Introduction
Organisations are increasingly appreciating the role of global environment in their success. Moreover, corporate leaders have realised that their companies cannot function independently. Contemporary business world has become erratic, aggressive and intricate. It demands companies to re-evaluate their change-management strategies. Jalagat (2016) recommends that business leaders strike a balance between established structural transformation methods and the unpredictability and rise of novel approaches which were conventionally viewed as polar opposites. Economists argue that unparalleled changes characterise the 21st century, thereby calling for corporate leaders to be innovative (Pollack and Pollack, 2015). Today’s rife, dynamic and composite transformations are naturally emergent and impulsive. It is hard for business administrators to anticipate what tomorrow holds for their organisations. Understanding the effects of unplanned and emergent changes on a company may enable managers to come up with helpful premeditated approach to transformation. This paper will discuss the impacts of spontaneous and emergent change on Café 13. It will also highlight the conflicts that John might encounter in an effort to execute changes. This document will culminate by recommending an appropriate leadership model that John should adopt to guarantee successful change implementation.
Impacts of Unplanned and Emergent Changes
Unplanned changes refer to transformations that an organisation is compelled to adopt to stay competitive and avert loses. On the other hand, emergent changes are random, often involuntary and iterative adjustments that companies make to remain relevant. Unplanned and emergent transformations are important, especially if organisational leaders discover that their businesses are not achieving projected goals. At times, administrators may not have precise knowledge of the challenges that their companies are facing, but still feel that something is odd (Jalagat, 2016). This sentiment may arise, particularly if an enterprise has developed rapidly, experienced unprecedented degree of employee turnover or recorded great losses. Jalagat (2016) claims that one of the impacts of unplanned and emergent changes are that they disorganise the routine operations of an organisation, resulting in errors and employee resistance. In such cases, workers do not agree on many things, leading to a company making avoidable errors.
Unplanned and emergent changes may originate from anywhere, and often entail rather unofficial self-organising. These transformations occur concurrently, as managers restructure organisational operations. The reorganisation process constitutes enhancing the available enabling conditions in business environment. As Cummings, Bridgman and Brown (2016) state, the majority of modern organisations function at the ‘rim of turmoil and far-from-balance’ with shakiness and equilibrium entangled, preventing firms from attaining optimal performance. Therefore, as natural systems, businesses must learn to cope with these circumstances, since excessive constancy and management may result in an enterprise being indifferent to its environment. Spontaneous and emergent change theories insist on a step-by-step method of corporate restructuring. These hypotheses contend that relations in the times of changes may lead to erratic results, thus making it tricky for companies to anticipate or plan in advance. Consequently, transformations strategies ought to transcend the periodic changes as championed by Lewin’s defreeze-change-refreeze theory and include the concept of self-organising.
Tremendous growth in the area around Café 13 led to this restaurant introducing a couple of unplanned changes aimed at retaining customers and overcoming competition. Initially, this café used to serve all employees working in the building in which it is located. The establishment of three new restaurants led to many workers opting to go out for lunch, a move that affected Café 13’s profit. Among the emergent changes that Café 13 initiated included amending its menu to include additional dishes and eliminating half-hour morning coffee/smoke break. These unprecedented changes have had significant impacts on Café 13, among them disagreement between the management and staff. The inclusion of additional dishes was meant to attract more clients and try to retain those that were moving to other restaurants. Nevertheless, waiting staff and chefs perceived this decision as exploitative because it resulted in their job becoming increasingly complex. Additionally, the majority of the experienced and influential workers did not understand why John was determined to force the speed of transformation. They had been in the restaurant for long and did not see the need for urgent changes.
Banning of the half-hour smoke/coffee break came as a surprise to many employees. John may have made this change to improve the productivity of Café 13. Nevertheless, most employees did not receive well his orders, as they felt that they were already overworked and needed a break. These emergent and accidental changes culminated in employees staging industrial action with many reporting to work late or not turning up at all. Moreover, it became hard for workers to cooperate because they felt demoralised. Some personnel went to the extent of being rude to patrons, a problem that could lead to Café 13 losing many customers.
Potential Conflicts
Implementing changes in an organisation is a complicated task, and part of the problem arises due to lack of consensus on the factors that support transformation. Corporate executives have divergent opinions regarding the issues that contribute to the success of a change process. As per Saebi, Lien and Foss (2017), every manager interprets the concept of change management through personal experience, hence making it difficult to have universal views. Most change management experts identify culture, motivation and leadership as three critical factors that cause conflict during transformation. Organisations comprise employees with different cultural backgrounds, interests and beliefs which contribute to anxiety and disagreements. Cummings, Bridgman and Brown (2016) cite cultural differences and varied objectives as the main factors that lead to conflicts during change implementation. According to Saebi, Lien and Foss (2017), conflict is the confrontation that arises due to mismatched or divergent feelings, needs, demands or opinions within an individual or among many people. The clashes that are prevalent in most organisations are task conflict, value conflict and relationship conflict.
John is likely to face task conflict in his effort to implement changes at Café 13. The current workers are used to their normal routines and are prone to opposing any adjustments that might affect their way of doing things. One of the transformations that John intends to initiate entails introducing more dishes into Café 13’s menu. This decision will have significant effects on the café’s operations, as chefs and waiters will be required to work harder. In spite of Café 13 losing two employees to other hotels which Elia Foods UK runs, the management has not demonstrated an intention to replace them. Consequently, John is bound to encounter resistance from employees who might refuse to be assigned additional duties in as a measure to compensate for those workers that left. For decades, Café 13 has observed a policy that gives employees half-hour break to either take coffee or smoke. John’s decision to abolish this practice shows that he shares different opinions regarding Café 13’s policies and procedures. His actions are expected to elicit conflict from employees who considered this break as the only time that they were relieved from work.
Change Model
John requires adopting a transformation management strategy that employees and other stakeholders will support. Kotter’s change management model is the most appropriate approach to dealing with the crisis that Café 13 is experiencing. John should create a sense of urgency among the employees to encourage them to support the intended transformations. The majority of the experienced workers are against the introduction of additional meals into Café 13’s menu. John ought to establish a change implementation team comprising these employees, as they are skilled. Such an undertaking will also motivate these workers, thereby encouraging them to commit to the transformations. He should ensure that the team mandated with executing these changes understands their intended vision and values. Communication in the time of transformation management is paramount. Therefore, John must talk to all employees and explain to them why Café 13 needs to adjust its operations. It will enable him to rally the support of all workers and avoid potential conflicts.
John should evaluate the suggested change process to identify potential barriers and address them. For instance, Café 13 may not have enough or experienced chefs to prepare the new varieties of foods. Dealing with this issue beforehand would ensure that the new adjustments do not adversely affect the operations of Café 13. Pollack and Pollack (2015) recommend the identification of short-term goals, as they help to motivate employees. Thus, John requires setting interim objectives like growing Café 13’s profit by 2% in the next three months. Achieving this target will encourage employees to work hard, therefore enabling them to attain long-term goals. Once a workforce begins to realise short-term goals, it is important that the team that is responsible for change implementation maintains this momentum (Chappell et al., 2016). John should constantly set new targets whenever employees attain the current objective. This will ensure that workers do not relax, as they will always have a target to accomplish. Apart from managing transformation efficiently, there is a need to incorporate change into a company’s culture. One way that John can ensure that Café 13 embraces transformative practices is by rewarding employees who assist in the realisation of any change.
Leadership Model
Contemporary business setting demands companies to constantly amend their operations to stay competitive. Change-management studies show that the majority of transformation programmes do not attain the intended objectives, in spite of organisations providing the requisite resources. Holten and Brenner (2015) attribute this hitch to the lack of effective management and identify three aspects of successful change leadership. As per Holten and Brenner (2015), failure to communicate the importance of transformation leads to managers facing resistance from employees. Many workers are opposed to change due to fear of losing jobs or changing their normal routines. Therefore, there is a need for leaders to explain the significance of the proposed changes and relate them to corporate goals and values. Additionally, they must ensure that employees understand how they will benefit from the expected transformations. Collaboration is critical during change implementation because it guarantees that all personnel works towards common goals. Company leaders ought to encourage teamwork by involving all workers in decision-making from the beginning. It is hard for managers to gain the support of employees if their characters and convictions do not promote change. Business administrators should demonstrate commitment by dedicating time and effort to projects that are aimed at revolutionising their enterprises.
John should adopt transformational leadership model to accommodate business objectives and guarantee that Café 13 realises effective changes. Schmitt, Den Hartog and Belschak (2016) define this style of management as one that inspires, encourages and motivates workers, leading to innovation. Transformational leaders empower employees, thereby making them assume the responsibility of attaining organisational goals. One of the reasons that Café 13’s workforce was against the enforced changes is because it was not involved in decision-making. Adopting transformational leadership model will result in John consulting all stakeholders prior to making adjustments to operations of Café 13 in the future. This will help to allay fear as views and interests of all stakeholders will be considered during change execution. Employees will not only understand the significance of the projected transformations but also work together to ensure their attainment.
Transformational leaders understand the mission and vision of their companies and are able to articulate them to employees. They work hard to make sure that all workers comprehend the goals of their organisation and motivate them to facilitate their accomplishment (Schmitt, Den Hartog and Belschak, 2016). Embracing transformational leadership style will allow John to inspire Café 13’s workforce and prompt it to commit to the achievement of the set targets. Employees were opposed to introduction of changes to Café 13’s operations because they felt that such actions would result in them being overworked. They failed to acknowledge that this café was losing customers to rival restaurant; hence there was a need to improve its services. Transformational leadership model promotes a culture that encourages employees to work for mutual benefits and shun thoughts that may drive them to fight for personal interests. Assuming this leadership model will enable John to nurture a corporate tradition that will bring employees together to work for common good. Currently, Café 13’s workers are demoralised and have refused to team up to implement the new changes. The employees do not understand that failure to achieve the goals of these transformations will result in some of them losing jobs. Transformational leadership style will enable John to explain the possible impacts of not supporting the new changes in a way that does not intimidate workers. In the end, it will be easy for him to encourage workers to not only support the proposed adjustments but also other changes that might arise in the future.
Conclusion
Rapid changes in business environment and competition prompt managers to execute unplanned and emergent changes. These adjustments have significant effects on organisations, including alteration of normal routines and employee resistance. Most workers favour status quo and are likely to oppose adjustments that might affect their daily operations. The introduction of unplanned changes to Café 13 demoralised many workers, leading to some being uncooperative and reporting to work late. John is likely to encounter task conflict, as a consequence of his decision to make changes to operations at Café 13 without involving employees. He requires implementing Kotter’s change management model which will allow him to bring together all stakeholders and encourage them support the new transformations. Additionally, there is a need for John to assume transformational leadership style to accommodate Café 13’s business objectives and guarantee successful changes in the future.
Reference List
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