Images of Managing Change Managing

Images of Managing Change

Managing Organizational Change

The many changes that Cincom Systems continues to experience as a result of competitors defining entirely new and lower-cost approaches to delivering enterprise software is driving significant change into the industry in general and the company specifically. As spending for enterprise software is shifting from being paid for from capital expenses (CAPEX) which are often budgeted long in advance to operating expense (OPEX) which can be budgeted and spent in a month, there is a corresponding major shift in how Cincom markets its software. Transformational change of the economics and value propositions of products and services in an industry are often the most significant drivers of change, influencing the future direction and viability of competing firms (He, Baruch, 2009). Cincom's competitors have shifted as a result to now include Salesforce.com and other Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) competitors, which have devised pricing and usage strategies that make OPEX possible as a pricing scenario.

Responding to the Change in Pricing within the Enterprise Software Market

In responding to the threat of SaaS as a competitive platform for the delivering of enterprise software, and its implications on the economics of the enterprise software market, the change management image of the Interpreter as defined in Table 3.1 on page 51 of the text. The Interpreter fits this specific scenario in that it requires managers to inform the staff of Cincom as to why there is a change needed to every aspect of how products are designed, development and delivered. The SaaS platform is based primarily on the Amazon Web Services platform that Salesforce.com initially began on and then shifted to creating their own. SaaS service providers including Amazon Web Services are relatively new as platforms for enterprise software, having initially been created by the online bookstore as a platform for startups for their applications in addition to hosting social networking applications including Twitter and others. As a result of this, the SaaS platforms are relatively unknown throughout the enterprise software space in general and definitely unknown throughout Cincom. The image of Interpreter again would be useful to put the role of SaaS platform providers into perspective and explain how their technologies are re-ordering the economic landscape of enterprise software as a result. The image of Interpreter would also be invaluable in defining how the Cincom organizational strategy is going to need to change over time to counter this threat. The Interpreter role could also be used for defining potential competitive strategies in the short- and long-term. Finally the sense making aspects of the Interpreter image would seek to put into context the competitive dynamics of the SaaS platform relative to the licensed software strategies of Cincom, which has existed for decades. In conclusion the Interpreter role would need to define the extent, interaction and depth of internal and external forces as exemplified by the growing acceptance of the SaaS platform by enterprise software purchasers. The competitive threat of SaaS would also need to be kept in context as well, as SaaS has the limitations of a lack of security as it is entirely stored on the Internet, and also has the limitation of not being as easy to integrate with as licensed applications, which is where Cincom has attained all its growth.

Making the Transition from Interpreter to Coach

Of all the images discussed in Table 3.1 on page 51 of the text the one that most resonates with me is Coach. Identification with the Coach image is one that stresses collaboration and cooperation and the need to be continually developmental in focus. This approach to managing change equips organizations to meet the demands of a challenge, not ignore or fail in the face of the increased pressure the challenges contain. The Coach image also is one that supports the precepts of creating autonomy, mastery and purpose in employees so they can more resiliently manage in the face of uncertainty (Robinson, Goudy, 2009). These aspects of the Coach image are found in the developmental aspects of the role and the need for creating closer coordination across the organization through enhanced learning as a result. Finally the Coach image is one that seeks to maximize change effectiveness by concentrating on giving employees the opportunity to attain self-efficacy which is critical for employees to gain a sense of mastery over their changing roles in an organization (Mueller, 2009).