Question

Jack White is the newly appointed general manager of the pet food division of Strickland Corporation. He has completed a strategic review that has convinced him that the division needs to undergo rapid and substantial change in a number of areas, given the recent strategic moves of key competitors. Although Jack is new, he is familiar enough with the company to know that there will be significant resistance to the changes from a number of quarters. He also suspects that some of this resistance will come from people with the capacity to act in ways that could seriously impede successful change. Jack reflects on the situation. He believes that it is important to introduce the proposed changes soon, but he also recognizes that if he acts too quickly, he’ll have virtually no time to have a dialogue with staff about the proposed changes, much less involve them in any significant way. One option is to act speedily and to make it clear that “consequences” will follow for anyone not cooperating. He certainly has the power to act on such a threat. The risk, Jack knows, is that even if no one shows outright resistance, there’s a big difference between not cooperating and acting in a manner that reflects commitment. He knows that he needs the cooperation of key groups of staff, and that sometimes “minimum-level compliance” can be as unhelpful as resistance when it comes to implementing change. “But maybe I’m exaggerating this problem,” he thinks to himself. “Maybe I should just go ahead with the change. If people don’t like it, they can leave. If they stay, they’ll come around.” But Jack is not sure. He considers another option. Maybe he should spend more time on building up support at least among key groups of managers and staff, if not more broadly across the organization. “Maybe,” he reflects, “the need to change is not quite as immediate as I think. I just know that I’d feel a whole lot better if this consultation could happen quickly.”

Jack respects your opinion on business matters and has asked you for your views on his situation. What would be your recommendation? What factors should Jack take into account in deciding what course of action to take?

Answer 1

My recommendation for Jack would be to get used to the organizational culture and see how different team work together in the company. Building a good rapport with the teams that can help in implementing the change is very important for the success. He just cannot assume or predict that the employees will support it or go against it. A small organizational change can have a big impact on the business. Jack also cannot be arrogant and think that the people who do not like the change can leave. As a new manager, Jack should concentrate on understanding how people think of the company and what ways he can use to build a good relationship with all the major stakeholders in the company. Once he is aware of the organizational culture and has enough support from the other teams, he can think about implementing the change. The some of the factors that Jack should consider are the productivity, the impact on business, work environment, resources required, and support from the relevant teams. All these are very important for the successful implementation of the change. The change must also be done as soon as possible so Jack cannot take any risk and make sure that he has all the required things in place.