Cushy Armchair Essay Example

the text was indeed ambiguous and novel, as it involved recipients from 15 different countries with diverse cultures.

The root cause of concern is not only the medium used for delivering the message but also other factors. Alison, without adequate research or considering the expertise of the upper management, hastily made the decision to centralize operations at Cushy Armchair. This decision coincided with the busiest time of the year, increasing the likelihood of failure. Despite Alison's successes in finance and communications in the US, it is important for her to comprehend the armchair industry and its employees before making any recommendations for change.

Constraints: Due to the rushed implementation of the change, there is a high risk of employee resistance. Upper management had no involvement in the decision, which may lead to resentment and a sense of lack of control throughout the organization. This could result in a negative attitude towards the new parent company among original companies, causing potential conflict and lack of support. In the model Analysis Lewins’ Force Field Analysis (Mchane, et al Pg.490), we can determine the Driving Forces and define the Restraining Forces to understand the levels of change required to achieve the desired outcome.

The centralization needed to keep up with the rest of the armchair industry is a driving force in this case. On the other hand, employee resistance to change and desire to maintain the status quo act as restraining forces. According to Lewin's model, effective change occurs by 'Unfreezing' the current situation, making it open to change, and increasing the driving forces to unbalance the equilibrium. This eventually leads to the overcoming of

the restraining forces by the driving forces. After achieving the desired outcome of restructuring, the 'Refreezing' or completion of the structure can take place.

The desired outcome must be periodically reinforced to ensure compliance and prevent the resurgence of undesired old processes within the organization. The likelihood of Cushy Armchairs employees reverting back to previous processes is high due to the company's long-established nature. As the current decentralized structure has existed for over 50 years, it is expected that some old habits will resurface occasionally. Vigilant monitoring and reviewing will aid in training employees to adapt to the new plan promptly.

To bring about change effectively, I would implement a more tactful approach. Instead of relying solely on Alison, I would involve the 17 plant managers from various locations in restructuring Cushy Armchair. This would be done through establishing "Coordination through Formal Hierarchy" (Mcshane, et al pg. 432). The process involves selecting representatives from the 17 plants and laying the groundwork for implementing the change. These coordination managers will be informed about the proposed standardized processes by Alison and tasked with communicating the new procedures through their respective chain of command in their locations.

In order to implement centralization successfully, managers should create a process team within their plants to promote communication and gather feedback from employees. Alison needs to ensure full support from business managers. A persuasive campaign targeting these managers would be an effective approach to gain their endorsement of her plans. Leaders must design and execute a persuasive campaign for the proposed change to be implemented and sustained effectively.

The campaign is divided into four phases, starting with Phase One:

Convincing the managers about the necessity of centralization to survive in the current marketplace.

• Phase Two: Frame the plan, back the decision up with the market research the gather feedback from the managers.
• Phase Three: Manage the mood of the persons involved by empathizing with their concerns, but support them in adopting the new changes with constant communication throughout the process.
• Phase Four: Reinforcing the process on a regular basis with post- change meeting to measure the outcomes. In any merger or buy out I would recommend the intentions of the controlling company be made transparent to its new employees. In this transition it would be beneficial to develop a strategy involving the use of the “Fair Process” of Engagement, Explanation, and Expectation Clarity (Kim, Maubourne) Fair Process will minimize resistance to change and stress to employees and will help reach a positive outcome.
• Engage: Cabletronica should have set up a series of town hall meetings with employees to give them a chance to express their concerns about the buyout. The local representatives that I indicated earlier could conduct question and answer sessions in which both on the spot questions; and questions gathered anonymously through comment boxes could be answered.The suggestions and Ideas should be recognized as valid input and considered at a later date. The most important factor at this stage is empowerment. The representatives need to persuade the employees that Cabletronica is a benevolent partner that is willing to hear their voice.
• Explanation: The new parent company’s intentions should

be expressed in a positive manner. Representatives could persuade the employees that the new structure is in place to keep abreast with the current industry trends and analysis and is in the best interests of the company. The representative would take the opportunity to build trust with the employees and help them understand that their success hinges on everybody cooperating on the new processes.