In the present era, companies build different strategies and implement to achieving the leading position in targeted market (Peppers and Rogers, 2016).Similarly, for increasing the competitiveness of the firm in the market, management change the conventional operational methods into advance modified methods which help the firm to increase efficiency of regular operation and reflects in higher productivity (Cummings and Worley, 2014). These strategies help the companies to offer quality services and product to the consumer which increases market share. For example, the technological changes in retail firm influences the efficiency of workplace through which the employees easily maintain the inventory and prevent the issues related to inventory such as stock out. However, firm also faces the several challenges in the implementation of these strategies which affects the effectiveness of strategies. At this juncture, Peppers and Rogers (2016) asserted that the performance of a firm is enhanced by considering required changes in business operation and effective implementing those changes in the firm. Thus, the identification of key changes and the creation of strategies is significant for the firm to enhance the productivity and achieving leading place in market.
It is essential to focus on the internal strategies of the business to carry out all the operational activities effectively. However, increasing competition and changing market condition affect the overall growth of the company (Cameron and Green, 2015). In this context, Malaysian based Bonia fashion organization has been studied in the context of its issue related to stiff competition and rapid technological changes in the marketplace.For this purpose, significant changes to be applied in the based have been identified and accordingly, analysis has been done to implement those changes. Hereby, the Kotter’s change model has been applied to effectively implement the changes in the organizational context. Also, the requisite for change management have been explained by incorporating relevant academic sources. In addition to this, different stakeholders associated with the business have also been identified who have a significant role in the changing process of the industry.
In the present era, companies target to generate more revenue by implementing different strategies like technological upgradation, different promotion strategies, attractive product and services for the customer (Teece, 2010; Aldridge, 2013). In this regard, Mollá-Descals, Frasquet-Deltoro and Ruiz-Molina (2011) asserted that the proactive approach of a company increases their competitive edge which increases its market share. In this context, the Malaysian fashion retailer Bonia also faces the issue from the high competitiveness in the market. It also reduces its market share and generates low revenue which creates the economic barrier in the execution of the business operation. For this purpose, the following changes will bring in the organization for ensuring the sustainable growth of the business-
The supply chain management is most crucial for the fashion retailer to effectively manage the inventory of the stores and offer the latest fashion apparel to the customers (Gereffi and Frederick, 2010). In this regard, when an organization operates on the international level, then the management of the supply chain is significant for effectively dealing with global suppliers and ensures the continuity. It reveals that the healthy relation with the supplier helps the firm to manage the inventory related issues like dead stock, stock out and full stock with on-demand products.
The unethical activity of the supplier also affects the brand image because it changed the perception of customer and forced them to switch to another brand (Reuter, Goebel and Foerstl, 2012). Bonia offers a different range of product such as clothing for men women, children, foot wares and other accessories (RBR, 2018). Thus, selection of supplier and building a healthier relationship is imperative for the Benio to bring change in the business perspective.
It is significant for a firm which operates on the international level to upgrade the technology used in the firm and provides services to the customers in a precise manner (Peppers and Rogers, 2016). Apart from this, it increases the collaboration among the employees through which they complete given task in minimum time and with higher efficiency (Fiorito, Gable and Conseur, 2010). Similarly, technological upgradation is also essential for increasing association with the supplier because the supplier is one of the key stakeholders of the fashion retailer (MacCarthy, and Jayarathne, 2012). Thus, the technology will be upgraded and enhances the competitive edge of the firm. In the same manner, Bonia also targets to expand their business and improve the brand reputation in the market (Marketing, 2018). Owing to this, with the help of technological advancement, the firm will quickly expand the business.
The development of the workforce is also imperative in the fashion industry because the high demands of creativity and innovation affect the buying behavior of the customers (Nickson et al. 2012). The customer is attracted to the creative fashion apparel. Thus, the development of workforce enhances their capabilities and skills to produce a highly innovative product and encourage the customer to buy the products. Apart from this, it helps to increase the effectiveness of technological upgradation because highly competent employees effectively work with new technologies. Therefore, it is also one the significant change in the methods of operating business operations.
It is the most effective change management theory which provides step by step approach to manage the changes effectively (Burke, 2017). This theory split the process of change management in eight step which is associated with fundamental principle and stakeholders. In the same manner, the control of Bonia divides the process of organizational change in flowing small part and elevates the effectiveness of the change process.
Since Bonia facing issues related to lower profitability due to high competitiveness and rapid technological changes in the industry; thus, the changes in the business operation is most imperative to increase the market share. In this context, Zhang & Rajagopalan (2010)asserted that the for ensuring continued growth of the business, change is implemented in the average period through which management identifies the breaches in the current system and upgrade it accordingly. Thus, the main aim of Bonia to become a leading international fashion retailer. It motivates the stakeholders like employee and management to enhance their contribution in the achieving the objective. In this regard, Zott and Amit (2010) stated that the aim of the company is most crucial to streamlines the progress of the firm in the direction of achieving the business goal. Therefore, this aim can be achieved through the proper implementation of the above mention changes.
For achieving the aim, the vision of the company is the integration and development of supply chain, technology and workforce. It will help the firm to improve productivity because the combination of the significant aspect of the business such as supply chain integration supports the operation of the company. It will increase the association with the suppliers and receive high-quality products through which firm will able to offer a quality product to the consumers. It will improve the satisfaction of the customers which consequently long completive edge. In this regard, Mattsson (2009) asserted by offering fashionable products to the customers; the firm increases their satisfaction. This is because the fashionable clothing apparels developed their own identity and made them acceptable from other public. Due to this, Bonia will improve customers’ satisfaction with active collaboration with the supplier. On the other hand, it will enhance the customer attraction towards the firm because their high achievement forces them to communicate for their experience of brand clothing to other public and enhance the brand image in the society (Bill Xu and Chan, 2010). Therefore, the high integration with the supplier will help Bonia to achieve the aim of leading international clothing retailer.
The development of employees will help Bonia to introduce the latest clothing apparel to the market. In this regard, Nenni, Giustiniano and Pirolo (2013) stated the demand forecasting helps the fashion brand to provide the right product at the right time. For this purpose, the development of workforce is crucial because their wrong predictions turn into high financial losses(Nickson et al. 2011). It reflects that the development of workforce will enhance their skills and increase their productivity with quality. Apart from this, it will also be helpful to provide effective services to the customers in the store because the development of employees increases the interaction with the consumers (Pookulangara and Shephard, 2013). Moreover, by fostering effective communication between the front line executive and consumers, employees will provide the right guidance which will encourage the buyer to buy the products. Therefore, employees’ development will increase the probability of future success.
The technological development will help Bonia to increase performance in the industry because it increases the efficiency of the regular operation. Technology upgradation helps the employees to perform the given task with high accuracy (McCormick et al. 2014; Grewal et al. 2011). It will also positively influence the in-store shopping experience of the customers.Similarly, the integration of all business activities with the technology is helpful for the utilization of valuable time (Wang and Chan, 2010). It provides a better work environment through which employees work with full efficiency and perform their task effectively. On the other hand, the technology advancement will also help to increase the collaboration with the supplier (Fernie and Sparks, 2014). For example, the technology advancement in Walmart increase the collaboration with its supplier; Proctor & Gamble and help the firm to improve the efficiency of their supply chain management (Waller, 2013). Thus, active technology development will help the company to manage all the aspect of business and gain a high reputation in the industry which is the goal of the firm.
In implementing the successful organizational change, it is must optimize the change related obstacle that business may have a face because barriers always create a gap in recommended and current practices; eventually, it negatively effects on the daily production process of the organization(Reiß,2012). In this regard, as above mentioned, an essential change required for the Bonia organization are supply chain integration, technology up gradation and the workforce development where the company is lacking. In initiating the change management in those departments company may have faced several issues.
The ultimate goal in supply chain management (SCM) is to create value for the end customers as well as the company in the supply chain network. To accomplish this, firms in the supply chain network must integrate process activities internally and with other firms in the system (Harland, Caldwell, Powell and Zheng, 2007). In this regard, presently, the significant barriers faced by the Bonia company would be information distortion, stock running out and longer cycle time. Further, lack of trust and knowledge are the key challenges currently faced by the company in the process of supply chain integration.
In addition, presently company lacking in information technology due to which significant information distorted and sharing issues occur. As Bonia is a fashion brand and with the changing fashion culture company needs to be updated every time. However, due to distorted information, integration of supply chain influenced which results in higher cost and reduced customer service capabilities (Katunzi, 2011). To overcome all this barrier company needs to develop such organization norms that encourage shared work and group vision. Moreover, by strong leadership and effective information strategies several issues can be avoided (Chan, Lettice and Durowoju, 2012).
As above mentioned required changes, Bonia Company needs to expand globally and for this, it is essential that it upgrades its technology to reach out the existing and potential customer conveniently. The higher cost is the primary barrier occurs when the company initiate the technological change because currently company following the traditional approach of marketing and communication. To equipped with new technology company needs to provide training to the employees and aware them about benefits of information and communication technology (Brito, Carbone and Blanquart,2008).
It is also essential that the company implies the several software programs to maintain the relationship with suppliers, employees and another stakeholder of the company for change management. Moreover, other barriers are lack of skilled employees and effective leadership approach that can deal with the changes and balance them in favor of a company may also be faced. This is because currently, the company has the old pattern where it is hard to bring the potential change with the current potential of employees. It influences employee turnover and affects the productivity of the company. These several changes create financial issues in the company. To overcome these issues, a company needs to prioritize the budget segment by communicating with the several boards of directors and shareholders. Further, the company needs to improve the human resource management before applying the various changes (Burns, Mullet and Bryant, 2016).
The efficient workforce is the foundation of any successful organization where it is imperative for the organization to develop its human resources effectively to conquer the company’s goal and vision (Cummings and Worley,2014). However, as discussed in the report, Bonia company need the apply changes related to workforce development and due to regressive competition in the fashion industry, the company faces several barriers. Firstly the labor market condition is the most significant barrier in workforce development. Although, change management requires employees with high skill and competencies who can overcome the adverse effect of the change initiative. To deal with this issues company need to forecast the future demand of workforce according to labor market condition.
Another barrier may pop up in workforce development is the company culture and lack of employee involvement. In this regard, sometimes planning team forgot to consider that change affects the emotional and mental state of employees and they overlook the feelings of the employee. For instance, employees always have a fear of change regarding their position and involvement even though most loyal employee resists change. In such scenario, people face the issue like low morale and higher grievance that results in lower productivity and higher employee turnover. It could become a significant reason for the change management failure. To prevent these several barriers and successful implementation of the workforce change, Bonia needs to improve the company culture by taking the feelings of the employee into account. In this regard, the company needs to involve employee regarding change process decision making and provide the proper training (Berger and Berger, 2011).
According to the given scenario, the Bonia is facing various issues which required changes to maintain the company competitiveness and improve profitability. However, change management procedure handled with the association of several stakeholders have they affect the progress of the business to a great extent due to their varying interest level. There are various stakeholders such as suppliers, consumers, management, employees and distributors who play a significant role in the change initiatives of an organization (Brito, Carbone and Blanquart,2008).
The consumers who are the primary stakeholder of any leading corporation. In the case of Bonia which is the apparel fashion brand is highly affected by the moods and choices of the consumers. As per the change in consumer demand, the organization needs to change their operations and production management(Sonenshein, 2010). Further, the company needs to be updated about the consumer requirement through various feedback processes such as direct communication at stores, social media, market survey and internet. Owing to this, for building the long-term relationship and consumer engagement company need to apply various strategies such as loyalty program, festive benefits and specific feedback opportunity for their requirements can play the vital role in retaining them. Further, updated with the new fashion at a discounted price may help the company to commit and attract more consumers.
In this context, another stakeholder which play a most crucial role in change initiative of Bonia is employees because as per the changing customer behavior employee need to adopt a new way of working and put an extra effort to retain the customer. Besides, the project is only successful when each employee changes their behavior and start taking their jobs in a new way that is an essence of a change initiative. (Turner, Cadwallader and Busch,2008). Furthermore, to build employee engagement and commitment management of Bonia needs to ensure the involvement of employees in the decision-making procedure and get their ideas to implement technological changes and supply chain augmentation.
However, employees working pattern and their contribution are significant in implementing the changes. In such a scenario by using discussion session to share their feelings, scheduling, one on one meeting and by counseling help staff work through their emotional responses and give them sense to responsibility for the company. On the other, effective leadership also helps to know the attitude and performance barrier of the employee and provide the necessary input to engage the staff in a longer run. Also, Bonia requires to create such type of company culture where it organizes forums and online contributions to capture and recognize their input and celebrate shared successes. These steps help employees to understand change as a positive part of driving continuous improvement and build their morale and investment(Stanleigh, 2008).
In this context, management is the pillar of any organization which not only an essential part of the change but itself implies the required changes. Management initiates the required changes as per the demand of the business (Cameron and Green, 2015). In this regard, administration of Bonia needs to apply various policy and regulation for improving the performance of the employees and to enhance customer satisfaction. Further, managers are those entities who communicate employee about the change and coach them through the change process. Apart from this, another barrier is employee turnover because due to fashion industry Bonia has a high competitive edge. At this juncture, workforces have enormous scope to explore their career. Owing to this, management need to improve the internal and external control due to which conflict can easily be handled and change management can smoothly imply (Drucker, 2012)
Another vital stakeholder of Bonia company change initiative is suppliers. In this regard, suppliers who are an integral part of the production which impacts the organization in both ways positively or negatively (Reiß, 2012). Here, the organization took raw materials from reliable sources at lower cost and high quality which facilitates to deliver the quality products to consumers (Harrison and Hoek, 2008). At this juncture, the change initiative related to supply chain like higher regulation, a technological implementation may increase the resistance of suppliers. For this purpose, the collaborative aspect should be considered wherein management take ideas from suppliers to set the reliable supply chain by examining the current issues in the marketplace.
The supply chain integration requires the effective long-term relationship with strategic partners and commitment of suppliers. For this purpose, Bonia needs to involve various strategies such involvement of suppliers in selecting the right technology for tracking the information regarding the flow of raw material. In addition, Bonia is the fashion apparel company which has high rate competitors and if the company does not maintain the relationship with a supplier it must be possible that supplier switch to other company and Bonia may have faced the issues. To overcome these issue companies needs to provide the necessary training to suppliers and provide incentives for their active contribution towards the success of the business. Further, Bonia can design the supplier relationship management program through which management ensures a consistent way of interacting with and managing suppliers which promotes collaboration and continuous improvement. A strategic SRM program can eliminate supply chain risk, improved supplier services and support, and even increased organization revenue growth(Paton and McCalman,2008).
Conclusion
Based on the above report, it has been concluded that change is most imperative to increase the brand image with higher profitability. Similarly, the organizational changes enhance the competitive edge of the firm. In this context, technology plays a significant role in the organizational changes by affecting the efficiency of the critical stakeholder of change such as supplier, consumers and the workforce. On the other, the integration of the supply chain is also an important aspect of streamlining the business operation of fashion retailer. Moreover, the Kotter’s change management theory helps to manage the organizational change precisely.
Further, in implementing several changes, various barriers occur which create the gap between present and future recommendation. For example, in the application of supply chain integration change, lack of information technology and inefficient communication are significant barriers. In this regard, by establishing a positive culture and organizational norms, these barriers can be avoided. Apart from this, it can be concluded that key stakeholders such as employees, suppliers and consumers, etc. who majorly influence the change management in an organization. Thus, for the successful implementation of change is essential to consider their opinion and viewpoint by applying various strategy such as supplier relationship management, change related training to employee and loyalty programs for customers, etc.
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