Managing change in an efficient manner adds oodles to the admirability quotient of a company. Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Unilever, Moser Baer are among a slew of others, who stand testimony to this fact...
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change,” Charles Darwin once said. Although the statement was made more than a century ago, its acceptability is still unchallenged. In fact, this evolutionary rule seems to have become an integral part of corporate strategies, giving wings to a new jargon – change management – in various board rooms. “Change management is a pragmatic approach, which helps an organisation to attract clients and customers. An initiation of change management prepares the organisation for future challenges,” explains Chandrashekhar of PEP Management Consultants.
At a more micro level, a McKinsey Global Survey on ‘Organising for successful change management’ pointed out the objectives of such transformations. Cost cutting was a consistent theme and over half of the respondents agreed it was a major goal. Another 50% said their company wished to move from good to great performance. Just over 40% observed it was driven by the demands of a restructuring exercise, like a merger, or a divestment. Only 27% felt it had to do with a crisis situation which, according to outsiders, is the most important reason and aim for corporate changes.
However, in India, long-term organisational, strategic, or tactical changes are largely driven by crises. Agrees Ravi Gilani, Founder & Managing Consultant, Goldratt India, “Most of them are externally driven. Less than 10% of the companies have initiated changes on their own.” In fact, as we sieve through case studies, they don’t seem like change, they were more a matter of survival.
By the beginning of this century, Bajaj Auto, once the king of Indian roads and globally recognised as a maker of scooters, was in serious trouble. In 2001, it lost its market leader position to Hero Honda in the two-wheeler segment. Moreover, as middle class India shifted from scooters to motorcycles, Bajaj was unable to garner sizeable market share in the low-priced segment, which was dominated by Hero Honda. It seemed like the end of the road for Bajaj as it was inevitable that scooters would eventually get phased out (Bajaj rolled out the last Chetak on December 31, 2005). Bajaj Auto changed its strategy quietly and swiftly. From being the high volumes, low prices player that it always was, the company established itself as a premium bike player. While maintaining a presence in the low-price section, its Pulsar has become the most-selling bike in the premium segment and Eliminator is India’s only cruiser bike. “This successful transition from a (volumes) scooter-maker to a (niche) bikes one has added a lot to its admirability quotient,” says Saurabh Azad, Finesse Consultancy.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change,” Charles Darwin once said. Although the statement was made more than a century ago, its acceptability is still unchallenged. In fact, this evolutionary rule seems to have become an integral part of corporate strategies, giving wings to a new jargon – change management – in various board rooms. “Change management is a pragmatic approach, which helps an organisation to attract clients and customers. An initiation of change management prepares the organisation for future challenges,” explains Chandrashekhar of PEP Management Consultants.
At a more micro level, a McKinsey Global Survey on ‘Organising for successful change management’ pointed out the objectives of such transformations. Cost cutting was a consistent theme and over half of the respondents agreed it was a major goal. Another 50% said their company wished to move from good to great performance. Just over 40% observed it was driven by the demands of a restructuring exercise, like a merger, or a divestment. Only 27% felt it had to do with a crisis situation which, according to outsiders, is the most important reason and aim for corporate changes.
However, in India, long-term organisational, strategic, or tactical changes are largely driven by crises. Agrees Ravi Gilani, Founder & Managing Consultant, Goldratt India, “Most of them are externally driven. Less than 10% of the companies have initiated changes on their own.” In fact, as we sieve through case studies, they don’t seem like change, they were more a matter of survival.
By the beginning of this century, Bajaj Auto, once the king of Indian roads and globally recognised as a maker of scooters, was in serious trouble. In 2001, it lost its market leader position to Hero Honda in the two-wheeler segment. Moreover, as middle class India shifted from scooters to motorcycles, Bajaj was unable to garner sizeable market share in the low-priced segment, which was dominated by Hero Honda. It seemed like the end of the road for Bajaj as it was inevitable that scooters would eventually get phased out (Bajaj rolled out the last Chetak on December 31, 2005). Bajaj Auto changed its strategy quietly and swiftly. From being the high volumes, low prices player that it always was, the company established itself as a premium bike player. While maintaining a presence in the low-price section, its Pulsar has become the most-selling bike in the premium segment and Eliminator is India’s only cruiser bike. “This successful transition from a (volumes) scooter-maker to a (niche) bikes one has added a lot to its admirability quotient,” says Saurabh Azad, Finesse Consultancy.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
1 comment:
You make the extremely important point that those who succeed and survive are "responsive to change".
But that is quite different from "managing change" when it becomes necessary. Being "responsive to change" means having a workforce which is fully engaged, totally committed to their work, and willing to unleash their full potential of creativity, innovation and productivity on their work.
This is quite the opposite of most workforces at present where use of the top-down command and control approach to managing people has created distrustful and demotivated employees who know that management treats them with disrespect.
Companies who are "responsive to change" have gotten rid of top-down in favor of its opposite. These companies treat their employees with great respect and not like robots by listening to whatever they want to say when they want to say it and responding in a very respectful manner. Responding respectfully includes resolving employee complaints and suggestions and answering their questions to the employee's satisfaction. It also includes providing them more than enough opportunity to voice their complaints, suggestions and questions.
The managements of these companies spend their time making their support reflect the very highest standards of all values by resolving their complaints and suggestions. Support includes training, tools, material, planning, discipline, direction, procedures, rules, technical advice, etc.
These companies realize that the highest quality and most respectful "direction" is the very least since no one likes to take orders or really needs them except in emergency situations. Anyone routinely needing extensive orders is removed from their team.
This treatment leads employees to treat their work, their customers, each other and their bosses with great respect. Listening and responding respectfully also inspires them to unleash their full potential of creativity, innovation and productivity on their work giving them great pride in it and causes them to love to come to work.
Best regards, Ben
Author "Leading People to be Highly Motivated and Committed"
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