Change Management
Essays

his paper discusses the concept of organizational conflict and how it can be eliminated through change management

Having grown both from a series of acquisitions and a continual series of internal strategies to retain and grow their customer base, Aux Bons Soins (ABS) Information Technologies (IT) infrastructure has grown widely distributed to the point of being fragmented. The acquisitions of General Maritime Protection and Western General Insurance have created significant challenges in integrating their IT infrastructures into the ABS IT systems platforms and architectures. The senior management team anticipated a certain degree of overlap of system licensing, resources, functions and roles, yet didn't realize how much the duplication would slow response to customers. Concerned with the slow response to customers and market conditions, in addition to the continual discovery of just how inconsistent the reporting processes are across the three divisions, the senior management team initiates the Integrated Management System and Processes (IMSP) project. The IMSP looks to avert the duplication of effort between the two recently acquired companies and ABS, while also consolidating reporting across the accounting and financial management systems, human resource management (HRM), marketing and sales management including the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. At the beginning of the case analysis the senior management team at ABS considers the three separate, highly decentralized system to be a competitive advantage as they are seen being more agile and responsive to the market. This assumption quickly proves false however as the most fundamental reports can't be produced across the entire company quickly enough to make decision quickly. As studies have shown, decentralized IT systems and architectures often lead to significant delays in reporting and analysis of critical aspects of a business' operations (Jackson, 2011). This was certainly happening at ABS, causing the company to lose valuable time and potential cost reduction strategies, in addition to sacrificing greater insight into customers as a result. With the decision to integrate all three business units into a single, unified IT architecture based on the core concepts of the Integrated Management System and Processes (IMSP) project framework, ABS was able to begin solving serious problems in their IT systems performance. An assessment of the causes of the problems or difficulties of the distributed IT architecture are included in this analysis is also provided. This paper also includes is an analysis of the critical success factors that companies need to consider when deciding to change enterprise-wide IT systems. Foremost among these is the need for planning and executing an effective change management strategy company-wide.

There is commercial software packages called enterprise resource planning aimed at integrating different types of data and information that flows through the company. The information includes financial and accounting data, data related to human resource, data related to supply chain and data about customers. ERP systems are a great solution for the problem of business integration for managers struggling since long with nonconforming information systems conflicting operating practices, thus has become a readymade resolution for business integration problem (Davenport, 1998). The current essay is a discussion on the role of vendors in ERP implementation. Based on the review of the research on ERP implementation, the author has tried to answer the question as what vendors seem to know and not know about implementing ERP systems. And how much influence should vendors have in an organization's ERP decision?"

Resistance to Change Management Introduction Why do some employees resist change within the structure of the organization? What can management do to bring those employees along as the company transitions to another strategy? This paper addresses those issues and other related to resistance to change. The Literature on Resistance to Change Management Roy Smollan, senior lecturer in Management at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, notes that some companies refer to resistance to change as a "brickwall" or a "dangerous roadblock to transformation" (Smollan, 2011, p. 12). Resistance to change is normally seen as a dynamic where employees refuse to carry through with authorized instructions, but the real, ultimate problem may be found in the frustration of the manager who sees things are not falling into place (Smollan, 13). "Handle resistance with care" and don't assume it is "willful or ignorant"; engage in "full and honest communication" (Smollan, 15).

This document details specific models of HRM and Change Management within the context of a fictitious case. This reference material also attempts to identify areas of improvement within the context of HRM. The subsequent section then identifies methods in which to help improve the implementation of these improvements within the context of the underlying business. The document finally concludes with strategies aimed at future change with the company.

This paper examines the history of an Australian health food company, and analyzes the job requirements of its human resource department. It analyzes a job advertisement posted by the company in terms of its requirements, and demonstrates that the author of the paper is a good match for the job.

Alcan's continued revenue growth is the result of the combined success of increasing sales in four main business units, in addition to growth through acquisition. The cumulative effects of these two factors have served to create a profitable business and one where a highly decentralized organizational structure dominates (Chang, Wang, 2011). The catalyst of the organization becoming so decentralized is the continued revenue gains made across four businesses, each competing in market areas that face heavy pricing and commodity-like market conditions. Despite the heavily process-centric based approaches the industry takes to supply chain management, production and distribution, Alcan has been also able to profitably grow sales in the more mature markets they compete in. The senior management and IT departments credit the highly decentralized nature of the enterprise-wide systems that run the company. During the time period of the case, Alcan generated $23.6B in sales in 2006, and has 68,000 employees throughout its global operations that span 61 countries. The four major groups include Primary Metal, Engineered Products, Packaging and Bauxite & Alumina. Each of these business groups have their own Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and IT infrastructure. They each also have their own maintenance contracts with enterprise software vendors including SAP who the company pays approximately $100M a year in maintenance fees to. There are also the costs of operating over 400 different pricing systems, many of which duplicate functions across divisions as well. The new CIO of the company, Robert Ouellette, enters into a challenging situation and one that will require a completely different IT and organizational structure to succeed. Organizational Environment The Alcan organizational environment is highly decentralized to the point of there being four separate companies in the same corporation, each with its own entire value chain and supporting functions. As with the value chain concept, each of the four divisions has created its own main and supporting functions, and no two business units or divisions are the same. From the initial supply chain management and supplier quality management processes and systems to the supplier qualification, new product development, production and fulfillment including logistics, each business unit is significantly different than the other. When information systems and processes become unique to a given organizational business unit or division, the information and intelligence shared redefines the identity and over time, the core competencies of a business unit (Boh, Yellin, 2007). This is exactly what's happening in the four business units of Alcan during the time period of the case study. The Primary Metal, Engineered Products, Packaging and Bauxite & Alumina have in effect become their own companies, each with its own ERP, Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and myriad of pricing and distribution systems. The case states that there are over 400 different pricing systems in place across the four business units or divisions. CIO Robert Ouellette and other senior executives see the potential for consolidating all systems together and creating a centralized IT architecture. Creating a highly centralized IT architecture and framework would require the fundamental structure of the company to change significantly. It would also require an entirely new IT architecture, followed by redefinition of processes, systems and procedures throughout the company. As the information platforms or technologies of a business define not only the performance of divisions but the structure and performance of business models over time, Robert Ouellette and his staff must think strategically as to how they will modify the overall organizational structure.

The paper is based on the case study, seeing the forest products company and the trees. The paper responds to the questions asked after the case study. The answers provide more insight into what the case study is demonstrating. The answers provide detailed information regarding the training programs that can be used to manage change in an organization.

Of the many strategic challenges organizations have, one of the most challenging to create a culture of continued accomplishment, supporting by processes, systems and procedures that support continued growth. The two books, Hot Spots: Why Some Teams, Workplaces, and Organizations Buzz with Energy and Others Don't (Gratton, 2007) and Balanced Scorecard Step-by-Step: Maximizing Performance and Maintaining Results (Niven, 2002) each take a comparable approach to defining how best organizations can define and sustain high performance and over time create a culture of high achievement. The intent of this analysis is to first provide a synopsis of each book, then define a association of both text, followed by an analysis and evaluation. Both books are predicated on a high level of cooperative, highly collaborative performance, with Gratton's book looking more to how best to combine cooperative mindsets, boundary spanning authority and ownership, and an igniting purpose, all supported by productive capacity (2007). The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as define by Niven (2002) is predicated on financial projections of past performance indicating the probability of success for future initiatives. The Niven book is one of the best written on BSC, as it provides a well-defined methodology that has enough flexibility to allow for taxonomies to be created and supported in the context of multidivisional businesses (Niven, 2002). Ideally strategists need to consider each and combine their relative strengths for each situation an organization is facing over time. Both ideally need to be included in the development of a strategic framework over time.

This paper answers questions about auditing. There are 16 questions and the answer are one page each. The issues include management of auditing, how auditing is related to risk, and why planning does not always provide an auditor with a good basis to perform an audit. There are many more issues that surround auditing than most people realize if they are not involved with the profession.