Abstract
Changing process is excessively complicated. To redefine leadership as the prerequisite of change is an enormous challenge for today’s organization. How should they take steps to move toward a shared vision of management’s changing process is a vital question. The eight-stage process of change composed by Kotter is a new dimension to the destiny of change in corporate world. This paper has analyzed the Kotter’s eight-step process to abolish obstructions by correct positioning and suggested for further research analyzing a real file paradigm of Sprint Corporation, USA.
Problem Statement
Introduction
An organizational changing process discovers and adopts new attitudes, values, and behaviors with the help of a trained change agent who leads individuals, groups or the entire organization through the process. Members of the Organization will identify with the change agent’s values, attitudes, and behavior internalizing them once they perceive their effectiveness in performance. In organizational management, each stage of changing process plays important role of the organization’s overall success. In an organizational circumstance, this research paper examines the applicability of Kotter’s eight-stage process of change. In short, changing process is the systematic attempts to redesign an organization through a manner that will support the organization get use with changes of external environment or to achieve new aspiration.
Background of problem
Kotter J. P. (2008, 16) addressed that to carry out the goals and objectives of an organization manager impose changing vision and strategy because of an effective roadmap to complete requisite change though they mistake to perform needed change. For an organization, change is important with the transform of impression of the industry to prolong its pose in marketplace. For required change of an organization, Kotter’s eight-step course of action is not only the way of solution but for fertile consequence, this procedure assists an organization than any other. To be lead in the industry and avoidable collapse and error of their competition can be outline through the execution of this eight-step procedure.
Rationale for the research
Here selected organization is Sprint Corporation US the world’s major telecommunication product and service contributor. Sprint is dedicated to making it easy for its customers around the world to buy a wider variety of cell phones, digital wireless phone, and land phones including technology, suppliers, and business services. With 59,900 devoted employees Sprint’s annual sales around the world are $ 27.4 billion in 2004. To sustain its massive growth, Sprint time to time changes its strategies and concentrated in organizational layers those prior customers.
Sprint associates with extensive marketing, supplement product lines and organism of service for delivering proper value to all levels of customers (residential, individual or business). This organization represents new projects in accordance to their change to meet their business wishes. This paper would explore change management considering the factors associated with Sprint are Recruiting and personnel, Economics, Computer system, Personnel and human resources, Sales and marketing, and Accounts and salaries.
Guy G. R. and Beaman K. V. (2008, p 21) added that the existing roles of changing process in leading organizational change are sometime ambiguous with the core course of Organizational Management. The convincing case of this present Kotter’s eight stage process of change discovers the inconsistency exist in current practice that has travel around the entrance of changes of Sprint.
Research question and objectives
This research paper has designed to answer the following research questions. Describe the Kotter’s eight-step process of change and their important to the overall change success of an organization. The answer to this question will initiate the managers to organize “Kotter’s Eight Stage process of Change” within the organization. Research objectives are scheduled bellow:
- How a sense of urgency can be increase?
- Describe the procedure to create a guiding coalition or team.
- How would vision and strategy develop?
- What are the ways to change vision?
- How obstacles could remove?
- What are the procedures to generate short-term wins?
- Does the organization need further change?
- How change stick would make?
Relevant Literature Review
Overview of the topic
This research paper includes theoretical explanation and practical implementation for measuring changing process in Sprint as case study. The opinions and views of leading organizational change, vision, and strategies are discussed. Both literature and appliance of given steps are assemble here to design or shape the Kotter’s eight stage process of change. A circumstance of change and ways to prevail over the crisis is also present here. As a contributor of telecommunication products and services, Sprint Corporation has various opportunities to spread out its business though there are some external threats that make difficulty in the way to attain that opportunities. As a result, Sprint apply eight step process of change of Kotter in its organization to remove those threats and accomplish opportunities for making a strong position in the industry as well as in marketplace.
Literature review
In this part of research paper, Kotter’s eight-step process of change has illustrated to clarify the process and to draw the appliance procedure in case of Sprint Corporation. Literature review of this research paper has designed into eight parts to answer the eight research questions as bellow.
Establishing a sense of urgency
Guy G. R. and Beaman K. V. (2008, p 22) addressed that the first step of Kotter’s approach is urgency design. Motto of this stage is helping germane people to be aware of the reason of change and took significance exploit instantly for that purpose. Central challenges of change are three- anxiety, high complacency, and anger. High possessions of innovation, trench out, trained relevant peoples along with urgency; shift away and so on could develop urgency sense or magnify urgency. For “relevant” in case of small organizations 100 is preferable number than five where as larger companies choose 1000 than 50. In short, this step articulates that identify the crisis for that the organization need to make change and to do this it is important to develop an urgency as a result organization can make over that crisis.
Construct guiding team or alliance
Robbins, P. S. and Judge, A. T., (2004, 227) explained that for guiding the change it is important to ensure that selected team is enough powerful to lead. Moreover, the team attributes several means of skill. They are- leadership skills, authority, credibility, analytical proficiency, communications capability, and action of preconception. With the selection of urgency, chosen team or group should start their mission or course of action with commitment and trust. As other high-quality teams the selected team also becomes skilled at operating their jobs to reach their requisite goal.
Developing a vision and strategy
Newcomb L. H. (2008, 15) put in plain words that third step of changing process is to develop vision and strategy. Vision of a company describes future identity and the strategy expresses how to achieve this vision or ways for that vision. For that reason a company must know the answer some indisputably questions such as what is our aim or target spot. What should our future product and service, technology and customer focus and what category of project do we want to achieve in long term?
Communicating the change vision
Vector, R., (2003, 360) argued that to carry out vision and strategy a strong communication must be needed. Most of the ineffective cases organizations not succeed to attain their vision for the reason that of poor communication. In this footstep, company needs to persuade understanding, offering individuals’ significant accumulations of energy for free of cost as well as expand promise at a superior stage. For an organizational change, key features are reappearance. Symbols of representing the organization strappingly and several time agreements are most expensive than keep promises.
Empowering employees of board-based action
Arkansas Department of Education (2008, 12) supported that the task of this stage is not distribute power its task is to take away difficulties through self-confidence. Change is weakening when frustration enhances. Central issue of this step is to allocate tasks to the right placed people who are relevant amongst urgency.
Generating short-term wins
Connors, R., & Smith, T. (2006, 39) pointed out that for generate short-term wins employees need to effort as their vision for long-term benefit. Sometimes attain wins is a long-run process. For this, organization’s attempt as a whole occupies resources, reliability. Any effort could go underwater for the lack of structured method and selecting preliminary projects cautiously.
Consolidating gains and producing more change
Edelman L. (2008, 5-40) stated that in seventh step, merged with short-term wins organization should drive for further change where necessitate. Sometimes people want to do several tasks promptly and this is the reason of letdown in many of the cases. In such cases, it is better to scheduled rationales of breakdown correspondingly and then takes action to conquer those. To achieve the schedule the work must be distributed or shared amongst relevant people.
Anchoring new approaches in the culture
Hatch, M. J., (2006, 147) has given explanation that the last step of changing process is connecting or anchoring new approaches in organization’s culture because of change leadership. Orientation, sharing values, behavioral change, performance appraisal, rewarding through promotion and so on are the factors or systematic approach for developing new culture within a short time.
Methodology
The main purpose of this part is to finding how the chosen research methodology would match the major objective of this research question and how it would be achieved. There are two types of research methodology- qualitative research and quantitative research. Quantitative research describes way of obtaining primary data in the course of questionnaire. On the other hand, qualitative research is carrying out through interview.
To complete this research paper and to gather requisite information few managers at Sprint Corporation interviewed. Through this procedure all, the enforced information achieved to draw together. Thus, between preceding and current research could compare and could sketch any digression if necessary.
Results or findings
Foundations of the changing process
Sprint accepted that the change management was crucial issue to reconstruct the organizational success. From July 2003 to December 2004 was the period of Sprint’s Change and retransformation to bring organizational success. It calls attention to increase management quality by a determined effort to reiterate and re-teach central management principles.
The opportunities lay down in accordance with the course by which the organization arrive to its destination. Diversity and enclosure were framed to keep all in the process and put value. The strategy was aimed to “each person would be present at someone for impressive.” Sprint testimonies on resetting change objectives once a month. At the same time, it argued to analyze and discuss with senior management to speed up communication for culture, morale, and motivation. Sprint mentioned that it was really a hard job to achieve management objectives.
In case of Sprint, it is inflexible to reform its management for restructuring sensation. Sprint concentrated to develop its excellence in management through alteration management’s base. The execution strategy considers the “Buy or Make” decision. According to the organization’s vision, its prospects are express. Ensure presence of all amongst relevance it is important to ensure diversity, values and schemes. Changing management of Sprint run through several objectives. It is aimed to sketching mission to exchange or makeover the organization. Attain business goals make available enlargement for both structure and culture. Become accustomed amend programs or schedules when business needs occur. Orientation, performance appraisal, reward through promotion could integrate with the values of the organization. Estimate success after the organization makeover and highlight quality of the management.
Evidence of Spirits Change in management from practice has been presented few points as firstly Sprint issued outlined business rules scheduled implementation with at lest seventy-three days deadline. Its Customers achieved an opportunity of period fifteen days deadline and Sprint takes action to customer comments with in seven days. Customer may demand walk-through of draft business rules Sprint carries out business rule for scheduled implementation and Sprint delivers technical specifications for scheduled implementation.
Summary
Sprint’s clarification of changing process mostly documented and perhaps developed the command and control. The management of the organization evaluates selection of the team and their location, controlling process when change involve. In this process, the organization would augment their desired quality. Uninterrupted makeover of the organization has involved in following criteria such as effective guidance, suitable vision and proper strategy to pull off that vision, customer oriented market, availability of information, skilled and efficient personnel or human resource, managing ability of course of action and effective results after change occurs. Previously mentioned results would moderator by monthly basis or by yearly basis and this finding are checked and approved by the top of the management. After this, they took choice what would be the change and how would desired change occur.
Conclusion
In accordance with the Kotter’s eight-stage process of change, this research paper emphasizes on changing process of Sprint Corporation, USA. For an organization, changing process is too hard. To redefine leadership as the requirement of change is a great challenge for an organization. How should they act to move toward a shared vision of management’s changing process? From overall discussion, it is clear that first step for change is to identify urgency and construct relevant human resource or build an efficient team to overcome the identified urgency. In third step, select a vision for changing process and discover effective strategy to attain the vision. Forth stage needs strong communication for the vision and the strategies. Eliminate barriers through correct positioning the human resources not distributing power among them in the fifth step. Generate instant wins as the foundation of long-run sustainability stands at the sixth stage. At seventh step, evaluating the smaller wins to presume further changes should be occurred if require. In addition, at the last stage, the change of top management provides effective guidance for creating a new culture.
Here the problem credentials, objectives of changes, methodology for designing, outcomes for the required purpose and its impact on the organization have explained in narrative form. By nurturing all of these steps, companies, as well as Sprint Corporation, can change their changing process though this eight-stage process of change composed by Kotter is not sufficient. However, this process would bring much effectiveness than any other and ask for further research.
Bibliography
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