Executive Summary
The case study needs the chief officer to make the hotel a place whereby the incoming tourists will share in the good culture of the organization and the surrounding areas. The changes intend to lead to an improvement in the current culture and productivity of the organization. The hotel has been running on losses for the last two years, and the chief executive officer has decided to make adjustments to turn things around. This report encompasses some strategies that could be implemented in the change to ensure that the objective of the chief executive officer is met. Some of these strategies include but are not limited to the creation of a client-based culture, the redesigning of processes so that their effectiveness is achieved to the maximum, the formation of cross-functional teams to promote collaboration and innovation, creation of management programs through which the employees can most be engaged, and the enhancement of leadership skills throughout all levels and positions of the organization.
Introduction
The phrase organizational change is used to refer to the shifts and changes that take place within the overall structure of an organization. The change could also occur within the processes carried out in the organization, the systems and the strategies employed. Some of the internal factors that could necessitate organizational change include but are not limited to changes in the leadership personnel. An example of an external factor that could lead to the same shifts in the economy of a country or region. There has to be effective and sufficient planning for an organizational change to be successful. These should be followed by proper implementation and support from those important to the organization’s well-being and stakeholders. The resistance to change, prevailing political elements and the leadership roles in the IHG hotel where Sabrina Rullian, the new personnel director, has been posted are all contributors to the bad state of the hotel and thus, different approaches to organizational change have to be applied for the hotel to succeed.
Method
An analysis of the previous research on organizational transformation was carried out to prepare this report. A literature review was conducted to determine the necessary kinds of changes, the triggers and drivers of change, and the impact of organizational culture on change. Additionally, a literature analysis was conducted to investigate possible opposition to change, political dynamics, and the leadership role (Iles, &Sutherland, 2021). After completing the research of the relevant literature, an analysis of the actual situation at the IHG was carried out to locate the components that require improvement.
Results
Type of Change
There are several kinds of organizational change. These changes could include strategic change, organizational change that is people-centric, structural change, technological change, unplanned change as well as remedial change. The changes can be broadly categorized as first-order or second-order first order change is what the organization has already started doing and it is something that can be reversible. Some of the first-order change characteristics include reversible structural adjustment. It focuses on the restoration of balance, the old story can still be used to determine future changes even though they may not play a very significant role. This kind of change focuses on the adjustment within a n existing structure. The second-order change involves forcing things to be done significantly different from what they used to be. Things may be done in a completely different structure without relying on the previous way, which had failed. Some of the characteristics of this change include incorporating a new way of doing things, which requires new learning. It involves telling a new story, and the old story does not feature anywhere near the solutions that are taken as part of the change. This kind of change is usually irreversible, meaning that once implemented, it is difficult to look back into the old stories. In this case study, the type of change being proposed is the second order change, this hotel has had a lot of leadership problem and just like Sabrina says in her closing remarks, “you need to put my vision in practice,” this involves the changes in the standard operating procedures which must be completely changed. People-centric change, it encompasses the hiring of new employees or hires. Structural change involves alterations are made to the structure of the institution which could be either internal or external and also impact the running of the company. Technological changes are made too much with the increasing technological innovations and also ensuring that a digital strategy that enhances the productivity of the firm. Unplanned changes are those changes that are necessary actions and which come as a result of events that are not foreseen. The last types of changes which are remedial are usually reactionary. The IHG needs to undergo technological, structural as well as strategic change. Generally, a transformational change needs to be implemented.
Remedial Change
The IHG needs to undergo a fundamental shift in the kind of change that they practice. This is a remedial kind of change and will inject the new managerial l skills into the hotel and solve the unprofessionalism that has been existing. This kind of change is essential because the existing systems and processes at the hotel are not performing properly, and the business is incurring losses as a result. A remedial shift will necessitate considerable adjustments being made to the organizational structure, systems, and procedures, as well as the culture (Iles, &Sutherland, 2021). The necessary adjustments will be substantial, and their effects will be felt throughout the entire organization.
Strategic Transformational Change
In the current fiercely competitive world, contemporary institutions are confronted with several challenges originating from the surrounding environment. These obstacles can be of a political, social, or economic kind. In addition to the pressures brought on by these factors, the entities need to compete by tackling the obstacles brought on by globalization, technical development, adjustments in the desires/lifestyle modifications, acute skills gap and workforce matters, financial compels, and then also shifts in the legislation that is in place nationally and globally (Francis, 370, 2005). In the current climate, the capacity to successfully create and respond to change has emerged as a critical asset for institutions, particularly if they wish to maintain their competitive edge in an unstable world.
The term “transformational change” refers to shifts in certain domains that occur as a result of interactions between internal and external factors. These shifts necessitate workers at a company to adopt new behaviours or modify the behaviours they already exhibit to adapt. Reorienting an organization in preparation for change is called transformation. Individually as well as organizationally, transformational change involves the modification of prevailing paradigms (Francis, 378, 2005). The phrase “transformational leaders” originates from the perspective held by researchers who believe that the primary responsibility of today’s leaders is to effect transformational change in their organizations. Transformational figureheads play an important part in the process of institutional change and contribute to the process of trying to respond to the influences of the surrounding environment. They do this by proactively evaluating the hurdles posed by the external surroundings and creating as well as putting into action strategic interventions per their findings.
Structural Change
Sabrina needs to implement this kind of change in the organisation, this kind of change involves changing the entire structure of the hotel including the operational procedures, even though it may look difficult to implement, the type of change is usually expensive since it is meant for the long term benefit and transformational wellbeing. The previous CEO only focused on the hotel competing internationally. He did not focus on the local market so much. For this reason, the company tried to copy a more luxurious lifestyle which eventually did not yield the recommended results. The company needs to get a more serious CEO who will focus on the local market. Focusing on the strategic human resource management techniques will bring some sort of transformation to the company.
People-Centric Change
This is the most important change that should be implemented in an organisation in order to increase the performance of the company. This kind of change focuses on the employees, customers and the stakeholders. The organisation has to focus on the emotions and the intrinsic promotion of these kinds of employees. In IMPRESS hotel, previously some stakeholders had been sacked, the employees had started becoming demotivated as a result of the deteriorating practice which they did not any fruit fro. Despite the good payment, they could feel there was no return on investment. The human resource management and the operations management skills in the company was deteriorating. Meaning that all these could have liked to some extent of failure. This kind of change should involve employee engagement, customer orientation and getting the right ideas from the organisation.
Internal and External Triggers and Drivers of Change
Just as highlighted above, there are some of the reasons that have triggered and driven to change. Some of these reasons could be internal others could be external.
Internal Drivers
Internal drivers are the drivers that come from within the organisation. The company has a lot of control over them and can easily regulate the type of trigger. For example, the hiring of new executive and the entire structure of the organisation for it to look better than before. This entails the strategic human resource management and operational efficiency to improve the sustainability one. / the following are some of the internal drivers to change.
Poor Managergerial Skills
The previous CEO was a not visionary leader, she was striving in order to bring the ideas that could not work for the hotel, However, due to the poor managerial skills, the organisation fired her. For this reason, there has been a lot of leadership vacuum from the company. Poor standard operational procedures are some of the reasons that could have led to the change. Failure to follow up all the procedures can land any organisation into problem.
Poor Target Customer
The type of customers that the previous CEO wanted could not sustain the company for a long period. The hotel focused on the tourists that could mainly stay in the company for more than 10 years or two years. With the emergence of COVID 19, a lot of movement had been restricted, leading to a reduced customer. Focusing on both international and the internal customers would have been the best option.
Reckless Expenditure
Based on the context of the hotel, it would be right to call the high payment of salaries a reckless move. Despite the fact that the company has been having the operational challenges, they still pay salaries exceeding the payment schedule. The return on investment for these company is low. This is a serious issue that should be addressed because it can otherwise lead to insolvency of the hotel.
Poor Organisational Culture
The organisation has had poor culture that has resulted into the inability of the clients to have the macroeconomic changes, with the economic crisis globally, the organisation has been unable to make the necessary adjustments towards the right wing. The hotel has not been able to make the necessary balance of payment that are necessary to improve the organisational development. For this reason, there has been constant losses made by the organisation.
External Triggers
There have been some external factors that have effectively triggered for the reran for change in the organisation. External triggers are triggers that we cannot choose, the organisation unconditionally finds itself in the challenge. Technological change, pandemic or supplier’s inability to supply are some of the potential reasons for this. the highlights below are the reasons for this trigger.
The Change in Customer’s Taste and Preference
Due to covid 19 Pandemic
With the emergence of the covid 19, the restriction of the movement has led to reduced customers. The restrictions have banned the travel and therefore since the company had previously focused on the luxurious clients. The customers have changed their preference of staying in the hotels they would rather stay at home to avoid getting the Covid 19.
Poor Technological Advancements
From Sabrina’s explanations, it seems that the company has some challenges in the technical knowhow to improve the human resource management guidelines and manuals that can be accessible by all the employees online. For this reason, the employees are unable to get the recent manuals of operational management to run the hotel appropriately. In addition, the customer feedback s very poor from the customers because of the poor internet connection.
Likely Resistance to Change and Leadership Roles
There is a very high possibility that those workers who have been at the firm for a lengthy period would be resistant to the incoming change. The same would be a result of them being very accustomed to the previous procedures that had been at the hotel. The previous CEO how was fired was fired as a result of the inability of the management to buy ion her ideas. She had good ideas that the company could have used to steer itself forward the rigidity of the management can sometimes result in the inability for some changes to be effected. The employees and the management are resistant to change, despite all these bad behaviours being witnessed in the organisation, still they have not taken up relevant measures. They continue earning high salaries despite the fact that the company does not make any relevant profit. The management has been resistant to the adaptation economic changes that are taking place in the country for instance, the economic crisis of the covid 19 pandemic should have given the management the chance to make some reshuffles like downscaling the salaries or the size of employees to enable it remain afloat.
Impacts of Culture On Organizational Change
Culture plays a role on the organisational change, from the company, there are a lot of things that can be deduced. The impacts of culture on the organisational change can be inevitably seen. Culture drive performance either negatively or positively, in the context of IMPRESS hotel, the company has poor culture of not adopting to the changes of the economic crisis. They are not babble to adjust to the ability to accept the reality that with the economic crisis, they are supposed to downsize or reduce the payment structure. For this reason, the company has been performing dismally.
Poor organisational culture of procedurally firing employees has led to the weakness in the management system. Some stakeholders and the previous CEO who was sacked after which the operations of the company has really changed. Therefore, developing a transformational culture gives room for the efficiency and sustainability. This can apply to the IMPRESS organisation. The poor culture at IMPRESS has led to the employee’s dissatisfaction. Some of the employees have become uncontested with the kind of trajectory the company is undertaking. The employee dissatisfaction has led to the illness of some people as they are worried about the culture of IMPRESS hotel in its modes of operations.
Conclusion
To realize the goals of the new chief executive officer, the IMPRESS Hotel Group must undergo considerable organizational shifts. The kind of change that is needed is transformational and will affect the whole organization. The current state of the economy and the imperative to boost revenue while simultaneously cutting expenses and enhancing client satisfaction are the driving forces behind the move. It takes a while for IHG’s organizational culture to adjust to new circumstances, and employees there are probably not open to new ways of doing things. The objectives of the undertaking should be communicated by executives in a manner that is crystal obvious, consistent, and reiterated. Moreover, they should clarify how these goals match the vision of the firm. Workers who have a clear understanding of how innovative technology can aid the company’s development, improve how it serves consumers, and get more efficient if this kind of interaction does not take place. They will, however, presume that the firm is attempting to reduce expenses and employee levels by employing innovation as a cost-cutting tool and staff reduction plan. Even though their organizations are undertaking a digital revolution that is significantly altering their operational structure, most leaders continue to hold the belief that handling organizational change is more of a luxury than a need.
Recommendations
Based on the information presented in the case study, the following are some of the recommendations that can be made to the company:
- The management should borrow some aspect of human resource management frameworks that will guide the relationships between the employer and the employees. This would make the management learn some skills of treating the employees and avoiding the procedural firing of employees.
- The management should learn some aspects of operational efficiency and sustainability. This would make the management learn the ways that they can use to handle the resources available.
- The management should focus on creating the room for technological advancement and innovations. This would improve the customer feedback and general access to information at IMPRESS hotel.
- Conducting a thorough analysis of the current organizational structure and culture: The management of the organization should conduct a comprehensive analysis of the current organizational structure and culture to understand the existing norms, values, and behaviours that drive employees’ satisfaction. This analysis will help them to identify the gaps and areas of improvement in the current culture that need to be addressed to align with the former CEO’s vision for the hotel.
- The management should identify and prioritize the changes needed to align with the CEO’s vision. Based on the analysis, the management should identify and prioritize the changes needed to align with the CEO’s vision for the hotel (Hopwood 362 2019). They should consider changes in policies, procedures, job roles and responsibilities, training and development, and communication to ensure that the hotel is providing a high-quality service at a reasonable cost.
- Do an in-depth study of the current organizational framework and atmosphere. Those in the leadership positions of the firm should perform an in-depth analysis of the existing structure and atmosphere of the organization to gain an understanding of the established norms, values, as well as behaviours that influence the behaviours of staff members (Smith, 127, 2021). With the help of this study, they will be able to identify the voids and opportunities for growth in the existing culture which must be filled to align it with the CEO’s plan for the hotel.
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