HRMT440DBR12

Initial Question: Leroy Banks is the Director of Change Management for Red Carpet, a national hospitality and entertainment company. He has contracted you to be an OD Consultant because Red Carpet has recently acquired a movie theater company and needs to manage the change process. External forces for change are those that come from an organization’s outside environment. Internal forces for change are those that arise from employees within the organization. Leroy has asked you to begin by assessing forces for change.

Review the Red Carpet scenario for this course and with your classmates; discuss the following:

Identify and describe an example of an external force for change.
Identify and describe an example of an internal force for change.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges of being in the role of an OD Consultant at Red Carpet?

Primary Post:

One of the well-known examples of an external force for change is technology. According to experts, technology can either make or break a business. The world today is experiencing rapid growth in technological innovations; hence every organization, including the Red Carpet, needs to be on alert since this has become a significant force for change. For those companies that need to catch up with the technological changes, they fall behind, thus leading to them experiencing more significant challenges like reduced profits and productivity. Due to technological advancements, organizations need to develop new managerial, diplomatic, and social skills besides changing the decision-making process to improve their organizational structures (Shankar et al., 2020). Changes in technology can influence fundamental managerial functions, such as having more responsibility for managing the company’s performance and focusing more on making effective decisions, planning, control, and coordination.

One example of an internal force for change is the work climate, which encompasses the company’s environment. The work environment is essential to change because it comprises numerous elements that affect an organization’s daily operations and processes (Farisi & Fani, 2019). Changes in the working environment at a particular organization can significantly influence change in various ways. This might involve how motivated and satisfied employees are. For instance, lack of motivation and dissatisfaction is commonly experienced in organizations with high layoffs. Moreover, employees who escape a layoff might find it challenging to keep on being productive since they fear that they might also be laid off, thus feeling insecure in their jobs. On the other hand, the physical environment is a crucial element of the work environment which has a direct effect on the human sense and can change interpersonal interactions in the workplace.

An OD Consultant at Red Carpet is likely to face some of the issues that are human resource and training, performance, and employee relations issues. Based on the scenario, the entire company does not value HR; hence the workforce needs help with numerous employee relations and employment law issues. Moreover, the company’s organizational culture needs to be more formal, and it has inadequate policies and procedures that manage the behavior of employees. Even though Red Carpet outsources its entire training to a particular investor group company, this training is usually tailored to something other than the wants and needs of the organization. Another challenge is dealing with Red Carpet’s struggles with its business with business partners and suppliers due to its non-negotiable reputation.

#1 Cynthia Mays

An external force is a force that acts from the outside. Some examples of external forces are social, cultural, demographic, political, economic, and technological. Industry, competition and consumer demands. The external forces refer to the environment and institutions outside of the organization that can potentially affect the organizational performance. Change in external forces gives a great impact on the achievement of an organization. In the Red-Carpet scenario it needs to be another company to come in and help reconstruct the way the business is being run and how developing something new and more creative can make the business more productive. Such as, how we use to rent DVD’s and then we went to Wi-Fi and got Hulu and Netflix that was easier and cheaper, and we were able to see more new movies when they came out and didn’t have to leave home.

*Identify and describe an example of an internal force for change.

An internal force is a force that acts from within a system or company. All conditions and forces within the organization affecting business operations are internal forces for the organizational change. The internal health of a company is essential to manage internal change forces in a useful way. Some examples of internal forces are low performances, low satisfaction, new mission, new leadership, and conflict. In the Red-Carpet business the internal forces need to be reconstructed because in any business the management is responsible for anything that an employee does, and in this case the management is not taking any responsibility for the employees. With the company having low satisfaction and low performance they will lose business because customers will begin to complain and make it noticeable that they are not happy with the services there. The complaints will begin to build up and then it could turn into complaints to a higher authority. General managers are supposed to oversee the operations of the hotel. The conflict and low performance were the two main aspects leading to the internal forces.

* In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges of being in the role of an OD consultant at Red-Carpet?

In my opinion the biggest challenges of being in the role of an OD Consultant at Red-Carpet is its role in the failure to hold the general managers accountable for their actions and to address and handle the problems that arise with it. The second challenge is their communication with its business suppliers and their partners. Being able to work together and communicate on the business operations, and the need for supplies and equipment to be present. The business relationship between Red-Carpet and its suppliers have to have a great line of open communication and to rectify the general managers accountability for their employees and the company actions. The improvement of the general managers performance will improve the way the employees will respond to their work environment and make it more comfortable for the customers.

#2 Brian A.

For an internal change in the company, I would recommend starting off by overlooking current Hr staff and hire a specialist and make that department a whole to help with employee issues and legal troubles. I would also collaborate with Hr team to generate a training guide for HR and the company, to ensure proper techniques and expectations are being set. With Hr team having more experience, employee relations will work them self out considering HR team is upgraded with experienced team members. With changes in HR, performance and satisfaction will be improved. A new leadership will come to light and bring positive change within the company. The biggest challenge would be to have employees able and willing to change. Many employees have other things going on in their life, so to add new structure at work will be a challenge.

For an external forces change I will be recommending a change within the cruise line. The cruise line sunk because of the ship colliding with a reef. This impacts the company and damages to the earth that can become a big hazard and fine. Reefs are an external factor that cannot be altered. There are also other external factors that can surface and cause damages.

A challenge for external factors would be the federal investigation. It is out of the companies control what they will ultimately do.

With the federal investigation I would recommend being transparent, so the process will go smoother. I would also follow up with the case constantly to try and close such case. There probably will be fines and maybe lawsuits that will have to be paid out. Considering the loss of money from this I would recommend selling of the cruise ships and disposing of the department. Federal investigations are something serious and could end up destroying the company if fines and claims are extremely high. I would advise to sell the ships and try to salvage as much money possible and invest that extra cash into other departments, either the hotels, restaurants and/or movie theaters once the case is closed.

By selling the cruise line, hopefully it would generate enough money to upgrade the quality of restaurants. The downfall of discontinuing the cruise department would be a loss of jobs for employees in that department. To compensate the job loss, a job relocation somewhere else within the company would benefit some employees.

HRMT440DBR21

Initial Question:

Now that you have gained an understanding of Red Carpet, Leroy has asked you to join in on a preliminary meeting with the VP of HR and other members of the organization to discuss change. The meeting is important because many employees are unsure of their role in the change process. In fact, the VP of HR has not settled yet on what type of change is needed or how to start the change process. Leroy has asked you to participate in the discussion to help clarify information needed about the change process.

Review the Red Carpet scenario for this course, and with your classmates, discuss the following questions that will provide insight into the change process:

In your opinion, what does Red Carpet need to change? Should the change be transformational, developmental, or transitional, and why?
What employees or employee groups should be included in the change process, and why?
What do you recommend Red Carpet do to begin the change process?

Primary Response:

The need for change at Red Carpet is driven by the company’s desire to boost its overall performance in the business and enhance its position as a market competitor. The purchase of a theater company justifies the requirement that Red Carpet alters its business practices in order for the organization to be able to run the newly acquired business. For Red Carpet to successfully operate its standard business and the movie theater, a significant adjustment is required. This considers that the company would be obliged to break away from its distinct corporate culture and implement new guidelines to manage the hospitality sector, in which Red Carpet works, and the new theater industry (Napier et al., 2017). Red Carpet’s decision to incorporate the theater into its corporate culture will require the company to implement some much-needed operational adjustments. For a business to undergo transformational change, it must first develop a strategic plan that outlines how operations will be managed. It is an essential model of transformation since it enables a business to boost its overall performance and, as a result, improve its chances of success in the market (Napier et al., 2017).

To guarantee that the organizational changes successfully achieve the goals set or desired, all stakeholders should model the changes. Employees of an organization are the most critical stakeholders since they are the ones who can rapidly determine whether or not a change is successful. To ensure that both of its businesses function as a single entity, Red Carpet should recruit individuals from a variety of backgrounds who are well-suited to their respective fields. Red Carpet has to prioritize recruiting qualified workers in the electronics and electrical engineering sectors.

Analysts and personnel working in human relations would also play an essential role in ensuring the success of the Red Carpet purchase. Red Carpet would need such staff because they would be responsible for maintaining harmony across all departments. The staff of Red Capet should be up to date and be able to keep up with the latest trends despite their constantly shifting nature. Due to this, the organization has the potential to maintain its competitive edge in the hospitality as well as creative sectors.

After completing the purchase of the movie theater, Red Carpet should begin by formulating a comprehensive plan outlining how it intends to integrate the newly acquired business into its existing structure. This should include the management, workers, policies, laws, and regulations expected to be in place. With the help of the plan, the company should assess how efficient the process of acquiring new assets is and provide timetables for how the transition to the new state is anticipated. Because of this, the business can avoid incurring costs that are not essential and continue to be competitive across the entire market with fewer or no variances. In light of the results of these evaluations, the company may accept the new organizational structures and put the determined policies, laws, and regulations into effect. For the company to avoid any potential internal conflicts, it should make every effort to involve all of the organization’s essential stakeholders.

#3 Sean Golem

Red Carpet is a company on its journey towards change and improvement. The first aspect considered concerning change is the five W’s of change: what needs to be changed, why or the need for change, who is involved in the change, when the change will take place, and where the change will happen (Cameron & Green, 2019). Red Carpet LLC has identified various issues in the case scenarios that answer the “why” a change is critical. One of the main issues faced at Red Carpet is the poor organizational structure with poorly defined roles. For example, Red Carpet does not hold the General managers in charge of hotels, restaurants, and cruises accountable for performance and other internal issues. The consequence is blame games and a need for an organized manner of handling the company’s challenges. Embracing change within the Red Carpet company will facilitate improved coordination of activities and improve performance.

Red Carpet needs to change its organizational structure, transform its culture, and introduce a department in charge of development and training, among other essential changes. Faupel & Sub (2019) state that a company should develop SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) objectives for change in order to ensure a successful change process. Red Carpet needs to change multiple aspects of its operations, but the company has to start from somewhere. The most urgent need for change is the organizational structure and culture, which are key to employee performance and satisfaction and influence the quality of products and services delivered to customers. The essential change should be transformational. A transformational change is a change that completely reshapes the organization (Cameron & Green, 2019). Red Carpet LLC needs a transformational change because its operations are dysfunctional. In the scenario, it is mentioned that Red Carpet would rather compromise the quality and availability of products to customers than a partner to supply the required resources. It is essential to transform the operations of Red Carpet LLC.

The employee groups involved should start from the headquarter central departments to the leadership at the different outlets and the employees who serve the customers. The involvement of all employees in the change process helps ensure a successful change. Kotter’s model of change is useful in the entire process of change (Laig & Abocejo, 2021). The central HR should work with the Director of Change management through a committee to ensure a smooth change process. The first step for change is establishing a sense of urgency. The company’s employees need sensitization on the issues the company faces, and the need for change is demonstrated to them (Laig & Abocejo, 2021). Convincing the team that a change is necessary and urgent and developing a team that supports the change and is willing to work through the change process is critical. The Director for Change management should build a strong coalition of employees and leaders who firmly stand for the change. The introduction of the training department will help the employees gain the skills necessary for quality service delivery. All involved employees must understand their roles in the change process, the need for change, what aspects of work will change, and the implication of change in the company.

I recommend that Red Carpet LLC develops a team to facilitate the change process. The team should review Kotter’s eight steps of change and develop an understanding of the key aspects to consider while initiating the change. The development of a change plan is significant in understanding all the aspects that will change (Laig & Abocejo, 2021). For instance, the company needs to develop short and long-term goals to ensure continued motivation toward change. Defined roles in the company are among the essential aspects to consider within the company. Once the vision is developed, the company can communicate the change, seek ideas from the employees, and integrate those ideas into the change process. The change starts when the entire team is prepared for the change and cooperation is established.

#4 Amanda Lusk

As the OD Consultant, it is my job to bring both the external environment and internal forces together. Leroy has asked that I join the VP of HR and all members of the team to discuss the changes associated since Red Carpet took over the theater. According to Leroy and the VP of HR, the employees who have been working at the theater do not know what their role will be with new management and what they should expect with the changes. The concern is also that the VP of HR has yet to come up with the type of change needed or how they even start the process.

Sitting down with the VP of HR prior to meeting with employees allowed us to talk through the various types of change. There are certain things that we must possess when speaking with the staff. Excellent communication, empathy towards the employees who are most affected by the change, and having the ability to sell the need for change (Nadler, 1998). With that being said, we decided that the way the day to day overall operations needs to be restructured, the amount of employees scheduled during the slower and busier hours to ensure customers are not waiting longer than they are sure, but at the same time, not over scheduling which will cost Red Carpet more money. Management and Team Leaders are important to have in place to be present for customers and the staff’s needs. With that being said, we finally came to an agreement that this is considered a transitional with a focus mainly on organization development.

After much investigating, the two of us decided that developmental change was the type of change needed. We knew we needed a game prior to walking into the meeting with staff. Developmental change can be planned or something that takes place in an emergent fashion. It is the chance implemented that will either build up or correct what the theater has been run in the past. It will focus on improving the current skills and process of the team (jisc.ac.uk, 2014). Although not emergent, it is something that requires planning in order to get the staff to buy into the change. Red Carpet will need to communicate with employees what their job or role is exactly and how the organization will make sure the staff understands the importance of why we as a company are needing to improve our current process and skills of each position.

We believe all staff should be present in the meeting in order to ensure everyone is on the same page in regards to not only the need for change, but what changes will need to take place. As new management, we will rely on employees to give us the ins and outs of how the previous owners have been running the theater. There are many areas of the theater and we will need to know how many are cross trained or not, how long each employee has been employed by the theater, and if anyone has been in a management or team leader role.

Both the VP of HR and I will take everything we learned from the meeting and put together a plan of action. We will first start with personally interviewing each staff member to get a better idea of who they are in a private setting. Often people are uncomfortable with sharing things when in a group setting. We want to know what they liked or didn’t like with the previous owners. Where they see themselves now and in 5 years. What type of positions are they interested in and how do they feel about moving up when people that are their friends do not move up? This is going to give us our final plan so that we can move forward with who we will keep onboard and who is not going to remain employed. We will then look at the staff still employed to decide where we would like to place them. We will then have a better idea as to how many we will need to hire and how many full time and part time positions we will need. Lastly, we will take everything we have to Leroy to make sure he is informed and up to date.