The current paper contains a change management plan and a communication plan for Riordan Manufacturing. The change which is required is connected with creation of an integrated customer information management system and transformation of the organizational structure from functional to matrix. The ways of eliminating resistance to change are suggested. The twelve month plan for implementation of a new system is designed. Communication is an important part of the change management. In order to make it effective, environmental, language, and perception barriers should be eliminated and appropriate channels of communication need to be found. Finally, a message is designed for the face-to-face communication channel.
Keywords: change management, power structure, resistance, communication, barriers. Change Management Plan & Communication Plan
Section I: Change Management Plan
Like any other organization, Riordan Manufacturing has both formal and informal power structures. The formal power structure consists of hierarchical structure, rules, and employee relations policies. At Riordan Manufacturing president is at the top of the hierarchical structure. The chiefs of the departments, such as R&D, Operations, Human Resources, and Information, are accountable to the presidents and have the subordinates of their own, who in their turn are in charge of certain areas of activity. The organizational structure of the company involves hierarchical chains, thus each employee is subordinated to a superior manager in his department. The policies of the company are the same for every employee, since they derive from the mission of the company. The rules concerned with safety and quality are the most important ones. Employee relations policies assure that every employee has an opportunity to express his propositions and be rewarded if they find practical application. The informal power structure consists of relations which exist within a company and are based on factors other than those, which are formally fixed. At Riordan informal power structure originates in those groups of employees, whose jobs are considered critical for the company, such as research and development managers, patent and legal issues specialists, and CAM support specialists. Also, informal power structures emerge within self-directed teams. The power and political structure of the company affects the employees’ behavior. If the power structure is very formal and regulations apply to almost all the aspects of everyday work, the employees become passive and focus only on completion of their formally fixed duties. If the policy allows emergence of informal power structures, employees will be more self-motivated and take initiative to perform beyond their regular tasks.
As Riordan is planning to change its customer information management system, certain changes need to be made to its organizational structure. The most appropriate would be matrix structure. It should involve specialists from such departments as Sales & Marketing, Product Support, IT Services, and Finances. These specialists will be working on managing customer information for the three main product groups separately in order to create a system, which will keep track of the amount of products sold, prices, volumes and frequency of orders, customer preferences, post-purchase services rendered, revenues, profit margins, and discounts for each client and in …