Running Head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCESS 8
Title: Change Management Process
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“Time and tide wait for no man,” so goes the saying. It is crystal clear that the world’s economy is continuously changing. The waves of doing business are seen following a similar path in every corner of the world. Organizations and companies are left with no option but to implement strategies to help them move in the same direction. The process of change is inevitable for any success-minded organization. Change in organizations is the only remaining option for businesses to survive in harsh economic times. The changing world economy will not wait for organizations to regroup or change their strategies. The opportunity is now, and organizations worldwide, particularly in the Middle East, need to implement change in their organizations (McAteer, 2019). The organizations need to understand that the world has changed due to various factors, including advancement in technology, change in customer behavior, and preferences increment of various organizations offering similar goods and services, among other factors. Being unique in the way the organizations do business will help make the organizations successful in the market and help them gain a market advantage. The Middle East is a region known to populate its self with several successful and influential organizations. Almarai Food Company is one of the companies based in KSA and serves the whole of the Middle East with its food products and service.
Almarai Company is one of the largest companies in KSA. The company was started by Prince Sultan bin Mohammed Saudi Al Kabber in 1977 (AL Zubaidi & Nobanee, 2020). The founder was a very optimistic person and evaluated the market gap in the Middle East market and decided to develop this company that will provide quality services and products to its many customers. Almarai Company was also a partnership between the prince and two Irish brothers Alastair and Paddy McGuckian. It began as a Milk Company serving mostly in Saudi Arabia. The company is currently involved in the production of diverse food products such as yogurts, juices, dairy products, sandwiches, and other foods. The company also runs quick-service restaurants, fast food outlets, restaurants, among others. The Company is run by over 42,000 employees working in its branches, spread throughout the Middle Eastern region.
The provision of quality and nutritious foods, beverages, and quality service services is the main mission of Almarai Company. The company is committed to ensuring that its customers get the best services ever in food delivery and increase its customers’ trust, as laid out in its vision statement. Through its mission and vision, the company has formulated effective strategies for making their customers happy. One of the strategies is through diversification in the way it produces its products to meet customer expectations. The company has also moved closer to its customers by setting up branches all over the region. This move has assisted in the growth and expansion of the company.
However, with the growth and expansion of this organization, the company is faced with a great challenge in its profit maximization. It has witnessed various cases of profit fall in its products and services. The company is in great need of a change in its strategies and approach to handling the problem. The company reported that it had made a decline of 2% in the second quarter of the year 2018, which indicated that the company was making losses from its products’ sales (AL Zubaidi & Nobanee, 2020). A change is, therefore, necessary to prevent this situation and help the company maximize profits. The organization requires making various changes, which will ensure that the organization does not continue making losses it is making in its sales. Such a move could even scare away customers and possibly make the company fall or collapse.
Various factors cause the falling of profits in the company’s sales. The company has assessed the major causes of the problem and found out that one of the major causes is its market size changes. Clients seem to decrease, which is a major blow to the company’s sales. Another reason for the falling profits is the slight change in the quality of the company’s products. This fact is the main reason why the company is experiencing falling profits. Its customers get dissatisfied and look for an alternative producer who makes quality goods as compared to Almarai. There has been a reduction in export sales, which also contributes to the organization’s problem. Lack of effective market research, poor management in the products’ sales, and some other reasons leading to a profit decline in the company. Therefore, a change is very necessary for this organization to maintain its profit-making culture in the region.
For this company, I would propose an overall change in the management of the company. I propose a change in employee management, marketing management, production, and sales management. This change in Almarai will allow the company to evaluate its production, sales, and marketing strategies. It will also provide a new style of leadership that will support employee morale and improve their motivation. As observed in other organizations in the region, a change in overall management is very effective in raising an origination’s performance. I looked at the success of other companies such as Al Baik Food Company. I found out that effective management and leadership styles help an organization maximize its profits (AL Zubaidi & Nobanee, 2020). Almarai needs new, experienced, and committed managers to solve the company’s current problem.
Implementing a change requires an effective plan, which will guide the effective implementation of the change process. To implement the company’s proposed change, I would use three effective steps, which will act as guiding steps to the successful implementation of the change process (Baumöl, 2014). The first step will include informing the company’s top management about the proposed change, talking to the employees and educating them about the reasons and importance for the change, and collecting various opinions from the stakeholders. Customers will also be involved in this initializing stage. I will clearly educate the employees, the management, and the customers why such a change is necessary for the company’s overall growth. In the second step, the change will be implemented; this will include getting top experienced managers to head the Human resource, production, sales, and marketing departments of the company. In this step, the change will be implemented and take effect on the company. The final stage will see the change being finalized and maintained. I will speak to the resisting employees and how them how the change is aligned with the company’s strategy and objectives. If the company comes up with quality products, customers will be happy, and profits will increase. Exports will also increase as high demand for quality products will increase. However, I will need capital to help in the recruitment of the new managers to the company. What I require throughout the change process is the support of the top management and the employees. The former managers will be assigned other duties to help in high product sales and production.
To understand that a change is effective, a change agent uses various measures (Brenkert, 2019). For this case, I will look at the performance of the employees and see it has increased. An increase in employee morale and performance will indicate that the change implementation has been successful. I will also look at the profit increment from the sales of the products. If the profits are increasing, then the change will be successful. The new managers will have used different approaches to analyze the company’s products’ production, marketing, and selling. Positive ratings from customers and increased exports will also indicate that the change is working effectively. However, if the change is not implemented as expected, I propose a change in the type of services the company offers. The company could include technology to help customers order goods online and get them delivered at their doorsteps. This move would increase customer experience and increase profits. I would also propose a change in the type of products processed by the company. The company could look for an alternative product that would sell fast in the kingdom and across the region. This move could help the company maximize profits and gain market control in the competitive market.
This project has opened my mind and eyes to see the reality in the market. I have seen how the market can be competitive and the urgent need for companies to formulate strategies to deal with the various problems they are facing. I have learned that even big organizations face challenges in their organizations that need to be addressed soon. I also learned that organizations require a change agent, who will evaluate the organization’s situation and come up with a change proposal to help deal with the problem. I have always viewed the change in organizations as an inappropriate approach to the development of an organization. I have always believed in companies maintaining their traditional ways of doing business. However, the research I did for this project about change in organizations has changed my perspective about change implementation and its effectiveness. I now view change as very important in helping organizations achieve their goals, competitive advantage, and maintain market control in the competitive market. I have also learned that change in an organization does not complicate issues in running the company’s business processes. A change only helps shape an organization’s image and guides an organization into realizing its full potential and profit maximization.
In general, without making a change in the companies are operated, it will be impossible to make any significant changes to the problems they suffer. The organizations need to look into the challenges they face, develop a change implantation plan, and formulate ways to ensure that the change process has been successfully implemented in the company. Change leaders should also be careful when proposing a change. The change should align with the company’s strategy, mission, and vision (Jabri, 2017). The change agent should also explain the change to the employees, get buy-in from the management, and seek strategic measures to ensure that the change is implemented and sustained effectively. Almarai company wail benefit greatly from the change proposed. Organizations in KSA and the entire Middle East region also need to implement change in their organizations to overcome the various challenges they are facing.
References
AL Zubaidi, A., & Nobanee, H. (2020). Performance analysis of Almarai. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3675016
Baumöl, U. (2014). Cultural change in process management. Handbook on Business Process Management 2, 665-692. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45103-4_28
Brenkert, G. G. (2019). Mind the gap! The challenges and limits of (global) business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 155(4), 917–930.
Jabri, M. (2017). Managing organizational change: Process, social construction, and dialogue. Undefined.
McAteer, P. (2019). With sustainability comes change. TD: Talent Development, 73(8), 42.
Also read: Change management models