Assume you are the Sales and Marketing Director for Sea Treasures, a small group of well-known retail stores specializing in exotic sea life and high-end accessories for aquariums. The company has been in business for over 50 years, but the customer base is shrinking, sales are slow, and you are faced with reducing staff and closing stores. Sea Treasures will be out of business within a year if innovative and creative changes are not made quickly. After many months, you have finally been able to convince the owner that the only way to sustain the business and increase revenue is to create an Internet Website to sell the large inventory of aquarium decorator items (currently gathering dust in a costly warehouse) . This will be a short-term, small scale change. Six months later, you will expand the Website to sell live sea creatures such as tropical fish and small sea turtles online, which is a long-term, large-scale change.
You face many challenges in this transformational change initiative, beginning with strong employee resistance, new technology, and shipping methods. Many small businesses have been faced with these same issues, and have made the transition successfully. Consider the humble beginnings of Amazon, and look where they are today. Selecting the best change model for this business, and implementing it step by step provides the foundation for creating an exciting new company.
In 3 – 5 pages, explain which change model you would follow for the short-term change and which you would follow for the long-term change. Provide rationale for your decision and discuss the effects that these changes would have on the employees, managers, and executives within the organization. Include at least three references and follow standard APA formatting for your paper.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
ANSWER
Change model
Change model can be outlined as any form of strategy or approach applied when transitioning individuals, companies, and teams through implementing the strategies anticipated to restructure the utilization of resources, trade procedures, financial plans, and any other methods of operation that will redesign an institution. Organization change management process views the entire body and the essential necessities that should be put into consideration, while change management can be applied solely to highlight the number of people and teams affected by the organizational transition (Cameron & Green, 2015). Change management operates with various disciplines which include behavioral, social sciences and information technology, and business clarifications. Therefore, this paper will focus on the appropriate change model for both short-term and long-term transition for Sea Treasures retail stores.
Short-term change
Kotter’s Eight – Step Model
As observed by Kotter, J. (2010), close to seventy percent of all critical change efforts in an institution do not prosper because they are not inclined to following the general strategies necessary to effect on the type of modification that is to be made. As the sales and marketing director for sea treasures, this change model will be useful for the short-term change to create a strong foundation for the long-term change that will include expanding the organization’s website. The type of model involves;
Stage 1: Creating the required urgency
There is the need for the sea treasure company to come up with a meaning of urgency about the need of change since it will highlight precisely the spark needed to get things on the right track. Therefore, it means trying to examine the potential threats which may include; weak sales, shrinking customer base, reducing staffs and closing store then later coming up with different scenarios about things that are likely to happen in future. There is also the need for the organization to look into some of the possible opportunities when discussing things that are taking place in the marketplace.
Stage 2: Creating an administrative alliance
As a manager, it is significant to assure the sea treasures employees the need for change which requires a bold management and assistance from the managers within the body who are regarded to be influential. These group of individuals plays a key role in building the earnestness and drive associated with the need for change.
Stage 3: Creating an idea for adjustment
There is a need for the employees to comprehend the importance of embracing change and engaging in something new and unique since the leadership holds firm on the new vision of change; hence, the workers will see the importance of new technology in a working environment. Therefore, the vision of the organization should be understood, and well-outlined method implemented to perform the idea.
Stage 4: Communicating the vision
The vision of the organization is to come up with an internet website which will act as a method of marketing large inventory of aquarium decorator items. It is thus indispensable to communicate the vision of the institution on a frequent basis with the leadership experimenting the type of conduct that is required of others.
Stage 5: Encouraging extensive plan
The well-designed model of adjustment within the organization desires to be in place and continuously monitored for the possible challenges that might prevent its successful implementation thus leading to more failures. It, therefore, means, altering the systems or structure that are likely to weaken the vision and replacing them with the structures for improvements. Eradicate the difficulties and encourage the employees to implement the idea and assist in moving the improvements forward.
Stage 6: Come up with temporary gains
The company is required to outline some of the quick wins that are significant in stabilizing the organization’s operations since it acts as a motivating factor to the workers in quest of the bigger goal of transformation in the institution. Failure to this, detractors and pessimists will take center stage to destroy and interfere with the modification procedures.
Step 7: Build on the change
According to Kotter, J. (2010), many transformation procedures do not succeed due to the declaration of victory that is made at an early stage; however, a first win is not enough. Implementing new initiatives recommends a change in the systems, structures, and procedures that do not merge with the overall new scheme. Continuous improvement should, therefore, be the mantra; hence, successful or failure will present a chance to scrutinize what operated, what did not, and those that should be upgraded.
Stage 8: Present the modifications in the trade culture
For any adjustment to be constant, it must be incorporated into the institution’s culture through the leadership where they will articulate the rationale that exists between new characters and organizational success.
The reasons as to why this change model is appropriate for the short-term solution is due to its various advantages that it holds towards the quick examination of the essential strategies that should be considered promptly. The entire process is an easy step-by-step model which focuses on preparing and embracing change. However, adjusting to the modification can be hectic and tiresome to the employees, managers, executives, and to the entire organization.
Long-term change
ADKAR Model
ADKAR change management model is that type of a model that is goal oriented unlike other change models that focus on the instant, and systematic change, this kind of model embraces the need for incremental changes over time which is regarded to be long term. According to ADKAR model, every procedure followed during the shift management process is sequential in that, the company must achieve cumulative goals during the entire process to acquire the intended change target (Hayes, 2014). A well-planned change occurs when phases of the planned change for the company and the employees happen simultaneously.
The ADKAR model comprises of the following five subsequent action:
A = Awareness of the need for change
It outlines the need to understand the motives as to why the change should be prioritized before implementing any adjustment and outlines the reasons and motives that inspire the required transformation; for instance, in the sea treasures company, there is need to expand the marketing website. It will allow the selling of large inventory of aquarium decorator items.
D = Desire to partake and sustain the modification
After the employees of Sea Treasure Company are convinced with the urge to bring a long term switch to the industry, then they are in a position to make the personal decision of embracing the innovative and creative changes. The building of desire should be done through talking about the incentives for the workers to inspire them in participating entirely in the adjustment process.
K = Knowledge on ways to alteration and what it holds.
The organization will provide proper training to the employees about information technology and relevant knowledge about the modification that is to be made hence they will be in a position to make a personal decision on whether to uphold the change (Worley & Mohrman, 2014). Various methods of disseminating information include mentoring, guiding, and use of various forums such as social media to exchange information. These programs primarily focus on providing adequate knowledge on ways of expanding the company’s website and on how to operate once the transformation has been employed.
A = Ability to apply the modification on a daily course
After all the employees are cognizant of how to expand the website and to use the modifications, it is necessary to monitor the change of behavior of the employees that require a longer time through rehearsal, training, and response.
R = Reinforcement to withstand the revolution
Finally, there is need to support the efforts applied in making the long-term variations in the industry to ensure that whatever changes that are made remain constant and that employees do not degenerate to previous methods of service delivery. The entire process is strengthened through affirmative response, rewards, and acknowledgement, evaluating enactment, and emphasizing on helpful actions.
The ADKAR model is an important tool that ensures a constant evaluation of whatever changes made within the sea treasure company and creates breaks in areas where the corporation can solve problems. Managers and executives examine the success of this type of change model through the impact of the total goals and the procedures involved in the progression for the duration of the model. To the employees, these changes are orderly and moderate hence giving them the chance to acclimate before the next wave of changes strikes.
In conclusion, the change models have their disadvantages and advantages even though their goal is to ensure that an organization in transition gets to understand the impact that the change will have on the employees and maintains a smooth transition. It is therefore advisable for a team to allow proper time for adaptation process and be transparent about these changes since they will boost the company and the employees.
References
Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of management change: A complete guide to the tools, models, and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kotter, J. (2010). Kotter’s 8-step change model. Mind Tools. Retrieved from http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newPPM_82. htm.
Worley, C. G., & Mohrman, S. A. (2014). Is change management obsolete?. Organizational Dynamics, 43(3), 214-224.