Change Management on Employee Morale

Impact of Change Management on Employee Morale and Performance This research is conducted on impact on employee morale and performance in change implementation process which is an extension to previous studies conducted in telecommunication sector. This research study is conducted This research pertains to Change Management i.e., how does management deals with change and Impact of strategic change on the employees, their morale and performance. Change is part of life. So is it to any business. Therefore the current study is not talking of day to day changes and adjustments. This study concerns on the strategic change methodology that would change the very nature of most of the employees who has normally been working in certain environment. (Bridges, 1991)

The current study therefore emphasizes that organisations need to continuously be on alert on changes happening around them and concentrate on areas that can have serious impact on their operations. They must adapt to compelling changes in their strategies to remain in the market. Therefore it is not an unexpected fact that strategic change has a necessity to focus on employees in an organization. One example that is easy to comprehend is introduction of automation that invariably resulted in reduction in staff found in excess (Rose, K. H, 2002). “The ‘downsizing’ of employing organisations has become widespread. The experience of living with the possibility of redundancy, and watching others leave, has become part of the working experience of many. How can organisations hope to maintain staff morale in such circumstances?”(Kettley .P Report 291, Institute for Employment Studies, July 1995) Change Management at the Workplace

“Change can be a very distressing time for employees in the workplace, and must be managed correctly and delicately.” Ben Wakeling Every business at some point of time has to go through a period of strategic change especially during economic depressions. This will be varying in degrees from company to company, with some imposed with large upheavals on its employees leading to workforce retrenchments, salary reviews, relocation etc. (Gandolfi, F, 2005). While some others depend on their past experience prior to the economic instability that may only see minor changes. Definitions of keywords

Employee Morale: Employees who have a good working environment satisfying all their internal and external factors like positive atmosphere, job satisfaction, rapport with their colleagues boost their positive attitude increasing their morale at workplace. (Employee Morale, 2013) Strategic Change: It is a strategy designed to achieve new goal, mission and objectives of a company. For example a mobile designing industry had to continuously upgrade them to current technology in order to sustain in the market hence they have to adopt different strategies to achieve the target. (What is strategic change?, 2012) Employee Performance: The overall execution of assigned task can measure performance of an employee. The level of performance depends on the range of accuracy and outcome of a project. (Employee performance, 2013) Problem Statement

The research question is a precursor to this problem statement. The problem coming out of improper implementation of strategic change in this study is a perennial one affecting a company some time or other. Change is the only permanent thing happening in the otherwise ever changing world (Kaye, B. L, 1998). So let us consider the following statements, an attempt at stating the problem, so as to attempt at solving them. * How companies can be attentive for change management?

* How to find ways and means to counter any adverse impact on the employees, not affecting their morale and performance? * What is the right time for companies to have a separate set of people to track requirement of ‘Strategic Change’? * Should such a set of people form part of Sales or Research team or an independent entity in itself an effort that can be expected from every company? * Can downsizing, if it is a
must, be countered by other actions like expansion in the same or different vertical? Research question

Research Question: what strategies will assist companies in successfully adapting to change? Finding out the consequences of not engaging in the process is moot and does not guide change. This research believes that this single most question in itself warrants a research study. Off-course the impact on the employee is an automatic corollary that just cannot be ignored. Hypothesis 1: The Hypothesis follows the research question in stating that No company small or big can afford to relax in the current global scenario and feel smugly relaxed on the laurels the company has already achieved in any field of Goods or Services.

Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study will be a great advantageous for a company that plans to continue functioning well into the future. The study even suggests that companies should employ teams for incorporating continuous process for strategic change in an organization. The goal of this research is to handle the impact on strategic change the company wishes to implement on its employees and their morale. It also seeks to find ways and means of implement the strategy of change with least resistance with a smooth pass-over. Literature Review

Change can happen due to technological advancements and other reasons, like people who count in taking path breaking actions, influences thrust down by the competition, inventions replacing a well-known, well settled business organization and its practices. As said earlier, change is inevitable and can hit any organization, any product, goods or services (Grunberg, L., Anderson-Connolly, R. & Greenberg, E. S, 2000). It makes a lot of sense in being alert to requirement for strategic change that can save business organization from folding up. Kodak Inc., a renowned name in Camera, camera films in the U S., once upon a time is almost non-entity today. The people at the helm of affairs would not have even known what hit them. The times have changed even from those days and globally everything is changing at a hectic pace, making it mandatory for companies to be alert to the requirement of strategic change and incorporate such requirement in their planning strategy that can have a telling effect if they continued otherwise (Anstey, M, 1998).

Employee morale and performance
Employee morale is the overview of employees at their work place and time at employees work environment. This view includes employee job satisfaction, approach and emotions. A part of efficient output is a thought to be openly associated to the employee’s morale (Ndaba, W. J, 1994). Employees those are satisfied with their work and enjoying their work is said to be happy and positive at their work can have high and positive employee morale. The companies those maintain their employees with dissatisfaction and negative regarding their work environment can have negative and low employee morale.

Since this topic has been under consistent research from time to time, research done can be from secondary source. Secondary research
The secondary research method would be heavily depended on to gather data from other previous extensive researches already done. Various journals and articles on management topics are also extensively available. The target of this research is to find the impact of strategic change a company wishes to implement on its employees and their morale (Petzall, B. J., Parker, G. E. &Stoeberl, 2000). It also seeks to find out as to how they plan to implement the strategy with least resistance and implement a smooth pass-over. Primary research for fact finding

Primary Research will be resorted to; to answer one of the purposes of the current research being: The study even suggests that every company allocate a set of specialists whose prime duty should be; to be on the lookout for necessity for strategic changes that can affect the company’s future. Questionnaire will be suitably prepared to seek answers from companies as to their belief in allotting a set of people to be in-charge of following changes taking place continuously around the globe relevant to the nature of their business (Seidman, G, 1993). It will also seek their opinion as to whether this set of people should be more attached to Research or the Sales department. Research Methodology

There are three methodologies that can be resorted to. They are as follows: Quantitative Methodology
This involves obtaining data directly from the Management of companies. The medium through which this can be obtained is through well thought out surveys aided through various communication channels and questionnaires personally handled to keenly observe reactions and facial expressions to arrive at the correct reactions for authentic interpretations (Mintzberg, H, 1992). The data collected from quantitative method using scientific methods is the primary data for the research. Qualitative Methodology

This is another methodology where data can be obtained from past researches and journals, articles, published papers etc. In these days there is plenty of research happening globally. One advantage in this method is, it is inexpensive and time saving as the same has been expended by other organizations or agencies for different reasons. A word of caution here is that of applicability of such research in the current study (Mishra, K. E., Spreitzer, G. M. & Mishra, A. K, 1998). Also any aberrations during such research activity may pass on to the current study. One way to overcome this problem is being alert and conduct tests on such data prior to using it. The data collected from qualitative method is the secondary data for the research. Mixed Methodology

This research opts for mixed methodology.The mixed methodology is the combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods. In this method the available data is first analyzed for suitability. It is but natural that such available data are suitably used with a view to its applicability to the current study. Any deficiency identified can be plugged-in utilizing the first methodology of direct data collection. A judicious analysis, planned strategy can lead to a very effective result (Kotter, J. P, 1998). This kind of hybrid method can be very effective especially when finance available for the current study is found to be meagre and also time available is also a constraint. The data collected by using the mixed method is the both primary and secondary data Significance

The significance of this study is sheer logic to the companies that do not start working towards being alert to requirement of strategic changes happening around may soon find their dooms day. Let us take the example of Samsung’s entry into mobile phone segment. Neither Motorola nor Nokia would have planned for the level of competition that Samsung is now giving them. Had they been alert they could have given Samsung a hard time to come up. Let us not forget that there any number of companies that are struggling to merely stand up and function against stiff competition (Sirota, D., Mischkind, L. A. & Meltzer, M. I., 2006). Nokia’s number one spot was easily taken away by Samsung. Samsung is today giving stiff competition to Apple’s iPod and their co-creation method of success by sheer investment in Research. Project scope and Limitations

The scope for this research is unlimited in the sense that strategic change can happen in any industry at any time. Some industries like mobile phone industry, Tablet PC; change is incorporated in the way of business itself. It is all the more a necessity as adopted by Samsung who are a huge investor in research. (Clark & Koonce, 1997) In other industries it may not happen every now and then. The scope is as wide as the number of industry considered. Regardless of the industry the concept of handling strategic change is similar with regard to the impact on the employees and other stockholders. This study is an attempt to suggest a company to get into the act of preventive care in requirement of strategic change in an organization for its growth (Clarke, C., Hope-Hailey, V. & Kelliher, C, 2007). The primary methodology is also suggested for achieving this. It is very likely for a company approached may not be ready for this concept. Assumptions

Assumption in the current study is that strategic change is inevitable in any industry at some point of time or other. The strategic change would always affect well settled employees in their respective roles. The change can uproot them and throw them into a tizzy of a new role or just thrown out of employment (Clair, J.A., Dufresne, R., Jackson, N. & Ladge, J, 2006). Therefore a progressive company is always on the lookout for such a need and would take every necessary step to implement it with kid gloves so that the effect is the least negative. It is always better to look for higher positive outcome that will overweigh the negative portion which is a business of survival especially in the times of very high and keen competition. Ethical considerations

The names of the organizations used in this study will be used after their approval otherwise they shall be coded. The employees involved in interviews and surveys will be provided with a consent form which has to be approved before participating. Privacy and confidentiality will be maintained throughout and after the research with respect to organizations and individuals. Interviews will be recorded with the authorization of the participants. Any archived organizational data will not be provided in the paper and will be used as a sole purpose to analyse the data collected. Any organization will have the liberty to withdraw from participating if they feel that the study will provide an openness of their hierarchical structure and culture to their competitors.

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