A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB
A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB: THE BARRIERS TO CHANGE
The last financial year for Aesch has been a relatively positive one. With the situations and context in Germany, they have still managed an 8% growth in sales and profitability. Therefore there is no actual sense of urgency in the organisation. With healthy growth in an established market, there is no incentive to change. Furthermore we see that, in Kotter's 8 Step Model for Change, the first step is to create a sense of urgency. Anna, with her argumentation did prove the benefits of changing the approach and marketing structure but failed to create a sense of urgency and this was the primary reason why the VP's of marketing were not too enthusiastic with the change.
In a relatively large organisation it is extremely difficult to initiate change especially if it is not driven from the top down. Anna, in her presentation talked about a very big change which would also involve changing the entire structure. In a matrix organisation of such a scale progressive change in small steps is much easier to accomplish than a whole radical step. In this regard, Anna could have framed and planned her implementation of the change in a different way.
Further on Anna's plan was found lacking in both details and vision. She clearly outlined the problems and her idea of the future of the market, but her idea did not have a vision of how the company would be organised, and where this would lead the company. Rather than just being focused on the problem, there should also have been more details and planning as to the way forward.
The very framing of Anna's presentation was a big reason for the resistance to change. The plan did not outline the possible gains from this approach or the losses from failing to do so. The VP's were not given an idea about the money and figures at stake which becomes a very important motivation for initiating and going forward with change. As an employee initiating lateral change it was imperative for her to
The last financial year for Aesch has been a relatively positive one. With the situations and context in Germany, they have still managed an 8% growth in sales and profitability. Therefore there is no actual sense of urgency in the organisation. With healthy growth in an established market, there is no incentive to change. Furthermore we see that, in Kotter's 8 Step Model for Change, the first step is to create a sense of urgency. Anna, with her argumentation did prove the benefits of changing the approach and marketing structure but failed to create a sense of urgency and this was the primary reason why the VP's of marketing were not too enthusiastic with the change.
In a relatively large organisation it is extremely difficult to initiate change especially if it is not driven from the top down. Anna, in her presentation talked about a very big change which would also involve changing the entire structure. In a matrix organisation of such a scale progressive change in small steps is much easier to accomplish than a whole radical step. In this regard, Anna could have framed and planned her implementation of the change in a different way.
Further on Anna's plan was found lacking in both details and vision. She clearly outlined the problems and her idea of the future of the market, but her idea did not have a vision of how the company would be organised, and where this would lead the company. Rather than just being focused on the problem, there should also have been more details and planning as to the way forward.
The very framing of Anna's presentation was a big reason for the resistance to change. The plan did not outline the possible gains from this approach or the losses from failing to do so. The VP's were not given an idea about the money and figures at stake which becomes a very important motivation for initiating and going forward with change. As an employee initiating lateral change it was imperative for her to