Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Managing Change
Discussion
Type of Change being pursued at Faslane
The main challenge in context to the change was to transfer the responsibility and
accountability from the MOD to the Babcock Marine, which is a part of the Babcock
International. This required a military branch to permit a private company to monitor the
operations of the naval base. There was a need to change the structure effectively from functional
one (in which individuals are responsible for performing a specialized set of tasks) to a
bureaucratic one (where a shift must be made to a more corporate entity, with standardization
and supervisors).
In order to understand the strategic change that was implemented at Faslane, Veronica
Hope Hailey and Julia Balogun can be used as a guide (Chow, 2014). Balogun and Hailey have
asserted that there are primarily four types of strategic change that are likely to be implemented
Managing Change
Managing Change
layers in a short span of time. Although, Howie had analysed different companies and their
attempt to implement transformational change, he recognized that this approach will not be
effective and thus, decided to have a revolution change. The purpose was to have a structural
change at the company.
Managing Change
them, if they would have identified the issues earlier and be able to deal with them. This helps in
avoiding resistance and ensures effective communication during the change process.
In addition to this, there was a need to have clear communication through which
employees would have been aware and informed about the intended change process. At the same
time, they could have offered training and development programs so that the employees would
have not only been informed, but had been able to develop the necessary skills for being more
flexible and receptive to change (Carter et al., 2011). It is imperative for the leaders to be more
responsible in implementing change and driving the process to ensure that change is
implemented successfully.
Thus, the most important lever that could have assisted the management to implement
change more effectively was resistance management. Despite that several changes were taking
place at the organisation; one of the most important aspects that needed to be addressed was the
fear of employees regarding the negative consequences of the chance (Whittington, 2002). This
fear is likely to result in resistance to change, which could lead to low productivity and poor
performance. If the management had ensured effective resistance management, these issues
would have been resolved more easily.
Managing Change
Conclusion
Considering the changes in the environment it is important for firms to adapt to them by
being flexible. This requires firms to change their strategies and culture, where necessary to
address the changes. Organisations often implement change to enhance the performance, reduce
the cost and improve efficiency. Change was also implemented at Faslane, where there was a
transition in both organisational culture and structure to improve performance. A revolution
change was implemented when transforming into private company. However, change could have
Managing Change
been implemented more effectively where management is able to address resistance to change
due to fear of employees of negative consequences of change. Nonetheless, the change
programme proved to be effective for the company as they were able to exceed the set targets
and reduce costs. As Faslane had successfully adapt the change process along with the
exceptional management styles used by the managers inside the companys management team
they were able to perform well and improve performance.
Managing Change
References
Carter, C. Stewart, Clegg, S. and Kornberger, M. (2008) A very short, fairly interesting and
reasonably cheap book about studying strategy, London: Sage
Carter, C. Stewart, Clegg, S. and Kornberger, M.and Schweitzer, J (2011) Strategy: Theory and
Practice, London: Sage
Chow, A. (2014). Leading Change and the Challenges of Managing a Learning Organisation in
Hong Kong. Journal of Management Research, 6(2), 22.
Haberberg, A & Rieple, A (2001) The Strategic Management of Organisations. London: Prentice
Hall.
Hatch, M J and Cunliffe, A L. (2006) Organization theory: modern, symbolic, and postmodern
perspectives. 2nd edition. Oxford : Oxford University Press
Thompson A A & Strickland A J (2003) 13th ed Strategic Management Concepts & Cases.
London: McGraw-Hill.
Thompson, J. & Martin, F. (2010) A. Strategic Management: Awareness and Change. 6th edition.
London:Thomson.
Whittington, R. (2002) 2nd ed What is Strategy and does it matter? London: Thomas Business
Press.