Explore the Role of Strategic Planning to Effectively Manage Change Actions for `Week 3 Explore the Role of Strategic Planning to Effectively Manage Change` Student

Explorethe Role of Strategic Planning to Effectively Manage Change Actionsfor `Week 3: Explore the Role of Strategic Planning to EffectivelyManage Change`

Student:

Explorethe Role of Strategic Planning to Effectively Manage Change Actionsfor `Week 3: Explore the Role of Strategic Planning to EffectivelyManage Change`

Changemanagement is guiding teams, individuals or an organization through aseries of changes to move from the current state to the desiredstate. During this transition, the goal is to empower the peopleinvolved to embrace the changes and the process (Bassey, Solomon, andOmono, 2014). Management of change significantly contributes to itssuccess. Change can be influenced by both internal and externalelements. It can appear in different ways including a change ofmanagement, policies, organizational structure, objectives, businessclimate, employees and operational location. Whatever the reasonbehind the change, the aim of change management is to ensure it doesnot have an adverse impact on the organization or its employees andlimit the growth of the company or employees’ careers (Bassey etal., 2014). Some of the external factors that influence anorganizational change are government policies, technology, businessenvironment, and a shift of market conditions.

Crisisand Change management in Yahoo

Thetechnology industry is fast paced, and it is sometimes difficult forcompanies to keep up. Yahoo has struggled with many related issuesthat are said to stem from the company’s culture. It has madeattempts to keep up with other technology companies like Amazon andGoogle (Campbell and Brown, 2015). Today, the company is thrivingagain due to the hiring of Marissa Mayer. Yahoo case is a perfectexample of how leadership is essential in crisis and changemanagement. Oner, Benson, and Beser (2014) discuss the variousdimensions of organizational change. Exogenous parameter shifts arethe external changes that an organization faces and lead them toalter its existing systems or implement new systems. They includetechnological advancement, globalization, and new knowledge all whichare relevant in Yahoo’s case. Globalization complicatesdecision-making and foresight since businesses have to considerissues outside their country such as business culture. Technologysignificantly impacts the organization’s foresight and change.There is a need for organizations to keep up with changes resultingfrom technology advancement. For a company to remain profitable, ithas to constantly think about how their products will meet theconsumers’ demand due to technology advancement. With theadvancement of technology, companies can access a vast amount ofinformation that they must use well to remain ahead of theircompetitors who might also have the same information.

Importanceof Leadership in Crisis and Change Management

Leadershipis a major issue when dealing with a crisis or in change management.According to Prewitt and Weil (2014), crisis leadership is essentialdue to various factors like duration, intensity, cost, andunpredictability. During a crisis, leaders must make decisive actionand must be prepared for the unprecedented or unforeseen. MarissaMayer was appointed as the CEO of Yahoo in 2012, and she was thefifth CEO in a period of 5 years. She had previously worked at Googleas an engineer (Eisner, 2016). Once in Yahoo, Marissa was keen ongetting the right talent, and she even participated in the selectionprocess by reviewing every person who was hired. A year later, sheended telecommuting claiming that sharing a physical space and havingface-to-face discussions furthers innovation. Marissa was hired afterCarol Bartz was fired and the change in management is said to haveresulted in more positive change like an improved employee andadministration relations. She had a different philosophy, and shestarted by encouraging a better employees and managementrelationship. This led to the creation of an online tool whereemployees would list their complaints, and other staff would vote onthe problems that the company would prioritize (Campbell and Brown,2015). Complaints with the most votes would get the management’sattention. This program included employees in the decision-makingprocess regarding what should or should not change in theorganization. Having an open line of communication leads tosuccessful change, empowers employees and makes them feel valued andas contributors to the company’s success. Also, the inclusion ofemployees made the company desirable to other talented and skilledapplicants.

Thereare many factors that leader should consider during changemanagement. These are issues that Marissa Mayer addressed during hermanagement since she was aware of their significance for change to besuccessful. Employees’ attitude can dictate the organization’ssuccess. The change process may require employees to learn or unlearnparticular skills and as such, employees’ participation and effortare essential. For them to put in the effort during this change, theyshould be motivated, and they should know their role in the changeprocess (Alas &amp Gao, 2012). Sometimes change may require theorganization to adopt a new culture or to modify the existing one.For instance, change management at Yahoo required that therelationship between employees and the management was improved.Organizational learning is necessary during change since the peopleinvolved must learn the new ways of doing things. Learning goes handin hand with organizational culture and is significant during changemanagement.

Crisestest the leadership of the organization involved. During this time aleader is expected to give an effective response and to work hard toreduce the consequences. Leaders might participate in many activitiesthat involve decision making, communication, and sensemaking. Jointsensemaking is critical during crisis management since the policymakers should understand the situation to make informed decisions andcommunicate to the stakeholders (Boin &amp Renaud, 2013). There aresome leadership strategies that leaders can use during a crisis. Thesuccess of a strategy may vary with the crisis and may not beapplicable in all situations. Lead from the front is one of thestrategies that puts a leader on the front during a crisis instead ofwithdrawing and letting other people deal with the problem. A leadermust know the importance of people seeing him or her at theforefront. This strategy involves a leader creating visibilityopportunities and using their power to provide direction andassurance. This approach requires the leader to remain visible, showtheir commitment, demonstrate courage, and remain focused. Focus onthe purpose is a strategy where the organization identifies andunderstands its primary objective (Prewitt &amp Weil, 2014). Boththe leaders and the followers must have a valuable purpose. Itinvolves having organization values that match the reality and thatform the foundation of the organization. Leaders must remain aware ofthe company’s vision and purpose during crisis management andensure the crisis actions match with the vision. Periodically, theleader should assess the values to ensure they are relevant to thecurrent and future environment. Tell the story is another strategythat the organization can use during a crisis. Communication isimportant during normal business operations and it even moreessential during a crisis. Leaders should take advantage of all formsof communication since by communicating effectively, they can controlthe story. Having the right spokesperson during a crisis determinesthe success and effectiveness of organization’s communication(Prewitt &amp Weil, 2014). When possible, this spokesperson shouldbe a high-ranking leader. Timely and transparent communication isessential for effective crisis management. Also, leaders should knowthe kind of message they want to convey in their story and how itwill help ease the crisis.

Recommendations

Lord,Dinh, and Hoffman, (2015) propose the use of a quantum approachduring a change process that addresses process-related issues wheretime an important factor. By using this approach, an organization ismore keen about how their present actions could contribute to theirfuture state. The plan shows that there some possibilities in thefuture that are defined in the present. According to Cabrey andHaughey (2014), strategic change is not the only role leaders shouldplay, they should ensure that the change is sustained. By doing so,the organization is more likely to enjoy the strategic benefits andto sustain them into the organization’s future. Engaged leaders arethe key to delivering and maintaining benefits brought about bychange. Leaders must prepare for different kinds of crises such asmarket crashes, data breaches, tarnished reputation, and terroristattacks. This involves knowing what is expected of them in everystage of crisis management (Andrianopoulos, 2015). Effective crisismanagement can be divided into three phases: pre-crisis, crisisresponse, and post-crisis phases. During the pre-crisis phase, thegoal is to prevent a crisis from taking place through riskassessment. Leaders must help the organization identify, analyze andrespond to various risks and prioritize them based on theirimportance. Employees should be prepared for the crisis managementthrough training sessions where they learn protocols, procedures andaction plans. Leaders must ensure that the crisis management planmatches the organization’s goals and strategy.

Inthe crisis response phase, the leader’s efforts should shifttowards containing the crisis and minimizing the organization’sdamage. The first step during a crisis containment is to assess thesituation and gather relevant information. It is important to figureout the scope of the crisis before tackling it. Once the assessmentis complete, the leader should select the skilled individuals to bepart of the crisis management team (Andrianopoulos, 2015). Once it iscontained, leaders must ensure the company communicates its currentstatus to the stakeholders and explains how the situation can affectthem. In this communication, stakeholders are reassured, and they areinformed of the various legal, business, and financial consequencesas a result of the crisis. In the post-crisis phase, the businessattempts to resume its normal business operations, and even thoughthe crisis is no longer the center of attention, leaders should stillpay attention to it. A crisis can be a learning experience, and thecrisis management actions ca be evaluated to determine what did ordid not work. The leaders can create a crisis evaluation team toassess how the crisis was handled and reduce the chances ofrecurrence and more damage. After the crisis, an organization maysustain reputational damage. The leader can ensure that theorganization implements communication strategies that can mend theorganization’s reputation (Andrianopoulos, 2015). This may alsorequire the leader to make other strategic decisions to maintain thechanges and recover from the damage.

Inconclusion, strategic planning to guide an organization through aseries of changes is successful when it considers the past, present,and past factors that contribute to the organization’s success.This type of planning can help a company meet its short and long-termneeds. Leaders are important during crisis or change management.Different leaders employ different leadership styles and crisismanagement strategies. For instance, when Carol Bartz became the CEOof Yahoo, her leadership style led to the loss of 5 percent of theemployees and a strained relationship between the employees and themanagement (Campbell and Brown, 2015). However, Marissa Mayer’sleadership strategy led to a more positive relationship between themanagement and the employees. The crisis management plan used and theleadership determines whether an organization recovers from thecrisis. For instance, Yahoo has experienced some crises such as adata breach and poor management which led to significant losses(Campbell and Brown, 2015). The company’s attempt to recover fromthese issues resulted in a change of leadership several times withina short period. There was the need to find a leader that would helpthe company recover and mend its reputation. This shows theimportance of leaders in crisis and change management and that theycontribute to the success of an organization going through a crisisor a series of changes.

References

Alas,R., &amp Gao, J. (2012). Crisis Management, Change Management, andInnovation Management. In&nbspCrisisManagement in Chinese Organizations (pp.74-92). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Andrianopoulos,A. (2015). Essential Steps for Crisis Management and CrisisContainment.

Bassey,A. O., Solomon, E. H., &amp Omono, C. E. (2014). An Analysis of theApplication of Change Management in Organisations.&nbspAcademicResearch International,&nbsp1(5),481-486.

Boin,A., &amp Renaud, C. (2013). Orchestrating joint sensemaking acrossgovernment levels: challenges and requirements for crisisleadership.&nbspJournalof Leadership Studies,&nbsp7(3),41-46.

Cabrey,T. S., &amp Haughey, A. (2014). Enabling organizational changethrough strategic initiatives.&nbspA.Haughey (Ed.),16.

Campbell,M., &amp Brown, B. A. (2015). Toxic Leader Transition Mini CaseStudy: Yahoo! Inc. 2009-2012.

Eisner,S. (2016). The&quot In-Factor&quot: Signature Traits ofInnovation`s Leaders. Journalof Applied Business Research,&nbsp32(1),185.

Lord,R. G., Dinh, J. E., &amp Hoffman, E. L. (2015). A quantum approachto time and organizational change.&nbspAcademyof Management Review,&nbsp40(2),263-290.

Öner,M. A., Benson, C., &amp Göl Beşer, S. (2014). LinkingOrganizational Change Management and OrganizationalForesight.&nbspStrategicChange,23(3-4),185-203.

Prewitt,J. E., &amp Weil, R. (2014). Organizational Opportunities Endemic inCrisis Leadership.&nbspJournalof Management Policy and Practice,&nbsp15(2),72.