Beer’s model states that change is more complex than the Lewin model

Beer’s model states that change is more complex than the Lewin model Introduction Change is an inevitable part of life. Change is also an important part of a business life; it allows a business to adapt to its environment and to improve its market position. Change signifies the willingness of the affected parties to embrace and function in a newly established order and their commitment to effect and implement the changes (Armstrong, 2004). The generic definition of change as defined by Hughes (2006) is any alteration in the status quo. Changes within an organisation may take place for many reasons. It is sometimes done in order to introduce a new more efficient way of working or producing a product. It is sometimes done to re-organise the organizations work force. Organisations will evolve and change within the course of their lives. Change management is referred to as the process of which change is executed and developed within the organization. Change is something that affects all business and therefore all business managers must prepare their personnel and proc esses for change. Theories of Change Management Changes in the business environment are happening all the time and organisations must change the way they operate to compete effectively in their market. In order to change organisations must adopt change theories and approaches however with so many different approaches available an organisation must choose an approach that best suits its needs. Different managers will have different theories as to how change should be implemented and executed. Kurt Lewin is considered the forefather of planned approaches to change. Kurt Lewins Freeze Phases [Source: Higgs Rowland, 2005] Lewins model shows that change involves a move from one static state via a state of activity to another static state. Beers model states that change is more complex than the Lewin model and requires a more in-depth look at the process of change. Beers model focuses on a six-step process to achieve effective change, these steps concentrate on task alignmentwhereby employees roles, responsibilities and relationships are seen as the main component to bringing about effective change. The stages are: Mobilise commitment to change through joint diagnosis. Develop a shared vision of how to organise. Foster consensus, competence and commitment to shared vision. Spread the word about the change. Institutionalise the change through formal policies Another model that is often used is the Kotter Model. Kotter developed what he believed to be the eight critical steps to the successful implementation of change these steps are: Establish a sense of urgency Examining market and competitive realities and identifying and discussing crises, potential crises and opportunities. Form a powerful, guiding coalition Assembling enough people with the enough power to lead the change. Create a vision Create a vision to help direct the change and develop strategies for achieving the vision Communicate the vision Use every medium possible to communicate the vision and strategies to be implemented Empower others to act on the vision Get rid of obstacles to change and encourage risk taking and nontraditional ideas. Plan and create short term wins Plan for visible performance results and recognise and reward employees who are involved in the improvements Consolidate improvements and produce still more change Hiring, promoting and developing employees who can implement the vision. Institutionalising New Approaches Develop the means to ensure leadership development and succession. Impact and Barriers If change is not implemented in the correct manner, the impact upon the business can be devastating. Some of the workforce may decide to leave as they do not agree with what is be implemented and that leaves managers trying to fulfil orders or provide services with half a workforce which puts pressure on the rest of the workforce. Communication is key to help reduce barriers, for any change strategy to achieve its goal every member of staff within the organisation must be constantly communicating with executive managers. If staff members ask, Why do we need to do this? a manager must be able to give them a valid answer. Change normally affects both a businesss internal and external environments. Internally staff may feel that they have been left out of the loop and are just being told that they must accept the change or the reverse may happen the staff may be contributing heavily to the change and helping to direct the new vision. Externally an organisation may make an impact on thei r market by promoting a new service or product. There are a number of barriers to successful change both in terms of actually implementing the change and sustaining it. Employees must be able to flourish within an every changing environment to allow them to contribute to an organisations success. Listed below are some of the barriers an organisation may have to overcome to implement change successfully: Not enough understanding about the change itself Lack of leadership Lack of focus and strong project management of the change No engagement and/or buy-in of key stakeholders No clear process for managing endings and beginnings, and co-ordinating the change process Successes are not recognised, communicated Progress is not measured and the learning is not reviewed Change is very tiring and is often something that requires extra effort people need to see that this effort is paying off and their contribution is valued Conclusion Change must be managed, implemented, and executed in such a way that there is always communication between staff and managers. This allows for equilibrium and encourages growth and innovation within a company. Each change management theory has its strengths and weaknesses and each can be adapted to an organisations needs but I believe that managers must invite all staff to offer ideas on a creating a new vision for the company and thus driving the company forward as a whole. REFERENCES Hughes, M. (2006). Change Management: A Critical Perspective. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. ISBN: 1-84398-070-3. Armstrong, M (2004). Managing Organizational Change in Nigeria Manufacturing Enterprises: Lessons from the Unilever Nigeria Plc. AC Associated Content. Retrieved from http://www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/?doi=ibm.2009.15.21 Syque. (2007). Lewins Freeze Phases. Changing Minds. Retrieved from Higgs, Malcolm, and John Wren. The Leadership of Change: a Study of Change Leadership within the UK Royal Air Force. Henley-on-Thames: Henley Management College, 2005. Print

Goldstone needs to clearly define his expectations

It is clear from this case study that if Goldstone does not improve his performance he will lose his current management position. This report identifies and analyses the main issues and problems that Goldstone faces in his new role at Bulwark and also provides an improvement plan to lift performance.Over the period of 6 months since Goldstone accepted the branch management role, it has become evident that there are a number of problems and issues which need to be addressed, centred around his shortage of managerial behaviours (Yukl, 1998).Goldstone needs to clearly define his expectations of the sales team and then provide the required direction and support to facilitate the team consistently meeting those targets and expectations. Analysis Goldstone took an opportunity to move from a professional sales role into a management position at the urging of his previous manager and in the belief that he possessed the skills and knowledge to be a successful manager. He saw the role requirem ents from the biased viewpoint of a professional sales representative (Beyer et al, 1997) and once he started in the position was somewhat amazed to discover he was â€Å"†¦so wrong†.This revelation of the role demands, coupled with a shortage of Yukl’s managerial behaviours to allow him to adapt, has overwhelmed Goldstone in the first 6 months. It is likely that there was no formal management training program for Bulwark employees as part of an ongoing succession planning process, otherwise Goldstone would have had a more realistic expectation of the role requirements and had knowledge of the managerial skills needed to lead the sales team. This lack of management training is a shortcoming in Bulwark’s succession planning strategy.From the information provided in the case study it is assumed that the sales team is made up of a number of reps with varying degrees of self efficacy (Bandura, 1997). This is supported by the results of the survey conducted by G oldstone that showed an even 3-way split between satisfaction with his direction, neutral and wanting more direction. It is assumed that those with a high level of self efficacy, most likely developed through experience, are satisfied with his direction or are neutral as they are able to apply behavioural self management (BSM) techniques (Kanter and Schefft, 1988) and therefore feel that they require less direction.It is this group of reps which have driven the achievement of sales quotas in the second quarter. Those who want more direction are likely to be those who have a lower level of self efficacy and thus an increased need for development and mentoring. Goldstone’s inability to recognise the need for coaching and mentoring has resulted in significant problems managing two of his reps, Durkee and Puckett. He has provided Durkee with some support to help him through his personal problems, however has not addressed his performance issues.Durkee requires some coaching and m entoring to give him the skills to make the sale and build his self efficacy. He is already motivated as evidenced by his long hours and attention at sales meetings. There may be an opportunity to change his role within the sales team to better utilise his strengths to achieve targets and expectations. Puckett also needed some coaching and mentoring to assist in building her sales skills.Unfortunately Goldstone’s response to her approach for that assistance was to take away her delegated responsibility by completing the task himself which ultimately resulted in her leaving the company. Goldstone is also having problems managing Skrow, his branch’s top performer. Goldstone managed the conflict situation at the first sales meeting poorly when Skrow openly criticised the new investment products. It is clear from that incident that Skrow will require some extrinsic motivation if he is expected to sell the new products.In addition to this issue Skrow’s feeling of a l ack of equity in his treatment (Steers and Black, 1994) when Goldstone brought over the top performer from Spinnaker and gave him a corner office, may result in a loss in motivation to work at Bulwark. Improvement Opportunities I have identified two specific improvement opportunities to undertake if I was Goldstone. Firstly I would develop and implement a plan to improve my managerial skills and develop the required behaviours.Secondly, and concurrently, I would develop and implement a management by objectives (MBO) program (Managing People and Organisations, 2006) based on the targets and expectations set by corporate. To develop an improvement plan for my managerial skills I would initially seek some coaching from within the company. MacKinley has shown evidence of his willingness to assist and provide advice and Slake has offered his assistance on more than one occasion. I would arrange this coaching to occur on a regular basis, say 2 hours per week on the phone, and use real lif e scenarios as the basis for the coaching and advice.One obstacle that may arise is that MacKinley and Slake cannot provide coaching in all relevant aspects of management behaviour. This could be overcome by using external management consultants to supplement the internal coaching and provide a check that all aspects are being adequately addressed. The success of this coaching program could be measured through direct performance feedback from Ludlow and also utilising surveys of the sales reps to gauge their happiness with specific aspects of my management behaviour.

“EU Design’s Rise in the Apparel and Fashion Industry Essay

Current Management Style EU Design’s management style was founded in a very small business environment. There was little standardization of individual tasks. In a small business, everyone on staff is expected to be involved in all day-to-day business activities. This creates a very informal relationship between workers and management. In addition to the small business aspect, EU Design is in a creative industry. Many of the people in this industry are not trained or educated in formal business practices. A creative mindset takes precedence over the structure of the business. For EU Design, quality of product is not an issue at the present time. The company is ISO 9000 certified with SA8000 accreditation. However, growing into a larger company requires a more formal management style to ensure this quality is kept up to standard. EU Design needs to develop a mission statement and corporate vision for the employees to have a common goal as a move toward a more formal management style. Without a defined mission statement, employees will have their own ideas of the company’s goals. Once a mission statement and business strategy is established, EU Design needs to identify which performance metric is most essential to the continued growth of the company. Balanced Scorecard While financials such as return on capital and cash flow are imperative to the sustainability of a company, customer-related metrics such as quality and timeliness of delivery are of upmost importance to keep the clients who will provide the profit. Customer feedback and surveys will provide the measurement of the value being created for clients. This will help EU Design’s management focus more on what the client’s actual needs are instead of focusing on what they perceive customer needs to be. An example of the balanced scorecard would resemble the exhibit below: Objectives Measures Financial perspective – Increasing profitability and revenue – Return on assets -Increased sales revenue – Profit ratio Customer perspective – Customer loyalty – Attaining new customers – Orders from current customers – Orders from new customers Internal perspective – Adherence to schedule – Customer driven products – Productivity – Ratio of actual delivery times to planned schedule – Ratio of on time deliveries – Number of new collections and designs added Learning and Growth perspective – Increased communication within the company – Increased education of employees – Number of monthly meetings held – Total budget for education courses – Number of employees attending courses Internal inadequacies need to be pinpointed for optimal efficiency. Formal procedures and work practices should be established and documented. This will highlight aspects such as time management, efficiencies, and employee competency. This will allow management to keep abreast of the working environment and augment employee stability. Fashion trends come and go very quickly, and being able to recognize what is trending and the ability to supply quickly is imperative to success. Management must track trends and concentrate on key suppliers that are providing the product for current trends, and all employee efforts must be directed toward this goal. Establishment of clear-cut goals and procedures is necessary to achieve  this. Formalization of management needs to begin from the top down. Berardi is too involved in day-to-day activities and cannot see the big picture of the company. He is functioning as an account manager and sales representative rather than performing duties of a CEO. He may not be able to make difficult decisions to cut or grow a particular segment because of his close involvement. Berardi needs to bring an employee up to take over his accounts so he can concentrate on his role of CEO. A new organizational structure would resemble the Exhibit 1. There needs to be standardization of communication between the two offices to ensure that all client information and requirements are shared and understood. Regular videoconference meetings with the staff of both offices can be implemented. Given the time difference one office would have to come in very early or the other office would stay late. This may be difficult but should be adhered to so all employees are receiving the same information. This could be tried on a monthly basis. These meetings would help to create a more cohesive environment between New York and Hong Kong. This would also give the Hong Kong office a chance to provide requested feedback to New York. As a supplement, an online open forum for questions from one office can be posted and answered by the other office when it opens. Incentive Systems Currently there is no formal incentive system. Many of the rewards are based on Berardi’s perception of employee performance. If he does not have the opportunity to have direct communication with all employees, it is a possibility that he is not able to appropriately assess individual performances. The employees themselves felt that â€Å"above-standard performance was not always noted.† This sometimes resulted in sub-optimal achievements being recognized while the employee going the extra mile was getting passed over. A new incentive system must include a formal evaluation method of employee performance. In order to evaluate, official job descriptions must be written to use as a benchmark. These descriptions give the employees the framework within which to efficiently perform their duties. The employee’s immediate supervisor must complete this evaluation. This is the person who has direct observance of day-to-day activities. Having the formal evaluation takes out the personal bias of the supervisors. Semiannual reviews will keep employees apprised of their performance and management  expectations. This will benefit both the company and the employees by keeping them both focused on a common goal. To encourage the employees to be sales oriented, a commission system could be introduced. Since company money is already directed toward training courses and classes, offering employees sales training courses will give them the opportunity to take advantage of the new commission system. If funds are limited and an official sales manager cannot be hired, then the classes would be the most efficient way to educate employees. These classes would be directed toward the Junior Merchandisers. The current duties for this position would fit best with the new sales system. Although hiring office managers would be beneficial, in the present financial climate this may not be feasible. However, one employee in each location needs to be responsible for office operations. Both offices have an accountant on staff that report directly to Berardi. This person could take on the role of office manager. Since the accountant would be the most business-minded person, he or she would be most qualified to monitor the costs and inefficiencies within the office. Overall EU Design’s growth has been slow and steady, as evidenced by a five-year gross margin increase of almost 300 percent. This growth has necessitated a change in management style. If Berardi acknowledges that changes need to happen, the implementation should happen rather smoothly.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Poem - 1357 Words

In the epic poem titled The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh was a king who ruled over the Sumerian city of Uruk around 2600 B.C. Gilgamesh was a very powerful and strong king, but he realized that he must use his power to help the people of Uruk. He is two-thirds god and one third human, which makes him realize that he must reconcile with the fact that he will eventually face death. He realizes that he will not reach full immortality and needs to be satisfied with his responsibilities over his people. Gilgamesh is able to reach a balance between being a king, god and man by accepting his mortality and his duties over his people of Uruk. As a king, Gilgamesh went through a change. Gilgamesh built the city of Uruk with outstanding†¦show more content†¦When the gods create a human life, they will also make a decision when that human’s life will come to an end. He also explains that every humans destiny will be death, even when is hard to predict when it will exactly happen. When Gilgamesh finally finds Uta-napishti, he wants to know if Gilgamesh is serious about wanting to live forever. He tells Gilgamesh that if he really wants to cheat death, then he should sleep a full week without waking up. â€Å"Said Gilgamesh to him, to Uta-napishti the Distant: ‘No sooner had sleep spilled itself over me, than forthwith you touched me and made me awake!’ [said] Uta-napishti [to him,] to Gilgamesh† (96). Gilgamesh was unable to sleep all seven days. He realizes that he will not be able to escape death. He is quickly filled with grief and sadness. He realizes that he will not be able t o seek full immortality since he is one third human. He knows that he must reconcile with his mortality and become a better man for his people. Since Gilgamesh is two-thirds god, he is able to accomplish tasks that mortals are not able to and he is also able to take advantage of the power of the gods. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu go on their journey to fight the monster, Humbaba, they must travel to the Cedar Forest. The Cedar forest is a place that is forbidden mortals. Even though Gilgamesh knows it is forbidden to mortals he still wants to take this journeyShow MoreRelatedThe Poem Epic Of Gilgamesh 891 Words   |  4 PagesThe poem Epic of Gilgamesh highlights the complexand important roles of women in society long before notions of feminism became prevalent. This poem depicts not only the intellectual side of women but also solidifies them as beautiful, seductive, and powerful beings, who on a number of occasions evidence their equality and sometimes superiority to man. Take Shamhat for instance, she was a beautiful temple priestess, who was used to seduce the beast Enkidu, with her beauty and charm. 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