Market Success
“Globalization and technology have made the world smaller and far more interconnected, so what affects one business sector or one part of the world invariably affects everyone. ” (Weiss, 2012 sect. 1. 1 Para. 1) In today’s modern world organizational change is inevitable for growth and stability, while leadership comes into an organization with a new plan as to how the organization will or should function. The avoidance of gross changes throughout an organization depends on the leadership’s ability to plan for the purposed change that is necessary to implement growth and expansion.
The XYZ, Inc. is a high end retail chain that specializes in luxury items such as watches, jewelry, and hand bags. The organization has been extremely successful in the United States and has proven to have to an annual revenue of $3 million. XYZ, Inc. is now looking to take their success international, by opening a retail chain store in Shanghai, China. The expansion project will have to meet a short-term and long-term objective.
As the assigned executive of XYZ, Inc. , it is my job to ensure that the planned organizational change process moves the company from a present state to a desired future state with the goal of enhancing effectiveness. (Weiss, 2012) The organization will follow the Systems Contingency Model in order to successfully obtain the short-term objective. After one year, the expansion will spread and XYZ, Inc. will then begin to open additional stores in Brazil, Russia, India, and China. This expansion will follow the Appreciative Inquiry Model which will lead to a long-term, large-scale change for the entire organization.
Given models for change management are based on different leadership approaches to change within an organization, these models will define what actions must be taken to adapt to specific situations and settings necessary to obtain small and large scale change. Change is not easy to implement and plan. It requires a lot of responsibility for the ones that are impacted by it and for the ones who enforce it. (Weiss, 2012) From a contingency perspective, XYZ Inc. internal organizational dimensions appear to be successful through the data collected on our annual revenue last year.
The continued success in the marketplace is evidence that XYZ continues to succeed, but the response to external threats and the international expansion will test the organization as a whole. According to the Systems Contingency Model, there is no one best way to organize, lead the organization, and/ or maintain a leadership style that may be effective in some situations, but may fail in others. Having a complete understanding of optimal organization and leadership style is contingent upon various internal and external constraints. (Fielder. 1964)
The dynamics of change for the entire organization enables each organization dimension and their interrelations to be analyzed with regard to capabilities and readiness for change. (Weiss, 2012) As a diagnostic and analysis tool, planning the organizational change, in relations to the model, can help ensure the different dimensions of the organization are all on the same page. The Systems Contingency Model provides a basis to view and understand how the different internal dimensions of an organization fit together and also between its subsystems.
These dimensions consist of the organizations vision, mission, and strategy. When the dimensions work well together and support productivity and performance, the system outputs indicate the organization is operating efficiently and effectively. When one or more of the dimensions are out of sync with one another, friction and impacts can affect the entire organization. (Weiss, 2012) Elements such as leadership, environment, history, and resources of the organization are used to implicate the plan necessary to meet the requirements of the customer in the input phase.
At the transformational phase, leadership and management are responsible for creating, producing, and expediting product. It is at this stage that that new organizational dimension of the international store would respond to requirements of the environment (i. e. the new international market) and second, interrelate to the other dimension to produce goods and services for the new market. (Weiss, 2012) If leaders have accurately interpreted the environmental and external opportunities and demands, then the output phase reflects the effectiveness and success of the short-term objective to open a store in Shanghai.
The needs of an organization are better satisfied when it is properly designed and the management style is appropriate both to the tasks undertaken and the nature of the work group. Leaving the United States and expanding internationally will bring on many challenges that we have not had to come to terms with in our current success. As a leader I have full recognition that our change strategy, structure, and culture cannot predict future success, but the effectiveness is defined by the “fit” or congruence so the dimensions working together to meet the environmental and competitive requirements.
The leadership must recognize the expansion as a separate entity for success. Managers will have the opportunity to use applied activities of motivation, leading, and structuring of the organizational to expand globally. Employees will have an opportunity to be trained and developed according to needs of the new store. Decision making will be decentralized and established communication and control systems will be developed to help adapt to the new environment.
The plan to implement an info decision system will benefit the all parties involved here in the United States and in Shanghai, to make sure any problems, procedures, and information flows freely through the new international expansion. By applying the contingency theory to management and the change plan, we as an organization will be able to identify and solve problems under different situations. As a result, our overall ability to correct problems and to become more effective as an organization will increase our chances for international success. So, here we sit in the future.
One year later to be exact and we are striving quite well in the international market in Shanghai. Now we are looking to expand. Expand our XYZ, Inc, retail-chain into Brazil, Russia, India, and China. This means that we are looking for a plan of action for change, change that has to be adaptable. Change that will have to answer these simple yet complicated questions: “what is possible, and what do we wish to achieve? ” We are now embarking on the need to embrace the Appreciative Inquiry Model that focuses on encouraging people across the organization to create positive change that focuses on learning from our success.
Appreciative Inquiry focuses on the achievements of the organization rather than worrying about negatives. It is a cooperative search for the best in people, their organizations, and environment around them. (Weiss, 2012) AI is a positive way to embrace organizational change based on a simple assumption that every organization has something that works right. XYZ wants to recognize life when it’s most alive, effective, successful, and connected in healthy ways.
AI begins by identifying what is positive and connecting to it in ways that increase energy, moral, and vision for change. (Cooperrider, Whitney, & Stavros, 2005) The AI model depicts the four D’s: discovery, dream, design, and delivery. The discovery phase allows individuals and groups to select a topic that starts the adventure into the process and requires searching for positive statements of what is desired by the organization. The dream phase allows participant to envision the greatest potential of the organization for positive influence and impact on the world.
New idea emerges and participants are encouraged to dream big. During the design phase, the individuals or groups craft an organization to enact positive change. Lastly, the destiny phase involves an invitation to take action inspired from the other phases. Individuals declare intended actions and ask for support to consider next steps of implementation. (Weiss, 2012) As a result in adopting the AI model may form and bring together members of different groups, which are used to launch new organizations or networks. (Bushe, 2011) Since XYZ, Inc. is expanding beyond a single international level store, it is important to implement a plan for change that gives people experience of personal and collective power, and to use that power for the good of the organization.
In predicting our future change we may come across issues or concerns such as: shopping experience that may have big impact on our stores, employees, managers, and executives. By using the AI model, XYZ employees will have the opportunity to focus on not what is wrong, but rather on what they wanted.
Since we are expanding into unknown territory it is imperative to allow our geographical employees to focus on the “exceptional shopping experience” in their stores. In an interview or review process using the question “describe a time you witnessed an exceptional shopping experience,” will allow for a positive feedback process. The inquiry may lead to the discovery of a number of different practices that could be implemented at the different locations to inspire a one of a kind shopping experience.
Studies have shown that positive feelings lead people to more flexible, creative, integrative open to information, an efficient in their thinking. (Isen, 2000) AI seeks to uncover and stimulate new ideas from stakeholders, employees, and managers. These ideas will bring new adversity into their status within the system. Ideally, the model depicts that all stakeholders participate in gathering and making sense of the ideas and views of the other stakeholders and participants as theorist, dreamer, and designers.
As a leader and encouraging the use of the Appreciative Inquiry Model, we will have the opportunity to continue and grow through positive experiences and ideas. AI is an effective way to accomplish our needs, wants, and desires to grow our international business. We can achieve this by allowing our people across the globe to be influential partners in our success. Early success and long-term wins must be celebrated. Individual and groups recognition is also a necessary component of change management in order to cement and reinforce the change in the organization.
Stepping back and reviewing the entire change process for XYZ, Inc. , will allow the success of the organization to continue to flourish and excel with the change of times. Change models are differently executed and except by different leadership approaches to change in an organization, but the Systems Contingency Model and Appreciative Inquiry Model have defined the necessary approach that needs to be taken by XYZ to encourage and adapt to change in order to accomplish small and long term change.
The elements of Systems Contingency compromise the areas or components of a change management plan. Along with Appreciative Inquiry, the change management plan has created a system to manage change and growth internationally for our organization. Good project managers, employees, and executive can apply the components of both models to effectively ensure the project of international expansion is a success. By utilizing both models, we can then create the option for successful expansions beyond Shanghai, and impact the success of the completely jumping into a vast international market.
It is imperative for XYZ, Inc. to acknowledge and incorporate the ideas of both Systems Contingency Model and Appreciative Inquiry Model to ensure our goal objectives are met and carried on throughout our growth. We must remember not everyone welcomes change. Taking time to understand our employees, management, and executives, will allow us to take action when the time is right and people are ready. The more we focus on others needs, the better we will be able to manage change.
