Introduction: Organizational Change 3
Importance of Organizational Change 3
Company Overview: Verizon Communications Inc. 4
History 4
Present Scenario 5
Diagnosis 6
Kotter’s 8-Step Approach 7
Sense of Urgency 8
Guiding Coalition 8
Strategic Vision 9
Communicating Vision 9
Remove Barriers 10
Short Term Wins 10
Sustain Acceleration 11
Conclusion 12
References 13
Introduction: Organizational Change
Change is consistent in nature. A business undergoes many changes during a course of its operation. The change may be due to political, technological, economic or other reasons. To survive and flourish in operations, the business should adapt itself to meet the change successfully. The organization can adapt to change by making changes in technology, process, people or structure. However, adapting to change is not an easy task. Studies have proved that 70% of initiatives undertaken by organization tend to fail. The chances of failure can be reduced by applying scientific tools to manage organizational change .
Organizational change refers to the company or organization undergoing a change process. It happens when business strategies are altered to meet organizational goals and objectives. Organizational change can be a success or an experiment. For organizational change to be successful, it is important that all the employees are aligned and motivated to meet the change positively. There are various models which can produce and manage change effectively among the employees, like, Kurt Lewin's change management model, McKinsey's 7S model and Kotter's 8 step change model .
This paper will involve studying and analyzing the use of Kotter's 8 step change model, for managing employees during organizational change effectively, in Verizon Communications Inc.
Importance of Organizational Change
Organizational change is important as it helps the organizations stay ahead of the competition. The change can be initiated or forced upon an organization. The changes initiated by organizations may include plans to improve growth, profit, etc. to introduce a new product, reduce cost, etc. The changes forced upon an organization may be an economic crisis, a sudden change in technology, etc. Organizations should adopt to change for being successful in a present competitive business scenario. By adopting to change, businesses can develop competitiveness and produce better goods or services compared to its competitors. It can not only help the organizations survive in competition but also help in enhancing the effectiveness over a longer period of time .
Company Overview: Verizon Communications Inc.
History
Verizon Communications Inc. was formed in the year 2000 with the merger of Bell Atlantic Corporation and GTE Corporation. The company was incorporated in Delaware and is based in New York (United States of America). The company is traded on NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) and NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) under the symbol VZ. The word Verizon has evolved from Latin word veritas meaning reliability and the horizon. Though Verizon is a twenty-first-century organization, the companies forming it dates back to the nineteenth century. The telecom industry worldwide witnessed many changes during the twentieth century and is continuing to change at a rapid pace. The telecommunications act signed during the year 1996 brought market-based policies which provide a competitive market for telecom operators .
The company is a core believer of change and has been effective in incorporating a change in technology over years of its operations. Verizon was effective in changing to adapt to the mobile revolution, broadband, wireless, digital video and much beyond .
Present Scenario
Recent years have witnessed a fundamental shift in telecom technology, demographics along with industry structure. The company is once again preparing itself for change. The major corporate strategy remains to innovate for growth and profitability. The business model concentrates on video and Internet of Things (IoT). This will lead to increased revenue in contents and application. The core focus remains on delivering excellence in wireless as well as wireline services. Both mobile and broadband users continue to grow at a strong pace. The growth of demand for videos and data is also taking place. This will create increased customer base. There is a need to ensure superior network to retain the customer base. The company has made huge investments to maintain and improve its network quality .
Change is a constant phenomenon especially in technology and communications space. The network will soon be demanding 5G wireless technology. The company is working with technology partners for driving 5G in telecom space. There is also focus on customer retention and satisfaction. Enhancing customer experience remains to hold the key brand campaign. While the company is striving to meet customer demands, it is also true that customers’ demands and expectations are rising at a very fast pace. The modern telecom customers’ behavioral pattern is way different than traditional customers. There remains a challenge for the company and its employees to meet these changes effectively while sustaining growth. From the strategic point of view, Verizon has acquired AOL (American On-Line) in the year 2015. Verizon now has its own mobile advertising platform along with world known popular online content platforms. Its apps like go90 provide awesome TV experience on the go. The opportunities’ existing in digital and mobile space provides a great chance, for further growth, to Verizon. The Internet of Things (IoT) also provides vast opportunities, to add to a revenue stream, for the company. The company is poised to embrace change in upcoming technologies as well .
Diagnosis
Verizon Communications Inc. is a combination of two giants of the 19th century, namely, Bell Atlantic Corporation and GTE Corporation. The formation of Verizon bought along with it the organizational cultures of the 19th century. Though the company has adapted to change and has managed change well in past years, it is increasingly important to manage change due to the speed of change in present era. Each day is witnessing technological breakthroughs. The organizations need to remain abreast with latest in technology. Rapid developments in cloud computing and web technology may also bring changes to the telecommunications industry. Telecom industry will soon be moving from 4G to 5G.
It is also significant to understand and influence the employees to attain better results in future. Technology is changing at a very rapid pace and the businesses also need to keep up their pace with change. The core business of Verizon is telecom (wireless and wired). In recent years, it has ventured to videos, content creation and Internet of Things (IoT). The success of diversity depends on upon its employees and management. It also rests on the way in which management and employees will react or respond to change. Change management is of prime importance which decides the success or failure of the change. While meeting challenges of technology and communication is important, it is equally important to manage the costs and quality of service. The management can adopt various methods like restructuring, training, outsourcing, etc. to manage the change and demand of the industry. It is crucial to communicate the same with the employees as well. There should be open communication of operational policies with employees so that the employees don’t feel left in the dark. It keeps the employees motivated for producing better results. The coming years will witness more changes in technology space which will demand quicker adoption for business success. This can lead to the adoption of various methods, by management, to meet the change. These can be changed in structure, technology, process or people. While management adopts methods to change, it is important that employees are conveyed about change and methods to tackle the change. This will help in maintaining a healthy organizational culture and will also equip the organization to meet challenges of change. The company can adapt to change successfully by following change management tools like Kotter's 8 step change model.
Kotter’s 8-Step Approach
Leadership guru Dr. John Kotter, over years of his research, has proved that 70% of organizational change efforts fail. This happens because organizations fail to use a holistic approach to envisioning the change. He has suggested eight steps to avoid failure in change management. By being able to manage change better, organizations will not only succeed but also retain success in future. The eight step process of change management helps corporate in managing change in a successful manner . The steps can be explained in detail as follows:
Sense of Urgency
Creating the sense of urgency is the first step to managing change. The employees need to be made aware of the importance of change. This is because if a change is conveyed in a clear manner to employees it is much likely to be taken seriously and acted upon. In such scenario, employees will be internally motivated to perform as they will be in comfortable with the change conveyed to them. This leads to less chaos and confusion. Hence, employees can concentrate on productivity .
In the case of Verizon Communications Inc., it needs to adapt very quickly towards the package of changes that are engulfing telecom and communications space. The company and management need to present the changes and the means of changes that will be adopted by the company to move from 4G to 5G era, Internet of Things (IoT), video, etc. Since telecom space comprises of well-educated employees who are aware of the constancy of change in the sector, it will not be very difficult to convey and manage the change.
Guiding Coalition
Change meets resistance at the very first level. Such a resistance should be met with a strong coalition of managers. The leadership of change has to be strong enough to bring the desired effect for the organization. People seem to take seriously the change led by characters of an organization so it is essential that the change is led by a strong force to absorb any resistance to change .
Verizon Communications Inc. should place structural changes in place to manage change at every step. This will help in absorbing any resistance as the guiding coalition will be strong enough to manage the resistance or reluctance to change.
Strategic Vision
Creating a strategic vision plays a significant role in providing guidelines to employees of an organization. The plans can be based upon such vision. When the employees are clearly conveyed about the plans and vision, they tend to work in an organized manner to attain the vision. In the absence of strategic vision, everything seems blurred and employees tend to lack focus .
Verizon Communications Inc. should prepare a strategic vision and clear plans to attain the vision. This should also be communicated to the employees. It should be clear for ease of understanding. It will help in maintaining a positive attitude during the change process. It will also stop the task force from moving in the wrong direction. These plans will assist the employees to move and embrace new technology thereby attracting higher customer, revenue, and sales.
Communicating Vision
Creating vision remains an incomplete task until and unless it is conveyed to the employees. The vision should be communicated in clear terms. There should be zero ambiguity. Kotter has insisted on providing examples for each strategy adopted as managers are generally known to be ambiguous in their talks .
The management of Verizon Communications Inc. should ensure that the vision is communicated, in precise and concrete manner, to its employees. It will encourage the employees to take initiatives to meet the organizational vision.
Remove Barrier
Organizations should facilitate to remove barriers and facilitate action by employees. Some employees may undermine the change and put lesser effort to manage change. Such employees should be recognized and mentored to remove their mental barriers. It will facilitate better action from employees. Leaders have to play a significant role in mentoring the employees. Their mental barriers should be removed to optimize the performance of employees .
The leadership of Verizon Communications Inc. should identify employees who undermine change process and create training programs for accelerating the performance of such employees. If required, the company should also restructure to provide better guidance to its employees.
Short Term Wins
In order to achieve long-term goals, it is helpful to set small goals and recognize its achievement. It motivates the task forces to perform better to attain long term goals. Moreover, short-term transformations sound easier to make than long-term changes .
The management at Verizon Communications Inc. should also set short term goals. As the projects in telecom sector may last for months and sometimes years, it is better if the goals are divided into short term. The achievement of these goals should be recognized. It can also be celebrated. But the celebration should not give a feel of accomplishment of the long-term task as the employees will tend to become complacent. This can hinder attainment of long-term vision. Sustain Acceleration
If employees get a feeling that the job has been done then the change process will become ineffective. The managers can celebrate the attainment of small goals but employees should not be made to feel that the task has been accomplished. This will dissolve the importance of long-term goals. In some cases, the transformation may also fail. The impression created among employees should be such that more is required to be done for attaining the change .
The leadership at Verizon Communications Inc. should ensure any small wins are celebrated with caution. The employees should be constantly reminded of vision and long term goals. Constant challenges should be provided to employees and they should be made aware that short term goals are just small steps to attain bigger goals. Frequent meetings and constant training programs can be used as an aid in this step.
The management and employees should be conscious about the factors that helped in attaining the change. It is important to inculcate the culture of change within the organization .
Since Verizon Communications Inc. focuses on excellence in service and complete customer satisfaction, the change should become a core part of its organizational culture. It will help in retaining change as an organizational value.
Conclusion
People generally tend to resist the process of change. This holds true in the case of organizations also as organizations comprise of individuals. However, change is inevitable and each organization should undergo change to meet the changing demands of market and customers. Kotter’s 8-step change model acts as an effective tool in managing change successfully. The companies adopting 8 step models for change will be able to succeed in bringing effective change and survive in highly competitive business eras to come.
References
Group, R. (2013). The 8 Step process for leading change Dr. Kotter's methodology of change leadership. RBS Group. Europe: RBS Group. Retrieved July 11, 2015, from http://www.rbsgroup.eu/assets/pdfs/2013_THE_8-STEP_PROCESS_FOR_LEADING_CHANGE.pdf
Inc., V. C. (2013). History of Verizon Communications Inc. Verizon Media Relations. New York: Verizon Communications Inc. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/Verizon_Corporate_History.pdf
Inc., V. C. (2015). 2015 Annual Report. New York: Verizon Communications Inc. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from https://www.verizon.com/about/sites/default/files/annual/verizon-annual-2015/downloads/15_vz_ar.pdf
Mourfield, R. (2014). Organizational Change: A Guide to Bringing Everyone on Board. Indiana University, Management. Retrieved July 11, 2016
Shurrab, M. Z. (2014). THE EIGHT-STEP CHANGE MODEL IN PRACTICE A CASE STUDY ON ERICSSON. Institutionen för informatik, Change and Knowledge Management. Linneuniversitetet. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from https://independent.academia.edu/
Stoll, M. B. (2010). Organisational Change Management: A rapid literature review. Department for Education. Bristol: Centre for Understanding Behaviour Change. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/cubec/migrated/documents/pr1.pdf
Thomas, O. O. (2015, November). Change Management and its Effects on Organizational Performance of Nigerian Telecoms Industries: Empirical Insight from Airtel Nigeria. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education, 1(11), 170-179. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from https://www.arcjournals.org/pdfs/ijhsse/v1-i11/18.pdf
