Leading Change Strategic Plan: Delta Pacific Case Study
Background/issues
Delta Pacific is an example of a company that had to change its business strategy to secure its place in the market due to the adverse effects of globalization. Changing the company’s business model from manufacturing to service/consultancy presented numerous potential benefits, challenges, and uncertainties. There are multiple internal and external challenges that Delta Pacific has been going through in its bid to change the traditional organizational culture that involved close interaction of the workforce with the clientele, such that a special bond was formed. Previous studies have shown that a company’s sales force is affected more by changing the corporate strategy from manufacturing to service-oriented. The issues faced by the company in its bid to change its corporate strategy can be categorized into two dimensions. The salesforce dimension and consumer dimensions. Despite rigorous and lengthy training of the sales force, most of them could not align themselves with the new organizational culture. Thus, many training99 quit their positions to pursue other avenues that provided them with better career growth and development opportunities. This can also be described as a leadership blunder, as such a change in the corporate strategy should be implemented in phases. Another issue that Delta Pacific faces in its implementation process of the service-oriented strategy is reduced physical contact of the sales force with the clientele. Previously, the sales forces spent more time building the brand image of the company’s products in the market. The fact that the long training hours have significantly reduced the sales force’s contact time with the consumers further widens the gap.
Proposed Change Management Strategy
The change strategy that seems most appropriate for Delta Pacific follows the 8 step change management model proposed by Kotter. The company’s issues after changing its corporate strategy from manufacturing to consultancy service delivery can be attributed to the lack of adherence/reference to the methods and framework of change management and leadership. The steps as per the model are outlined below:
- Increase the level of urgency
- Create a strong team to spearhead and guide change
- Have a clear vision
- Communicate the vision and proposed changes
- Create capacity for action
- Provide short term benefits
- Monitor and control the implementation of changes
- Making the changes persist.
In the first step of the proposed strategy, the management has to create a list of what works, what cannot work, and common areas in which the changes could fail. In this stage, the management team creates a compelling story to initiate change in the organization and stimulate action. The narrative also begins with an image of the expected outcome in mind. The strategy will also ensure that a big team is comprised of employees from diverse skill, experience, and employment levels capable of guiding a change of large magnitude and ensuring its success. It will also be crucial to ensure that the change is positioned on a compelling image of the desired outcome. The role of creating a clear vision and ways of achieving it is usually played by the guiding team drafted in step #2. The proposed strategy will put in place tools to help provide information to the organization’s stakeholders for them to buy into the change and transform their behavior accordingly. Also, the new strategy will adopt measures meant to empower the main drivers and agents of change. Such individuals’ efforts are rewarded through ways intended to encourage them to take further action towards the realization of the new vision. Short terms are an effective way of nourishing the spirit of change among the stakeholders, building momentum of the change process, and neutralizing critics. The change process’s momentum grows significantly because employees have short term milestones, whose successful accomplishment means rewards (Al-Ali et al., 2017). The proposed model will also reduce hurdles that may derail the train of change by encouraging an organizational culture built on trust. The employees will be trusted to perform their duties as per their milestones, provided that the management keeps them motivated. The organizational culture is further strengthens to ensure that the change sticks. If entrenched in the corporate culture of Delta Pacific, the winning behavior will make the transition to consultancy service delivery from manufacturing more smooth.
Leader Mindset Needed to Create a New Environment
For the successful transition of Delta Pacific from manufacturing to consultancy services, the leadership must keep in mind what used to work before it doesn’t work in this technology age. After all, the company couldn’t keep up with the market pressures and rapid technological advancement. The CEO of Delta Pacific must devise new methods of making the employees of the company buy into the new vision, create an organizational culture that is centered on achieving it, and building momentum based on a drive among the workforce created by short term and long term wins/rewards (Dumas & Beinecke, 2018). This, alongside other support initiatives such as performance appraisals and skills training and development, needs to be based on the new leadership mindset.
Comparing the ADKAR Change Model and Kotter’s Eight-Step Model
Advantages
- According to Das (2019), the main focus of the ADKAR approach is on the results rather than the responsibilities, while Kotter’s Model employees’ tolerability and participation for accomplishing the overall process is the point of prominence.
- In The ADKAR approach, change progress in each step at a personal level can be measured. Any breaches recognized can then be remedied, whereas, in Kotter’s Model approach, preparation and building tolerance for change other than the actual change process is the main agenda.
- It is not the processes that expedite change, but in the long run, the people are, is acknowledged in the ADKAR approach. In contrast, the success of Kotter’s approach’s overall process depends on the employees’ envelopment and acceptability, as this is where the emphasis is directed.
Disadvantages
- In the ADKAR model, the perfect provision of course and steps required to reach the absolute purpose and program management is unheeded. In contrast, in Kotter’s model, a linear step-progression path is used, resulting in significant consequences if a single step is missed.
- The ADKAR model is majorly suited for smaller change initiatives focusing on people; the only element is inadequate to make sweeping change happen, whereas, in The Kotter’s approach, rooms for contribution are discouraged as it is a top-down model.
Similarities of The ADKAR approach and Kotter’s Model
- Both approaches’ primary emphasis is on the employees rather than the whole organization or system.
- They both emphasize eliminating causes of resistance to change.
Differences
- Kotter’s model mainly concentrates on leading a change, not managing through senior management, whereas The ADKAR approach focuses on change by doing it with individual employees.
- Plainly stating the need to institute and communicate an idea and plan is the Kotter’s way of executing the change process. In contrast, the provision of the required information to individual employees for the change process actualization is the ADKAR model route of execution.
- The top management is entitled to making the changes other than individual employees in Kotter’s model, unlike in the ADKAR approach to change leadership strategy.
Kotter’s Eight-Step Model Approach best suites and compliments my strategy to change leadership as it;
- Specifies that top levels of management carry the great responsibility to lead organizations through a change. An upward way of approaching the change process may be possible, but the involvement of the leaders is needed in one way or another. Earning top management backing and support is vital as it is their responsibility to approve or implement any change processes.
- Enhance emphasis on eliminating causes of resistance to change by employees by encouraging creatively solving problems and risk-taking.
- Gives a comprehensive explanation of how the overall change should be made.
- Idealizes in quickening the change momentum and its continuity until it is made and becomes a part of its culture.
Change Leadership Team
To achieve DCP’s dream to change for the betterment of service delivery and maximization of profits, the following team is necessary to see over the change process;
- Top management officials, for example, the chief executive officer who will mobilize the chief operations officer who will, in turn, liaise with departmental managers as they are who will now identify employees who envision a more fantastic future of the organization if the change is executed.
- After undergoing training for their news roles and were okay to pursue their new redesigned jobs, sales representatives should be at the forefront for consideration to the team. They should be influential in convincing others who sort other positions within the company to minimize resistance to change. The inclusion of people of diverse expertise in leadership scope and are trusted and looked upon by other employees should be included.
Since the model for change leadership strategy we are employing in this process is the Kotter’s method, the necessity of the senior management in this team is to spark the urgency for change to create motivation to getting the process to start (Burnes, Hughes & By, 2018). This is done openly and truthfully, beginning a conversation about the market’s recent experiences and the competition aspect.
After the conversation starts, departmental managers are then charged with the responsibility of mobilizing employees to start embracing change and creating trust and commitment amongst the team members through the employment of their powers (expertise, political prominence, position).
What Leaders Should Expect During the Change Process
- Resistance to change by some employees
- A possibility of structures or processes that may get in the way of the change process.
- Drop in the amount of profits made as employees get accustomed to their new roles.
- The heat from competitors as they work towards outdoing them.
Organizational Barriers Likely to Occur During Culture Change
- Inadequate resources – as a result of employees’ possible resistance to change, the organization may require to hire change-oriented personnel. The cost of recruiting and hiring may be costly, and the organization may be unable to meet the demand, thus slowing the change process.
- Organization complexity – complex systems, products, and processes if they are developed. The employees were not used to them, resulting in an emergence of a barricade to change process, lowering the organization’s capability to achieve its dream.
Employee Resistance Behavior Likely to Occur During Culture Change
- Boycotting and striking to slow down the change process – employees may refuse to report to work, or if they do, working is not a priority they have to eliminate room for change.
- An increase in the number of quitting employees and transfer requests leaves the organization at a place where it needs to recruit and hire new employees. They have no experience whatsoever in the companies’ operations to require a culture change resulting in consumption time training and orienting the new employees, which could have been used in the change process.
Strategies to Combat Barriers to Change and Resistance Behaviors
- Isolate the specific employees resisting change and guide them through to understand the needs for change. This will reduce the influence of resistance to other employees and instead bring onboard individuals with a better understanding and focused on implementing the change process.
- Offering tokens of appreciation to people who make the change happen. Individuals who otherwise had resisted change will envy the cooperating ones and change their minds to receive the rewards.
- Align and certify that the organization’s structures, job descriptions, and performance and reparation systems with your vision.
- Pinpoint or recruit change leaders whose priorities are majorly delivery of change.
Behaviors that DPC’s Leaders Need to Exhibit
The definition of organizational culture is based on the beliefs that guide employees in distinguishing dos and don’ts. Therefore, corporate culture is dependent on a set of values and perceptions by employees regarding their work. Previous studies have shown that culture can be transmitted among social group members through learning (Burnes et al., 2018). It is inline with such studies that I believe that the leadership of Delta Pacificcompany should behave in a manner that will reinforce an organizational culture that aligns with the company’s vision (Al-Hussami et al., 2018). The company’s leadership should behave in a manner that shows unity and commitment towards achieving the new vision. They should also lead by example when it comes to showing subordinate staff that they are considered in the proposed change strategy and are involved in the implementation process (Elkington et al., 2017). Because of the challenges faced by the company in realigning the sales workforce with the new service-based corporate strategy, the leadership of Delta Pacific should behave in ways that show the employees that they (the management) are committed to adapting to the changes despite the challenges. Consistent behavior trickles down from the management to the staff to create a strong organizational culture that is goal-oriented and provides a conducive environment for their achievement.
Top Mistakes Leaders Make During an Organizational Culture Change
Implementation of new organizational culture often fails due to mistakes made by leaders. Leaders should follow an approach that ensures the optimum balance between the different facets of organizational culture: objectives, values, attitudes, assumptions, and roles. This is because a slight mistake increases the resistance of the aspects to change. According to Chong et al. (2018), over-reliance on coercion, underutilization of management tools, poor communication, and initiating the change process are some of the most common mistakes that leaders make. Leaders should understand that they cannot force their staff to share their belief in their vision/goals or accept certain values (Farrell, 2018). The employees should be allowed to create their vision for the organization if the change is implemented according to their personal development goals. Also, ensuring communication is done horizontally and leveraging available management tools to engage the employees in the change process will avoid some of the issues presented by the mistakes.
References
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Al-Hussami, M., Hammad, S., & Alsoleihat, F. (2018). The influence of leadership behavior, organizational commitment, organizational support, subjective career success on organizational readiness for change in healthcare organizations. Leadership in Health Services https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/LHS-06-2017-0031/full/html?fullSc=1
Burnes, B., Hughes, M., & By, R. T. (2018). Reimagining organisational change leadership. Leadership, 14(2), 141-158. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1742715016662188
Chong, M. P., Shang, Y., Richards, M., & Zhu, X. (2018). Two sides of the same coin? Leadership and organizational culture. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/LODJ-05-2017-
Das, V. (2019). Comparative study of Kotter’s and Hiatt’s (ADKAR) change models. Journal of Leadership and Management, 1(15). http://leadership.net.pl/index.php/JLM/article/view/147
Dumas, C., & Beinecke, R. H. (2018). Change leadership in the 21st century. Journal of Organizational Change Management. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JOCM-02-2017-0042/full/html?fullSc=1
Elkington, R., Pearse, N. J., Moss, J., Van der Steege, M., & Martin, S. (2017). Global leaders’ perceptions of elements required for effective leadership development in the twenty-first century. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. http://chlnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017ElkingtonPearseMoss.pdf
Farrell, M. (2018). Leadership reflections: organizational culture. Journal of Library Administration, 58(8), 861-872. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01930826.2018.1516949
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