Introduction
Change management is a multifaceted discipline that affects the life of individuals, groups, organizations, societies, and nations. With the continuous increase in technological development coupled with competition, individuals and organizations need to adapt to new efficient ways of operations to effectively and efficiently execute their duties. This change requires that individuals, institutions, and businesses transform their work culture and skills. Change management is a process that involves different phases.
To change from a given conventional practice, one has to plan to usher in a new paradigm of the approach of a given task or culture. This is done to ensure that the change process is smooth and does not negatively affect the targeted population. Phase one of this transformational process involves preparation for change. During preparation for change, several requirements are necessary, these include; preparation of the people for change, assessment of the impact of change to the people, and the strategy development on the best way to ensure that people adjust and adapt fast to the change.
The second phase involves managing change which necessitates that detailed planning is done to ensure that all the aspects of change management are included and their actual date and resource requirements are put into consideration. In addition to this, the analysis of resistance to change management and implementation is necessary. Finally, change management requires reinforcing change by data gathering, correlation action, rewards, and recognition. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the aspect of change management as practiced by MyBank.
MyBank has for a long time embraced change in business which is part of its weapon to remain efficient and competitive in the market (Hayes, 2007p.34). Change is a vivid feature of MyBank. The growth of the company has seen it develop its size and product portfolio over the years (Bush, 2003 p.14). The bank has extended its product portfolio to include stockbroking. With the increased portfolio and growth in markets in different regions, MyBank had to departmentalize its operations and specialization.
The growth of MyBank came up with several changes in its operating system. To ensure that this change is quickly and efficiently embraced by both the management and the workforce, the bank had to employ several strategies to help in change management. As the company grew in size, its operation system became complex which not only required technical solutions but also changes in strategies towards achieving the desired objectives. It is in this light that the company has to cope with change and change management to compete effectively in the market.
Change Drivers and restrainers
Change Drivers
New technology: Accoding to Nilakant, and Ramnarayan, (2006),
New technology can be a significant driver of organizational change. Consider the effect the internet is having on old-style media and print companies. As internet access levels increase on a worldwide scale, companies are forced to adapt their existing operations to shifting consumer preferences. Companies that neglect rising trends face a diminishing market share to competitors who better understand and address the demands of their customers.
Mergers and Acquisitions
“When companies merge or consolidate operations, significant costs cutting and a re-engineering takes place. Redundancy and restructure to align with management objectives drive organizational change (Nilakant, and Ramnarayan, 2006 p.197). “The integration of two or more companies creates the needs for significant challenges to streamline operations and integrate existing IT operations into a centralized structure” (Hayes, 2007). Towards this, the bank will have no option but to adopt change.
End of the Product Development Life Cycle
“A product can reach the end of its product life cycle and companies are forced to cut production and operating costs or exit the market” (Hayes, 2007 p. 56). “At this stage, many organizations integrate with existing competitors in the market” (Hayes, 2007 p. 57). (Hayes, 2007 p.63) further explains that “These results in structural changes to a companies business processes to either maintain profitability or refocus on new opportunities.” In this condition, the bank will be forced to adopt change
Change In strategic Objectives
“If a company shifts its focus from a product-centric to a customer-centric orientation, new processes are required to facilitate this re-orientation and this can result in redundancy to existing staff or manufacturing processes” (Hayes, 2007 p. 59). To further explain this concept, Hayes, (2007 p. 60) “Company restructuring from this is a primary driver of organizational change as the old is replaced with the new.”
Change restrainers
Lack of financial resources: Lack of adequate financial resources in an organization or company reduces its capacity to embrace change hence restrain the change process in a company.
Political conditions and legislation regarding a particular change in a given market limits the change process. When there are regressive laws that govern the operations of a company, these laws hinder the progress of accompanying hence they are restrainers to change.
Change Typology
Structural Change
According to (Koter, 1996 p.85),
The structure is the outward form of organization; an indication of the regularities which arise when groups of people get together in pursuit of a common purpose. Structures will inevitably emerge from the interactions between individuals—these people will usually work together; this one will usually adopt a leadership role; these will perform some functions, those will perform others; this group will have more status and power than that; and so on.
Process Change
According to Koter, (1996 p.76) “Processes are the ordered set of activities which are used to generate the outputs of an organization”. Koter, (1996 p.77) “define a business process as, “a collection of activities that take one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to the customer.”
Nilakant and Ramnarayan Change model
“The authors present a new model of change management which identifies four core tasks that are crucial to the success of any change initiative in organizations” (Hayes, 2007 p.47). “These core tasks are: appreciating change, mobilizing support for change, executing change, and building change capability (Koter, 1996 p.78). They contend that failures of change initiatives result from failure to manage one or more of these tasks effectively
Appreciating change
According to Nilakant and Ramnarayan, (2006, p.289), “change management requires the active appreciation for the initiated change.”Towards this, My bank will require that all the employees are made to appreciate the need that has changed in the bank. In this regard, people will not only embrace change but also be part of the change program
Mobilizing support for change
In the implementation of change in an organization, Nilakant, and Ramnarayan, (2006, p.219), illustrate that “there is need for support mobilization for change intervention in an organization.”This calls for the preparation of people for change before change program implementation. This is necessary for everyone to be part of the change and embrace it fully. In this line, MyBank will have to carry out mobilization for change before its implementation in the bank.
Executing change
Executing change is one of the most important aspects of change management. At this particular stage Nilakant and Ramnarayan,( 2006,p.292), notes that an organization should be prepared to execute change after carrying out the first and second tasks which are; appreciating change, mobilizing support for change. Execution involves the actual implementation of change programs. In this line, MyBank should execute change only after the success of the first and the second tasks above.
Building change capability
Effective change management requires an appropriate change capability (Nilakant and Ramnarayan, 2006, p.296).
A bottom-up approach to change in My bank
The banking industry is quite dynamic and competitive and for a middle size bank such as Mybank to effectively compete for a sizable market share, it must be efficient in the market. This, therefore, calls for a change of several operations continuously. In the 1990s the bank experiences several challenges which precipitated the need to embrace a radical change. In this endeavor, the bank adopted a top-down management strategy. In this kind of change management, there is the involvement of all in the change process in the bank. Available literature points out that the employees were excited to be completely involved in the development of their bank. Participation, in the quality improvement team, was open to everyone and the role of quality managers was only to facilitate.
Non-linear process of change in MyBank
People and Change and Change Agent in MyBank
The process of change in a bank cannot be comprehensively analyzed without the below stated change process strategies.
- Cognitive tuner
- People catalyzer
- Efficacy Builder
- Systems Architect
Cognitive tuner – the prevailing mindset – the process of reflection – occurs through dialogue and conversation. It is a common saying among the employee in the bank that MyBank is my life and its success is my development. Towards the enhancement of this mindset, the bank should improve the following aspect. There should be free interaction among the entire bank employee whether they are at the top management or the bottom. In this regard, MyBank will not only be attracting its clients but also retaining them as well
People Catalyser – Change management call for change agents in an organization. A change agent is critical in mobilizing people towards embracing change. In the case of MyBank, several managers command a lot of respect, and employees love them for their leadership qualities. These managers are the change agents in the bank.
Efficacy builder – confidence is one critical thing that not only enhances individuals’ self-esteem but also gives them the motivation to venture into new ideas and opportunities. This is one particular thing that has not been enhanced in the bank. It is therefore prudent to adopt this strategy in the change management process. Confidence will give employees the power to work as a team, embrace technological progress as a team in the bank.
Systems Architect – “integration and coordination, enabling people to work together and learn from each other” (Koter, 1996 p.74). Removal of structural impediments to change, align policies and procedures, and incentive systems towards the common goals. Establish new routines to focus organizational efforts towards change.
Process of Change Management in MyBank
According to Morrison and Morrison (1998 p.68), Organizational change management is a crucial managerial process that needs to be handled with care. To successfully achieve change management in an organization, people should be fully involved (Cameron and Green, 2004 p.19). MyBank Company like any other competitive bank requires developing and embracing change; thus, requiring change management strategies. In its efforts to manage change, the bank has employed the John Hayes model of change management. In this model, change management is a process that involves several interventions for its effectiveness and success. Furthermore, in the application of the Hayes model, a company or an individual has to follow laid down phases of change management.
In the first phase of change management, there is the process of preparing for change which in turn involves preparation, assessment, and strategy development. This phase is depicted in Mybank operations. Available literature points out that most Mybank managers are not only equitable but also accessible. This aspect of them being easy to access made him interact with many workers and managers. This attribute has been observed to be necessary for implementation and change management strategy. Galvin prepared Motorola employees for change by giving a detailed and mind provocative speech on leadership. This speech invited a lot of reactions among the employees and managers alike.
Managing Change in MyBank
This phase involves detailed planning for the change process. In the process of planning, a clear analysis of resource allocation, process and way of change implementation, and timing is done. It also involves resistance management which is necessary for change management under which all strategies are employed to ensure that the management and the entire workforce embrace the change as theirs.
This kind of ownership is an indicator of readiness within a company to adopt change. This phase depicts itself vividly when top management is reported to have attacked cultures that promoted rivalry in the internal affairs of the company. Towards that, he encouraged all workforces to engage themselves as a team. Roth, (2003 p.66), illustrates that teamwork spirit is one aspect of change management that is required for the success of the kind of change being implemented in the company.
Reinforcing change
To reinforce change in a company several strategies are necessary (Bush, 2003 p.45). These strategies are geared towards ensuring that change introduced in the company is embraced and everyone is adapting to the change in a convincing way. In the bank, it was very difficult to change a culture that had had its roots entrenched in the operation system. This kind of rigidity became a stumbling block to the change process (Anderson and Anderson, 2001 p17). The bank began training managers on the best techniques and ways of change management.
To ensure change management within the company was properly reinforced, management opted to listen to employees on the best strategies to use in change implementation and change management. The company used corrective action and rewards to employees to create a wind of motivation among them to not only drive them along the desired path of change but also to appreciate their contribution to the growth of the company. In this line, it is necessary for top management to fully coordinate with all the other departmental heads in ensuring that they work as a team. Cameron and Green (2004 p.51) illustrate that;
“Intensive collaborative process is critical for change management. It deepens the analysis and frames it in a way that can be heard and used by the organization. Equally important, it increases the knowledge and skills of change agents within the organization so that they can move the change process forward independently. Central to this method is the challenging assumptions and questioning ways of thinking require a relational context; that is, the movement toward change occurs through growth-fostering interactions characterized by mutuality, reciprocity, and fluid expertise Thus, it is up to us as managers to create mutuality in all our interactions, whether with individuals, workgroups or the management team.”
Teamwork in change management is one aspect that not speeds the change implementation process but also makes the employees work towards one goal. “In the 1970s, Motorola developed the participative management program as a means of enhancing productivity and employees’ involvement in the firm” (Hayes, 2007 p.102). This program of involvement of employees and top management in the affairs of the company impacted positively on the company’s growth and development. This strategy improved the efficiency of communication among the employees and management. In this regard, the success of any change and its management is pegged on proper and effective communication channels at all company levels.
In the analysis of change management within MyBank, several factors contributed to poor results and drastic loss in the market share. This pushed the giant company into restructuring and undertaking various forms of changes. The longer production cycle, too many and unnecessary management structures, and inflexible decision-making systems had pushed Galvin into instituting change in management. The top management team has a role to sponsor activities that are geared towards educating the other managers on the role and importance of the change. This involves the active participation of all the managers.
Communication in change management
According to Cook, Macaulay, and Coldicott, (2004 p.31), communication is a very powerful tool in change implementation and change management. Effective communication in an organization should address all components that are the audience, the content of the message, and the timing of the message. MyBank employed an effective mode of communication which made it easy to share ideas and opinions. This is one strategy that had impacted positively the continuous growth of banking in a completive banking sector.
Change management theory
According to Kotter (2010 p.13), “There are approaches developed by Kotter and Schlesinger to prevent or minimize employee resistance to change”. “The strategies are remedies to four main resistance factors which include; misunderstanding, self-interest, low tolerance for change, and employee disagreement” (Cook, Macaulay and Coldicott, 2004 p.75).MyBank through its chief executive officer and managers demonstrated forms of application of Kotter’s principles in his management style.
Kotter’s 8 step change model and theories are evidenced in the operational culture of MyBank.
The 8 Principles in change management
- Demonstration of increase in urgency levels and talks into consideration the role of taking an active part in people’s motivation. This principle is evidenced in MyBank. Most top managers at the bank gave their leadership speeches and continuously emphasized the need for change in the bank.
- Building a guiding team which involves putting the right people in positions. “These people should have the right commitment level and the right mix of skills” (Cook, Macaulay, and Coldicott, 2004 p.17). Right people make the right team that not only works together but also drives the company towards a given desired direction. In their continuous strive for success, MyBank has over the period lived to this principle.
- Right vision- “the team should have right vision and strategy” (Burnes, 2009 p.71). This is important in teamwork and the principle of collective responsibility in the company. Vision defines the company’s future aims and to ensure the aims and objectives are fulfilled, the team should strive to formulate a vision that is practical and achievable.
- Communication involves communicating simple strategies. The bank has adopted a communication strategy that not only makes people free from each other but also enhances team spirit among then employees.
- The empowerment action-this principle highlights the need to remove obstacles that impede smooth and effective communication in the company. This enables the flow of constructive feedback and calls for support among the entire team in an organization. The creation of short-term win-short team wins boosts the company’s morale and speed of action. It is broken down success into small and manageable sizes within a specific period (Kotter’s, 2010 p.33)
- Don’t let up principle- this foster and encourage determination among the employees and the management. Once the change is initiated, it is good to see it through. This encourages the team members in the company to believe in the future success of the company. This kind of principle is evidenced among most of the employees in the bank. Managers never give up in their efforts to explain change and change management to the other team members in MyBank.
- Make change stick – this aspect of change management involves reinforcing the value of success. This is done through several interventions which include bringing a new crop of employees who are experienced and better equipped to be part of the change and change management in the bank. These interventions are geared towards weaving and turning change into organizational culture.
A table showing Change management Action Plan
Change process evaluation
The process of evaluation of change is a fundamental aspect of the change life cycle. The bank should therefore employ all the available strategies in analyzing the success of the change being adopted. The bank can, therefore, apply the change theory (CTO) technique in this process. According to Kotter’s, (2010 p.43) “ theory of change (TOC) is the product of a series of critical-thinking exercises that provides a comprehensive picture of the early- and intermediate-term changes in a given community that are needed to reach a long-term goal articulated by the community”
The role of Change Agent in the MyBank
Change Agent
According to Hayes, (2007 p.133) “Change within an organization can be achieved by a change agent (an outsider) someone who is not affected by the cultural drawback of the organization. However, there are pros and cons.”
Merits
- “Change Agent is unaffected by the organization’s cultural drawbacks.” Hayes, (2007 p.13)
- “Employees might listen to someone who is an outsider simply because he or she is not management.” Hayes, (2007 p.33)
Change agents contribute a great deal to the process of change in the bank. This is because they help in creating awareness about change in the bank. Change agents are both top and bottom management personalities who command trust, respect, and adoration in the bank. Their role is immense and cannot be ignored in this daunting task of change.
- Change agent mobilize other employees to support the change in an organization
- They are also responsible for educating other employees on the need and benefits of change being adopted
- They are the positive face of the bank in its good employees-bank relation. This is an important role since it enhances teamwork spirit in the bank.
Appreciating change
MyBank has got a great challenge in ensuring that everyone not only appreciates the change process in the company but also is well aware of the need and benefit of change that is being adopted. In this regard, the bank has employed external experts to carry out training and education to the bank employee to prepare them to accept and appreciate change.
Support for change / mobilizing
Mobilization is one of the basic requirements in the quest for to full support of employees in the bank. Change implementation requires a lot of support from everyone in the bank. To ensure that the change process is adequately mobilized and supported, the management of MyBank came out aggressively in educating all the employees in their department on the need to embrace change in the operation of the bank.
Building for change
The process of change needs effective and adequate preparation in an organization. In this regard, MyBank has put all the available strategies in the preparation and building for change.
Executing change
Change in an organization becomes successful when all the process in change adoption is followed. Towards this, executing change is quite important and at this stage, management should put all the necessary.
Change and knowledge transfer
The growth and development of companies and organizations are pegged on change. Towards this, there should be a transfer of knowledge from one department to the other. This helps in the development of the bank. This is because new strategies of management promote economies of scale in a bank. To ensure that there is quick knowledge transfer, the bank should adopt a management style that embraces promotion and training in the bank.
Recommendation to MyBank
In this dynamic and competitive world, Mybank should be prepared to embrace the following change in the operation of the bank.
- The bank should adopt an integrated online customer relationship management.
- The bank should also adopt modern e-banking strategies.
These two strategies will stand a great chance in improving the operation of the bank thereby increasing its profitability and growth.
The economic recession has precipitated a change in most of the companies and banks across the globe. This is necessary to ensure that these companies can still make a profit and be viable in the market. These changes include mergers and the adoption of new technology. Change is a continuous process that should be embraced for growth development
Conclusion
MyBank is one of the banking companies which have survived the wave of market competition and economic recession through strategically positioning themselves to accept and embrace continuous change in their work culture. In this period of stiff competition and advanced technological development, change is the pivotal point of success. It is, therefore, necessary for companies not only to embrace change but also weave it to form their culture through better change management strategies. With stiff competition from giant banks in the market, MyBank should speed up its innovation to compete well in the market.
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