Business organizations today face rapid changes that have never been witnessed before. Notably, organizations’ rapid growth and development and the fast-changing trends in business globally have poised a highly competitive business market. Many organizations are striving hard to integrate new and improved sustainability tactics to keep abreast of their competitors.
Samsung, for example, is a multinational technology company whose core mission and vision declaration entirely concentrates on innovation and the improvement of the global society using high-tech products. The rapid changes in the global economy have also steered Ericsson Telecommunication Company to make several radical organization-wide transformations and adjustments.
Located in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is a worldwide company offering various technology components. The firm’s major services include providing and operating communications networks, TV systems and videos, and other related products. With the high reliance on Ericsson products globally, the company has always maintained its key practices on organization and change management elements (van Hensbergen, 2019).
The company does not apply its change projects internally and externally by providing consultation services like the Ericsson program and change management. To keep up with the growing pressure from its competitors, the company adopted the behavior of a learning organization. This helps the entity responsive to the developing market demand, improved technology, new growth opportunities and economic growth.
An analysis of Ericsson’s organizational change depicts the implementation of Kotter’s leading change model. The company ensures accurate employment of the 8 step models of organizational changes in integrating 4G systems specifically. By keeping the sense of urgency protuberant, the company has always kept every stakeholder aware of the high uncertainty echelons that characterize the changes in the telecommunications company. The company creates numerous awareness activities that prepare the employees and management in cases of unexpected transformations.
The firm ensures professional and knowledgeable staff, and this is because they can quickly comprehend serious situations and act quickly in regards to change. The company’s managers and a team of supervisors closely monitors and actively support the team members of various projects in the firm. This strategy helps the management ensuring the project members have the projects at heart since they are crucial to the company. In light of Kotter’s change management framework, organizational change is likely to occur when steered by a strong guiding coalition that includes shareholders, strong titles and the skills and expertise required (Das, 2019).
Most of Ericsson’s projects are given much attention, especially the transformation to the 4G network was highly ranked as the change that improved most of the services at Ericsson. The 4G project was given consideration due to its effective production costs, comprehensive size, novelty, and relevance in the competitive global market. Ericsson used the art of common sense and rationality power.
The company’s vision is entirely focused on technology and innovation in its telecommunication products and solutions. The key elements of the corporation’s vision during the transformational period were to ensure customer satisfaction. The change vision was simplified and became very easy to understand and promote basing the fact that the project reaches various clients with diverse mindsets. The vision is made easy to memorize and understand so that the employees are always working with the vision in mind. This brings about a dedicated and goal-oriented workforce that will always give positive outcomes.
In communicating the organization’s vision better, the corporation employs all available methods to share and promote its vision. The company’s management from different departments is always invited to attend monthly meetings and kick-offs that raise the workers’ spirit and encourages teamwork in various projects. Supervising members are also left with the task of assisting other individuals closely by developing accurate strategies and equipping them so that they can do the intended work in a fine manner. This consideration is very essential, especially in the production unit at Eriksson. The production team is also well trained and empowered for adequate skills to enable the success of the 4G project program transition.
The management at Ericsson plans and creates short-term wins that help break the monotony of the normal production routine. With these, the company staff feels motivated and increases their activeness to the speculated project. A celebration hauls short-term wins, but firstly, the company must make sure one process is complete and successful in avoiding transformational botch due to high complacency levels in the workforce. By referring to the methods used in decision making, the complacency levels are detected by the organization management team. The company’s key aims in the 4G project and production of other gadgets were to ensure that its customers attain high-performing results for the complete value of connectivity.
For global organizational transformation, change is a process where emotional energy, commitment, ideas and a set supportive structure are the key propellers towards its achievement. Consistent with Kotter’s change management model, a business enterprise has the discretion to try and reassess new solutions if the set decisions fail to yield positive outcomes (Tang, 2019). Ericsson improved its sales due to the success of its strategic plans during the network transition process (Ericsson. 2013). The organization’s managerial team conceptualized the organizational change in network connectivity and possible upgrades (Ericsson. 2013).
This is because most IT service provider organizations have the knowledge of the dynamics of change in the production of gadgets with new and better features. This gives Ericsson’s team the need for a run. The company’s managerial team actively embraces change, and they see it as an unending process.
Regarding attaining the utmost benefits from tech devices, sweeping changes in the company are essential. In addition, Kotter’s model emphasizes that people ideas are also crucial since change bases on thoughts (Das, 2019). A single thought can bring up an idea, and once the idea is shared amongst an organizations professional team, a major decision in organizational change is made.
Ericsson’s transformation idea was brought about by various notions such as the focus on creating a global organization, transition and worldwide standard systems and governance. In Ericsson’s success in organization change, managers were advised to embrace the soft factors of change like ideas and people. With comprehensive training classes, courage and skills, the team delivered a successful transformation.
In conclusion, the case study of Erickson’s change management from the perspective of Kotter’s model demonstrates that companies today operate in an increasingly complex, dynamic and hypercompetitive business environment. The rapid change provides a strong case for companies to business leaders and managers to successfully lead change initiatives. Most importantly, change is an ongoing process that takes a considerable duration to implement fully. Therefore, managers need to play a leading and supporting role in initiating and sustaining change efforts in the organization. One of executing this function is to encourage change and exhibit a strong commitment to the transformation to build trust in their team members.
References
Das, V. (2019). Comparative study of Kotter’s and Hiatt’s (ADKAR) change models. Journal of Leadership and Management, 1(15).
Tang, K. N. (2019). Change management. In W. J. Schell (Eds.), Leadership and Change Management (pp. 47-55). Springer.
van Hensbergen, K. (2019). Change Management for Corporate Digital Transformation. 27 Group. Web.