Most organization usually finds it difficult to be successful in a relative high competitive environment. Sometimes this lack of success is due to inadequate resources or improper management skills that can drive development to greater heights. It is against this backdrop that change of style of operation or management is deemed necessary in order for the organization in question to stay afloat (Peters, 2013).
Change is always a multifaceted affair with different ways and stages in which it can be implemented. The employees of the organization must also be willing to accept the new changes that are proposed so that a new dawn of efficient performance is achieved in the short and long run. The approaches to change management that are essential include:
Participative leadership: Most organizations use a centralized system of leadership where instruction descends from the top management to the lowest paid worker. This is a kind of monotony can be the source of failure and thus a different and more pragmatic approach in leadership must be adopted to bring the success that is desired. This brings us to the need for participator leadership that allows all the workers to be involved in the decision making by the management. In this type of change approach to leadership, a new energy is injected into the workers so that they marvelously deliver on their salient duties (Peters, 2013). This change approach is very important and more so very effective than the traditional centralized approach where the workers do not have a voice. This change in leadership or management approach is important because it makes the workers to be highly committed to the goals and ideals of the organization and thus instilling a culture of handwork that is always the source of great success that is to come automatically. It also has a salary and labor management benefits that help the workers to achieve their goals as they strive to make the company even more successful than before. This type of change is characterized by good tidings because of the fact that a good relationship automatically develops between the top leadership of the company or organization and the staff. Most reputable organizations have used this approach to change the way they operate because it gives workers more confidence in the way in which they handle their daily routine jobs as they embark on making the company successful.
Empowerment: This is one of the most important approaches to change in an organization because it advises the top leadership to involve the workers in all levels of decision making during the entire process of complete overhaul of the old system that proved to be ineffective. The process of empowerment of the workers involves the practice or act of devolving power to the workers as is needed to facilitate change (Peters, 2013). The empower approach to leadership change is always a welcome idea because of the positive effect that it has on overall performance of the new system and especially during the smooth transition from the old system. The workers feel comfortable in the company when delegation of duties to them are accompanied by some form of authority to allow them perform their duties very well. This kind of change management is however sometimes full of challenges if the employees are not responsible and cannot be entrusted with sensitive information or power that require good responsibility from the assigned workers or employees.
Strategic Intervention Techniques: The Hong Kong Express Airline should use the best intervention techniques in order to make great profit and also satisfy the clients with good services. This leads to customer satisfaction and a high rate of retention that is healthy for business growth. There are many strategic interventions that can be used to salvage a business from the verge of collapse (Peters, 2013). This research will focus on market intervention, Streamline Overhead and Cost of training. These three forms of interventions are very important in resuscitating a business of any type. The amount of effort and expertise that the Hong Kong Express puts in revamping its services will make it become successful both in the short and long run (Lorange, 2010). Strategic interventions are very important when it comes to achieving the goals of a company.
Marketing intervention-
The marketing intervention approach is very important because of the advantages that it has in identifying the main customers that use the Hong Kong Express air travel. This involves identification of the countries where most clients come from so that the airplanes can focus on the relevant market that can bring the desired profit. When the market is expanded, the companies like Hong Kong Express are often likely to make huge profits (Peters, 2013). This marketing intervention is very important because it helps in determining what works for customers and on highlights the company’s strengths and weaknesses. Marketing intervention has been used since time immemorial to do a complete market analysis so that the companies identify what they need to do in order to be successful in the market.
Streamlining of Overhead-
The Company has to look into its overall overhead costs so its management is in a position to evaluate the profitability of the Hong Kong Express. The company should in all circumstances avoid all expenses that are unnecessary so that it maximizes profit out of its scarce resources (Peters, 2013). There are times when the company may have workers with huge retirement packages so it is always upon the company to prepare for such financial setbacks that might end up derailing the overall performance of the company in the long run. Streamlining of overhead costs is one of the best moves that a company should often take for it to be successful in all aspects of its operation (Lorange, 2010). The employees should also be given the opportunity to showcase their ideas that can help in reducing the high cost of energy in the company. The ideas should be amassed and analyzed for a better selection of viable ideas that can assist in improving the performance of the company in overall terms. The streamlining intervention is very important because it assists the Hong Kong Express to monitor all the overhead costs in order to achieve the best results in terms of progress and overall performance. The cost of power that is used in operating carious facilities in the Hong Kong Express should be given the first priority (Kouzes, 2010). The solar panels should also be utilized for a better save on energy. Solar panels have high initial costs but the daily today maintenance is often very easy and the efficiency is often efficient. Hong Kong Express should always look into the future and make decisions that are viable and long lasting especially those are aim at reducing the cost of operation with a view of increasing profits.
Task 2 Change Analysis
Changes and the Need for Change in Hong Kong Express
Hong Kong Express is one of the Air Transport Companies in Asia that have greatly reduced their prices for all the flights that they operate. This has made it the ideal company that most people often opt for because of the low prices and the good customer base that it has developed. It is however necessary for the management of Hong Kong Express to carry out a change analysis in order to evaluate the ways in which to improve performance in most of its operations for a better future. The amount of time and space that is needed for the expansion of this airway must be analyzed to make sure that they run in tandem with the available resources (Lorange, 2010). Organizations that perform changes in the way that they handle their operations are often successful and have a great future that can be relied on. The airway will have to follow all the needed change analysis steps in order to evaluate its current status as a business company and also take a peek into future going concern of the company.
Change analysis helps the company to identify its shortcomings that make it have a low rate of profit and more so the effects that the impediments are having on the performance of the company both in the short and long run (Kouzes, 2010). The management should also be capable of identifying the main situations that affect the business in a major way and especially on how to handle such situations that would bring down the business profit wise. It is the responsibility of the Hong Kong Express management to do proper internal and external market research that can help it to have a better way of operating (Lorange, 2010). Change analysis is often very important when used to identify the actual causes and causal elements that make the company run either smoothly or in disarray. It is therefore very important for the airway company which is based in Hong Kong to identify its challenges which would range from high level competition to workers incompetence along the way (Kouzes, 2010). The changes that can be made would always be around increasing the process of revamping services for a better service delivery. It would also focus on ways to manage the finances of the airways in order to increase the profitability of the company.
Workers Recruitment Procedure:
The type of workers that a company recruits will always determine its success and credibility in the highly competitive air transport industry. Hong Kong Express has over the years considerably reduced the prices of air transport fares and made transportation easier for people from all over the world. The company must change the way in which it recruits its worker in order to come up with qualified pool of professionals who can drive the company to its successful destination (Kouzes, 2010). It is also upon the strategic management team in conjunction with the human resource to come up a clear formula that that can help it achieve this goal of recruiting qualified professionals who are capable of serving the clients well. If the company successfully manages to change the way it is staffing its employees it would be a good chance of improving performance and satisfaction. Workers are the best assets of the company that take them seriously. The company has therefore to utilize its invested resources well by acquiring some of the best workers.
Financial Management Change:
The company needs to look into better ways of managing its finances so that it makes good decisions at the end of the day. The investments that the company makes should be viable ones and this therefore involves the use of professional investment analysts in order to ensure maximum gain at the end the investment period (Lorange, 2010). It is very important to note that proper investment strategies are the only sources of success in the process of business diversification. In a more competitive business environment, the Hong Kong Express must embark on diversifying its investments or business operations for a better tomorrow (Lorange, 2010). Practicing prudence in financial management is also very important for making sure that the worker’s interests are at the heart of the company’s management. If the workers feel that the company cares about them financially then they will work hard towards achieving the goals of the company. The company should change its ways if handling its finances for posterity issues.
Implications of Hong Kong Express not implementing the changes
The changes that have been proposed concerning the financial management and workers recruitment processes are very important and thus they should be implemented at the earliest opportunity possible. This is because these changes are very important for the efficient operation of the company (Lorange, 2010). The first one which is prudent financial management is very essential and Hong Kong Express cannot an opportunity to change the way that it manages its finances. In the event that the airway does not employ the necessary prudent changes to how it manages its finances and investments, it would not make the necessary steps and improvements that can be the hallmark for its future growth story just like other reputable companies (Kouzes, 2010). It is also important to note that prudent financial management and investment is the source of great success and therefore if the company’s strategic financial management team cannot make wise decisions then it would mean that they will eventually fail the company during the tough economic times that desire better and crafty decision making.
The second change model which is the concern with the workers recruitment process must also be implemented in good time. Workers are the greatest assets that a company or any business enterprise should invest on in order to get the best services offered the clients (Lorange, 2010). When the company recruits workers who are not well qualified and do not meet the set standard then it would mean that the company will automatically head in the wrong direction in terms of customer service (Kouzes, 2010). Business are always in constant change in terms of management and thus they should be up to the task by employed those who have the charisma and strength to handle difficult issues that may face the company at any point in time. It is against this backdrop that the management should make sure that it has the best among the pool of prospective workers (Lorange, 2010). The company may reap bad results its financial cycles. It is therefore paramount for it to make the necessary adjustments to get the best workers. The work of getting good workers can sometimes be a tedious affair but it is a necessary one that needs to be taken seriously at all times for the future of the company depends on it.
Task 3 Stakeholder engagement, change strategy and resistance to change
The management of change in any organization is always an easy task because of the numerous people that are involved in the process. The companies like Hong Kong Express have complicated ways of ownership thus many people are often involved in decision making. Some of the stakeholders might resist the changes that need to be made in order to take it to greater heights. It is therefore very important to form a model that would ensure success is achieved in the process of changing the way the company operates. The following are the processes and steps that form the working model.
Communication-
The changes that are to be strategically made should be communicated to all the stakeholders. This makes all of them to be privy to the change that is to take place and any issue that they need to be addressed is a tackled before it blows out into unmanageable level. The type of communication should also involve mutual understanding so that the Hong Kong Express is given the lease of life for a better future (Kouzes, 2010). The act of communication to every stakeholder is very important towards realizing the much need change. Those stakeholders who do not concur with the needed changes should also propose their ideas and if they are better than they should be adopted. In the event that there is no common ground, the stakeholders or the decision makers should be allowed to vote on the issue that is causing division among them and the majority will carry the day.
Sponsorship roadmap-
The changes that are proposed must be accompanied with financial might so that they achieve the desired result. This is important because without the needed finance, any change strategy cannot be successful in the long run. It will be a case of a starved change the will not see the light of the day (Hitt, 2001). The sponsorship for the program should also be agreed upon for there not to be uproar from the stakeholders. Good change strategies like recruiting qualified workers and financial management system that is infallible is often expensive and thus a lot of money must be invested in the process (Lorange, 2010).
Training Plan-
The workers should undergo a rigorous training program in order to get used to the new system that has been introduced. This training may take time and finance but it is necessary for a complete overhaul of the old system that was actually ineffective.
Areas of Resistance:
Resistance to change is often inevitable when changes are being made in an organization. A good example of the areas where resistance can be found is in the finance sector. Most stakeholders are often scared of any change that can affect their financial standing in the company. This is because they would not like to join the new strategic change that can affect the amount of return that they used to get from their investments (Hitt, 2001). This type of resistance can be avoided by the Hong Kong Express through efficient dissemination of information that can be done through organized workshops where the forecast returns can be highlighted to satisfy or address the fears of the stakeholders.
Resistance can also come from the employees especially if they have to be taken through new interviews or performance appraisal procedures that they feel uncomfortable with. The strategic management should therefore make it to be their responsibility to explain the advantages of the changes in the recruitment process and the performance appraisal procedures (Kouzes, 2010). This is the only way that the workers will feel to be part and parcel of the changes that are proposed.
Task 4 Implementation
The implementation of the strategic changes is the most important stage because it is the turning point in the whole affair. The strategic management team should follow the change model so that everyone knows what is expected of them at all levels (Kouzes, 2010). The effective models of change will be anchored on clear dissemination of information and proper strategic management that can be relied on in both the short and long run. The McKinsey 7-S Model is the best model that the company should use in order to achieve the desired goals. This approach is very important because it incorporates the shared values, strategy, structure, systems, style, staff and skills that are very important during the change process (Hitt, 2001). The company must make sure that it communicates the information to all stakeholders in order for them to share common values. The strategies must be aligned to the structure and systems of the company or organization while taking into consideration the staff and their skills so that the right style of leadership is eventually achieved by the strategic team (Lorange, 2010). This change model is one of the most effective in the business organization. It would assess the amount of finance that is needed to finish the whole strategic change and carry out the needed activities in good time.
Monitoring and evaluation
The changes are being implemented at the each stage, so that any progress or problem is identified at the earlier stage. Programs of these natures are meant to transform the organizations like Hong Kong Express and thus evaluation should be done and report written to the effect so that all the stakeholders have insight of what is going on during the transformation process (Hitt, 2001). Employees from the strategic management team should make sure that the proposed changes that would ensure success of the much needed changes that would help transform the entire organization. The company’s management also needs to regularly report to the stakeholders on the progress that it is making on the strategic changes. This helps to eliminate the anxiety that these stakeholders sometimes may hold on the viability of the whole project
