In the case study Welcome Aboard (But Don’t Change a Thing), Eric McNulty describes the difficulties that the new CEO of the company faced trying to introduce certain changes to the usual order of work at the company that had existed there for many decades. The readers of the case study may notice that the new CEO was confronted with resistance to change, i.e. actions of the employees aimed at discrediting, delaying or impeding the changes in the work process (Brookings). Changes are this is an extremely difficult and painful process. The more profound and radical are the changes in the organization, the greater is the likelihood of resistance to them.
Individuals initiating changes (in the case study – Cheryl Hailstrom) must recognize that change management is a process that requires much effort and time, and mistakes made during this process can be costly for both the organization and its employees. Therefore, while carrying out changes in the minds of the staff it is necessary to be confident that these changes will lead to the desired results – enhancement of the work quality and improvement of the activities. Such confidence can be ensured if the fundamental principles of change management are considered.
One of the basic principles is a clear definition of the change objectives. To manage the changes it is necessary to understand what goals you want to achieve. The objectives of the changes on a personal level must be strictly consistent with the objectives of organizational changes. Otherwise there is a risk that the organizational changes will not receive the necessary support on a personal level. It seems that Cheryl Hailstrom knew the goal she wanted to achieve: a contract with Bull’s eye; outsourcing part of manufacturing to third world countries that will reduce the costs and allow them to sell toys at lower price; increasing the profits of the company. But it was difficult for her to match the objectives of changes on the organizational level with those in the personal level: people were afraid of losing jobs and of ruining the usual way of doing things. Another very important principle is informing the staff. Change management cannot take place if the staff is isolated from the information. When the changes are being implemented, people are trying to get as much information about the changes that are carried out, and what they should bring. Unawareness of the goals of change increases the anxiety level of the personnel. It is therefore necessary to regularly inform employees about ongoing developments and expected results. Besides, it is necessary to ensure that the employees receive accurate information; otherwise it will cause even more resistance to change (Brookings). From the analyzed case study we can imply that the CEO had a problem with this issue: she communicated with the top managers directly trying to explain them her viewpoints but taking into account that some of those managers did not fully support her ideas, it is possible to make a guess that they will pass this information to other employees in a skewed form which will definitely not encourage them to support the change. In order to avoid such situation it is advisable to conduct a meeting with the employees where they can hear the first-hand information, ask questions, explain their concerns, ask for advice etc.
Cheryl Hailstrom must remember that a very important and indispensable condition for the staff members to be interested in the implementation of the proposed changes is their involvement in the study of existing activity problems. As long as employees do not understand why the new rules are introduced, they will assume that it is nonsense and a waste of time. Top managers must ensure effective communication with their subordinates. If new methods of work are not supported and are not stimulated by the top management, people tend to return to the old working methods. Therefore it is required to encourage any, even the smallest achievements of employees. Promotions should be not only material, but also moral.
Works Cited:
McNulty, Eric. “Welcome Aboard (But Don’t Change a Thing)”. Harvard Business Review (2002): 32-35. Print.
Brookins, Miranda. “What Causes Resistance To Change In An Organization?”. Smallbusiness.chron.com. Hearst Newspapers, LLC, 2016. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
