Introduction
The upgrade in the living standards of the people and the structural and serious reforms in the housing system propelled the changes in real property industry. At this point, the industry has refocused on market orientation, as it developed a market-based, customized and more people oriented character. (Kara, Spillan, & Deshields Jr., 2005) As the industry is confronted by many challenges and shocks, industry members have also worked towards adopting changes. This has led our property management company to also focus on its market orientation as compared with sales or product orientation.
In focusing on our target markets, the management aims to analyze our market position and evaluate the problems which we encounter and then, decide on the changes and the solutions we will implement. As a low income property management, the shift to market orientation seems problematic. The following pages shall describe the intended steps and process and the distinctive approaches and strategies in organizational change that our company plans to apply in order to best serve the said markets and gather the intended outcomes. This shall illustrate that managing organizational change is achievable, no matter how challenging.
Managing organizational change requires “all the actions to make one organization comprehend, prepare for, apply and receive the benefits of the special change/s.” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009) It is a great task and a surmountable challenge for the organization to study and assess the strategies to upgrade its organization. The author estimates the changes and the processes to achieve the intended refocus on its market. With the aid of certain organizational management tools and principles, this paper shall preview the changes that will occur in our property management company in the days to come.
Organization Changes in the Property Management Ocmpany: An Overview
A market oriented business focuses its strategic decisions to the needs and wants of its target market. A company which is marketing-oriented commits to valuing the customers and their needs. It also contributes to the cultural transformation of the organization as they now centers everything according to the dictates of their market/s. (Song & Parry, 2007)
Market orientation has said to be a significant factor in the business performance and innovations of many companies and organizations. (Slater & Narver 1990) It has also contributed in the way they manage their organizations and their marketing effectiveness. Hence, this paper shall focus on how the crucial implementation of this orientation led to organizational learning, innovation, competitive advantage, profitability, and sustainability of companies and organizations.
An analytical assessment of our low income property management company’s market orientation and organization behavior in the context of the changing property industry will lead to greater market performance.
Our company needs to build a strong and unique market orientation and this must be reflected to a strong customer and rival orientations. It shall make several changes in the way our products are marketed, in all our marketing efforts and strategies, including our marketing collaterals. It shall also make some changes in the organizational structure and culture of our company. Our company’s marketing, sales and customer service activities must also be anchored on its market orientation. Because of this, the company must have a high level of competitor orientation, global brand focus, and selling orientation exhibit superior performance. By being critically intent on our rivals’ strategies and actions, we also adapt strongly to the current market conditions.
As it becomes keen on its customer service, our company will promptly deliver its unique product and service offerings which cater to their customers’ needs, preferences and budgets. In turn, the satisfaction derived in our products and services redounds in greater brand equity, market performance and sturdy financial status.
Key Stakeholders and the Impact of the Changes on Them
Since this requires knowledge-based resources and market intelligence, the changes basically involves senior level management, the marketing professionals of the company and all of its employees. The conceptual change is to be translated to specific technical and creative skills as well as integrative and coordinative skills.
They need to think of ways to apply innovation as they dynamically adapt to the evolving market needs, especially to the changing needs of their customers. Thus, they must redesign their products, reorganize their structures and constantly adapt to the market environment. As a cycle of innovation, these key stakeholders will constantly need new information, technical developments and new organizational structures.
The marketing professionals of the company also need to map out the market orientation within the organization as whole. It hinges on its three major units to analyze the impact of market orientation with the organizational performance of the company, specifically in the aspect of profitability and market leadership.
The company needs to strengthen its marketing efforts and produce different strategies for its sales channels. There is also an increased market research and production of new marketing collaterals to convey the message of the company to the targeted market. Hence, these key stakeholders need the capacity to innovate within its organization and must adopt and maintain new ideas, processes and products successfully.
Change Management Approch and Recommended Steps
I think the senior management wants to undertake this “refocusing” project since they believe that there is a positive gain to the organization to warrant the costs of the change. I assume they move forward that assumption as they have studied the market and the viability of our company’s shift to market concentration. Hence, I suppose they believe that it is in the best interest of everyone in the property mangement company. Those personnel who will be benefited by the project will certainly endorse the project.
Generally, introducing change to our company is simply hard. The first step of the process must be for the management and the personnel to recognize this certain fact. This has to be dealt with. Hence, the management must take a friendly and open minded approach to the resistance about the project. (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009) Initially, they need to be aware of the changes and processes that the project may introduce to the whole organization, even to their external customers and third party links. The approach is to deal with the issues related to the project head on. The management has to make sure that the acceptance of their intended project and its goals are fully communicated, understood and accepted by their personnel, especially the Marketing Department.
The management must also brainstorm as to how the changes will affect their productivity and they must devise ways to minimize the losses made by the resistance to change. Hence, it all depends on how the mangement will present their strategic plan and all its nitty gritty details to the personel.
Thus, the main focus of the strategic refocusing into their marekting orientation lies in winning the hearts of their people. (Ibid.) In other words, the door towards successful organizational change depends on the company’s personnel. As such, management must focus on gaining the strategic plan’s acceptance and popularity among their personnel.
The high level view for in accomplishing these goals include the following tips:
Securing the senior management agreement (all the heads must be positive about the project)
Determining the agent of change who can articulate the rationale for the project and the benefit it will accrue for the company and for them
Translating the vision for reform into a realistic plan and carrying out the details of the plan
Involving the personnel of all the departments in the said project
Open communications and continuous education about the project
Getting the whole organization to buy into the reforms included in the project
Modifying the company’s organizational structures so that the desired changes can be accommodated
Expansive communications of the prospects of change
There must always be a constant and wide internal communications all throughout the project. Further changes or alterations must be announced. The status of the project, especially its accomplishments and headways, must also be highlighted. Always tell the personel how the project is being supported by the senior level of management. (Ibid.)
The middle managers, especially the sale sand marketing managers, must be able to feedback on what the people are saying about the project. They must echoe what the employees think and what they consider as problems, alternatives or options to make the plan better. It is also best to work with a team who shall take charge of the whole process of managing the change in the company.
The Property Management Company Amidst Change
Another major importance in approaching this organizational change is to show the impact of market orientation on organizational performance, including innovations. This is very timely as the real estate industry moves towards more commercial integration in internal markets. (Song & Parry, 2007) Global companies push their marketing strategies to the core and this is seen by the way their pay special attention to winning more customers around the world. They pay more attention to their customers’ needs in the highly competitive commercial contexts. They keep up with their competitors in the most sophisticated competitive strengths and strategies. Customer is king and this is exemplified by how companies, global and local alike, adopt marketing strategies to keep up with the new challenges of the old and the emerging markets. They align their organizations with the utmost market orientation and by playing their best strategic approaches; they attract more customers from various markets.
In this regard, the burden of the project is in the sales and marketing managers. The marketing program, which the market orientation intends to change, must be the tool to close in more property sales. Hence, these departments must plan, execute and manage the marketing and sales programs, as well as the recruitment, training, motivation, and assessment of the marketing and sales personnel.
The basic role of the managers is to redevelop and execute the new marketing programs aligned with the market orientation, which eventually supports the success of the whole organization. Hence, the personnel who will be greatly affected include: the marketing and sales executives, property managers of field sales departments, district managers, division heads, and property line sales executives.
The sales and marketing managers will be the key to the effective formulation of the new market orientation of the company, its new goals, among others. They must be able to come up with the best marketing program that is vitally represented by the company’s marketing mix. This task encompasses the other approaches and strategies linked with the company’s service, price, promotion, and channels of distribution.
The managers’ knowledge of the markets and their skills will be developed throughout the whole process. Also, the productivity of the employees will be enhanced in the following aspects: 1) advertising, including Internet, television, print advertisements, direct mail, mobile advertising, and other media, 2) sales promotion i.e. coupons, raffles, mobile promotions, etc. and 3) personal selling, which highlights the people’s selling skills.
The general goals of the sales managers are basically mandated by the combination of the marketing mix. The marketing mix integrates and executes the objectives between the major components as well as its internal limitations. The managers will be more skillful in drafting out the new marketing mix as to how the property market will receive their new approaches and tactics. This also takes into full consideration their internal capital and capacity.
The sales and marketing managers must accurately approximate the prospects for the shift in orientation into the property management company's services. They must be able to intelligently disitnguish between market and sales potential. This estimation is critical because it will affect the other department’s objectives in terms of production, distribution, and otherorganizational functions.
Conclusion
The structural and market reforms in the housing system as well as the shift in the living standards of the people propelled the changes in real property industry. At this point, the industry has refocused on market orientation, as it developed a market-based, customized and more people oriented character. As the industry members work out their own adaptations to the said changes, our property management company also seek to refocus on its market orientation to enhance its sales performance.
In focusing on our target markets, the management aims to analyze our market position and evaluate the problems which we encounter and then, decide on the changes and the solutions we will implement. As a low income property management, the shift to market orientation seems problematic.
This paper described the intended aims, steps and processes, including the specific approaches and strategies in organizational change that our company plans to apply in order to best serve the said markets. This illustrated that managing organizational change is achievable, but it needs a prepared and thorough plan. This change is very challenging. Likewise, it is also a serious commitment to the goals of the organization and the people who will make the changes possible.
Several tips were mentioned. In conclusion, this paper shows that no matter how difficult an organizational change may seem, there are intelligent ways to deal with it. Managers must not take things personally and work each and every angle that will make the transition as smooth as possible. As emphasized in the above mentioned approaches, it is best to extensively communicate among the agents of change what the company is doing.
References:
Kara, A., Spillan, J. E., & Deshields Jr., O. (2005). The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Performance: A Study of Small-Sized Service Retailers Using MARKOR Scale. Journal of Small Business Management, 43.
Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2009). Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills & best practices (customized 4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Song, M. & Parry, E. (2007). The desired level of market orientation and business unit performance. Journal of Marketing Science. 7.
