The advent of globalization and breakthrough in technology has paved the way for firms to restructure their processes and systems in order to gain competitive edge. One of the several firms which decided to strategically restructure its operations is that of A4e. This firm is headquartered in the United Kingdom and it decided to expand its operations in Asian countries. The first office established was in New Delhi, India. Staff were newly recruited and a local person was chosen to be the Chief Executive Officer of the India office. The new CEO was explained the objectives and the vision of the firm. However, a major setback took in the form of communication when the firm decided to restructure its systems and processes after two years. The CEO was explained the vision and the goals of the firm when he attended the management meeting in the company’s headquarters located in Sheffield. After this, there was no significant communication between the CEO and the management committee. The firm also did not deem it necessary to send an expatriate to review the functioning of the new office with its structures and processes for the initial period of six months.
Transformation efforts are often unsuccessful if the vision is not properly communicated. Also, in this case the management team in Sheffield did not communicate or show their willingness to instil the transformation efforts in the new office. Hence, the entire India office team including the CEO did not understand the urgency or the need for transformation. The lack of communication further made employees demotivated thereby increasing labour turnover in the India office.
One of the main functions of successful change management is to engage in appropriate communication. The breakthrough in technology has paved the way for virtual communication systems and it was very necessary that the management committee engaged in web-based communication with the India office team members as well as the CEO to make them understand the need for change as well as motivate them to engage in the change process. At the same time, it was very important that a representative from the head office in Sheffield visited the branch office to review and evaluate the progress in the change process. This would further help employees to understand the urgency to conduct the change process and help them in embracing change for the change process to be successful.
One of the major constructs of transformational leadership is that of inspirational motivation. Transactional leaders are often those who celebrate short term wins and appreciates staff in order to keep them motivated. My short tenure in Cognizant was an experience that I will cherish. Our senior manager was an excellent orator whose speeches helped in motivating senior managers and employees. The supply chain department of the company had witnessed immense restructuring and employees were hesitant to embrace the new system. Moreover, the restructuring process also witnessed several employees to be terminated which further demotivated the morale of the employees.
However, our senior manager communicated employees about the change and chalked out short term and long term objectives. He consistently reinforced employees by celebrating short term goals and further motivated personnel to perform better. Within time, the small team had embraced change and got used to the new structure. The senior manager induced team bonus and this greatly motivated the staff. Furthermore, team members who had excellently performed were also provided individual bonuses.
Finally, our senior manager started emphasizing on accomplishing long term goals and not concentrate on celebrating short term wins only. Two years down the line, the company has successfully restricted its supply chain processes and systems to align with the latest technology.
References:
Kotter, J.P. (995). Leading change: why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 59 – 67.
