreme need of providing communication training to the employees working in the Lumber Division. The communication gap between the employees at the flat level and also the lack of communication between the employees and the management is affecting the working of the organization.
Technology- there is a need of introducing new technology in the organization. There is no computer in the organization and most of the work is done by hand which takes a lot of time people doing the secretarial job. Machinery has also turned old which is affecting the work time spend in producing the end product of the company.
Infrastructure- The infrastructure of the unit is very old and lack ventilation and proper working space. The re-structuring of the manufacturing area for improving the working experience of the employees is recommended.
References
Bambacas, M. (2010). Organizational handling of careers influences managers’ organizational commitment. Journal Of Management Development, 29(9), 807-827.
Biswas, S., & Kapil, K. (2017). Linking perceived organizational support and organizational justice to employees’ in-role performance and organizational cynicism through organizational trust. Journal Of Management Development, 36(5), 696-711.
Block, B. (2013). Plan Well, Plan Often. The Journal Of Wildlife Management, 77(3), 427-427.
Boxall, P. (2013). Mutuality in the management of human resources: assessing the quality of alignment in employment relationships. Human Resource Management Journal, 23(1), 3-17.
Brand, M., Croonen, E., & Welsh, D. (2016). Successfully managing chain-wide transformational change. Organizational Dynamics, 45(2), 94-103.
Bulut, C., & Culha, O. (2010). The effects of organizational training on organizational commitment. International Journal Of Training And Development, 14(4), 309-322.
Erkutlu, H. (2011). The moderating role of organizational culture in the relationship between organizational justice and organizational citizenship behaviors. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 32(6), 532-554.
Gabriel, K. (2015). Organizational Development, Organizational Culture and Organizational Change. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Gashi, R. (2013). Strategic Human Resources Management: Human Resources or Human Capital. Academic Journal Of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Karp, T., & Helgo, T. (2008). From Change Management to Change Leadership: Embracing Chaotic Change in Public Service Organizations. Journal Of Change Management, 8(1), 85-96.
Koirala, J. (2015). Importance of Managing Employee’s Attitudes for Organizational Change and Development. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Moffat, P. (2017). A credible plan for change?. Practice Management, 27(3), 5-5.
O’Connor, S., Bigelow, C., Langlois, M., Hutchison, J., & Tyrrell, A. (2016). P152 Advance Care Planning Innovation – Listen, Plan, Act , Learn, Change. Journal Of Pain And Symptom Management, 52(6), e106.
Stoltzfus, K., Stohl, C., & Seibold, D. (2011). Managing organizational change: paradoxical problems, solutions, and consequences. Journal Of Organizational Change Management, 24(3), 349-367.