Question:
Describe about the Fast Track Couriers Pty Ltd?
Introduction
The firm named Fast Track Couriers has been in to the market since long and is a courier organization that has always been operating within New South Wales for last 15 years. The primary business of the firm is all related to delivering the medium towards large size parcels across the metropolitan Sydney. Currently the firm wants to expand its market and aims towards two vital goals. They are:
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Analysis of organisational objectives to identify change needs for the Fast Track Couriers:
Goal A actually is essential for the business towards ensuring that the firm attains all its operational as well as strategic aims and goals. The firm aims at enhancing its market reach and wants to expand to several locations where it does not exists till date. This will require the firm to develop it technologically so that it becomes capable of giving a tough competition to its competitors. Also technological enhancement will help the firm to attain better market share. Also this will enable the firm to track its delivery persons and reach them on time when needed and in case of emergencies it might prove to be very much beneficial for the firm.
Goal B is also essential to the business to and it is needed as the firm company provides data and information regarding the strategies and policies procedures via a documented manual which are actually held in every truck like employee manual. This can be made advanced and employees will feel more developed and enhanced technologically through this system. One person per truck system will also ensure optimum use of the human resource as well as proper usage of all other resources in order to make the production of the firm extra efficient and effectual. The automation of the gates will help the drivers as well as they will no longer be required to lift the gates manually. This will alsomotivate the drivers and makes them feel that the firm even thinks and is concerned about the issues being faced by the drivers (Bowman and Jarrett, 1996).
Who: The goal A of the firm which is all about implementation of a GPS system for tracking the trucks in order to enhance delivery time and system will directly impact the truck drivers. Also the other employees of the firm like local delivery staffs, loading and unloading workers and even the middle level managers will be affected by the implementation of this system.
How: These changes will be needed to get implemented very carefully and will require a vast lot of concern. If any firm is not liking and not ready to embrace alterations and changes then that firm is going to suffer in the long run. The staffs in attainment process of both the goals will be supplied a proper training which will help them to know and better understand the changes and make it easy for them to adapt such changes. The management department will need some experts for training the staffs who would supply the knowledge of the new technology and also encourage the staffs to use novel technologies with each passing day which will help them as an individual and also the firm on a whole.
When: The changes will be implemented by end of July 2011 and the results are to be evaluated in the end of financial year 2012.
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STRATEGIC GOALS |
RELATED CHANGE GOALS |
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To grow as well as expand the business in metropolitan locations |
The goal A which is about implementation of GPS will help the firm to become very fast and extra efficient in its processes of delivery and supplies. This will make the firm attain extra market share and thereby expand its market |
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To deliver small plus medium packages and enhance the market share by 7.5%. |
The enhancement of market share will require more technologically developed system which will help the firm grow more and more. |
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To develop properly integrated loom towards management of distribution using the technology |
GPS will integrate the management with the distribution staffs and the employers will be able to locate the trucks. |
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To make and maintain very cohesive as well as well-aggravated workforce |
The truck drives through automated gate system will be made to feel that the firm cares for what hard labor they do manually, this will motivate them to great extent. |
Change requirement- The change will include many new people that is several novel employees will be recruited which will incur great cost for the firm. The main budget for the implementing of this change strategy will exclude the cost of novel trucks, technology as well as lift gates and even lost productivity commencing truckers is some $25,000. But this will be beneficial as it is expected to grow the market share of the firm by some 7.5% and even the benefit is expected to be some (By and Macleod, 2009)
Cost of changes- The main budget for the implementing of this change strategy will exclude the cost of novel trucks, technology as well as lift gates and even lost productivity commencing truckers is some $25,000. Also the change will need inclusion of some 8 novel trucks for enhancing the delivery patter and decreasing the delivery time as well as this will also incur cost for the firm as buying truck will need heavy investment. Yet this will have extra advantage on the firm. Small distribution outlets will be also be positioned at the Maitland and Goulburn, Nowra as well as Bathurst and also each of them will be manned by about two staffs within next 8 months. This will also include relocation of some staffs or recruitment of new employees which again would incur cost for the firm. Even building of new hubs will bring in expense for the organization. But through all this Fast Track will complete some 20% of the deliveries towards the regional locations within next 3 years, this will help the firm to attain what it has planned and thereby the whole expense will be regained back by the firm.
Risks- There is several risks related with the firm’s investments as well as changes. They are:
1. In past it was seen that the employees specially truck drivers have not accepted changes within the firm and has worked as hurdle for the implementation of the change. This might be a case in this situation as well.
2. There is very vast investment and inclusion of money in the process of implementation of this change, if change does not works properly and is a failure then the firm will have to suffer a vast loss of both financial as well as human resources.
3. Some old employees who might not accept the change may tend to get de-motivated and also might leave the firm
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CHANGE |
COST |
RISK |
BENEFIT |
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Implementation of GPS system |
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Drivers might feel that management is interfering in the process they deliver the consignments The repetition of past results which was about non-acceptance of the changes by the staffs
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Technologically advancement of the firm The firm might become extra competent in the market
The firm might properly recognize the outstanding performance of the staffs |
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Bringing in new trucks |
Need new trucks will incur cost to some 5000000
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Fast Track will be able to complete some 20% of the deliveries to all the regional locations within next 3 years.
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The firm will be able to enhance its delivery capability Better market reach |
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One driver per truck change |
Wages and salaries that will be paid to all new recruitments Automation of gate will incur cost for technology implementation |
Drivers might not accept the change totally Drivers might feel unhappy with the decision
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Most well-organized use of the resources to wrap market needs and requirements Reduced requirement for hiring external truckers Reduced probability of the lifting injury |
Source: (Carnall, 2001)
1. Structural:The firm is attempting and finding it essential to redesign structure of firm due to some influences from the external environment. These structural changes will involve hierarchy of the authority, goals and also structural characteristics as well as administrative procedures, plus the management scheme. Almost all of the changes in the firm is the way in which First flight will manage the falls under category of the structural change.
2. Processâ€Âoriented:The firm needs to reengineer the processes to attain optimum workflow as well as productivity. This Processâ€Âtilting change will be related to the firm’s delivery process otherwise the way in which the firm will assemble all its procedures and products otherwise services (Tidd, Bessant and Pavitt, 2001).
3. Peopleâ€Âoriented:This form of change will alters attitudes and behaviours, skills, as well as performances of the drivers by training them and encouraging them towards change acceptance.
Feasible- Yes the change will be highly feasible for the firm. Though it would incur much cost for the organization yet will intend to bring in vast advantages and great benefits for the firm by ensuring that it attains all its strategic as well as operational goals through enabling the staffs and changing the whole process of the working of the firm.
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CHANGE |
RISK |
BARRIER |
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GPS implementation |
The employee indulged in the process might prove to be a wrong selection Technological change is most of the time not accepted totally by the old employees Training will not be completed in an evening and will require much more time and money |
Will need recruitment of novel experts of software as well as hardware field and finding such professional will not be an easy task The staffs might reject the change as they have done in the past Drivers and other staffs might feel they are being tracked and firm is not happy with them. |
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Gate automation |
The drivers might feel they are being underestimated Incur vast cost |
The expert might feel difficult in implementation of this change |
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One driver per truck |
The drivers who will be left surplus might become a burden on the firm Firm might lose some staffs as well |
It will not be an easy task to convince the staffs It will need new drivers and also new trucks |
The risk mitigation strategy and planning will be a procedure of developing all the options as well as actions towards enhancing the opportunities plus reducing threats towards attainment of aims and objectives. Implementation of the risk mitigation will help the firm to execute risk mitigation activities. Risk mitigation will include tracking of the identified risks and also identification of novel risks, as well as evaluation of the risk process and even effectiveness all through the change process (Carter, 1994).
Handling of risk mitigation options will include:
Change in Fast track is vital part of the organization. Moreover, several managers manage the change poorly in the firm and do not accept it wholeheartedly causing the distrust otherwise confusion for the employees as well as clients. There are several steps to this plan:
a) Determine what, precisely, needs to get changed- As per the report and the strategic as well as operational aims and goals of the firm the firm needs to attain better market share in the coming future and also wants to develop its reach and aims to target new customers at metropolitans. This that is working well is to be identified and what does not requires any change also needs to be kept constant. The original problem for the Fast track is less efficient use of resources and not good market reach; also the staffs are rigid and not habituated to change (Readiness for Change, 2010).
b) Brainstorm probable solutions- Here the firm needs to evaluate and analyse all possible solution to the problem. As per Fast track the firm has found two major solutions that are indulgement of GPS system and automation of the gate for enhancing the effectiveness of the firm as well as the drivers and better reach the customers. Here the firm will consider wide variety of the options so that the firm can make proper logical decision regarding the ways to move further. For this the firm will browse websites and blogs, as well as books regarding problems the firm is facing.
c) Decide the way to move further- Though people in the firm had their own voice about change to happen, the managers need to actually set direction for rest of the firm. This will need a proper time period to open, and conduct honest discussion all amongst managers about things to be changed and things not to be changed.
d) Write the action steps. Then will be task to decide the way in which Fast track will address the changes plus then write it like part of the change management strategy. Here the decisions about communication of the change to all the level of employees will be done.
e) Set the time frame. The actual speed of the change will be decided in this phase and decisions about the way in which change will be implemented effectively, plus the way in which people would respond to the change needs to analysed and decided properly. Here managers need to move slowly and carefully. Moving too fast can also confuse the staff members and also make them unsettled. And then this change management strategy is to be written to reflect the appropriate speed for the firm (Connor and Lake, 1988).
f) Reflect upon the way in which these changes would affect different sets of staffs- Here managers often search for ways in which the change would affect entire firm, failing towards considering the way in which each department would need to deal with change. In this case drivers, middle level managers and other staffs will all have different perspective about the change and all of them need to be handled differently.
g) Identify obstacles- Then the firm ahs to identify obstacle in this case like non-acceptance of the change by staffs, need for money, budgetary obstacle and recruitment of new employees incurring vast cost for the firm as well as building of hubs in many locations and even brining inn of novel trucks are many things which could get in way of change being implemented efficiently.
h) Put plan upon paper. Once the firm gets a essential change management strategy figured out, the same is to be written down and properly documented. Fat track will use all the format works that are best for the firm like approval from the manager and many more.
a. Stakeholder management:
i. Main stakeholders plus roles- Stakeholders of the change will be the firm’s management department i.e. all the top level managers Because the change is in the whole structure of the firm and also in the functioning system.
ii. Commitment level- The level of commitment needs to be very high as this change indulges vast amount of risk. It has been seen that employees of the firm have not accepted any change easily in the past thus the management needs to be very careful about this new change going to take place.
iii. Issues- For attainment of these two goals the firm needs to implement a proper change in the system of the organization and also will affect the drivers and many other stakeholders. Achievement of such goals must increase the net profit within next financial year somewhat by $200,000 as of increased effectiveness and increased trade. The changes that will be implemented needs to be handled carefully and managed efficiently for attainment of better results. The actual change management plan and strategy, once accepted by General Manager, needs to be implemented without delay. Any delay might result in loss for the firm as the investment and budgets will already be allocated and delay might decrease the value of the money for the firm.
b. Communication plan:
i. Audience- The target audience will be drivers and also middle level as well as top level managers
ii. Message- The message will be conveyed regarding the change of system and gate automations as well as indulgence of GPS system in the process so hat tracking would be made more easy
iii. When communication will take place- The communication will take place in a meeting organized by the firm in which all the stakeholders will be included.
iv. How to communicated- The message will be communicated face to face and personally to the staff member.
v. Person responsible- A leader for each group will be co=hosen and they will communicate the message to their groups (Gill, 2002).
9. Measuring success- Later the employees will be observed and also the profit of the firmin the year 2012 will give detail about the effectiveness and success of the change that took place in the firm
How to report success:
i. format of reports- The format of the report will be a company yearly magazine where the firm will write all its profits that will be attained after implementation of the plan
ii. When- Yearly
iii. A copy of the report will be submitted to the management and board of directors as well.
a) Expert to handle technological changes
b) Training rooms and proper arrangement to influence the staffs towards change
c) Good motivation program for the staffs
d) Proper incentives for good performing staffs
e) New systems and computers to handle things technologically (Kavanagh, 1994)
The firm is capable of communicating properly with the staffs via email for the employees in the head office and through a printed newsletter for the drivers. The firm also provides information related to policies and procedures via documented manuals which are also held in every truck like a staff’s manual. All the trucks are actually fitted with the GPS system towards assisting the drivers with the navigation towards every pick up plus drop. Trucks also are assigned proper PDA which provides the drivers with details of every pick up as well as drop off plus records the time when the job starts plus finishes. Employees of the Head office work very intimately together as well as are extremely cohesive as well as motivated team. They also are very positive regarding organization’s direction as well as respond properly to any change. Drivers have in the past reacted unenthusiastically to any change. Change implemented within past has always met with confrontations and was thus difficult to get implement. The firm Couriers currently has two drivers in each truck to make sure that the drivers are capable of handling loading and unloading task of heavy parcels. The plan moving is to remove need for maintaining two drivers in every truck through installing the automatic lift gate. These surplus drivers will be indulged in driving new trucks which will be bought to enable firm to extend services to the regional locations. Drivers are presently happy with work environment. The firm typically leaves drivers alone now management is trying to change the system.
The results of the survey showed that managerial staffs like the HR managers and other top and middle level managers were very happy with the change taking place. They felt that with technological advancement and enhancement of the firm their workload will come down to some extent and things could be handled more easily. But lower level staffs like drivers and other line mans were not seen very happy. Even the delivery staffs were unhappy with the change.
Better means could have been used to communicate like the managers were informed through mails whereas a meeting could have been called up by the management team and staffs of middle level could have been given more details information regarding the decided change which could have made them feel extra happy and contended.
Also c particular leader could have been allotted for some groups of staffs and the information could have been made easier and well understandable.
Revised Communications Plan
All the stakeholders of the firm will need-
1. Proper understanding of the need for change and requirement for its proper implementation as well as management
2. Stakeholders will need timely information about the change
3. All the details be its major or minor related to the change which is going to take place
4. All the financial details and budgets allocated as well as a total risk and return analysis and also the details brought in through the survey (Graetz and Smith, 2010)
Conclusion:
Any change management task is not easy and includes several step and procedures. Its vital for nay firm to move on a new path and that when it needs to handle so many staffs at same time. Thus the firm needs to concentrate a lot on the facts and details regarding the change management and also indulge theories related to the issue for attainment of better results. In a nutshell here are all the facts related to the case that happened in the Fast track courier firm and the way in which the firm managed to handle the issues and implement as well as communicate the change effectively.
References
Bowman, C. and Jarrett, M. (1996). Management in practice. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
By, R. and Macleod, C. (2009). Managing organizational change in public services. London: Routledge.
Carnall, C. (2001). The Change Monster. Journal of Change Management, 2(1), pp.91-91.
Carter, W. (1994). Managing organizational change. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Connor, P. and Lake, L. (1988). Managing organizational change. New York: Praeger.
Gill, R. (2002). Change management–or change leadership?. Journal of Change Management, 3(4), pp.307-318.
Graetz, F. and Smith, A. (2010). Managing Organizational Change: A Philosophies of Change Approach. Journal of Change Management, 10(2), pp.135-154.
Kavanagh, M. (1994). Change, Change, Change. Group & Organization Management, 19(2), pp.139-140.
Readiness for Change. (2010). Journal of Change Management, 10(4), pp.445-447.
Tidd, J., Bessant, J. and Pavitt, K. (2001). Managing innovation. Chichester [England]: John Wiley.
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