Definition of Project
The current business environment is significantly influenced by global communication, diverse markets, the development of information technologies, and client-oriented strategies. Therefore, rapid and constant changes should be a part of business strategy in any organization. It is emphasized that functional corporate culture greatly contributes to the financial success of the company (Belias & Koustelios, 2014). The corporate culture of Seagram is out of date, which has a huge influence on the work environment of the company and results in decreasing productivity and lower-income. Multiple changes are required to change company values, increase the revenue of the company, and regain a competitive advantage in the market.
Organizational structure cannot remain static and evolves by implementing continuous changes, which might be rather radical occasionally. Such changes can be influenced by internal or external factors and vary according to the implementing results. To ensure the successful functioning of the company, it is advisable to consider applying the employee involvement approach in Seagram. This approach will include increasing employee involvement in the decision-making process, which might positively affect the company performance and well-being of employees.
Diagnosis of the current situation
At present, the company experiences decreasing in sales and lost its leading positions among similar alcohol distilling organizations. The attempts to expand the line of produced products by including new types of drinks have not brought expected improvements in gaining additional income. Enterprise resource planning might be helpful to decrease costs and better control production lines. Still, it is noted that change management is a crucial aspect of implementing such planning systems. Some researchers state that “the idea of change management has been regarded as a kind of progressive method for attaining strong-minded conversion within a business or individuals sometimes” (Altamony, Al-Salti, Gharaibeh, & Elyas, 2016, p. 692). The success of any implementation depends on effective leadership to provide needed changes in the organization. It is also noted that the initiation and implementation of projects are largely dependent on effective organizational change management to ensure success (Hornstein, 2015). Thus, the practice of employee involvement such as parallel structures or total quality management is widely spread in contemporary companies to increase productivity and income.
Recommendations
It is generally recognized that four main elements contribute to the successful employee involvement strategy (Cummings & Worley, 2014). The employees of the company should gain enough power that will assist in providing the authority to make decisions related to work and cover diverse issues such as customer service, task assignments, and work methods. It is also advisable to provide access to information required by employees to make effective decisions. The workers should obtain new knowledge and skills to make relevant and adequate decisions in the course of their performance in the company. The system of rewards is believed to be beneficial to motivate and encourage people to perform in their new roles.
Changes in organizational culture in Seagram might include main practices of employee involvement such as parallel structures and total quality management. Parallel structures allow involving employees in resolving complex problems and develop adaptability to bureaucracy. Such structures cooperate with formal management and provide alternative resolution of problems and innovative solutions. Total quality management known as continuous process improvement helps to involve all the employees in implementing minor changes that might significantly impact performance and production. It is also emphasized that “communication has been recognized as a relevant dimension to the success of organizational change, and it is considered important in building change readiness, reducing uncertainty, and as a key factor in gaining commitment” (Matos Marques Simoes & Esposito, 2014, p. 325).
Implementation Plan
The implementation of parallel structures should include several application stages to ensure maximum efforts in gaining employee participation in offering change suggestions and making proposals. Primarily, the purpose of the parallel structure should be defined, as well as initial expectations. After that, a steering committee consisted of competent specialists, and acknowledged leaders are formed. This committee ensures the support of the management and links parallel structure with the formal organization. Employees are encouraged in observing their vision of the organizational structure. Problem-solving groups should also be created to identify current problems in the working group and effectively solve them. Parallel structures utilize action research process to solve the current problems. Some researchers state that “change is a systematic application of knowledge, tools, and resources to deal with change that involves defining and adopting corporate strategies, structures, and procedures, and technology to handle changes in external conditions and business environment” (Smetana, Rogers, & Welfel, 2017, p. 333). Therefore, change proposals are made based on appropriate research.
The implementation of total quality management includes understanding the importance and necessity of the continuous application of this tool. A special team is usually formed to assess the changes required in the company. The members of the team should be trained to use the principles of total quality management. After that, quality improvement projects can be triggered. The organizational processes are measured according to the quality standards, and minor changes are suggested to improve them. The final stage of total quality management implementation is applying the system of rewards for proposing improvements in quality.
Summary
To improve corporate culture and ensure appropriate values, Seagram is recommended to apply the employee involvement approach and implement such strategies as parallel structures and total quality management. These structures will ensure that company will increase its revenue and obtain a competitive advantage in the global market. The successful implementation of the proposed changes in the organizational structure might assist in further application of current techniques such as enterprise resource planning to reduce costs and control the production process.
References
Altamony, H., Al-Salti, Z., Gharaibeh, A., & Elyas, T. (2016). The relationship between change management strategy and successful enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations: A theoretical perspective. International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, 7(4), 690-703.
Belias, D., & Koustelios, A. (2014). The impact of leadership and change management strategy on organizational culture. European Scientific Journal, 10(7), 451-470.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Mason, OH: Cengage learning.
Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291-298.
Matos Marques Simoes, P., & Esposito, M. (2014). Improving change management: How communication nature influences resistance to change. Journal of Management Development, 33(4), 324-341.
Smetana, J. B., Rogers, M., & Welfel, S. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership’s impact on a safety program change model. Theory and Applications in the Knowledge Economy, 1(7), 329-341.