In the present era, competition is increasing in the business operations are becoming complex for which the company is supposed to make a strategy that can help in achieving the business goals and to work effectively. The aim of the report is to comprehensively evaluate the theories related to leadership, motivation and change management with their effective implementation in the international context. Further, the paper will include the critical management of the diversity in terms of the cross-cultural context. All these discussions are based on the case study, which is related to the SweDigi Company. This report provides support in explaining the challenges encountered by Jan and suggests recommendations on how change can effectively be implemented within the company
1.1 Case background
Swedish Company is a well-known manufacturing company operating its business in the Southern region of Sweden. The company was sold to a group that include 7 similar companies four years ago. Currently, the company has approx. 543 employees and the present CEO of the company, who has worked with the company for 15 years, will retire in the next few months. The company is operating as a sub-contractor to the digital music industry, which has shown a decline in sales in the last 3 years.
Mission: – Considering the present situation, the mission of the company is to turn around within 12 months by finding the new niches for the current product range but majorly by introducing the new product.
People management issues
There are many people management issues that potentially underpin the difficulties Jan is facing in the company. These people management issues include: –
Communication issues
Communication is a key to the success of the companies in complex business structure. In an organisation, the need for effective communication is must among the people and this is supposed to be managed (Marchington, Wilkinson, Donnelly and Kynighou, 2016). Jan company is dealing with the issues related to the communication due to which the management and team are not able to take the accurate decisions. In the competitive world, it is must for the company to take the decisions effectively. In addition, the company include the employees from different countries with different understanding and opinion which leads to the conflict in the team.
The team conflict leads to the misunderstanding and affects the consistency performance of people present in the company (Marchington, et al, 2016). Further, the managers of Swedigi company doesn’t get involved in resolving the conflict as they ignore employees issues which leads to personality clashes and trust issues. It is recommended to the company to set a structure which helps them in communicating with the manager and employees present in the company.
2.2 The issue of employee turnover
The leading people management problem which is currently faced by the Jan Company is the turnover of the company. The production manager who is skilled and trained for the new product that the company is willing to introduce in the market threaten to resign the company (Bailey, Mankin, Kelliher and Garavan, 2018). Moreover, the manager is saying that he can leave the company can join other multinational companies that are present in the same market.
Further, he accused of not working with the management team and neither listening to them. This made the Jan feels that if the production manager can do the same then the other employees of the company who are working with them are not with him. Thus, this simply shows that they can leave the company at any point of time which shows the problem of people management as there is a high turnover of employees in the company (Bratton and Gold, 2017). HR of the company need to handle the problems related to the people management which can be resolved with the use of the effective strategy of retaining the employees.
2.3 Lack of marketing manager
The marketing manager plays a vital role in the company as they are the one who can take the products of the company on the new heights. The marketing of the Swedigi Company can help the sales executives to perform their work in an effective manner. Currently, the sales agents across the world who are trained in the new products seem to have the problems that access the important prospective clients.
This is taking place because of the lack of effective marketing manager because the manager has quit. This issue is one of the leading issues because sales of the company are the only way through which they can earn high profits and success in the market (Albrecht, et al, 2015). Thus, it is suggested to the company to appoint a new effective marketing manager in the company can resolve the issue related to the sales and marketing of the products in the market.
2.4 Increase in competition
Rise in competition is one of the major issues which are faced by the Swedigi Company. Sweden welcomes companies to perform their business operation that increases the competition. The competitors come with the new product and services in the market which leads to the challenges for the company as they have to prepare the operational and business strategy in such a way so that they can face the competitors (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).
The company is faced issues in identifying the talented candidates in the market because the presence of the competitors reduces the skilled labour in the market. Moreover, the employees have a different preference when it comes to their job which ultimately reduces the scope for the company. In addition, the employees look for the better opportunities to switch and here the problem exists for the company. Thus, this shows the issues related to the management of the people. Thus, it is suggested to the company to analyse the market to make the future decisions and steps related to the people management of the company.
2.5 Transition in old product
The transition in the old product is one of the major issues which are faced by the entire company and majorly by Jan. The change in the old product took place because of the poor management of the company which can be turned with the help of modification in new product. Though, this leads to the issue for the company because the production manager and marketing manager resits the change in the organisation.
This is the reasons marketing manager quit and production manager provided the threat of switching the company. The new product includes the minor changes in the production equipment that are required. Thus, the changes in the operations bring the issues related to the management of people (Hayes, 2014). Jan needs to manage the production manager because he/she can support for the changes for the new product. Further, it is suggested to communicate effectively with employees to aware them about the need for the change in the company.
2. Steps to get the launch of the new product back on track
In the first quarter of production related to the new product, Jan encounters a number of problems. This has been found that the management team found that it is hard to customize the new product in the production plan and sales are not taking off the forecast. Considering this, the management team has presented their different opinion which shows the progress of development and assurance of quality which is taking longer. This section includes the major steps which are required to be taken by the company with the motive bring the new product on track again.
The steps that Jan should take in the short and medium term, to get the launch of the new product back on track are as explained below:
3.1 Short-term measures
Short-term measures include the actions that are taken by the company in a short span of time to launch the new product that is back on track.
3.1.1 Jan should appoint a marketing manager
The new product sales are not according to the forecast done by the company due to which it is found that there is a need for a marketing manager who can conduct the marketing of the product. The appointment of the marketing manager will promote the product in the entire market that will contribute in enhancing the sales. Thus, this will help the company to take the further actions which include the determination of volume of goods that are required to be produced, the changes in product, the response of customer towards the product and many others.
The appointment of the marketing manager is considered as one of the short time work as it doesn’t include a long time for the company to find the suitable marketing manager. The concern related to the appointment of a manager will be resolved by the HR of company as recruitment is considered as their practice (Bratton and Gold, 2017).
3.1.2 Jan should take actions towards the threats received from production manager
The production manager of the company is threatening for leaving the job which clearly means that there are some issues which are faced by the manager. Thus, it is essential for the company to resolve the issues and threats that have been received. Jan should talk with the manager for understanding the issues that have been faced by him. These issues can be resolved by the company so that the production managers can consistently work with the company
The issues can be related with the work, salary, incentives, change that exists due to the new product or the company (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The resolution of these issues will make the production manager remain in the company and can make use of the knowledge and skills in effective production of the new product. This particular action is required in the short span of time because it is must to resolve it urgently.
3.1.3 Jan should measure the effectiveness of work
This has been found that the company is dealing with the different issues related to the employee’s turnover. Thus, the company should measure the workforce and the effectiveness of the person per unit that can help in taking the future steps for the betterment of the employees and for managing them for their production of new product.
2.2 Medium-term measures
Medium term measures include the actions that are taken by the company need time to complete. Jan should take some medium-term measures which help to get the launch of the new product back on track. These medium-term measures are given below: –
3.2.1 Jan should restructure the production process
Jan should restructure the process of production for the new product which is the only way through which the company can manufacture the products in an effective manner. This has been found in the case study that there is a need for changes in the old production process to produce new products. The new equipment should be used to manufacture the new products which will clear the understanding of the employees for the work that they are supposed to perform.
3.2.2 Jan should measure the effective utilization of resources with quality
The new product includes the changes in the old product of the company which means that the use of the resources needs to be effectively done. Jan should measure that in the production of the product there is an effective use of the resources and the quality of the products is maintained by the company.
3.2.3 Jan should measure the financial performance
Profit is essential for the survival of the company in the market. The introduction of the new product is done because the sales of the company were decreasing which lead to a decline in profit. Thus, it is essential for the company to effectively measure the performance of the financial elements which are effective to manage by the company for the survival in the market for the long run. In the initial of the new product, the company might not be able to manage the effective profit but later it is required to manage financial performance.
Leadership styles
In the company, the leader Jan should adopt the transformational leadership style and democratic leadership styles. These styles of leadership work effectively for the company and contribute to the success. Below given are the explanation of leadership style and the reason behind the selection: –
Considering the present situation of the company, the major decision that is required to be taken by the company includes the effective implementation of the ADKAR model of change management (Carnall, 2007). Swedigi Company found that the change brings the resistance from the side of the employees. This model work as the change management tool which provides the help company in implementing successful change.
The model includes 5 building blocks that lead to successful change which include Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement.
Recommendations
This has been found that company is dealing with the numerous issues due to which it is suggested to the company to make strategic planning which helps the company in reducing the issues which are majorly faced by them.
Further, the transition of the old product with the new product is the major issue which is faced by the company. Thus, the effective management of the transition can be done with the help of a framework related to the change management. Buchanan & Mc Calman (1989) proposed a framework which is perpetual transition management which provides the insight related to the fact which triggers the organisation and also reflects the response of the organisation towards the change (Bridges, 2009). The four layers that are required to be used by the company with the process are discussed with the help of image given below: –
Swedigi Company should apply the model which will lead to the effective planning, resource management, communication of the outcomes of change, will lead to the large-scale management and combination of all these leads to change to be successful.
Conclusion
In the end, this can be concluded that the Swedigi company can effectively manage the change with the use of the model of ADKAR. This model will help the company in implementing the change successfully and with this; the company will be able to encounter their people-related issues. In the report, there is a discussion for the issues which might be faced by the company which leads to poor management.
All these issues affect the launching of new product in the market. The company needs to take the steps to get the launch of the new product back on track which is majorly short and long-term measures. The leadership styles that have been suggested to the company include democratic and transformational leadership styles. Further, it includes the decision that can improve the decisions which are supported by the ADKAR model of change management.
References
Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M. (2015) Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1), pp.7-35.
Amanchukwu, R.N., Stanley, G.J. and Ololube, N.P. (2015) A review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1), pp.6-14.
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2014) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Asrar-ul-Haq, M. and Kuchinke, K.P. (2016) Impact of leadership styles on employees’ attitude towards their leader and performance: Empirical evidence from Pakistani banks. Future Business Journal, 2(1), pp.54-64.
Bailey, C., Mankin, D., Kelliher, C. and Garavan, T. (2018) Strategic human resource management. Oxford University Press.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J. (2017) Human resource management: theory and practice. UK: Palgrave.
Bridges, W. (2009). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. 3rd edn. London: Nicholas Brealey.
Brisson-Banks, C.V. (2009). Managing Change and Transitions: A Comparison of Different Models and Their Commonalities. Library Management, 31 (4/5), 241-252.
Carnall, C.A (2007). Managing Change in Organisations. 5th edn. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
Hayes, J. (2014). The Theory and Practice of Change Management. 4th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Kotter, J.P. (1995). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, (73) 2, 59-67.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R. and Kynighou, A. (2016) Human resource management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, A., Donnelly, R. and Kynighou, A. (2016) Human resource management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Prosci (2018) What is the ADKAR Model? [Online].
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