ESL Conversation Lesson Plan on Creating a New Society

This classic conversation lesson plan is based on the idea of creating a new society. Students must decide which laws will be followed and how many freedoms will be allowed. This lesson works well for ESL students of most levels (except beginners) because the subject brings out many strong opinions. Aim: Building conversation skills, expressing opinionsActivity: Group activity deciding on the laws for a new societyLevel: ​Pre-intermediate to advanced Lesson Plan Outline Help activate vocabulary by asking students which laws they admire most and least in their own country — and why.Divide students into groups of 4 to 6. Try to include as many different personalities as possible in each group (to provide for more stimulating discussion!).Explain the following situation to the class: A large area of your country has been set aside by the current government for the development of a new nation. This area will include an invited international community of 20,000 men and women. Imagine that your group has to decide the laws of this new country.Distribute the worksheet and ask students to discuss the questions.Answer the worksheet as a class — ask the opinions of each group and leave ample time for discussion of differing opinions.As a follow-up activity, the class could discuss which laws and customs they would like to change in their own country. Scenario and Accompanying Questions Populate Ideal Land A large area of your country has been set aside by the current government for the development of a new nation. This area will include an invited international community of 20,000 men and women. Imagine that your group has to decide the laws of this new country. Questions to Ask Which political system will the country have?What will the official language(s) be?Will there be censorship?What industries will your country try to develop?Will citizens be allowed to carry a gun?Will there be the death penalty?Will there be a state religion?What kind of immigration policy will there be?What will the educational system be like? Will there be compulsory education to a certain age?Who will be allowed to marry?

Spss - 968 Words

CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK ------------------------------------------------- POLICY BRIEF VETERAN TREATMENT COURT SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO THE COMMON PLEAS COURT OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY TONY D. MORRIS PREPARED FOR: Honorable John J. Russo Administrative and Presiding Judge Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court July 1, 2014 SWK 300: SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY PROFESSOR MICHAEL A. DOVER SPRING 2014 GOAL STATEMENT The sole purpose of this policy brief is to deliver concrete and measurement evidences that Veteran Treatment Courts (VTC) promotes public safety by diverting veterans with addictions and/or mental illness into a voluntary specialized court as oppose to the traditional criminal justice system. At†¦show more content†¦1 There is a direct correlation between untreated psychological injuries suffer on the field of battle and the criminal offenses many of our service personnel are being charged in the judicial system. While the total numbers of soldiers deployed to OEF/OIF/OND continues to mount, an estimated 2.5 million have served as of May 2014. Coined the â€Å"Invisible Wounds of War,† 300,000 troops suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Depression, and Suicide.2 These are only documented cases, of the recorded injuries, 50% do not seek treatment and consequently lead to criminal acts and prison. 1 Office of Justice Programs/Bureau of Justice Statistics. Veterans in State and Federal Prison, 2004. U.S. Department of Justice. [May 2007]. 2 By Chris Adams, McClatchy Newspapers March 14, 2013 History of the problem Not clinically recognized, combat fatigue can be traced back three or four thousand years. The Greek historian Herodotus could have observed this condition in 480 B.C, when he wrote of a Spartan soldier, who was seized from the battlefield because of uncontrollable trembling, who later committed suicide due to the shame endured afterShow MoreRelatedIBM SPSS Statistics 19 Brief Guide25880 Words   |  104 Pagesi IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Brief Guide Note: Before using this information and the product it supports, read the general information under Notices on p. 158. This document contains proprietary information of SPSS Inc, an IBM Company. It is provided under a license agreement and is protected by copyright law. The information contained in this publication does not include any product warranties, and any statements provided in this manual should not be interpreted as such. When you send informationRead MoreOnline Purchase Behavior Of Consumers1524 Words   |  7 Pagesreduced the large data into a concise and meaningful data set. 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Concepts, Control and Choice Between the Matrix Trilogy and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave Free Essays

The human mind may be seen as a sophisticated computing machine which has for its object of thought that which we call reality. In a certain sense, scientific knowledge and technological developments continuously define and redefine our sense of what is real. Questions concerning reality are questions that are paradigmatically philosophical. We will write a custom essay sample on Concepts, Control and Choice Between the Matrix Trilogy and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave or any similar topic only for you Order Now A paradigmatically philosophical question is a question that is both familiar and strange. This familiarity and strangeness of reality manifests itself when we try to ask ourselves the question: What is reality? On a preliminary note, both The Matrix Trilogy and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave present us with fundamental questions concerning reality and knowledge. Moreover, both The Matrix and Plato present us with questions concerning a very important characterization of the human being: our capacity for choice which is built upon the concepts of rationality and autonomy. As rational and autonomous beings, we are responsible for the choices that we make. In 514a of Plato’s work called Republic, he offers the Allegory of the Cave as an analogy for the educational progress or enlightenment of the soul. In Plato’s theory of the Divided Line, he uses the sun as a metaphor for the Form of the Good, which for him, is the proper object of thought. It is important to note that Plato assigns an ontological status to the Forms. The Forms are real, so to speak. In the allegory of the cave, he uses a surrogate metaphor for the sun: the fire within the cave. The main thrust of the Allegory of the Cave is to contrast life within the cave with the life outside of it. The cave, in Plato’s work, is a prison wherein the individuals dwell in the world of semblances. Inside the cave, the prisoners only see shadows of objects produced by the light coming from the fire. Plato uses the object-image metaphor to illustrate this point. What we may thus infer is that knowledge and reality, in Plato’s account of them in the Allegory of the Cave, comes in degrees. Regarding this particular differentiation between object and image and the real from a mere semblance or copy, Cornford writes that Plato views â€Å"†¦a world of intelligible Forms separate from the things our senses perceive† (2). In effect, Plato envisions reality as that which is absolute and accessible only through thought in contrast with mere semblances or copies that we find in the sensible world. Whereas Plato considers reality as absolute, the Matrix Trilogy depicts not just a reality but ‘realities’ which overlap each other. Morpheus presents Neo with a dilemma when the latter has to make a choice between which pill to take. The evidence of the aforementioned necessity to choose is evident as Morpheus states that â€Å"no one can be told what the Matrix is (since its existence is something that one ought) to see for one’s self†. In this sense, the discovery of reality is to be understood as an act which involves the reacquisition of a new perspective in which one may understand reality per se. According to Irwin, the similitude of Plato’s conception of the Forms in relation to the conception of reality as presented within the aforementioned text is evident if one considers that â€Å"as with the Forms, it is not a literal ‘seeing’ (which is involved) but a direct knowing that brings understanding of the Matrix† (14). In the movie, the red pill stands for ‘truth’ which eventually allows Neo to see behind the deceiving reality produced by the matrix. In very important respects, the red pill also stands for the biblical interpretation associated with the Tree of Knowledge from the Garden of Eden. In the film, the red pill induced the discovery that the world in which Neo lives is not real but a mere virtual reality (Lloyd 32). The fact of the matter is that Neo’s body is stored in a body farm with his mind plugged into the matrix. It is not difficult to see the apparent similarity with this state of affairs with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. In effect, we may say that Neo and the prisoners in the cave are in a state of illusion. Both Neo and the prisoners in the cave are presented with two options: to remain in the state of illusion or to liberate themselves from the virtual reality of the matrix or the shadows in the cave. The meaning of human life then, its purpose and moral integrity in a physical or bodily existence in the context of The Matrix is to be found in human beings’ opposition to the illusions produced by the Matrix or in a more academic terminology, ‘technological modernity’ and by restoring the natural world. In today’s world, there is a clamor for a paradigm shift in terms of adapting to the demands of modernity. Such a shift is considered by Beck as necessary when he writes that: A new kind of capitalism, a new kind of economy, a new kind of global order, a new kind of politics and law, a new kind of society and personal life are in the making which both separately and in context are clearly distinct from earlier phases of social evolution (81). In line with this, it is important to note Agent Smith’s initial explanation as to the creation of the Matrix. According to Agent Smith, the Matrix was â€Å"designed to be a perfect human world where none suffered†. The result of the design, however, remained as an ideal. Agent Smith noted that the reason for this lies in the imperfection of the programming language used to depict that perfect world. He notes, â€Å"I believe that as species human beings define their reality through misery and suffering. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from†. Questions concerning the meaning and purpose of human life are further explored on Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolution. They provide more complicated and dialectical approach of what it means for a human being to live in a technological world. The aforementioned complexity may be inferred from comparing the possibilities that are evident in the presentation of the worlds in the three movies. It is important to note that in the first movie, the matrix and the machine from which it gets its sustenance only seems to provide less complicated and normative possibilities evident in its ‘either-or’ presentation. It is at this particular aspect point where one may say that Reloaded and Revolution provide a more appropriate construal of the human condition. These two were able to explore not only the diametrically opposing views on technology and human society but also their complex interdependence. It is not difficult to see that the moral dilemma posed by Reloaded and Revolution then, is not simply to escape from our technological milieu, but to discover and rediscover what it is that enables us to be and to remain ‘human’ within such a world. Furthermore, the narrative suggests that the threat of a nihilistic instrumentalism is to be found, not simply in the external world of technological devices and systems prima facie, but in that moral and metaphysical trajectory underlying a mechanistic technoscience. The urgent task that it points to is thus to contest the nihilism of the Baconian dream and to recover those deeper sources that can sustain moral and spiritual experience and relationship even within a highly technologically advanced world. Another important aspect that ought to be given emphasis is the ‘divide’ existing behind those who know the truth [or reality] and those who do not know. Zion, the last bastion of humanity, represents that which is real. Why is it important to point out the so called divide? The answer is rather obvious. This particular aspect further generates systems of power and power relations. In a certain sense, it maintains political power. Whoever creates the divide, the fake choice, is placed at the point of authority and ultimate control. Withholding the knowledge of one world from another is simply a tool of this control – and the Plato’s Cave, so often referred to in discussions on The Matrix, does not necessarily have to refer to Zion alone. It represents any society where the knowledge is withheld from both sides of the divide, and where the self-examination of each group is discouraged of stepping over into examination of the whole system. Mindful of the points of convergence between the Matrix Trilogy and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in terms of their themes and philosophical underpinnings, we may safely add that both of them employed, in one way or another, the use of myths and metaphors in terms accounting for the concept of reality. If we are to characterize the ancient mind, we may say that it thinks in terms of metaphors. Metaphorical thinking is still one of the ways in and through which we try to explain and appropriate for ourselves various phenomena. One may take the time to consider how, for instance, we used to explain to ourselves that ‘the universe is a machine’. This was the metaphor during the time of Leibniz which continued to flourish in the advent of scientific reductionism. There remains, however, a significant difference in the Matrix Trilogy and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Whereas, the path to Zion, the representation of that which is real requires Neo and the others to rebel against the matrix for them to be able to liberate themselves, the path to Plato’s Form of the Good, that which is real, requires introspection and a life of contemplation. This is because Plato is primarily concerned with questions of ontology than questions of politics or even ethics. In the case of the Allegory of the Cave, Plato seeks to explain the nature of reality and knowledge. He is concerned with the liberation of the mind from ignorance and dogmatism. Human beings’ capacity for reason is what distinguishes them from other forms of life in the universe. Rationality is an excellence of the noble soul. How to cite Concepts, Control and Choice Between the Matrix Trilogy and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Papers

Open Editorial for Big Data Economy - myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theOpen Editorial for Big Data Economy. Answer: One of the most important principles of the 9 principles of Catholic social thought is the maintenance of human dignity. For a large number of the decades, the political consensus in the different societies of the Western Nations has long held the protection of dignity as the central character to societal Progress. The business world has also paid importance to the protection of Human Rights while serving the customers and the nation (Tsesis, 2014). However, there still remains a question that whether the human dignity and the common good are really the motto of the organization or they are the pathways of securing information from people required for their own benefit. Maintenance of human dignity mainly means respecting the values, beliefs and wishes of different citizens and not pressing others beliefs on them for making more profit. In simple terms the rights of human dignity can be defined as the important sense of self respect and self worth which are possessed by an individual of a particular Nation. Business has often proved to be an important pathway of force for progress and betterment of different people and their quality of life (Assenmacher, 2016). Each and every business should have a concern for maintaining the human dignity by respecting the integrity of different ecosystems, social systems as well as developing a concern for the well being and development of people who are included and touched by the business. However in the present generation, it is seen that the concept of informed consent has been used in various ways by different companies for making their own profit in their business (Sdki Bakkali, 2014). There have been recent debates about the different techniques which are used by different organizations to get that information about the people and then utilizing their information to either develop their business or selling their product or services to such people to make more profits. Therefore new areas of wits and clever thinking had led many companies to develop technologies where informed consents are first taken from the consumers and when the details are provided by the consumers in one area of their requirement, this information is used by the same business organizations for their own purposes or making future sales to the customer. Here lies the main irony when the question arises that whether asking for the informed consent is really serving its purpose of maintaining human dignity. It is sometimes seen that the customer does not himself know what he is consenting for as it seems an obvious process or following of steps to get their products (Allen, 2016). Therefore the business which are destined to provide the greater benefits for the common good are actually gaining benefits from the financial profit made by them through the mirage of informed consent. One of the best examples that can be given is the renowned organization called Google. Over the years Google has developed Technologies which ask for permission as well as filling up of different pages of personal information to gain access to a particular page or site. The information which is taken by Google can be considered as a breach of privacy and confidentiality because they often use this information to provide us with new suggestions that help us in refining our searches. However, there lie the questions that are they not intervening with the privacy of different people. There have been complaints from many consumers who all of a sudden see them being tracked by Google telling them what are the best suggestions for them when they find stranded in traffic. There are different apps like the shopping sites which continuously follow the different searches made by consumers and accordingly send certain suggestions for them which automatically show that they are following each an d every activity of the consumers on the sites (Mahlaola vanDyk, 2016). Two different sets of consumers have been seen. One set of consumers are happy as they get many suggestions from different organizations regarding their shopping, travelling, buying goods and different things. While others are quite unhappy with the procedure as they do not want their own choices as well as different aspects of their personal life to be followed or dictated by different business organizations (Floridi, 2016). However, from the view of common goods and human dignity they are still a big question that are business organizations really helping people with their Technologies or using the strategy of informed consent in name of human dignity for their own benefits? References: Allen, A. L. (2016). Protecting One's Own Privacy in a Big Data Economy.Harv. L. Rev. F.,130, 71. Ashenmacher, G. (2016). Indignity: Redefining the Harm Caused by Data Breaches.Wake Forest L. Rev.,51, 1. Floridi, L. (2016). On human dignity as a foundation for the right to privacy.Philosophy Technology,29(4), 307-312. Mahlaola, T. B., van Dyk, B. (2016). Reasons for Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) data security breaches: Intentional versus non-intentional breaches.health sa gesondheid,21, 271-279. Sadki, S., El Bakkali, H. (2014, April). Towards controlled-privacy in e-health: A comparative study. InMultimedia Computing and Systems (ICMCS), 2014 International Conference on(pp. 674-679). IEEE. Tsesis, A. (2014). The right to erasure: Privacy, data brokers, and the indefinite retention of data.Wake Forest L. Rev.,49, 433.

Reed Supermarkets

Case Briefing The case involves Reed Supermarkets Company, which constitutes a regional grocery store with a considerable market share of the local industry. The supermarket chain has 192 stores operating in two regional distribution centres in the same country. The centres have employed more than 20,000 individuals in the United States (Carlson and Quelch 1).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Reed Supermarkets specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the case is focused on the company’s target market in Ohio, specifically in Columbus, which makes its largest market (Carlson and Quelch 1). Despite considerable growth being observed in the Columbus market, the market share for Reed Supermarkets is reported to have decreased in this region over the last half a decade. The entry of new companies in the market has meant new competition for Reed with a stagnating the market share. Some of the factors in the market that have made the company underperform include changes in the customer preferences. Their customers have different preferences for value and quality from those that existed in the last few years. The company has not responded adequately to these fundamental changes. The chief executive officer has noted that the reason why Reed is stagnating is due to the poor strategies in place. Therefore, he has tasked the executives in the company to concoct a new strategy that will help the company achieve a revenue growth of 2% (Carlson and Quelch 1). Problem Statement The company and the individuals face a number of problems to which they must offer solutions. The challenge that these individuals face is how to increase the market share from the current 14% to 16% without making customers change the high brand image that they perceive of the company (Carlson and Quelch 1). However, the individuals who are tasked with increasing the market share for Reed Supermarkets will feel a numbe r of challenges. The first thing is that the company faces significant competition from the existing and new market players. The market is also fragmented. It will be difficult for Reed Supermarkets to secure a fast increase in the market share under these conditions. Therefore, the executives must devise creative ways of achieving this goal. The other challenge that they face is in the operating margin. The operating margin is at 2.1%. This means that the strategies they employ must be effective enough to ensure that the company uses the least possible resources. The third constraint that the company faces is in the expansion plan. The poor strategies that have been employed in the past have been insufficient to allow the expansion of Reed Supermarkets.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This applies for the financial year of 2010 (Carlson and Quelch 1). Despite the desir e to increase the market share, the company has not set up an investment plan that will oversee the increase in the number of stores that it operates in the region and in the county in general (Carlson and Quelch 1). Therefore, the problem is to achieve the increase in market share for Reed Supermarkets with the limited resources and poor past strategies. SWOT Analysis Strengths Reed has several strengths that are important in the realisation of the planned strategies. According to Sarin, Challagalla, and Kohli (566), the strengths of a company are important in the evaluation and assessment of the success that the strategies it puts in place will be achieved. One of the strengths that Reed has is that it has significant experience in handling private label merchandise (Carlson and Quelch 1). This strategy is important in the improvements for the customer selection practices that will lead to better performance. The other strength is that the area of Ohio that Reed Supermarkets has e stablished itself is rich in high-income consumers. This observation is strength to the company because it will lead to the promotion of high-end products that are recognised as beneficial to the company’s performance (Carlson and Quelch 1). The executive officers also recognise that Reed is a renowned brand whose awareness by people comes from the quality products that it offers (Carlson and Quelch 1). Therefore, it might be easy to promote the company and its operations and hence significant improvement in the market share. Weaknesses Despite the existence of the above strengths, there are also several weaknesses in the company and its strategies. The main weaknesses include the limited product selection that customers have from the organisation (Carlson and Quelch 1). According to Carlson and Quelch (1), the product selection that an organisation manages to adopt is crucial to its performance in the market. For Reed Supermarkets, product selection may be improved through a n increase in the experience that the company has in private label merchandise (Carlson and Quelch 1). The second weakness for Reed Supermarkets is the customer perception that exists on its products. The supermarket chain is perceived to have low-value products, which this may affect its performance (Carlson and Quelch 1). This weakness may be corrected through the change of perceptions of customers, although this move will require adequate marketing and promotion.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Reed Supermarkets specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Opportunities Reed has processed some opportunities in the development of a strategy that will see a 2% annual growth in market share for the company. The first opportunity is the increasing growth in the local economy. The area is said to be emerging from poor economic performance that has been present in the last few years. Therefore, the purchasing power of the residents is likely to improve. Improvement in purchasing power means improvement for the retail companies in the area. Hence, this outcome translates to improved performance for Reed Supermarkets. The second opportunity is the improved international economy, which means that the company may engage in international expansion to improve its performance. Carlson and Quelch (1) claim that a company that aims to increase its local dominance in an area must also focus on other markets. The company also has labour as the other opportunity that it can utilise in its expansion and improvement agendas. The large number of employees may be trained on how to increase efficiency and to achieve individual and organisational improvement. Threats The main threat that the company faces is the increased number of competitors in the market. This increase is likely to bring intensified competition to the company in addition to the aspirations of increasing its market share. The other threat to this c ompany’s strategy of having an increase in the market share is the perception of customers about the company’s products. The company’s customers view Reed as a high-end company. This means that some of them are not able to purchase items. However, this situation may be changed through price modifications. Position Mapping Reed has a good position in the market. Thus, it manages to stay ahead of most of its competitors in the area. Some of the companies that are important to consider while positioning the company include Wholefood, Delfina, Costo, Family Dollar, and Trade Joe’s (Carlson and Quelch 1).Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the positioning of quality, the company may be positioned above Costo, Family Dollar and Trade Joe’s. Wholefood is the only company to offer a higher quality than Reed in the area. In the pricing category, the company also performs better than Family Dollar, Costo, and Trade Joe’s, with a higher price for its items. However, Delfina has higher prices compared to Reed, with Wholefood ranking highest in the category. The product positioning is compatible with the company’s performance. It is renowned for high quality products, products that have been imported from other nations and natural and organic products (Carlson and Quelch 1). The challenge will be to maintain the product positioning while ensuring an increase in the same over the period within which the strategy is to be implemented. The pricing of the products in the organisation has to take the consideration of customers. This means that prices have to be according to the value that is accorded to the m by the customers. Perceptual map for Reed Supermarkets and competitors Source: (Reed Supermarkets 11) Alternative Solutions Apart from the suggested solutions to the problems described at Reed Supermarkets, other possible solutions include increased efficiency at the company, creation of a loyalty programme for customers and the introduction of products whose prices are in the mid-range. These alternative solutions along with their advantages and disadvantages will be discussed in this section. Increased Operating Efficiency The operating efficiency of an organisation affects its overall performance, and improvements in efficiency often result to increased performance (Peattie and Notley 333). Reed can increase its efficiency through the increase in employees and/or process efficiency. This move entails motivating employees to work towards the achievement of organisational goals. It can be done through training and rewards (Valeriu, Tudor, and Andrei 732). The organisation can al so engage in a restructuring process where the occurrence of role duplication among employees is tackled. It needs to maintain an effective staff team that is devoid of inefficiencies. The other area that can be changed to improve efficiency is the supply chain. Reed operates in an industry where the supply chain is important in the success of a company. Supply chain management practices that can be employed to improve efficiency include automation and the use of technology. The company also needs to engage positively with key stakeholders, including suppliers and retailers who buy the company’s goods. The optimisation of performance through the improvement of the supply chain is an effective way of increasing performance. The main advantage of increasing operating efficiency in the improvement for Reed is that it is less costly compared to other methods. It is also easier to implement. Besides, it can be achieved within a short period. The disadvantage is that it will lead t o the organisation retrenching some of its employees, especially those who are deemed less effective. This reduction in the workforce may work negatively on the company, thus leading to fewer improvements in services. Creation of a Loyalty Programme The loyalty programme is a means of rewarding customers that are loyal to the organisation through the provision of special benefits. The creation of a loyalty programme is an effective way of ensuring that an organisation attracts and retains customers. Varadarajan (122) stated that a loyalty programme works by making customers associated to an organisation, and hence contributing to its success. When an organisation offers rewards for customers that purchase a given product or a given quantity, they encourage them (customers) to purchase the products. Providing rewards for customers who frequent a store makes them return to the same store to buy other products. This strategy improves the company’s performance. This option is ass ociated with several advantages over other forms of interventions for Reed. One advantage is that the company can increase its performance through the incentives provided to its customers. The development of a loyalty programme also means that the company can establish a genuine client base, which it can use to promote its products and services. The disadvantage to the use of loyalty programme is that it creates dependence on customers. Mid-Range Pricing Reed is known for offering high-end items, which are accompanied by the high-end pricing and customers (Carlson and Quelch 1). This strategy has helped the company in terms of performance, with profitability being experienced as a result. A sizeable number of potential customers is unable to afford the products that are on offer at the retail company. The company can realise considerable growth and increase in market dominance if it develops a special price package for the ordinary customers. The sales volumes can also increase, thu s leading to profitability. The advantage of this solution is that it has the potential of increasing the number of customers visiting the organisation. As a result, it causes growth in sales and market share. The main disadvantage of using this strategy is that the company’s image as a high-end retail organisation may be diminished. Reed has used this plan to create its strategy. Answers to Case study Questions This section looks at some of the questions that are important to answer in the case study on Reed Supermarkets. Reed’s Position in the Columbus market Reed Supermarket can be defined as a market leader in the Columbus market. It occupies a favourable position in the market. It is ahead of most of its competitors in Columbus. Some of the companies that offer stiff competition to Reeds include Wholefood, Family Dollar, Delfina, Costo, and Trade Joe’s (Carlson and Quelch 1). In terms of quality of services, Reed is better than Family Dollar, Costo, and Tra de Joe’s. However, Wholefood is the only company that offers better quality services compared to Reed. Reed is also a high-end company offering high-priced items at its retail outlets. In terms of pricing, Reed performs better than Trade Joe’s, Family Dollar, and Costo by offering higher end items compared to these companies. Wholefood is the highest-ranking company in this highest in the category, with Delfina performing considerably better than Reed Supermarkets. The company currently has a market share of 14%, with the CEO aiming to improve this figure to 16% market share. The main customers visiting the company are those that demand high-end items. The company can be said to offer the same services. How the Supermarket makes Money Reed makes money through the sale of items in its retail outlets. The items are high-end and highly priced to ensure that customers who visit the organisation are wealthy and can afford these items. Like most other retail outlets, Reed ge ts goods from suppliers who get them from the manufacturing industries, or directly from the manufacturers. The source of Reed’s products is mainly the international market. The company imports most of the products at its outlet. The importation is associated with high quality goods. High-end customers prefer the imported goods. After these goods arrive at any of the two warehouses, they are priced conveniently so that their sale brings maximum returns to the company. These products are then marketed through the appropriate channels for the organisation. The marketing campaign is targeted to the high-end customers. The company makes money when customers purchase items from its stores. It also proceeds to ensure that all the other costs are properly controlled. Effective strategy for Reed moving forward: Is it Defensible? The most effective strategy for Reed Supermarkets will be to concentrate on the profit margin for the items that it sells. The company should improve on the profit margins by reducing the operational costs and the losses that occur out of inefficient processes. The profit margins can also be improved through a lean and efficient workforce. This strategy may necessitate an audit of the human resource for the organisation. Reed should also embark on optimisation of the profits through the retention of the profit margins that it currently enjoys. The company is known for providing high-end items, which are offered at a high price compared to other retail centres in the area. This character of the organisation means that most of the customers visiting its outlets are those that can afford to buy the items. Therefore, the company has managed to create a brand name for itself through offering these high priced and high-end items. The dollar coupon is not an effective strategy for the organisation since it will erode the image created over a long time as a high-end company. The depreciation of the brand image may also result in the customers l eaving the brand loyalty (Varadarajan 122). The new strategy for Reed should be focused on the assurance of customer satisfaction, which is the main reason why organisations exist aside from making profits (Carlson and Quelch 1). It should be more customer focused, meaning that the products offered are relevant to the needs of customers. Therefore, the strategy is defensible based on the effectiveness that it may bring to the organisation. Seriousness of the threat posed by Dollar Stores and Aldi The threat by Dollar Stores and Aldi is not very significant to Reed Supermarkets. The reason behind the low threat from the companies is that they offer different services to different customers. Reed has managed to position itself as a high-end company while the Dollar Stores and Aldi serve customers on the lower markets. The only threat that these stores offer to Reed is in the fallout because of favourable pricing. Customers that are unable to afford the goods offered at Reed are likely to run to these stores in search of better pricing. Reed has managed to maintain its brand image through pricing and quality of goods as stated above. Loyal customers have remained loyal even in the presence of dollar stores. Therefore, they are attracted by the brand (Carlson and Quelch 1). These customers are unlikely to migrate to these stores from Reed. Hence, the Dollar Stores and Aldi pose little threat to the company. Over the past few years, competition between Reed and other companies has often been on the pricing platform, with the competitors purporting to offer better prices compared to Reed Supermarkets. Should Collins continue the Dollar Specials campaign The dollar specials campaign at Reed Supermarket was meant to make some of the goods affordable for the average and mid-range customers. The campaign led to some increase in the number of sales. However, the overall effect from this campaign is a reduction in revenue. The opinion is that Collins should stop the dolla r specials campaign immediately and revert to the traditional pricing method that the company employs. The brand positioning and equity that Reed has been able to attain over the past is based on high pricing of high-end products. The dollar campaign was going against this plan (Carlson and Quelch 1). There were also financial losses associated with the dollar campaign, with a net loss of 76% on all the discounted items (Carlson and Quelch 1). The company’s operating profits for 2010 are said to be lower in relation to those of the previous year, with 0.4% of the reduction being attributed to the dollar campaign (Carlson and Quelch 1). Since some of the dollar stores are located close to the Reed Supermarket stores, the information on the dollar stores is causing the regular customers to change their loyalty. Financial Impact of the Decision The financial impact of stopping the dollar campaign with immediate effect at Reed will be positive and negative with reference to the o rganisation. However, the effects will be dependent on whether the period is immediately after or long after the disbandment. In the first few months after the dollar campaign is abandoned, the number of customers in the company is not likely to change. This means that the profit margins are likely to be sustained over the same period. The 76% loss in profit from the items that were in the programme is likely to be corrected, with the company regaining its market share in terms of revenue. The company had a net gain of about 3% in the number of customers in the period over which the campaign was in place. This was not significantly large compared to the losses that the company was incurring in the form of revenue. With the withdrawal of this programme from the organisation, the additional customers are likely to move away from the organisation, thus taking with them part of the revenue that the company makes. However, the revenue saved through the cancellation of the programme will compensate this loss in revenue. Collin’s Action Plan for Reed for 2011 Collins should have an efficient plan for Reed for the year 2011, with this having the objective of reducing the operational costs and ensuring an increase in the market share in keeping with the company’s aspirations. Several recommendations are possible a highlighted below. The first recommendation that is stated in the previous section is that the company should stop the dollar special campaign that it has in place (Carlson and Quelch 1). The reason behind the recommendation is that Reed has cultivated a culture that is part of its brand name. The company has traditionally dealt with high-end pricing and products. This plan has been important in the creation of the brand image and loyalty. Most of the existing customers are a result of this image. However, the dollar campaign is eroding it. There are also no significant gains from the programme, with the net value being a loss. There is only an increase of 3% for customers to the institution. These customers are mainly looking for bargaining and hence of little value to the organisation. The profits for the previous year are also said to have reduced by about 0.4% because of the introduction of the special dollar campaign. Therefore, the first strategy should be the cancellation of this programme. The next step that Collins should take is to increase the sales target for Reed Supermarkets. According to Varadarajan (122), the sales targets are an important aspect of any organisation with the strategy of being successful in any industry. The current market share of 14% has stagnated over the last financial year. This situation has not been received well by the CEO and other stakeholders. This assertion is the basis of the targeted increase by 2% for the current financial year to make the market share about 16% (Carlson and Quelch 1). The target that the organisation has in increasing the market share to 16% is a general incr ease of 95 million dollars to a sales total of $775 million for the year 2011 (Carlson and Quelch 1). The target is reasonable. With the achievement in market share, the revenues for Reed Supermarkets will increase significantly. The current market for all companies stood at $4.74 billion (Carlson and Quelch 1). In the targeted increase in market share for Reed Supermarkets, the assumption that the executives and other individuals involved in the plan is that the total market share remains constant over the same period. This assumption is valid, although the devised strategy should allow the achievement of more market share. The market share, being the first target in the assessment of the company’s improvement, should be monitored throughout the implementation of the strategy to allow for the establishment of the effectiveness of the strategy that is in place. The other strategy that Reed Supermarkets should adopt is the maintenance of the target segment and an increase in t he customer wallet share (Carlson and Quelch 1). Varadarajan (122) states that the retail outlets such as supermarkets are especially affected by the wallet share of their customers. Reed has focused on the affluent in the society as the main customer base. This strategy has made the company operate with the brand that it has created. The other individuals that the company has targeted as its important customers are the older individuals in the society. These customers have a considerably smaller household size (Carlson and Quelch 1). Collins should maintain the target population in his strategy to increase the market share for the company. The wallet share for the current customer base for Reed Supermarkets is 8.93%, which is smaller than the wallet share that exists in other types of supermarkets that are in competition with Reed Supermarkets (Carlson and Quelch 1). Therefore, Collins should target to increase the wallet share for customers of the organisation by at least a percen tage a year. The increment in the wallet share for the customers will mean a better performance for the company. The average wallet share for supermarket customers in the region in general is 10%, with this figure being above what is calculated for Reed’s customers (Carlson and Quelch 1). A percentage increase in the customer wallet share for Reed Supermarkets will result in an increase of about $79 million a year. This outcome will cause the company to regain its position in the market and increase its market share. The next strategy that Collins should put in place is to maintain the brand positioning that the company has maintained to construct. Reed has maintained a culture of serving high-end customers, with the prices that are offered being relevant to this population of customers. This strategy has worked well for the company, with the current advantage that it is enjoying over other institutions being because of it. Therefore, a suggestion is that Collins should maint ain this strategy even as the company aims to increase its market share. The maintenance of the high-end market means that the brand name and the image created over the past few years will be maintained, and that the company will be able to retain its regular customers. The company may use many ways to maintain its brand positioning. One example is that Reed should specialise in the provision of quality services and goods to customers, with these services and goods being better in relation to those of its competitors such as Delfina and Wholefoods. The customer experience at the stores should also be improved, with the provision of better lighting, faster check out, and longer opening hours for the stores. The provision of improved services will also lead to improved competition, and consequently increased market share for the company. The next strategy that Collins should use to improve the performance of the organisation and lead to an increase in market share is the provision of improved product mix (Carlson and Quelch 1). According to Kurt and Hulland (58), companies that provide a wider variety of goods often perform better than those providing a limited range of products. The retail chain offers private labels in its product line. This move is considered an important contributor to the revenues of the company. A way of improving the sales from these products is to increase the private labels with the introduction of new ones. The proportion of private labels to the other products should be increased to 25%. This increase should be accompanied by maintenance of the SGA and the Gross margin (Carlson and Quelch 1). The company can use intelligent means of countering competition by the use of this method. Another way of killing the competition that Reed should use is to sell two types of goods in each of the categories on offer, with three quarters of these goods being premium goods while the other share goes to private label products that are offered at che aper prices. This move affects competition in that the competitors such as Aldi will be warned against entering the high-end market (Carlson and Quelch 1). Reed should ensure that it rolls out food-containing and beverage-containing bundled products since this strategy will also lead to an increase in the market share for the company. A significant proportion of Reed’s customers buys organic pets food. The company should ensure that it maintains a hold on this proportion of its customers. The current proportion of customers that are involved in the purchase of organic pets’ food stands at 20%. This figure is a significant proportion of the customers for the organisation (Carlson and Quelch 1). Therefore, Collins should ensure that these customers are retained in the company even with the changes that are likely to take place. The other strategy that Reed should adopt is to increase the customer base that it relies on. Any increase in the customer base will translate to an increase in the market share for the company. Therefore, it is paramount that Collins focuses on an increase in the customer base if he wants to achieve the increase in market share. Galaxy Stores Company presents a good example of one of the companies that Reed Supermarkets may attract some of the customers. Galaxy Stores Company is said to be in the verge of losing a significant proportion of clients, with this situation being driven by the poor location of its retail stores. They are unable to sustain the promotions (Carlson and Quelch 1). Reed Supermarkets can attract customers from Galaxy Stores through the provision of more private labels and a convenient location of Reed’s stores (Carlson and Quelch 1). Reed should also add more stores, increase the quantity of prepared food, and establish a good relationship with customers who are willing to buy from the stores as an option for Galaxy Stores (Carlson and Quelch 1). With any percentage increase in market share that Reed is able to attain through the grabbing of Galaxy’s customers, the company stands to gain an excess of $47 million (Carlson and Quelch 1). The increase in market share will be in keeping with the strategy put in place by Collins while the increase in revenue will be beneficial to the company. In the price strategy, the only change that is suggested is the scrapping of the dollar special in the organisation (Carlson and Quelch 1). The move to eliminate this programme, as stated above, will be important in guaranteeing of positive performance of the organisation. Collins should not adopt new strategies to improve the prices for the moment apart from this suggested scrapping of the special dollar programme. As Varadarajan (122) says, the pricing of a commodity for any organisation should be done after consideration of several factors such as the market value, the production process, the utility of the product, and the demand. In the case of Reed Supermarkets, the pricing fo r its products is based on the brand image that it intends to maintain. The prices are adequate after the elimination of the special dollar campaign. The next strategy that Collins should adopt for the success of Reed in increasing the market share is to embark on a promotional drive for the company. The company should utilise the various media types in existence to ensure that it expands its brand image (Varadarajan 122). Promotion and marketing constitute some of the most efficient ways to increase the sales of a company. Collins should adopt these measures to increase the performance of Reed Supermarkets. The promotion should be carried out on the media, including the internet and print media. The internet is the most effective and efficient method of running advertising campaigns for the supermarket chain. The traditional media types such as the television and print media (Varadarajan 124) should complement it. The company should ensure that while carrying out the advertising ca mpaigns, there is an emphasis on the type of clients that the company serves and the type of products that it is offering (Varadarajan 125). The company should target the high-end market. Hence, its advertising campaigns should be specific to this group. It should sponsor events that are often attended by the high-end individuals with the aim of boosting the image of being a classic company with its interests in mind. The adopted marketing campaign should be effective in the promotion of the company. With this move, the market share for Reed should increase. The other strategy that Reed Supermarket should adopt to achieve an increase in the market share is the use of e-commerce in its operations. Varadarajan (122) states that with the developments in the telecommunication age, companies cannot afford to ignore the role played by the internet and other forms of technology in their success. Therefore, Collins should ensure that the company has a strong presence on the internet, with d evelopment of a working website and the use of internet advertising. The use of e-commerce at the retail centres should allow the company to stay ahead of its competitors, with the customers being able to transact using the online services. In organisations where the internet has been applied as a form of e-commerce, significant improvements in revenues for the organisations have been recorded. Reed Supermarkets should implement the same plan where customers can shop from different parts of the state at the comfort of their sitting rooms. The other areas where Collins should focus on improving is the supply chain, which is an important part of an organisation operating in this industry. The supply chain should be automated with the introduction of different strategies such as effective inventory management (Barbu and Ionescu 296). The last suggestion for Collins in terms of to increase the market share for Reed in 2011 is to maintain the existing stores, with no addition of new ones . Although the other companies that are indirect competition with Reed such as dollar stores have increased their stores, they have only managed to realise a small increase in the number of sales and market size of share (Carlson and Quelch 1). The current stores that Reed operates are located in favourable places. An addition of more stores will affect the company’s image, as these new stores will be located in inaccessible areas for customers. The other reason behind the advice of not increasing the number of stores for Reeds is based on the strategies that the company has over the next year. Reed plans to increase its market share over the next year. This move will lead to the consumption of most of the available revenue. The company is also reported to have limited revenue that is available for expansion in the financial year. Therefore, expanding and opening of new stores will not be financially feasible. The other reason behind the dissuasion for Collins to open more st ores is that the new stores will also be a liability for the company. If implemented, the above measures will be effective strategies for Reed that hopes to increase its market share by 2% points over the next year. Works Cited Reed Supermarkets. Reed Supermarkets, 2014. Web. Barbu, Andreea, Mihaela, and Florin Ionescu. â€Å"Conceptual Model Of Marketing Strategic Planning Specific To Public Organisations.† Annals Of The University Of Oradea, Economic Science Series 21.2(2012): 795-800. Print. Carlson, Carole, and John Quelch. â€Å"Reed Supermarkets: A New Wave of Competitors.† Harvard Business School Cases 1.1(2011): 1. Print. Kurt, Didem, and John Hulland. â€Å"Aggressive Marketing Strategy Following Equity Offerings And Firm Value: The Role Of Relative Strategic Flexibility.† Journal Of Marketing 77.5(2013): 57-74. Print. Peattie, Kenneth, and David Notley. â€Å"The Marketing And Strategic Planning Interface.† Journal Of Marketing Management 4.3(19 89): 330-349. Print. Sarin, Shikhar, Goutam Challagalla, and Ajay Kohli. â€Å"Implementing Changes in Marketing Strategy: The Role Of Perceived Outcome- And Process-Oriented Supervisory Actions.† Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR) 49.4(2012): 564-580. Print. Valeriu, Catalin, Ionescu Tudor, and Popescu Andrei. â€Å"The Premises Of Strategic Marketing Planning Implementation Within Small And Medium Sized Enterprises.† Annals of The University Of Oradea, Economic Science Series 20.1 (2011): 730-735. Print. Varadarajan, Rajan. â€Å"Strategic Marketing And Marketing Strategy: Domain, Definition, Fundamental Issues And Foundational Premises.† Journal Of The Academy Of Marketing Science 38.2 (2010): 119-140. Print. This case study on Reed Supermarkets was written and submitted by user Kyra T. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Jan Matzeliger and the History of Shoe Production

Jan Matzeliger and the History of Shoe Production Jan Matzeliger was an immigrant cobbler working in a shoe factory in New England when he invented a new process that changed shoe-making forever.   Early Life Jan Matzeliger was born in in 1852  in Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana (known today as Suriname). He was a shoemaker by trade, the son of a Surinamese homemaker and a Dutch engineer. The younger Matzeliger showed an interest in mechanics and began working in his dad’s machine shop at the age of ten. Matzeliger left Guiana at age 19, joining a merchant ship. Two years later, in 1873, he settled in Philadelphia. As a dark-skinned man with little command of English, Matzeliger struggled to survive.  With the help of his tinkering ability and support from a local black church, he eked out a living and eventually began working for a cobbler. A "Lasting" Impact on Shoe-Making At this time the shoe industry in America was centered in Lynn, Massachusetts, and Matzeliger traveled there and eventually landed a job at a shoe factory operating a sole-sewing machine that was used to stitch different pieces of a shoe together. The final stage of shoemaking at this timeattaching the upper part of a shoe to the sole, a process called â€Å"lasting† was a time-consuming task that was done by hand.   Matzeliger believed that lasting could be done by machine and set about devising just how that might work. His shoe lasting machine adjusted the shoe leather upper snugly over the mold, arranged the leather under the sole and pinned it in place with nails while the sole was stitched to the leather upper. The Lasting Machine revolutionized the shoe industry. Instead of taking 15 minutes to last a shoe, a sole could be attached in one minute. The efficiency of the machine resulted in mass production- a single machine could last 700 shoes in a day, compared to 50 by a hand laster- and lower prices. Jan Matzeliger obtained a patent for his invention in 1883. Tragically, he developed tuberculosis not long after and died at the age 37. He left his stock holdings to his friends and to the First Church of Christ in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Hard Work or Talent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Mean World Syndrome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Bernard Arnault And His Duality Pioneering Act Of Lvmh Essay

Bernard Arnault And His Duality Pioneering Act Of Lvmh - Essay Example Global firms have the whole world as its market field that they can offer a wide array of products and services - firms keep growing while others downsize or rightsize. One aspect of globalization is that firms can assign departmental functions, such as marketing, finance, operations, human resource management, and accounting to other firms – this is known as outsourcing. Global firms use many different structural forms in dealing with globalization. They can use the horizontal structure which is made easier with the availability of the internet and Information Technology. It is still possible with the old structure, i.e., the vertical structure where the top echelon of the organization can dictate or take hold of the reins of business even if they are in the other side of the world. Whether we see this as positive or negative, globalization has change the world in terms of commerce and trade and how we see the world in different perspectives.After the world economic downturn, some of Europe’s giant firms have continued to keep watch the playing arena of businesses in terms of acquisitions and mergers. They have turned their eyes on the emerging markets of China, India and other countries of Asia. This is because these emerging markets survived and made remarkable steps during the financial crisis. And this is one of the reasons why Bernard Arnault, who is believed to be Europe’s wealthiest man, has shifted business focus to Asia, particularly the emerging markets of China and India.... This is because these emerging markets survived and made remarkable steps during the financial crisis. And this is one of the reasons why Bernard Arnault, who is believed to be Europe’s wealthiest man, has shifted business focus to Asia, particularly the emerging markets of China and India. Combine these two countries in terms of population, you have approximately one third of the world’s peoples who have the urge and the motivation to buy consumer products. In China, particularly Shanghai, the motivation is on luxury products, which is why Bernard Arnault has his own ambassador there in the person of John Galliano. Arnault has made business trips using his private jet to wherever he wants to promote the latest of his treasured bags and perfumes. He has made instant visits to places as far as Morocco not only to promote but to measure how much profits the company has earned there. 2. Background of Bernard Arnault and LVMH Bernard Arnault is not only Europe’s weal thiest businessman with an estimated worth of $39 billion, he is a multi-talented and product-oriented artist. He has acquired brands from bags to perfume and has made corporate acquisitions one after another. He describes his quest for perfection as a ‘duality’ which should be reinforced immediately with â€Å"timelessness and utmost modernity†. His desire to acquire businesses is not only motivated by finances but by his dream to infuse art on commerce (or commerce on art). And he is doing this because he believes he is doing it for France and the people who patronize LVMH. His modernity and art includes a collection of modern and contemporary art which will soon be housed in a grand museum designed by Frank Gehry, which Arnault has

Managing Change in Small Organisations

Managing Change in Small Organisations 1.0 Introduction The phenomenon of resistance to change is the bane of all Algerian bakeries that convey ideas for change. For the same one who proposed the change, the resistances are usually synonymous with hostility, intrigue deadlines, polarization, conflict, and impatience, many problems which are likely to frustrate and undermine the success of his bakery. Basically, resistance to change is built up from many sources; internal and external. Overcoming resistance to change requires first the identification of those sources. Therefore, the owner of the bakery â€Å"El-Bahdja† is looking for an expert or professional advice in the field to help managing change effectively. Hence, as this topic is part of the international business and management studies, the owner asked me to do some research on this matter. Ultimately, this research is divided into two major chapters, first; the literature part that discusses the main topic theoretically, it starts off by mentioning the general sources that fuels the resistance to change, then it goes on with hofdstedes point of view on resistance of change based on cultural differences and it concludes by describing the steps of managing change effectively and it concludes with. The second major chapter is the analysis of the findings from the primary data that have been collected through interviews with owners and employees from the bakery El-Bahdja and owners from other bakeries. Finally this paper is closed by recommendations for the owner of the bakery El-Bahdja on how to overcome resistance to change and how to manage change. 1.1 Research objective Many companies in North Africa particularly in Algeria are making loss and could not improve the quality of their business due to the habit of following common procedures and the high consideration of sunk costs invested in the status quo and fear of new ideas. Lack of adequate information fuels rumors and gossip and adds to anxiety generally associated with change. This fear creates resistance to change in the Algerian bakery industry Therefore, this research focuses on finding the elements that fuel the resistance to change in the Algerian bakeries and specifically the bakery â€Å"El Bahdja† that produces and delivers all kind of bread and pastries. The owner of the Algerian Bakery â€Å"El-Bahdja† is an old man and has been in the business since 1967. The owner is facing the closing down due to lack of managing change skills in the bakery and the high resistance from the employees to change. The main objective of this research is to provide the owner of the bakery â€Å"El-Bahdja† with guidance to effectively managing change when it is in the process of the implementation. 1.2 Research questions To provide guidance on how to manage changes for the owner of the bakery â€Å"El-Bahdja† it is essential first to find answers to the following research questions. â€Å"Does Algerian culture welcome changes† â€Å"Why most Algerian employers and employees resist changing?† â€Å"What are the external factors that prevent Algerian employers and employees from changing?† â€Å"How do Algerian employers and employees manage change when applying the new ideas?† 1.3 Methodology This study is based on both primary and secondary data that help in understanding the causes of resistance to change from both the Algerian owners and their employees: Secondary data collection: this method studies the previous cases that have already been written about and find the similarities between the cases. This method is very helpful in collection data from different cultures that share the same fact which is fear of new ideas that have direct effect on their traditional way of doing business. Therefore, the resources of the secondary data collection are mainly from books, journals, and internet. Primary data: a very crucial data and plays a big role in making final decision. The primary data which is better called direct communication or field research, on other word; facing people and have them interviewed. The objective of this method is to collect factual data that helps in answering the research questions of this study and this after interviewing people from the same field on the main topic. Reflection on the research methodology: the methods followed for collecting data are linked together. The secondary data helps understand the theoretical concepts that have been concluded from previous cases and compare them to the new facts. In this method; the 7s model of McKinsey, the theory versus the real world by Jeff Hiatt and Arab identity by Halim Barakat are used as starting point for facing organizational change in Algeria. The primary data is basically the tangible evidence for decision makers, observing and interviewing people are the major tools to be used in collecting data for this study. Reliability and validity of data are the essential axes of this method. Therefore, the interviews take place specifically with owners of bakeries and their employees in Algeria and in the Netherlands for comparison to see whether culture differences is a matter for resisting changing. 2.1 Why managing change? â€Å"Change is believed to happen Changes are fact and every person is subject to these changes. People faces changes regularly in their life or in their workplace, part of them deal with these changes successfully and the other part fail to adjust to change. In the life, for instance a family with children; parents believe that children are subject to changes and may change to better or to the opposite that parents plan for them, however these changes would not affect the family as a whole but the person himself. Nevertheless, in a business changes there are two ways and no third, successfully manage change or failure. In organization whether you are an executive, supervisor, coach, consultant, project team leader or manager of any type where your job is to manage people, you likely have experienced resistance to change from employees. However you may not recognize the role that you can play in preventing that resistance and leading change. Many managers do not make this connection until they have personally experience failure in an important change project (Jeff Hiat, Timothy J. Creasey 2003) When asking people after this failure what would you do differently if you had the chance to do it again? The common response would be using an effective and planned change management program. The question to be risen here is whether this program is sufficient enough to prevent resistance to change from happening in the first place and deal with people emotions and pursue them to change. The real barrier to success is a lack of change management and not management program. Some people do not lack of vision or an understanding of the marketplace but they feel simply short when managing the people side of change. In other words, things did not go exactly as planned. The unexpected happened. Not managing the people side of change impacts the success and introduces risk into the business (Jeff Hiat, Timothy J. Creasey 2003) Change management skills have shown that is not only mitigates these business risks, but also can avoid them entirely. Business leaders have change management skills to not only manage resistance once it appears, but to prevent it from occurring. 2.2 Change and the manager â€Å"Change needs to be portrayed in positive terms, a necessity to ensure long term survival (Robert A Poton, James McCalman, 2008)† Organizations and their managers must recognize change, in itself, is not necessarily a problem. The problem more often than not is a less than competent management o the change situation (Rob Paton, James McCalman, 2008). Managers must realize that one cannot separate strategic change management from organizational strategy; both must work in tandem. The importance of the human side of change cannot be underestimated, one must identify and manage the potential sources and causes of potential resistance and ensure that motivators are built into new processes and structures (Forlaron, 2005). i) Change competency: â€Å"Change is part of the businesss philosophy† â€Å"The successful organization is the organization that understand change will occur, expect it and support the change during implementation (Jeff Hiat, 2003) An organization that faces constant demands to change and uses effective management over and over with each new initiative may experience a fundamental shift in its operations and the behavior of its employees. Sponsors begin to repeat activities that made last change successful. Managers develop skills to support employees through the change. Employees see part of their job as navigating these new changes. Each level in the organization will have internalized its role in change and developed the skills and knowledge necessary to react to constant change. The organization has become ready and able to embrace change; it has developed change competency (Jeff Hiat, Timothy J. Creasey, 2003). However, building change competency is not paved with flowers; it requires a belief that change is now an ever-present feature of organizational life (Burnes, 2004). Change competency is similar to change management, but there are several key distinction. First, change management is ultimately the use of specific activities like communication, coaching, sponsorship and training; to realize successful outcomes with business changes. Change competency is not a specific activity; it is an organizations ability to react to change over and over again Second, while change management can be taught and learned, change competency requires a fundamental shift in culture and values. It must be simply part of day-to-day operations and cannot be simply demonstrated in training or instructional material. Third, change competency must penetrate every facet and level of the organization. This distinction especially relates to the front-line employee. An organization may have expertise in change management in its sponsors, consultants and change management. However, the front-line employees are the ones whose day-to-day activities are changing. To build change competency into the organization, you can take the first step by ensuring that solid change management practices are applied consistently for each change initiative. The second step is to begin building the following competencies into your organization (Jeff Hiat, Timothy J. Creasey, 2003) ii) Change and Human Resource Technology has played a major role in ensuring that a coherent business approach and managerial performance can be maintained from a reduce resource base. The key success in such moves has been the mobilization of the human resource (Pettigrew and Whipp, 1993). 2.3 Managing resistance once it appears â€Å"Believing in changes to be happening is a key principle to reducing resistance to change† People are often afraid of new ideas. They may feel threatened by new ideas and fear that they will not be able to cope with a change in working patterns that is demanded of them or that they will not understand how to use a new technology; example of that many older people are afraid of materials that they are not able to handle and may make them calling the technician every moment (Tony proctor 2005). The fear of new ideas is a natural feeling; people live with this fear and it not a bad manner. Fear of new ideas becomes negative when is surrounded with sources that increase the tension of fear that leads to high level of resistance and consequently aggravation of the failure of any project. Change more often than not produces suspicions and resistance. To many it implies a move from familiar ways-mastered over long periods of time- to an unknown and threatening environment. In order to deal effectively with resistance to change, people must understand its causes (Jack Rabin, Marcia B. Steinhauer, 1988). Lawrence and Greiner 1970, identify the main sources that feed the resistance of change. Fear of the unknown, lack of information, threats of status, fear of failure, and lack of perceived benefits. Regarding the first group of sources of resistance, change starts with the perception of its need, so a wrong initial perception is the first barrier to change. This first group is called ‘distorted perception, interpretation barriers and vague strategic priorities (Pardo del Val, Manuela Martà ­nez Fuentes). It includes: (a) Inability of the company to look into the future with clarity (Barr et al., 1992; Krà ¼ger, 1996; Rumelt, 1995); (b) Denial or refusal to accept any information that is not expected or desired (Barr et al., 1992; Rumelt, 1995; Starbuck et al., 1978); (c) Perpetuation of ideas, meaning the tendency to go on with the present thoughts although the situation has changed (Barr et al., 1992; Krà ¼ger, 1996; Rumelt, 1995; Zeffane, 1996); (d) Implicit assumptions, which are not discussed due to its implicit character and therefore distort reality (Starbuck, Greve and Hedberg, 1978); (e) Communication barriers, that leads to information distortion or misinterpretations (Hutt et al., 1995); (f) Organizational silence, which limits the information flow with individuals who do not express their thoughts, meaning that decisions are made without all the necessary information (Morrison and Milliken, 2000; Nemeth, 1997). The second main group of sources of resistance deals with a low motivation for change. Five fundamental sources: (a) Direct costs of change (Rumelt, 1995); (b) cannibalization costs, that is to say, change that brings success to a product but at the same time brings losses to others, so it requires some sort of sacrifice (Rumelt, 1995); (c) Cross subsidy comforts, because the need for a change is compensated through the high rents obtained without change with another different factor, so that there is no real motivation for change (Rumelt, 1995); (d) Past failures, which leave a pessimistic image for future changes (Lorenzo, 2000); and (e) Different interests among employees and management, or lack of motivation of employees who value change results less than managers value them (Waddell and Sohal, 1998). The lack of a creative response is the third set of sources of resistance. There are three main reasons that diminish the creativeness in the search for appropriate change strategies: (a) Fast and complex environmental changes, which do not allow a proper situation analysis (Ansoff, 1990; Rumelt, 1995); b) Reactive mind-set, resignation, or tendency to believe that obstacles are inevitable (Rumelt, 1995); and (c) Inadequate strategic vision or lack of clear commitment of top management to changes (Rumelt, 1995; Waddell and Sohal, 1998). Taking into consideration all those sources of resistance mentioned above can reverse the situation into preventing resistance in the first place. Cultural web: Cultures differ from each other in their resistance to change. The strongest resistance to change characterizes of high power distance, low individualism, and high uncertainty avoidance. Among these cultures are most Latin American countries, Portugal and Korea, followed by Japan, France, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Arab countries. Cultures with low levels of resistance to change are low on power distance, high on individualism, and low on uncertainty avoidance. This category includes the Anglo countries, Nordic countries, and the Netherlands, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Africa (Harzig and Hofdestede, 1996 2.4 Making sense of change management â€Å"7S model of McKinsey†: The Mckinsey 7S model defines the seven components that encompass an organization and that by changing any one of the S components there is impact on the other S components. This model is such a conceptual aid by acting as good checklist for those setting out to make organizational change, laying out which parts of the system need to adapt, and the effects of these changes in other parts of the system (Mike Green, 2007) The 7s categories are: Staff important categories of people within the organization, the mix, the diversity, retention, the development and the maximizing of their potential. This component helps to determine how committed resources to make it all work? Skills distinctive capabilities, knowledge and experience of key people. The role of this component is to identify how ready and competent are the staff based on where the organization is heading? Systems processes, IT systems, HR systems, knowledge management systems. In other words, what are the suitable systems to be used to support the transition? Style management style and culture. How we are getting from here to there? Shared values guiding principles that make the organization what it is. Strategy organizational goals and plan, use of resources. Briefly is where are we transitioning to? Structure the organization chart and how roles, responsibilities and accountabilities are distributed in furtherance of the strategy. â€Å"The Mckinsey 7S model provides an effective framework for analyzing an organization and its activities that determine whether an organization is strong enough to adjust to any changes. Furthermore, this model helps in avoiding some of the sources that feed resistance to change in the first place† 2.5 Five steps for effective change process (Thomas and Christopher, 2008) Step 1:Motivating change: â€Å"Moving from the known to the unknown† Organizational change involves moving from the known to the unknown. The future is uncertain and may adversely affect peoples competencies, worth, and coping abilities. Organization members generally do not support change unless compelling reasons convince them to do so. A key issue in planning for action is how to motivate commitment to organizational change. This requires attention to two related tasks: creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change. Creating Readiness for change: peoples readiness for change depends on creating a felt need for change. This involves making people so dissatisfied with the status quo that they are motivated to try new work processes, technologies, or ways of behaving. Generally people and organization need to experience deep levels of hurt before they will seriously undertake meaningful change. The following three methods can help generate sufficient dissatisfaction to produce change: Sensitize organizations to pressures for change. Modern organizations face unprecedented environmental pressures to change themselves, including heavy foreign competition, rapidly changing technology, and the draw of global markets. Internal pressures to change include new leadership, poor product quality, high production costs, and excessive employee absenteeism and turnover. Organizations can make themselves more sensitive to pressures for change by encouraging leadership to surround themselves with devils advocate; for instance by cultivating external networks that comprise people or organizations with different perspectives and views; by visiting other organizations to gain exposure to new ideas and methods. Reveal discrepancies between current and desired states. Significant discrepancies between actual and ideal states can motivate organization members to initiate corrective changes, particularly when members are committed to achieving those ideas. A major diagnosis is to provide members with feedback about current organizational functioning so that the information can be compared with goals or desired future states. Convey credible positive expectations for the change. When organization members expect success, they are likely to develop greater commitment to the change process and to direct more energy into the constructive behaviors needed to implement it. The key success to achieving these positive effects if to communicate realistic, positive expectations about the organizational changes*. Research suggests that information about why the change is occurring, how it will benefit the organization, and how people will be involved in the design and implementation of the change was most helpful.* Overcoming Resistance to change: At the organization level, resistance to change can come from three sources. Technical resistance comes from the habit of following common procedures and the consideration of sunk costs invested in the status quo. Political resistance can arise when organizational changes threaten powerful stakeholders, such as top executive or staff personnel, or call into question the past decisions of leaders. Finally, culture resistance takes the form of systems and procedures that reinforce the status quo, promoting conformity to existing values, norms, and assumptions about how things should operate. Empathy and support. A first step in overcoming resistance is learning how people are experiencing change. This strategy identifies people who are having trouble accepting the changes, the nature of their resistance, and possible ways to overcome it. Communication. People resist change when they are uncertain about its consequences. Lack of adequate information fuels rumors and gossip and adds to anxiety generally associated with change. Effective communication about changes and their likely results can reduce this speculation and allay unfounded fears. Participation and innovation. Involvement in planning the change increases the likelihood that members interests and needs will be accounted for during the intervention. Consequently, participants will be committed to implementing the changes. They also can identify pitfalls and barriers to implementations. STEP 2: CREATING A VISION The second activity in leading and managing change involves creating a vision of what members want the organization to look like or become. Generally, a vision describes the core values and purpose that guide the organization as well as an envisioned future toward which change is directed. It provides a valued direction for designing, implementing, and assessing organizational changes. The vision also can energize commitment to change by providing members with a common goal and a compelling rationale for why change is necessary and worth the effort. Research suggests that compelling visions are composed of two parts: (1) a relatively stable core ideology that describes the organizations core values and purpose, and (2) an envisioned future with bold goals and a vivid description of the desired future state that reflects the specific change under consideration Step 3: DEVELOPING POLITICAL SUPPORT Managing the political dynamics of change includes the following activities: Assessing Change Agent Power. Greiner and Schein 1988, indentified three key sources of personal power in organizations (in addition to ones formal position); knowledge, personality, and others support. Knowledge bases of power include having expertise that is valued by others and controlling important information. For example, leaders in organizational units undergoing change can call on their informal networks for resources and support, and encourage subordinates to exercise power in support of the change. Identifying Key Stakeholders. This can start with simple question. †who stands to gain or to lose from the changes? Once stakeholders are identified, creating a map of their influence may be useful. Consequently, provides change agents with information about which people groups need to be influenced to accept and support the changes. Influencing Stakeholders. There are three major strategies for using power to influence others in organization development; First strategy is playing straight; this strategy involves determining of particular stakeholders and presenting information about how the changes can benefit them. The success of this strategy relies heavily on the change agents knowledge base. He or she must have the expertise and information to persuade stakeholders that the changes are a logical way to meet their needs. The second strategy is using social network; in this strategy change agents attempt to use their social relationships to gain support for changes. This social networking might include, for example, meeting with other powerful groups and forming alliances to support specific changes. This strategy also might include using informal contacts to discover key roadblocks to change and to gain access to major decision makers who need to sanction the changes. The third strategy is going around the formal system; the change agents charisma, reputations, or professional credibility lend legitimacy to going around the system and can reduce the likelihood of negative reprisals. For example, managers with reputations as winners often can bend the rules to implement organizational changes. However, this power strategy is relatively easy to abuse. Therefore; the OD practitioners should consider carefully the ethical issues and possible unintended consequences of circumventing formal policies and practices. Step 4: MANAGING THE TRANSITION Implementing organizational change involves moving from the existing organization state to the desired future state. There are three major activities and structure to facilitate organizational transition: activity planning, commitment planning, and change-management structures. Activity Planning This involves making a road map for change, citing specific activities and events that must occur if the transition is to be successful. Activity planning should clearly identify, temporally orient, and integrate discrete change tasks and should link these tasks to the organizations change goals and priorities. Commitment planning this activity involves identifying key people and groups whose commitment is needed for change to occur and formulating a strategy for gaining their support. Change-Management Structures Because organizational transitions tend to be ambiguous and to need direction, special structures for managing the change process need to be created. These management structures should include people who have the power to mobilize resources to promote change, the respect of the existing leadership and change advocates, and the interpersonal and political skills to guide the change process. Step 5: SUSTAINING MOMENTUM Once organization changes are under way, explicit attention must be directed to sustaining energy and commitment for implementing them. A strong tendency exists always among organization members to return to old behaviors and well-known processes unless they receive sustained support and reinforcement for carrying the changes through to completion. The following five activities can help to sustain momentum for carrying change through to completion: Providing resources for change. Additional financial and human resources are required for implementing organization change, particularly if the organization continues day-to-day operations while trying to change itself. Extra sources are always helpful to provide a buffer as performance drops during the transition period. Building a support system for change agents. Organization change can be difficult and filled with tension, not only for participants but for change agents as well. A support system typically consists of a network of people with whom the change agent has close personal relationships people who can give emotional support, serve as sounding board for ideas and problems, and challenge untested assumptions. Developing new competencies and skills, reinforcing new behaviors, and staying the course. In organizations people generally do things that bring them rewards. Consequently, one of the most effective ways to sustain momentum for change is to reinforce the kinds of behaviors needed to implement the changes through for instance informal recognition, encouragement, and praise. Staying the course. If the organization changes again too quickly or abandons the changes before it is fully implemented, the desired results may never materialize. There are two primary reasons that managers do not keep a steady focus on change implementation. First, many managers fail to anticipate the decline in performance, productivity, or satisfaction as change is implemented. Organization members need time to practice, develop, and learn new behaviors; they do not abandon old ways of doing things and adopt a new set of behaviors overnight. Second, many managers do not keep focused on a change because they want to implement the next big idea that comes along. Successful organizational change requires persistent leadership that does not waver unnecessarily. References Books and articles Ansoff, I.H. (1990), â€Å"Implanting Strategic Management† Prentice Hall International, Ltd. London Cynthia D. Scott, Dennis T. Jaffe. (2003), â€Å"Managing change at work: leading people through organizational transitions†, edit 3 Greiner, L.E. (1972), â€Å"Evolution and revolution as organizations grow† Harvard Business Review, pp. 37-46. Greiner, L E and Schein, V E. (1988), â€Å"Power and Organization Development: Mobilizing power to change†, Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Halim Barakat. (1993), â€Å"The Arab world: society, culture, and state† Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, Hutt, M.D., Walker, B.A. and Frankwick, G.L. (1995) â€Å"Hurdle the Cross-Functional Barriers to Strategic Change† Sloan Management Review, 36 (3), pp. 22-30. Jack Rabin, Marcia B. Steinhauer. (1988), â€Å"Handbook on human services administration† Public Administration and Public Policy/34, pp. 305 Krà ¼ger, W. (1996), â€Å"Implementation: The Core Task of Change Management† CEMS Business Review, 1, pp. 77-96. Lawrence, P.R. (1954), â€Å"How to Deal with Resistance to Change† Harvard Business Review, (May/June), pp. 49-57. Mike Green. (2007), â€Å"Change management masterclass: a step by step guide to successful change†. Tony Proctor. (2005), â€Å"Creative problem solving for managers: developing skills for decision making†. Edition 2, pp. 241 Pardo Del Val, Manuela Martà ­nez Fuentes â€Å"RESISTANCE TO CHANGE: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND EMPIRICAL†, p. 5-7 Rob Paton, James McCalman. (2008), â€Å"Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation†, edition 3, pp. 39-54 Rumelt, R.P. (1995), â€Å"Inertia and transformation†, in Montgomery, C.A., Resource-Based and Evolutionary Theories of the Firm, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Massachusetts, pp. 101-132. Rusell Tobin. (1999), â€Å"Overcoming resistance to change†, Second Edition, pp. 142 Starbuck, W., Greve, A. and Hedberg, B.L.T. (1978) â€Å"Responding to crisis†, Journal of Business Administration, 9 (2), pp. 111-137. Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley. (2008), â€Å"Organization development change†, Edition 9, pp. 165-182 Waddell, D. and Sohal, A.S. (1998), â€Å"Resistance: a constructive tool for change management†, Management Decision, 36 (8), pp. 543-548. Zeffane, R. (1996), â€Å"Dynamics of strategic change: critical issues in fostering positive organizational change†, Leadership Organization Development Journal, 17, pp. 36-43. Websites: http://www.explorehr.org/articles/Orga Managing Change in Small Organisations Managing Change in Small Organisations 1.0 Introduction The phenomenon of resistance to change is the bane of all Algerian bakeries that convey ideas for change. For the same one who proposed the change, the resistances are usually synonymous with hostility, intrigue deadlines, polarization, conflict, and impatience, many problems which are likely to frustrate and undermine the success of his bakery. Basically, resistance to change is built up from many sources; internal and external. Overcoming resistance to change requires first the identification of those sources. Therefore, the owner of the bakery â€Å"El-Bahdja† is looking for an expert or professional advice in the field to help managing change effectively. Hence, as this topic is part of the international business and management studies, the owner asked me to do some research on this matter. Ultimately, this research is divided into two major chapters, first; the literature part that discusses the main topic theoretically, it starts off by mentioning the general sources that fuels the resistance to change, then it goes on with hofdstedes point of view on resistance of change based on cultural differences and it concludes by describing the steps of managing change effectively and it concludes with. The second major chapter is the analysis of the findings from the primary data that have been collected through interviews with owners and employees from the bakery El-Bahdja and owners from other bakeries. Finally this paper is closed by recommendations for the owner of the bakery El-Bahdja on how to overcome resistance to change and how to manage change. 1.1 Research objective Many companies in North Africa particularly in Algeria are making loss and could not improve the quality of their business due to the habit of following common procedures and the high consideration of sunk costs invested in the status quo and fear of new ideas. Lack of adequate information fuels rumors and gossip and adds to anxiety generally associated with change. This fear creates resistance to change in the Algerian bakery industry Therefore, this research focuses on finding the elements that fuel the resistance to change in the Algerian bakeries and specifically the bakery â€Å"El Bahdja† that produces and delivers all kind of bread and pastries. The owner of the Algerian Bakery â€Å"El-Bahdja† is an old man and has been in the business since 1967. The owner is facing the closing down due to lack of managing change skills in the bakery and the high resistance from the employees to change. The main objective of this research is to provide the owner of the bakery â€Å"El-Bahdja† with guidance to effectively managing change when it is in the process of the implementation. 1.2 Research questions To provide guidance on how to manage changes for the owner of the bakery â€Å"El-Bahdja† it is essential first to find answers to the following research questions. â€Å"Does Algerian culture welcome changes† â€Å"Why most Algerian employers and employees resist changing?† â€Å"What are the external factors that prevent Algerian employers and employees from changing?† â€Å"How do Algerian employers and employees manage change when applying the new ideas?† 1.3 Methodology This study is based on both primary and secondary data that help in understanding the causes of resistance to change from both the Algerian owners and their employees: Secondary data collection: this method studies the previous cases that have already been written about and find the similarities between the cases. This method is very helpful in collection data from different cultures that share the same fact which is fear of new ideas that have direct effect on their traditional way of doing business. Therefore, the resources of the secondary data collection are mainly from books, journals, and internet. Primary data: a very crucial data and plays a big role in making final decision. The primary data which is better called direct communication or field research, on other word; facing people and have them interviewed. The objective of this method is to collect factual data that helps in answering the research questions of this study and this after interviewing people from the same field on the main topic. Reflection on the research methodology: the methods followed for collecting data are linked together. The secondary data helps understand the theoretical concepts that have been concluded from previous cases and compare them to the new facts. In this method; the 7s model of McKinsey, the theory versus the real world by Jeff Hiatt and Arab identity by Halim Barakat are used as starting point for facing organizational change in Algeria. The primary data is basically the tangible evidence for decision makers, observing and interviewing people are the major tools to be used in collecting data for this study. Reliability and validity of data are the essential axes of this method. Therefore, the interviews take place specifically with owners of bakeries and their employees in Algeria and in the Netherlands for comparison to see whether culture differences is a matter for resisting changing. 2.1 Why managing change? â€Å"Change is believed to happen Changes are fact and every person is subject to these changes. People faces changes regularly in their life or in their workplace, part of them deal with these changes successfully and the other part fail to adjust to change. In the life, for instance a family with children; parents believe that children are subject to changes and may change to better or to the opposite that parents plan for them, however these changes would not affect the family as a whole but the person himself. Nevertheless, in a business changes there are two ways and no third, successfully manage change or failure. In organization whether you are an executive, supervisor, coach, consultant, project team leader or manager of any type where your job is to manage people, you likely have experienced resistance to change from employees. However you may not recognize the role that you can play in preventing that resistance and leading change. Many managers do not make this connection until they have personally experience failure in an important change project (Jeff Hiat, Timothy J. Creasey 2003) When asking people after this failure what would you do differently if you had the chance to do it again? The common response would be using an effective and planned change management program. The question to be risen here is whether this program is sufficient enough to prevent resistance to change from happening in the first place and deal with people emotions and pursue them to change. The real barrier to success is a lack of change management and not management program. Some people do not lack of vision or an understanding of the marketplace but they feel simply short when managing the people side of change. In other words, things did not go exactly as planned. The unexpected happened. Not managing the people side of change impacts the success and introduces risk into the business (Jeff Hiat, Timothy J. Creasey 2003) Change management skills have shown that is not only mitigates these business risks, but also can avoid them entirely. Business leaders have change management skills to not only manage resistance once it appears, but to prevent it from occurring. 2.2 Change and the manager â€Å"Change needs to be portrayed in positive terms, a necessity to ensure long term survival (Robert A Poton, James McCalman, 2008)† Organizations and their managers must recognize change, in itself, is not necessarily a problem. The problem more often than not is a less than competent management o the change situation (Rob Paton, James McCalman, 2008). Managers must realize that one cannot separate strategic change management from organizational strategy; both must work in tandem. The importance of the human side of change cannot be underestimated, one must identify and manage the potential sources and causes of potential resistance and ensure that motivators are built into new processes and structures (Forlaron, 2005). i) Change competency: â€Å"Change is part of the businesss philosophy† â€Å"The successful organization is the organization that understand change will occur, expect it and support the change during implementation (Jeff Hiat, 2003) An organization that faces constant demands to change and uses effective management over and over with each new initiative may experience a fundamental shift in its operations and the behavior of its employees. Sponsors begin to repeat activities that made last change successful. Managers develop skills to support employees through the change. Employees see part of their job as navigating these new changes. Each level in the organization will have internalized its role in change and developed the skills and knowledge necessary to react to constant change. The organization has become ready and able to embrace change; it has developed change competency (Jeff Hiat, Timothy J. Creasey, 2003). However, building change competency is not paved with flowers; it requires a belief that change is now an ever-present feature of organizational life (Burnes, 2004). Change competency is similar to change management, but there are several key distinction. First, change management is ultimately the use of specific activities like communication, coaching, sponsorship and training; to realize successful outcomes with business changes. Change competency is not a specific activity; it is an organizations ability to react to change over and over again Second, while change management can be taught and learned, change competency requires a fundamental shift in culture and values. It must be simply part of day-to-day operations and cannot be simply demonstrated in training or instructional material. Third, change competency must penetrate every facet and level of the organization. This distinction especially relates to the front-line employee. An organization may have expertise in change management in its sponsors, consultants and change management. However, the front-line employees are the ones whose day-to-day activities are changing. To build change competency into the organization, you can take the first step by ensuring that solid change management practices are applied consistently for each change initiative. The second step is to begin building the following competencies into your organization (Jeff Hiat, Timothy J. Creasey, 2003) ii) Change and Human Resource Technology has played a major role in ensuring that a coherent business approach and managerial performance can be maintained from a reduce resource base. The key success in such moves has been the mobilization of the human resource (Pettigrew and Whipp, 1993). 2.3 Managing resistance once it appears â€Å"Believing in changes to be happening is a key principle to reducing resistance to change† People are often afraid of new ideas. They may feel threatened by new ideas and fear that they will not be able to cope with a change in working patterns that is demanded of them or that they will not understand how to use a new technology; example of that many older people are afraid of materials that they are not able to handle and may make them calling the technician every moment (Tony proctor 2005). The fear of new ideas is a natural feeling; people live with this fear and it not a bad manner. Fear of new ideas becomes negative when is surrounded with sources that increase the tension of fear that leads to high level of resistance and consequently aggravation of the failure of any project. Change more often than not produces suspicions and resistance. To many it implies a move from familiar ways-mastered over long periods of time- to an unknown and threatening environment. In order to deal effectively with resistance to change, people must understand its causes (Jack Rabin, Marcia B. Steinhauer, 1988). Lawrence and Greiner 1970, identify the main sources that feed the resistance of change. Fear of the unknown, lack of information, threats of status, fear of failure, and lack of perceived benefits. Regarding the first group of sources of resistance, change starts with the perception of its need, so a wrong initial perception is the first barrier to change. This first group is called ‘distorted perception, interpretation barriers and vague strategic priorities (Pardo del Val, Manuela Martà ­nez Fuentes). It includes: (a) Inability of the company to look into the future with clarity (Barr et al., 1992; Krà ¼ger, 1996; Rumelt, 1995); (b) Denial or refusal to accept any information that is not expected or desired (Barr et al., 1992; Rumelt, 1995; Starbuck et al., 1978); (c) Perpetuation of ideas, meaning the tendency to go on with the present thoughts although the situation has changed (Barr et al., 1992; Krà ¼ger, 1996; Rumelt, 1995; Zeffane, 1996); (d) Implicit assumptions, which are not discussed due to its implicit character and therefore distort reality (Starbuck, Greve and Hedberg, 1978); (e) Communication barriers, that leads to information distortion or misinterpretations (Hutt et al., 1995); (f) Organizational silence, which limits the information flow with individuals who do not express their thoughts, meaning that decisions are made without all the necessary information (Morrison and Milliken, 2000; Nemeth, 1997). The second main group of sources of resistance deals with a low motivation for change. Five fundamental sources: (a) Direct costs of change (Rumelt, 1995); (b) cannibalization costs, that is to say, change that brings success to a product but at the same time brings losses to others, so it requires some sort of sacrifice (Rumelt, 1995); (c) Cross subsidy comforts, because the need for a change is compensated through the high rents obtained without change with another different factor, so that there is no real motivation for change (Rumelt, 1995); (d) Past failures, which leave a pessimistic image for future changes (Lorenzo, 2000); and (e) Different interests among employees and management, or lack of motivation of employees who value change results less than managers value them (Waddell and Sohal, 1998). The lack of a creative response is the third set of sources of resistance. There are three main reasons that diminish the creativeness in the search for appropriate change strategies: (a) Fast and complex environmental changes, which do not allow a proper situation analysis (Ansoff, 1990; Rumelt, 1995); b) Reactive mind-set, resignation, or tendency to believe that obstacles are inevitable (Rumelt, 1995); and (c) Inadequate strategic vision or lack of clear commitment of top management to changes (Rumelt, 1995; Waddell and Sohal, 1998). Taking into consideration all those sources of resistance mentioned above can reverse the situation into preventing resistance in the first place. Cultural web: Cultures differ from each other in their resistance to change. The strongest resistance to change characterizes of high power distance, low individualism, and high uncertainty avoidance. Among these cultures are most Latin American countries, Portugal and Korea, followed by Japan, France, Spain, Greece, Turkey, and Arab countries. Cultures with low levels of resistance to change are low on power distance, high on individualism, and low on uncertainty avoidance. This category includes the Anglo countries, Nordic countries, and the Netherlands, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Africa (Harzig and Hofdestede, 1996 2.4 Making sense of change management â€Å"7S model of McKinsey†: The Mckinsey 7S model defines the seven components that encompass an organization and that by changing any one of the S components there is impact on the other S components. This model is such a conceptual aid by acting as good checklist for those setting out to make organizational change, laying out which parts of the system need to adapt, and the effects of these changes in other parts of the system (Mike Green, 2007) The 7s categories are: Staff important categories of people within the organization, the mix, the diversity, retention, the development and the maximizing of their potential. This component helps to determine how committed resources to make it all work? Skills distinctive capabilities, knowledge and experience of key people. The role of this component is to identify how ready and competent are the staff based on where the organization is heading? Systems processes, IT systems, HR systems, knowledge management systems. In other words, what are the suitable systems to be used to support the transition? Style management style and culture. How we are getting from here to there? Shared values guiding principles that make the organization what it is. Strategy organizational goals and plan, use of resources. Briefly is where are we transitioning to? Structure the organization chart and how roles, responsibilities and accountabilities are distributed in furtherance of the strategy. â€Å"The Mckinsey 7S model provides an effective framework for analyzing an organization and its activities that determine whether an organization is strong enough to adjust to any changes. Furthermore, this model helps in avoiding some of the sources that feed resistance to change in the first place† 2.5 Five steps for effective change process (Thomas and Christopher, 2008) Step 1:Motivating change: â€Å"Moving from the known to the unknown† Organizational change involves moving from the known to the unknown. The future is uncertain and may adversely affect peoples competencies, worth, and coping abilities. Organization members generally do not support change unless compelling reasons convince them to do so. A key issue in planning for action is how to motivate commitment to organizational change. This requires attention to two related tasks: creating readiness for change and overcoming resistance to change. Creating Readiness for change: peoples readiness for change depends on creating a felt need for change. This involves making people so dissatisfied with the status quo that they are motivated to try new work processes, technologies, or ways of behaving. Generally people and organization need to experience deep levels of hurt before they will seriously undertake meaningful change. The following three methods can help generate sufficient dissatisfaction to produce change: Sensitize organizations to pressures for change. Modern organizations face unprecedented environmental pressures to change themselves, including heavy foreign competition, rapidly changing technology, and the draw of global markets. Internal pressures to change include new leadership, poor product quality, high production costs, and excessive employee absenteeism and turnover. Organizations can make themselves more sensitive to pressures for change by encouraging leadership to surround themselves with devils advocate; for instance by cultivating external networks that comprise people or organizations with different perspectives and views; by visiting other organizations to gain exposure to new ideas and methods. Reveal discrepancies between current and desired states. Significant discrepancies between actual and ideal states can motivate organization members to initiate corrective changes, particularly when members are committed to achieving those ideas. A major diagnosis is to provide members with feedback about current organizational functioning so that the information can be compared with goals or desired future states. Convey credible positive expectations for the change. When organization members expect success, they are likely to develop greater commitment to the change process and to direct more energy into the constructive behaviors needed to implement it. The key success to achieving these positive effects if to communicate realistic, positive expectations about the organizational changes*. Research suggests that information about why the change is occurring, how it will benefit the organization, and how people will be involved in the design and implementation of the change was most helpful.* Overcoming Resistance to change: At the organization level, resistance to change can come from three sources. Technical resistance comes from the habit of following common procedures and the consideration of sunk costs invested in the status quo. Political resistance can arise when organizational changes threaten powerful stakeholders, such as top executive or staff personnel, or call into question the past decisions of leaders. Finally, culture resistance takes the form of systems and procedures that reinforce the status quo, promoting conformity to existing values, norms, and assumptions about how things should operate. Empathy and support. A first step in overcoming resistance is learning how people are experiencing change. This strategy identifies people who are having trouble accepting the changes, the nature of their resistance, and possible ways to overcome it. Communication. People resist change when they are uncertain about its consequences. Lack of adequate information fuels rumors and gossip and adds to anxiety generally associated with change. Effective communication about changes and their likely results can reduce this speculation and allay unfounded fears. Participation and innovation. Involvement in planning the change increases the likelihood that members interests and needs will be accounted for during the intervention. Consequently, participants will be committed to implementing the changes. They also can identify pitfalls and barriers to implementations. STEP 2: CREATING A VISION The second activity in leading and managing change involves creating a vision of what members want the organization to look like or become. Generally, a vision describes the core values and purpose that guide the organization as well as an envisioned future toward which change is directed. It provides a valued direction for designing, implementing, and assessing organizational changes. The vision also can energize commitment to change by providing members with a common goal and a compelling rationale for why change is necessary and worth the effort. Research suggests that compelling visions are composed of two parts: (1) a relatively stable core ideology that describes the organizations core values and purpose, and (2) an envisioned future with bold goals and a vivid description of the desired future state that reflects the specific change under consideration Step 3: DEVELOPING POLITICAL SUPPORT Managing the political dynamics of change includes the following activities: Assessing Change Agent Power. Greiner and Schein 1988, indentified three key sources of personal power in organizations (in addition to ones formal position); knowledge, personality, and others support. Knowledge bases of power include having expertise that is valued by others and controlling important information. For example, leaders in organizational units undergoing change can call on their informal networks for resources and support, and encourage subordinates to exercise power in support of the change. Identifying Key Stakeholders. This can start with simple question. †who stands to gain or to lose from the changes? Once stakeholders are identified, creating a map of their influence may be useful. Consequently, provides change agents with information about which people groups need to be influenced to accept and support the changes. Influencing Stakeholders. There are three major strategies for using power to influence others in organization development; First strategy is playing straight; this strategy involves determining of particular stakeholders and presenting information about how the changes can benefit them. The success of this strategy relies heavily on the change agents knowledge base. He or she must have the expertise and information to persuade stakeholders that the changes are a logical way to meet their needs. The second strategy is using social network; in this strategy change agents attempt to use their social relationships to gain support for changes. This social networking might include, for example, meeting with other powerful groups and forming alliances to support specific changes. This strategy also might include using informal contacts to discover key roadblocks to change and to gain access to major decision makers who need to sanction the changes. The third strategy is going around the formal system; the change agents charisma, reputations, or professional credibility lend legitimacy to going around the system and can reduce the likelihood of negative reprisals. For example, managers with reputations as winners often can bend the rules to implement organizational changes. However, this power strategy is relatively easy to abuse. Therefore; the OD practitioners should consider carefully the ethical issues and possible unintended consequences of circumventing formal policies and practices. Step 4: MANAGING THE TRANSITION Implementing organizational change involves moving from the existing organization state to the desired future state. There are three major activities and structure to facilitate organizational transition: activity planning, commitment planning, and change-management structures. Activity Planning This involves making a road map for change, citing specific activities and events that must occur if the transition is to be successful. Activity planning should clearly identify, temporally orient, and integrate discrete change tasks and should link these tasks to the organizations change goals and priorities. Commitment planning this activity involves identifying key people and groups whose commitment is needed for change to occur and formulating a strategy for gaining their support. Change-Management Structures Because organizational transitions tend to be ambiguous and to need direction, special structures for managing the change process need to be created. These management structures should include people who have the power to mobilize resources to promote change, the respect of the existing leadership and change advocates, and the interpersonal and political skills to guide the change process. Step 5: SUSTAINING MOMENTUM Once organization changes are under way, explicit attention must be directed to sustaining energy and commitment for implementing them. A strong tendency exists always among organization members to return to old behaviors and well-known processes unless they receive sustained support and reinforcement for carrying the changes through to completion. The following five activities can help to sustain momentum for carrying change through to completion: Providing resources for change. Additional financial and human resources are required for implementing organization change, particularly if the organization continues day-to-day operations while trying to change itself. Extra sources are always helpful to provide a buffer as performance drops during the transition period. Building a support system for change agents. Organization change can be difficult and filled with tension, not only for participants but for change agents as well. A support system typically consists of a network of people with whom the change agent has close personal relationships people who can give emotional support, serve as sounding board for ideas and problems, and challenge untested assumptions. Developing new competencies and skills, reinforcing new behaviors, and staying the course. In organizations people generally do things that bring them rewards. Consequently, one of the most effective ways to sustain momentum for change is to reinforce the kinds of behaviors needed to implement the changes through for instance informal recognition, encouragement, and praise. Staying the course. If the organization changes again too quickly or abandons the changes before it is fully implemented, the desired results may never materialize. There are two primary reasons that managers do not keep a steady focus on change implementation. First, many managers fail to anticipate the decline in performance, productivity, or satisfaction as change is implemented. Organization members need time to practice, develop, and learn new behaviors; they do not abandon old ways of doing things and adopt a new set of behaviors overnight. Second, many managers do not keep focused on a change because they want to implement the next big idea that comes along. Successful organizational change requires persistent leadership that does not waver unnecessarily. References Books and articles Ansoff, I.H. (1990), â€Å"Implanting Strategic Management† Prentice Hall International, Ltd. London Cynthia D. Scott, Dennis T. Jaffe. 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