Running head: CHANGE MANAGEMNT PLAN

Smarthinking Tutor Response Form

Your tutor has written overview comments about your essay in the form below. Your tutor has also embedded comments [in bold and in brackets] within your essay. Thank you for choosing Smarthinking to help you improve your writing!

*Writing Strength:
You identify the company and their intended change in your introduction:

Nissan Motors is one company that has understood and fully embraced the importance of organizational change. The company plans on expanding its social responsibility initiatives to the developing countries in Africa and Asia.

They are strong and critical reference points from which to develop your change management plan. Good work, Kerene!

*Kerene 8786213 has requested that you respond to the Content Development:

Some points lack examples that will connect your analytical points to Nissan Motor’s situation; thus, the analysis is underdeveloped and has gaps that your reader can still wonder. Remember that you’re developing a change management plan. A plan is something concrete on what can or should be done to reach a certain goal. Let’s look here:

First, employees are motivated when there is open communication on all levels of the organization (Kalyani&Sahoo, 2011). Great communication makes them to feel like they are a part of the process hence motivating them to ensure its success. The company must be open about the change when it is in its planning process and the strategies that will be used to facilitate it.

You mention how employees needs open communication to become willing to be involved in the change; however, the ideas here are still conceptual or abstract. What are ways Nissan Motors can implement to ensure open communication among the upper management, managers, and employees? What particular tools or activities Nissan Motors can apply that shows open communication? You can use the ideas behind these questions to help you see where else to provide strong examples.

*Kerene 8786213 has requested that you respond to the Organization:

Some body paragraphs lack topic sentences; thus, your analysis has a weak structure and does not smoothly flow. Topic sentences reinforce your main idea about the change Nissan Motors needs to take by reflecting your major points. However, as an example, look at how you begin a paragraph under “The Role of Strategic Renewal in Propelling Change:”

The rate at which the business environment changes has increased significantly, especially die to the constant development of technology and innovation (Benn, Dunphy, & Griffiths, 2014).

The sentence contains cited information, which is a supporting detail and not a major point. Here’s a sentence that begins another paragraph:

During the turnaround process, the company has a chance to evaluate the change management plan and determine the specific impacts that the changes will have on the company.

This sentence also presents a specific detail because paragraph doesn’t just discuss the turnaround process but also the tools, which is another face of change to Nissan Motors must consider. You’ll need to look at each paragraph well and determine what is its overall idea, Kerene. That idea is what your topic sentence will show. To help you along, you can use this link: Clear Topic Sentences.

Grammar & Mechanics

You miss putting commas after introductory elements in some sentences, so their ideas are not clear or distinct like this one:

When a leader demonstrates good organizational behavior then it is highly likely that the employees will follow the same kind of behavior.

Without the comma here, I don’t know which the sentence’s actual idea is, so I’m confused with what you’re saying. One use of a comma is to place it after an introductory element, which signals or gives an idea on what the sentence’s main idea is. With the comma in place, the reader can understand the sentence. Look at this example:

When teachers just facilitate lessons, students are more engaged to participate.

Note the highlighted part, Kerene. This is an introductory element because it leads the reader into what the actual main idea is (students are more engaged to participate). By having a comma after the introductory element, the reader can follow this sentence’s idea smoothly. What then is the introductory element in the sentence I picked? Where can you put the comma? See which other sentences that have introductory elements will need commas after them.

Summary of Next Steps:

  • Give specific examples related to Nissan Motor’s situation where needed.
  • Check that body paragraphs have topic sentences.
  • Place commas after introductory elements.

Thank you for submitting your change management plan for a review. I enjoyed helping you with this step in the revision process. Have a good day, Kerene! – Anna B.

You can find more information about writing, grammar, and usage in the Smarthinking Writer’s Handbook.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Please look for comments [in bold and in brackets] in your essay below.
Thank you for submitting your work to Smarthinking! We hope to see you again soon.

Evaluation and Analysis of the Change Management Plan

 

Evaluation and Analysis of the Change Management Plan

Introduction

For a business to be successful it has to constantly change its management and operational structure (Benn, Dunphy, & Griffiths, 2014). Organizational change enables a business to grow, stand competition, and evolve to become more profitable. Nissan Motors is one company that has understood and fully embraced the importance of organizational change. The company plans on expanding its social responsibility initiatives to the developing countries in Africa and Asia. The company wants to go global with its social responsibility activities because the people in these parts of the world also stakeholders of the company and hence they deserve to benefit from the company’s social responsibility initiative. [What is social responsibility and how does it apply in businesses? You’ll want to also define this term for a strong introductory detail.] The following is an evaluation and analysis of the Nissan Motors change management plan. This evaluation is targeted towards the management and employees of Nissan Motors to help understand the reason for the changes implemented at the company and the value they will add to the business and its stakeholders.

The Role of Strategic Renewal in Propelling Change

The rate at which the business environment changes has increased significantly, especially die to the constant development of technology and innovation (Benn, Dunphy, & Griffiths, 2014). Every now and then, new innovations and business models are invented. Therefore, the only way that any particular business can keep up is through strategic renewal. Strategic renewal is the act of dynamically changing the strategies and management model of a business to fit into the changes that occur in the business environment. In the case of Nissan Motors, the changes in the business social responsibility activities have been done to adjust to the impacts of globalization. Globalization has enabled Nissan Motors and other companies from the western world to expand to the African and Asian developing countries. Therefore, it is important for the company to expand the benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to its customers in these areas of the world, too.

The role played by the strategic renewal that is being applied by Nissan Motors is the improvement of the customer satisfaction in all of the company’s markets. By expanding its activities in the developing countries, the customers in these areas will understand that the company cares about their welfare. [Are customers the only group to see how Nissan Motors strive to implement social responsibility in their operations, Kerene? Note that businesses do not just deal with customers alone.] An increased level of customer satisfaction can benefit the company by increasing its level of sales. Performing CSR activities in the developing countries also demonstrates the company’s dedication for development hence it can make the company attractive to investors (May, Cheney, & Roper, 2007). [This is a run-on, which happens when a punctuation mark is missing between two independent clauses or complete sentences. Either a period or a semi-colon will properly close the first sentence (e.g. Students have different needs; thus, teachers use various tools to assess them). Which are the complete sentences here? Where should you place the chosen punctuation mark? Make sure that all run-ons in your draft are corrected.] Investors prefer working with companies that have demonstrated interest in future development as such companies tend to work harder to promote sustainability.

Behavioral Aspect of Organizational Change

Achieving organizational change is not just a structural issue but also a behavioral issue. It is important that all employees participate willingly in the change process for it to be successful. To achieve change, a business must be able to foster a culture that fosters employee behaviors that can adjust to changes. Employees need to have a positive attitude towards the changes being implemented for them to participate in the actions that facilitate the particular changes being implemented. Therefore, For Nissan to successfully perform its CSR activities in the developing countries, it must ensure that its employees are willing to take part in the process.

Dynamics for Motivating Employees to Alter their Behaviors

To avoid behavioral constraints to change, there are various strategies that Nissan Motors can apply. First, employees are motivated when there is open communication on all levels of the organization (Kalyani&Sahoo, 2011). Great communication makes them to feel like they are a part of the process hence motivating them to ensure its success. The company must be open about the change when it is in its planning process and the strategies that will be used to facilitate it. All information that is received about the change process should be timely and accurate. If the information is not accurate or it is not sent to the employees in time then they might make wrong interpretations leading to negative behaviors that hinder the success of the change process. Open communication also creates a culture of trust since all people will understand what to expect from the changes being implemented. Lastly, communication on the change process is a form of education to the employees on the new requirements the company will expect from them hence enabling them to alter their behaviors to fit the organization’s expectations.

Employees can also be motivated to change their behaviors through the facilitation of a positive working environment (Kalyani&Sahoo, 2011). The company must provide all kinds of support that the employees might need to work as required. When the working environment is poor, the employees feel like the management does not care about their affairs hence making them to demonstrate negative working behaviors. A positive working environment makes the employees comfortable and makes them feel like the organization values them. [In Nissan Motors, how can the company develop a positive environment?] Therefore, whenever there are changes required, they will be prepared to put in their effort.

Lastly, employees are motivated to demonstrate positive behaviors when an organization demonstrates great leadership. The role of a good leader is to act as a guide and show the employees the best kind of behavior to demonstrate (Lüscher& Lewis, 2008). A great leader is one who leads by example and not just tells the employees what to do and perform the opposite. When a leader demonstrates good organizational behavior then it is highly likely that the employees will follow the same kind of behavior. Therefore, the best way for Nissan Motors to motivate its employees to show good organizational behavior in its change process is by making sure its leaders demonstrate good behavior.

Differences between the three faces of change

In the process of implementing its change strategies, there are three faces of change that Nissan has to consider. These include turnaroundtools and techniques, and transformation. The turnaround involves the assessment of the changes that the company plans on implementing and the impact that they will have on the organization. The tools and techniques are the main implementation procedures that will be taken to facilitate the changes. Lastly, the transformation refers to the permanent alteration of the business that will occur as a result of the change strategies implanted by the company. Each of these faces is important to the process but they are different.

During the turnaround process, the company has a chance to evaluate the change management plan and determine the specific impacts that the changes will have on the company. This is the only face that allows the company to make changes in case it is evident that the changes will not benefit the company. The tools and techniques give the company the chance to apply its change process. A company can plan changes and they might have a potential positive impact on the business but they cannot be achieved until the implementation process is completed. Therefore, this face is important because it provides the specific strategy that will be used to implement the change plan. The transformation part of the process is the only inevitable part. If a company applied change strategies to its business model, it is likely that changes will be achieved, these changes could be positive or negative depending on the quality of the tools and techniques that are applied by the company. Therefore, it is important that Nissan Motors evaluates each of these processes separately and ensures that they have been properly applied for positive change to be achieved.

Source of Employee Resistance and Support

When implementing any kind of changes to the business model, there is a high possibility that Nissan Motors will experience employee resistance. Employees can also be willing to support to process depending on various factors.

One reason why employees might resist the changes implemented is because of personal interests. There are some personal qualities such as a huge ego that might interfere with a person’s ability to adapt to change (Weiner, 2009). For instance, the plan to CSR activities to Africa might require that some of the Nissan employees move to the targeted areas to implement ad supervise the activities. In case some employees do not want to strain themselves and move to other parts of the world then it is likely that they will resist the changes. [What makes the transfer to another country a strain for some people, Kerene? You may want to specify some examples here.]

Resistance to change can also be caused by the fear of failure. Almost all kinds of business activities involve taking risks (Weiner, 2009). The outcome of these risks is usually unknown as they can be successful or they may fail. There are many people who are usually afraid of failing hence they avoid taking risks. When implementing changes to a business model or structure, the changes could breed success or failure. People who are inclined to the failure side often resist the changes so that they can stay on the level that guarantees safety.

Employees can also resist change because of internal and external politics. The process of implanting change, especially on an issue that affects the internal and external environment of a business, can involve a lot of politics (Weiner, 2009). Nissan Motors will have to deal with the political issues involved with CSR both from its country and the developing countries that the process will be implemented. In addition, internal politics may arise when the members of the management do not have a unanimous agreement on the company’s plan. These issues hinder the company from fully mobilizing the employees to participate in the process and hence it may lead to resistance to change. [This sentence has two independent clauses (or complete sentences already) that cannot be distinguished despite a coordinating conjunction (and, but, so, etc.). Placing a comma in between makes the clauses distinct (e.g. The school administration determines the curriculum, and the teachers develop the needed lessons and activities to meet curriculum standards.). Where can you place the comma in this sentence? Correct other sentences with similar concerns.]

Employee support can be caused by personal interests. Nissan Plans on extending its CSR activities to the developing countries. There are many people who have shown interest in helping in the growth and development of developing countries. People who support the help offered to these countries might be motivated to participate in the CSR activities hence making them to support the plans of the company in general. Employees can also offer their support to the changes if they understand the benefits of the change to the company. This is why it is important to facilitate communication throughout the process.

Importance of Trigger Events in Initiating Change

For change within an organization to take place, there must be some driving forces that motivate people to implement the change strategies. These driving forces can either be internal or external factors that facilitate the initiation of change and help to keep it going. Trigger to change can happen in various ways, it can be in the form of sponsorship, receipt of funding, the pressure to utilize new technology, or government support among others. Driving forces are important because they help to start the change process in case it was being slowed down by other factors. For instance, if the company was unable to start the CSR process because of lack of funding, the contribution of sponsors or the government could help to facilitate the beginning of the project. Therefore, for the CSR project by Nissan Motors to work then the company will have to facilitate some trigger events such as attracting sponsors who can collaborate with the company in its projects in the developing countries.

Role Played by Globalization in Organizational Change

One of the main goals of many contemporary businesses is to expand their operations internationally and possibly ‘go global’. It is important to note that globalization has an impact in the facilitation of change within an organization (Lundby&Jolton, 2010). There are many factors that are related to global businesses that may affect change negatively or positively.

One of the issues related to going global and change within an organization is culture. Every country has a different way of doing things. The attitudes and beliefs of people from different parts of the world can be different depending on their culture (Lundby&Jolton, 2010). Organizational change can be affected by the kind of culture that is most prevalent in the location that it is in operation. For instance, in a society that has a high level of uncertainly avoidance the changes can be hard to implement because the people in such cultures work too hard to prevent the uncertainties of the future. They will resist any kind of change whose outcome they are not fully aware of. In addition, coordinating the cultures of all the global branches of the organization to facilitate change can be hindered by the differences in the cultures.

Global businesses face difficulty when implementing change because of management issues. The kind of management that works in one country may be different from the one that works in another (Lundby&Jolton, 2010). Therefore, the business will be unable to implement the same change strategies in all the countries that it is operating in. the techniques of motivating the employees can be different and they can affect the organization’s ability to facilitate an overall organizational change.

Businesses operating in different countries may also face challenges when implementing change because of the different expectations of the stakeholders. The kind of expectations that customers in a particular county have from a company can vary depending on the kind of culture of that country. Therefore, the organization has to work harder to implement unique changes to each of the countries it is working in.

The challenges of going global affect the implementation of the Nissan Motors change plan. The company plans on implementing social responsibility activities in various countries in Africa and Asia. Each country in these two continents has its own culture. Although they may be similar, there are some major differences in the cultures that can affect the implementation of the plan. [What aspects of culture should Nissan Motors anticipate when expanding to these continents, Kerene?]

Conclusion

The evaluation of the Nissan Moors change management plan demonstrates that the company will have a lot of factors to consider before implementing its plan. The company has to ensure that its employees are ready to participate in the change process and that various organizational dynamics have been put in place to facilitate the change. It is recommended that the company implements relevant motivation strategies that will ensure that the employees are supportive of its plan. The company would also take the fact that it is an international business into consideration and take the factors of culture into the implementation process to ensure that the business will be successful in all kinds of environments. Other than these issues, the plan to be implemented by Nissan is likely to be successful as it has the potential to help in the development of the company is the developing countries by building a larger customer base in the African and Asian markets.

 

 
<