Change Management Problem at Gosfield Park

As the organization grows, then change becomes inevitable since organizations need to transform to keep up with a challenging and dynamic environment. Gilley, Gilley, and McMillan, (2009) believe that change determines the success of an organization if it is managed correctly. Change according to (Camison and Villar-Lopez, 2014) refers to the implementation of new structures, procedures and culture with the aim of improving the competitive ability of an organization. Cameron and Green (2015) posits that change management occurs when a leader can manage, guide and recognize human reactions and emotions to ensure that the change successful. Simons (2013) argues that change management is a logical plan of events that allows for the implementation of continuous environmental transformation in an organization. It is a process that requires well-thought strategies and contingency plans to deal with unexpected changes. Simons (2013) also adds that change management also includes a change in individuals in an organization.

1.2 Objectives

This paper seeks to analyze the change management problem at Gosfield Park. After which the type of change initiated at Gosfield Park will be discussed and a change management plan created. The change management plan that will be identified will help solve the problems Gosfield Park had in previous change attempts. Finally, the change management plan will ensure Gosfield Park realizes the change that is needed in the company.

2. Content Analysis

2.1 Background Information about Gosfield Park

Gosfield Park lies in a 2500 hectare land in North Brentshire and is owned by Patrick and his elder brother Sebastian Gosfield. Gosfield Park operates an extensive range of hotels and cottages. The park has 30 part-time employees and 25 full-time employees (Institute of Commercial Management, 2015). The relationship with the management and the employees is interactional, and the employees fell like they are part of the Gosfield family. However, Sebastian and Patrick have tried to introduce a change process in the park, but it failed due to some reasons. The employees in Gosfield Park complained that in the previous change proposal they had been informed at all. The first change plan by the Gosfield brothers failed due to lack of communication to the employees about the change process (Institute of Commercial Management, 2015). This lack of communication made the employees feel like they were being left put in a critical decision that would affect them. Thus they resisted the change process due to fear and lack of proper information concerning the change process. The proposed change process included the efforts of the consultants who had been hired to manage the entire change process. According to the staff members, the consultants carried on with their duties completely ignoring the presence of the employees and the questions they had concerning the entire change in the organization (Institute of Commercial Management, 2015). Thus the change process was a failure because the Gosfield brothers failed to recognize that the employees and proper communication are a critical element in the change process. The brothers currently want to make developmental shifts in the park, and they have had a meeting with the consultants from Kay Associates. They have decided to employ new employees to help in the change process. However, the staff members have not had a formal communication about the modification previous. They are afraid that the new proposed change is going to end up like the previous one.

2.2 Type of Change

Sebastian and Patrick Gosfield have decided to make a developmental change in their park. Developmental change is realized when an organization seeks to make improvements to the existing structures, procedures, and processes in an organization. Tushman and Romanelli (2008) affirms that organizations that conduct developmental changes in their organizations always want to improve efficiency, solve existing problems and build on the prior success of the park. Patrick and Sebastian Gosfield have decided to add to their business as a plan to increase the potential of the organization. They have designed to build a country holiday complex in the southern part of the park. The country holiday complex will contain 30 lodges for guests as well as indoor and outdoor activities to keep them entertained. Organizations interpret developmental changes as value drives since they make companies gain profits in the market share of the industry. To introduce the changing concept to its employees the management should communicate to the employees about the change process first. Communication helps the staff members get used to the idea of an impending change in the organization (Austin and Pinkleton 2015). The discussion should include the vision of the future that change is going to make. The managers should also state that they need the help of the employees to facilitate the change.

2.3 Change Theory Applicable to Gosfield Park

Gosfield Park needs to adopt Lewins change management theory to facilitate a successful change management in the organization. This management method was introduced by Kurt Lewin in 1950 (Hayes, 2014). This control method has been adopted widely by many agencies in the business environment today. The primary reason is that the theory is easy to implement and uses less time in implementation (Hayes, 2014). Kurts management approach is organized into three stages. The first stage is known as the unfreezing stage which refers to the loosening of old patterns by the employees and the organization. When a change process is initiated in an organization, many people tend to resist the process, however, through proper motivation strategies. In this case, Patrick and Sebastian need to unfreeze their previous methods of imitating change process in the organization (Hayes, 2014). Second, they need to communicate to the employees about the change process as well as talk and assure them that the previous mistakes will not be repeated. The second stage is transitioning which happens after the modification process has already been rolled out. This is a delicate stage that requires effective leadership and constant reassurance to the employees (Hayes, 2014). It is common for employees to feel stressed and lose commitment to the change process. Alvesson and Sveningsson (2015), posits that without proper leadership the change process usually fails as seen in the Gosfield Park first case. The final stage is refreezing which occurs after implementation of change. After an organization becomes stable after the change, the organization refreezes the newly acquired culture into its operations. Gosfield park management should ensure that the process they use to facilitate the developmental changes in the park will be utilized in further change operations.

2.3.1 Leadership Theory to be Applied in Gosfield Park

It is evident that the employees at Gosfield Park value their leaders that they think of them as part of the Gosfield family. The relationship between the management and the employees in this park is based on mutual trust thus the Gosfield brothers nee to employ transformational leadership to manage the changes in the organization. Transformational leadership is a model developed by James McGregor Burns in 1978. Kirkbride (2006), state that transformational leadership is the kind of leadership that allows leaders and the employees to work together motivating and supporting each other. The Gosfield brothers should act as transformational leaders and set career goals about the change they want to make in the organization. Since the employees feel threatened by the change, they should encourage them and ensure that the change is going to help them in operations. Sebastian and Patrick need to support and recognize the employee's concern and address the issues. Since most of the employees have worked in Gosfield for more than 30nyeras most of them are comfortable and feel like the management owes them explanations. However, the management should help the employees see that the change process is there to benefit all of them and not satisfy individual interests. Gosfield management should ensure they have the support of everyone in the park to make sure that the change is successful. This means that they need to ensure everyone has a role and goals to be accomplished. For each goal achieved, the managers should reward the efforts of the employees to make sure that they are motivated. It is important that short term goals are set first and achieved before long term goals. These strategies will lead to a big accomplishment of the long-term goals and cooperation and satisfaction of both the employees and the organization.

2.4 Communication Management Plan

An effective communication management plan ensures that an organization has good communication channels in the change management project. Many managers spend most of the time communication to the employees in his organization that is the reason why they need to find a good communication management plan that will help ease the communication in the change project. A communication management plan in most cases identifies all the requirements a project will need regarding communication (Heagney, 2016). The blueprint also shows how the information will be disseminated

Communication Management Plan (Annex A)

Information to be communicated Developmental change.

Communication objectives To introduce the change project to the employees

Develop a plan for the change project

Ask for insight and contribution from the employees

To whom the information will be communicated The employees at Gosfield Park

Format and delivery mechanism for the communication Face to face communication

When to communicate the information Weekly

responsible for communicating the information Project Managers

Who will authorize to communicate the information Managers

Who will authorize the information Mangers

Consultants

How changes in the communication process be managed Flow of communication Crosswise communication

Escalation process to resolve any communication-based conflicts or issues Conflicts will be solved in a down to top structure. This will help in solving conflicts quickly and the complex ones will be passed to the management

This Communication Management Plan shows the communication structure that will be used in the Gosfield developmental project. The plan will be utilized as a communication guide in the entire project. In case changes are needed the communication plan should be updated regularly. The plan identifies the critical people who will need regular communication as the project rolls out. The aim of the program is to create awareness among the employees about the development project. The communication plans also seek to ensure that the employees will adopt the change process without resistance. Through the communication, the employees at Gosfield will be able to communicate with their managers and the consultants about the project since the plan will enable two-way communication.

The communication is targeted to the employees at Gosfield Park. This is because the previous project failed due to lack of communication between the employees, consultants, and the managers. To ensure that the communication management plan is effective the crosswise communication flow should be adopted. Crosswise communication uses both diagonal and horizontal structures of communication (Kuhn, 2006). This type of communication is useful as it allows communication across all levels and is quite helpful in achieving organizational goals. The information about the project should be delivered by the project team leaders, the consultants and the managers at G...