In this section, we present three case studies highlighting the role of a leader in change management.
Case Study 1: The Successful Case of Ford Plastics
In 1990, a radical change took place in the charter of the Ford Plastics Plant (USA) from "a maker of high-tech engineering plastic bits and assemblies to an engineering plastics business which was to develop other markets''. It provided a heightened sense of urgency to the need for improving the plant’s competitiveness. Tom Pettigrewn was appointed as manager at Ford Plastics in early 1990. He played a key role in driving the change at Ford Plastics.Pettigrew, who was trusted and respected by staff on the shop floor, implemented a quality-driven business strategy which focused on striving for quality and productivity improvements through the establishment of work area teams, multiskilling, skills and knowledge education, the encouragement of learning, and a participative, open management style. Under his guidance, the "Golden Rule'' became a core precept of the fabric of change at Ford Plastics.
The "Golden Rule'' stated that all people who would contribute to realising a decision or plan, and those others who would be affected by the decision or plan, must participate in the making of the decision or plan. To fortify the message, Pettigrew himself spent a lot of time “showing by doing” and encouraging other senior personnel to do the same. The aim was to break down the "us and them'' mentality, to encourage the sharing of ideas, and to build a climate of cooperation and trust.
Pettigrew found a key ally and messenger for change in the internally appointed manufacturing manager, whose skills as a negotiator and facilitator were recognized early on by the senior executive. More importantly, he was respected and trusted by union representatives and shop floor employees. He became the "magic leader'' at Ford Plastics who gave purpose and meaning to the change agenda and set the direction.Pettigrew modelled the leadership behaviour envisaged for the collaborative, empowered "learning organisation'' necessary for sustainable competitive success. He took on the role of coach, counsellor and teacher and actively created a climate for change by setting clear goals and encouraging staff at all levels to share ideas and be involved in decision making. He also recognised the importance of harnessing the support and commitment of key leaders through the organisation who would help him cascade the message across and down through the organisation (Adapted from Graetz, 2000).
Case Study 2: Orissa Power Sector Reform
Mr. M.Y. Rao, the Chairman of the erstwhile Orissa State Electricity Board (O.S.E.B.), and subsequently, Chairman and Managing Director of Grid Corporation of Orissa Limited (GRIDCO), was the leading person behind the power sector reforms that took place in Orissa w.e.f. 1 st April 1996. The reorganisation process was implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the O.S.E.B was disintegrated into a number of new corporate entities. GRIDCO was created to undertake transmission and distribution, O.P.G.C. to own and operate O.S.E.B’s thermal plant, and the O.H.P.C was formed for the hydro plant. O.E.R.C was constituted to set tariff rates and insulate the electricity industry from political decisions and rigid bureaucratic controls. During the second phase, the distribution function was privatised and accordingly, four distribution companies viz. SOUTHCO, WESCO, NESCO, and CESCO were established and licensed. In addition to providing prodigious momentum to the reform programme in the State, Mr. Rao used the following ways to minimize employees’ resistance to the reform and get their support. He
• personally convinced the employees about the reason and rationale for reform;
• developed and disseminated a vision of the reform to help employees see where their organisation would seek to go if the change was successful,and also made them understand the value of reform to the power sector;
• personally Interacted with the trade union leaders and won their confidence, support and collaboration for shaping the significant changes that their organisation was planning to undergo, and for abstaining from resistance;
• appointed many ex-employees of O.S.E.B. as facilitators to convince the people regarding the need for reform;
• organised a number of meetings, workshops, and other forums to provide opportunity to employees to express themselves and answer their queries;
• convinced the employees that there would not be any reduction in workforce , rather a wider scope would be given for career growth and job opportunities in the post-reform period; and
• demonstrated his commitment to reform by extensively involving himself in different activities in order to gain the support and commitment of others.You would appreciate his efforts better from this experience of the President of the Orissa Electrical Engineers Service Association. He describes an experience he had about the commitment and visionary leadership skill of Mr. Rao:
“The Government of Orissa appointed nine Working Groups on 4.3.1994 to suggest measures for implementation of reform. The recommendations of these groups predominantly relied upon the key information that was to be provided by different field units. But they had to encounter severe difficulties as the field staff did not want to part with the information. Under such circumstances, many a times Mr. Rao himself collected and supplied the pertinent information to the Working Groups. He also instructed, in certain cases, to the field staff to provide necessary cooperation to the Working Groups”.
Mr Rao himself gave an account of the nature of activities performed by him during the reform programme as follows:
“During the period when the Working Groups were functioning, my role was more that of a facilitator. I was functioning as the Chairman of O.S.E.B, 50 percent of the time, and the remaining time as the Chief Executive who was heading an organisation in transition. There was a theoretical concept of reform that was put forth by the World Bank and Consultants, and then there were the ground level realities of reforming the organisation. I acted as a link between them. This went on practically up to 1996. But after restructuring, most of my activity was concentrated on the nitty-gritty. I was engaged in realizing the electricity due, metering the connections so that we could get money into the system. I had spent about 70 percent of the time on the operational issues” (quoted from Rajan, 2000).
In sum, the former Chairman facilitated the reforms process and mobilised employees for their support and cooperation. One respondent puts it this way:“The Chairman played a crucial role in crafting the reform vision, expounded steps to enact the vision, guiding and inspiring employees to embrace that vision. Without him, no reform was possible” (quoted from Sweta, 2004).
Case Study 3: The Success Case of North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL)
In 1990, a radical change took place in the charter of the Ford Plastics Plant (USA) from "a maker of high-tech engineering plastic bits and assemblies to an engineering plastics business which was to develop other markets''. It provided a heightened sense of urgency to the need for improving the plant’s competitiveness. Tom Pettigrewn was appointed as manager at Ford Plastics in early 1990. He played a key role in driving the change at Ford Plastics.Pettigrew, who was trusted and respected by staff on the shop floor, implemented a quality-driven business strategy which focused on striving for quality and productivity improvements through the establishment of work area teams, multiskilling, skills and knowledge education, the encouragement of learning, and a participative, open management style. Under his guidance, the "Golden Rule'' became a core precept of the fabric of change at Ford Plastics.
The "Golden Rule'' stated that all people who would contribute to realising a decision or plan, and those others who would be affected by the decision or plan, must participate in the making of the decision or plan. To fortify the message, Pettigrew himself spent a lot of time “showing by doing” and encouraging other senior personnel to do the same. The aim was to break down the "us and them'' mentality, to encourage the sharing of ideas, and to build a climate of cooperation and trust.
Pettigrew found a key ally and messenger for change in the internally appointed manufacturing manager, whose skills as a negotiator and facilitator were recognized early on by the senior executive. More importantly, he was respected and trusted by union representatives and shop floor employees. He became the "magic leader'' at Ford Plastics who gave purpose and meaning to the change agenda and set the direction.Pettigrew modelled the leadership behaviour envisaged for the collaborative, empowered "learning organisation'' necessary for sustainable competitive success. He took on the role of coach, counsellor and teacher and actively created a climate for change by setting clear goals and encouraging staff at all levels to share ideas and be involved in decision making. He also recognised the importance of harnessing the support and commitment of key leaders through the organisation who would help him cascade the message across and down through the organisation (Adapted from Graetz, 2000).
Case Study 2: Orissa Power Sector Reform
Mr. M.Y. Rao, the Chairman of the erstwhile Orissa State Electricity Board (O.S.E.B.), and subsequently, Chairman and Managing Director of Grid Corporation of Orissa Limited (GRIDCO), was the leading person behind the power sector reforms that took place in Orissa w.e.f. 1 st April 1996. The reorganisation process was implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the O.S.E.B was disintegrated into a number of new corporate entities. GRIDCO was created to undertake transmission and distribution, O.P.G.C. to own and operate O.S.E.B’s thermal plant, and the O.H.P.C was formed for the hydro plant. O.E.R.C was constituted to set tariff rates and insulate the electricity industry from political decisions and rigid bureaucratic controls. During the second phase, the distribution function was privatised and accordingly, four distribution companies viz. SOUTHCO, WESCO, NESCO, and CESCO were established and licensed. In addition to providing prodigious momentum to the reform programme in the State, Mr. Rao used the following ways to minimize employees’ resistance to the reform and get their support. He
• personally convinced the employees about the reason and rationale for reform;
• developed and disseminated a vision of the reform to help employees see where their organisation would seek to go if the change was successful,and also made them understand the value of reform to the power sector;
• personally Interacted with the trade union leaders and won their confidence, support and collaboration for shaping the significant changes that their organisation was planning to undergo, and for abstaining from resistance;
• appointed many ex-employees of O.S.E.B. as facilitators to convince the people regarding the need for reform;
• organised a number of meetings, workshops, and other forums to provide opportunity to employees to express themselves and answer their queries;
• convinced the employees that there would not be any reduction in workforce , rather a wider scope would be given for career growth and job opportunities in the post-reform period; and
• demonstrated his commitment to reform by extensively involving himself in different activities in order to gain the support and commitment of others.You would appreciate his efforts better from this experience of the President of the Orissa Electrical Engineers Service Association. He describes an experience he had about the commitment and visionary leadership skill of Mr. Rao:
“The Government of Orissa appointed nine Working Groups on 4.3.1994 to suggest measures for implementation of reform. The recommendations of these groups predominantly relied upon the key information that was to be provided by different field units. But they had to encounter severe difficulties as the field staff did not want to part with the information. Under such circumstances, many a times Mr. Rao himself collected and supplied the pertinent information to the Working Groups. He also instructed, in certain cases, to the field staff to provide necessary cooperation to the Working Groups”.
Mr Rao himself gave an account of the nature of activities performed by him during the reform programme as follows:
“During the period when the Working Groups were functioning, my role was more that of a facilitator. I was functioning as the Chairman of O.S.E.B, 50 percent of the time, and the remaining time as the Chief Executive who was heading an organisation in transition. There was a theoretical concept of reform that was put forth by the World Bank and Consultants, and then there were the ground level realities of reforming the organisation. I acted as a link between them. This went on practically up to 1996. But after restructuring, most of my activity was concentrated on the nitty-gritty. I was engaged in realizing the electricity due, metering the connections so that we could get money into the system. I had spent about 70 percent of the time on the operational issues” (quoted from Rajan, 2000).
In sum, the former Chairman facilitated the reforms process and mobilised employees for their support and cooperation. One respondent puts it this way:“The Chairman played a crucial role in crafting the reform vision, expounded steps to enact the vision, guiding and inspiring employees to embrace that vision. Without him, no reform was possible” (quoted from Sweta, 2004).
Case Study 3: The Success Case of North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL)
NDPL was incorporated in July 1, 2002 as a joint venture between Tata Power and Govt. of NCT of Delhi as a result of the privatisation of electricity distribution in Delhi. Mr. Anil Kumar Sardana, who was working as one of the Vice-Presidents of the Bombay Suburban Electric Supply Ltd. (BSES), was appointed as the CEO of NDPL. Mr. Sardana took several HR initiatives such as the following to make the change process a success.
• Almost all the designations were rechristened so as to make the employees feel empowered as well as dignified.
• Many employees were provided VRS, particularly the meter-readers.Those who remained were re-deployed to undertake other functions.
• Training of all employees was emphasized. Training for 18,000 mandays was imparted in two years in areas such as quality assurance, customer orientation, and computer handling.
• MIS was implementated. 1200 computers were provided to 3,400 employees.
• Mobile phones were provided to all executives, junior engineers, and otherfield staff for better connectivity.
• Executives and field staff were sponsored for training under peerexchange programme to different countries. 32 personnel were sponsored under the scheme till August 2004.
• In order to improve the customer services, the company adopted a 5s concept which consisted of: sugam (easy), sahyog (cooperation), spasht(unambiguous), sankalpa (determination), and sampark (communication).
• Considerable improvement was brought about in the working conditions, welfare facilities, and employees care.
• A performance management system was devised that clearly differentiated the performer from the non performers.
• Human Resource Information System was implemented.
• Almost all the designations were rechristened so as to make the employees feel empowered as well as dignified.
• Many employees were provided VRS, particularly the meter-readers.Those who remained were re-deployed to undertake other functions.
• Training of all employees was emphasized. Training for 18,000 mandays was imparted in two years in areas such as quality assurance, customer orientation, and computer handling.
• MIS was implementated. 1200 computers were provided to 3,400 employees.
• Mobile phones were provided to all executives, junior engineers, and otherfield staff for better connectivity.
• Executives and field staff were sponsored for training under peerexchange programme to different countries. 32 personnel were sponsored under the scheme till August 2004.
• In order to improve the customer services, the company adopted a 5s concept which consisted of: sugam (easy), sahyog (cooperation), spasht(unambiguous), sankalpa (determination), and sampark (communication).
• Considerable improvement was brought about in the working conditions, welfare facilities, and employees care.
• A performance management system was devised that clearly differentiated the performer from the non performers.
• Human Resource Information System was implemented.
No comments:
Post a Comment