Assessment 1

Overview

Tassie Hardrock Enterprises is a large organisation that manufactures household appliances including
electronic gadgets. The company has been operating for 25 years and is based in Tasmania. Tassie
Hardrock supplies to retail stores across Australia and to customers directly from its show room in
one of its largest factories in Hobart.

In 2010, Tassie Hardrock merged with a retail household appliances company, hoping to expand its
breadth of consumers as many of the stores were located in highly sprawling suburbs in Melbourne.
Unfortunately, due to poor planning and communication, the merger was not successful.
Operationally, Tassie Hardrock’s objectives include having all products meet their standard of
excellence guidelines, including customer service, guarantee on finesse and quality materials used in
the manufacturing process. Management would also like to see 30 per cent of sales made online to
reduce overheads.

Tassie Hardrock’s key objectives are currently based around expansion. Management wants to
expand sales to new customers by offering new product releases each year. They feel it is important
to invest in research, and to follow trends in Europe and the US to ensure their products have the
latest designs and are attractive to customers.

Analyse the internal and external environments for change and prepare a change requirement
report that includes:

1. Identification of strategic change need

Modify the hierarchy of the company to have cross functional teams must have
different expertise to work on towards a common goal. It may include people from
finance, marketing, operations, and human resources department. Typically, it includes
employees from all levels of an organization. Members may also come from outside an
organization (in particular, from suppliers, key customers, or consultants).
 Invest in good communication software - The Internet age has brought us point where
real-time, stable communication is a must, especially for businesses. Just considering
the kinds of problems that could stem from poor communication makes it doubly
crucial for businesses to see how they can leverage the technology to minimize or
eliminate these problems and establish substantial growth.

2. Review of existing policies and practices

Tassie Hardrock continuous improvement policy

Scope

This policy describes our commitment to continuous improvement and the use of define, measure,
analyses, improve, control (DMAIC) quality system to perform process improvement activities or
projects.

This policy applies to all employees of Tassie Hardrock – including casual, part-time, full- time,
permanent and temporary employees. It is part of everyone’s role to continuously look for ways to
improve processes and systems to ensure they remain effective and efficient.

Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement is an ongoing process of review and evaluation to find ways to improve
processes and systems.

Continuous improvement forms part of Tassie Hardrock’s overall business philosophy. The
company is committed to the continuous improvement of policies and procedures.

Recommendation for continuous improvement

 Expansion through mergers
The primary goal of a company interested in a merger or acquisition is to secure an opportunity that
will either achieve the objective of growth or provide an area of expansion that will add to the
product/service line in a market that is currently not served by the company.
Offering new products
Product improvement is the process of making meaningful product changes that result in new
customers or increased benefits realized by existing customers. The two most popular ways to
make product improvements are to add new product features or improve existing ones.
 3. A PEST analysis to identify external events or trends

Political Factor

Monitoring political and legal changes, such as a change in government policy.

 Australian Consumer Law (Tasmania) Act 2010
 Fair Trading (Code of Practice for Retail Tenancies) Regulations 1998
 Building Regulations 2016
 WHS policy

Economic factor

Monitoring economic changes, such as a change in currency value or a potential recession

Social Factor

Monitoring sociocultural changes, such as an increase of certain cultural groups in an area

Technological factor

Monitoring technological changes, such as increased or decreased social media interaction with
stakeholder’s

4. A SWOT analysis to Identify major operational change requirements.

 a. Undertaking a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats to the organisation, and determining change requirements

b. Reviewing the organisation and its individual areas, processes, people, technology
and structure, and identifying where any gaps exist

c. Assessing the organizational structure to determine whether current levels of

management, divisions, departments and teams enable the organisation to achieve
its objectives

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strength

Management wants to expand sales to new customers by offering new releases each year.

Weakness

 Poor planning and communication

 Experienced failed merger

Opportunity

 Hoping to expand its breadth of consumers as many of the stores were highly in suburbs in
Melbourne.
 Management wants to expand sales to new customers by offering new product release
each year

Threat

50 employees were impacted by the merger, either by a restructure and redesign of their
jobs, or by a forced redundancy.

Develop a change management project plan that outlines the change management strategy that
includes:
1. A cost–benefit analysis for high-priority change requirements and opportunities

Detail of Cost Benefits Risk Associated

strategy
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A risk management plan with risk analysis to identify barriers to change

Identification of Risk

Poor planning and communication system

Lack of marketing strategy

Determine resource requirements – human, physical and financial resources

Human resource
 External consultant
 Production manger
Physical resource
 Workstation
 Computer/technological needs
Financial resource
 Budget required for change

A Gantt chart to present time lines and schedules

Develop a communication or education plan in consultation with managers and other relevant
stakeholders:
 1. Consultation with relevant individuals to determine how you will promote the
benefits of change and minimize loss to the organisation.
o Board of directors

o Middle managers

o External change management consultant

o Staff/employees

o Cross functional team

A communication plan

The goals of the communication are to ensure all involved stakeholders are not affected negatively
by the changes. Also to ensure that those involved in actualizing the changes understand the specific
roles they are required to play.

2. Organize and manage the activities required to deliver the plan, including time lines for
implementation.

 Using the information in the communication or education plan to determine the best communication
method

 Arranging suitable times for meetings and communication sessions by liaising line
managers and staff

 Determining who needs to know what information and when

 Managing the frequency of reports and communications

 Reflecting on different groups, including their prior knowledge and level

 Determining activities for each stakeholder group

Identify and respond to barriers to change as outlined in the risk management plan. This may
include developing strategies that will mitigate risks and effectively respond to barriers.

 Identifying barriers, such as lack of employee involvement, ineffective

 Communication, poor planning, or unknown current or future state of the

 Organisation

 Managing barriers identified in the risk assessment, stakeholder analysis and change
management plan

 Arranging for counseling and HR involvement where necessary, such as in relation to a

redundancy or redeployment

 Providing recognition and rewards to promote a sense of achievement

 Dealing with conflict and negotiating for a win–win situation

 Undertaking appropriate mitigation strategies, such as having a meeting with

 Stakeholders or implementing a recognition and reward system

Barriers and how to respond to them

 Some staff may think this should be the responsibility of trainers who interact with clients.
This barrier will be addressed by educating the entire staff on the holistic objectives of the
change program. They will be reminded that each employee improves the experience of a
customer
 Some staff may not be good at memorizing names. These barriers can only addressed by
encouraging them and giving them more time.

Begin the change management process:

1. Implement the interventions and activities as set out in the project plan.

a. Team-building exercises
 b. intergroup development

c. process consultation

d. surveys

e. job redesign

f. training and development

g. sensitivity training

h. career planning

2. Carry out the strategies for embedding the change.

 Implementing new policies and procedures

 Putting controls in place to reinforce new behaviors, attitudes and practices

Strategies to embed the change
Embedding the changes entails integrating them into the organization’s culture. We will use the following
guidelines to ensure that the changes stick.

 Linking the changes with the organizations strategic objectives and communicating this link
 Enlivening a compelling rationale for the changes among implementing stakeholders
 Establishing the link between the organizations vision and the changes
 Pick influential members of the organisation to lead the changes in the future
Focus on changing the behaviors of the involved stakeholders to conform to expected
 Build the changes into a culture so that involved stakeholders begin to naturally and think in the
direction of the change objectives

The process of monitoring, evaluating and modifying the change plan

After implementing the changes, they will be monitored and evaluated for the purpose of their
improvement. The process of monitoring and evaluation will entail periodically

10
 Comparing the progress of an intervention against its performance indicator. The performance
indicator will be derived from the objectives of the changes that were set during the initial stages.

The process of modifying the change plan will follow the results of monitoring and evaluation. If an
intervention matches up with its performance indicator, it will need no modification. If an
intervention matches up with its performance indicator, the case will be investigated and a
modification proposed evaluated and implemented.

Assessment 3-Written question and answer

1. Explain the three major stages in the change management process

 Identifying opportunities and requirements of the change, which includes internal and external
needs for the change, requirements the organisation has for the change, and prioritizing the change
needs.
 Developing a change management strategy and plan, which involves:
 analyzing costs, risks and potential barriers
 developing the plan document
 Assigning resources so implementation can begin
 Implementing and evaluating the change, including communicating why the change was needed
to lessen resistance to it, ensuring change becomes embedded and monitoring the plan.

2. Identify and explain five of the steps used in a communication strategy when communicating
and embedding change.

A) Articulate the strategy, with the aim to educate stakeholders regarding why the
change needs to occur, benefits, and potential barriers to the change.
Stakeholders will adopt change more easily by the following things to engage them in the change
initiative:
 By developing a detailed communication plan in the early stages.
 By creating a comfortable environment for the change initiative.
 By regularly engaging various stakeholders throughout the project life cycle.
 By utilizing a stakeholder support committee.
 By determining champions and resisters to the change project.

B) Conduct stakeholder analysis to analyses the power, interest and impact of different
stakeholders.
A stakeholder analysis is a process of identifying these people before the project begins; grouping
them according to their levels of participation, interest, and influence in the project; and
determining how best to involve and communicate each of these stakeholder groups throughout.

C) Analyze and group stakeholders into ‘those to manage’, ‘those to satisfy’, ‘those to
inform’ and ‘those to monitor’
 Stakeholders with high power and high interest are major stakeholders that
are heavily invested in the project. They must be actively managed
 Stakeholders with high power but low interest must be kept satisfied. They can
derail the project over seemingly minor issues
 Stakeholders with low power but high interest must be kept informed. They can
create high influence (i.e. raise a stink) if they don’t get what they want.
 Stakeholders with low power and low interest must be monitored, in case they
become more powerful and affect the project in the future.

D) Determine communication and consultation methods by taking note of which group the
stakeholders are in and communicating accordingly; for example, regular, personal contact
with those in the ‘manage closely’ group.
Communicate with stakeholders in the manner that works best for them: Recognize that each person
or community is different and select the most suitable communication channel
– email, online platforms, social media, phone, or in-person group meetings.
Keep a careful record of all aspects of stakeholder communications that occur over time: This
includes meetings, phone calls, emails, and commitments made. Misunderstandings and delays
can be prevented if we can easily demonstrate the history of all aspects of communication with
our stakeholders.

E) Document actions by assigning responsibilities for carrying out and reporting

communications activities.
The communication method adopted must be in line with the Stakeholder requirements. There are
many ways in which organizations may choose to communicate roles and responsibilities including,
but not limited to:
o Providing clear position descriptions upon employment and revising descriptions on
a regular systematic basis to ensure relevance and currency
o Issuing team members with key performance indicators to ensure they are clear expected

o outcomes
o Standard operating procedures or policies and procedures that outline clearly to
organization’s
o expectations when carrying out specific tasks

3. Explain how organizational behavior impacts change strategies.

Organizational behavior influences the decisions that people make. Companies with robust, effective
communication mechanisms enable managers and employees to make informed decisions, because
they understand the business context more appropriately. Organizational behavior changes the way
people make decisions, like businesses that are able to encourage risks in decision making within the
company culture can enhance innovation and creativity.
 4. Explain five ways the external environmental can impact change strategies.

Economic factors that directly affect business organizations by interest rates, inflation, exchange
rate, fiscal policy, price fluctuations, etc.

Technological advances, e.g. changes to how consumers use and purchase products/services, i.e.
use of devices/tablets to buy items, how technology impacts the way companies source and supply
goods.

Cultural and social forces, e.g. increased number of women in the workforce has had a positive
effect on online purchases.

Political and legal factors, e.g. changes to work health and safety laws and regulations can impact
on how companies conduct their business.

Environmental factors, e.g. consumers can research information and compare options when
purchasing alternative power sources.

5. Describe two components of a change management project plan.

Risk assessment and management: With any change, there can be risks. Changes may impact on
customers, personnel or financial position negatively if not handled properly. It’s important to
quantify the ultimate downside of the change process along with the benefits.

Communication plan: A strong change management communication plan addresses the advantages
of the change for the company and for the individuals. In other words, develop positive change
messaging that demonstrates a win-win for the company and team members.
6. List four examples of barriers to change and four strategies that can be used to address
them.

Providing personal counseling: Workplace counseling is an employee support

Intervention that is usually short term in nature and provides an independent,

Specialist resource for people working across all sectors and in all working

Environments. Giving all employees access to a free, confidential, workplace

Counseling service can potentially be viewed as part of an employer’s duty of care.

Providing recognition and rewards: The most efficient way to provide a staff

Incentives scheme is via a structured employee recognition programme. Employee

Rewards are visible to staff to provide an added incentive to work hard. Performance

Metrics are also visible to the senior team, so that they can monitor progress and

Proactively recognize efforts at appropriate times.

Dealing with conflict: Developing effective conflict resolution skill sets are an

Essential component of a building a sustainable business model. Unresolved conflict

Often results in loss of productivity, the stifling of creativity and the creation of

Barriers to cooperation and collaboration.

Negotiating for a win–win outcome: A win-win approach can deliver higher value at

Lower risk than a win-lose scenario. The win-win approach sees conflict resolution as

an opportunity to come to a mutually beneficial result. It includes identifying your

Opponent’s underlying concerns and finding an alternative which meets each party's

Concerns.