You are an external change-management consultant.  You have been contracted by Fast Track Courier Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based courier company in urgent need of increasing its market share and profitability. In order to satisfy that need, important changes must be made to the way Fast Tract conducts its business. Undoubtedly the changes will affect key segments of Fast Track’s workforce. Your job is to figure out how to implement the necessary changes in a way that will have the most positive impact possible on the morale of the workforce.

Currently, Fair Track is stuck at a 5% market share in Sydney.   Management believes that unless market share can be increased to at least 7.5% over the next financial year, the company may be in danger of closing.   Steps were taken the previous us year to streamline package deliveries in order to lessen the time taken to deliver and thus increase productivity. Specifically, a new and integrated GPSIPDA system was introduced to the drivers, with the data collated and managed by the employees in Head Office.

 

The objective was

(1) to lessen the potential for drivers to lose their way, hence the GPS; and

(2) to gain a better understanding of the average time taken to deliver packages, hence the PDA.

You ask the General Manager how this previous procedural and technological change was welcomed. The General Manager explains to you that there was no problem in the Home Office about the extra work entailed with collating and managing the data.  The Horne Office staff is a group of very friendly ladies who have worked together as a close-knit team for the past 15 years. They identify strongly with the company and have always proved welcoming and Adaptable to change.

The drivers, however, are another matter, the General Manager continues. Unfortunately the General Manager, due to his pressing workload and travel, had only had a few occasions during the year to meet with the drivers as a group.  Most directives to them came by way of email. The drivers are always averse to change. They like things ‘just the way they are’. Moreover, they are highly unionized and quick to threaten strikes and other industrial action any time substantial changes are proposed.    They bitterly resisted the introduction particularly of the PDAs, as they thought it was a management plot to ambush them if they stopped the truck for a coffee.   Eventually the new technology was adopted, but a great deal of dissatisfaction still simmers in the ranks of the drivers.

Now that the technology is installed, the General Manager wishes to proceed worth even more controversial changes in order to achieve the prized goal of an increase to 7.5% market share. For years, two drivers have manned one Fast Track truck, mainly so that both could do the

Lifting of packages together during collection and delivery.   The drivers have been very happy with this ‘buddy’ system and many of the drivers have operated the same truck, as a team, for years.  However, this buddy-system has resulted in the wage level for operating a Fast Track Truck being at least twice that of competitor-couriers’ trucks.  Additionally, despite the presence of two men, incidents of back injury due to heavy lifting has been  higher than the national average for the industry, resulting in expensive workers-compensation claims and high numbers of sick days – also contributing to low overall productivity by Fast Track when compared with competitors.

Hence the General Manager now wishes to install, on the back of each truck, at a cost of $10,000 per truck, a lift-gate capable of elevating any number of packages, light or heavy, from the street level to the cavity of the truck. An immediate result of this will be that only one driver Will be required to operate one truck, thus bringing the wages-to-truck ratio down to industry standards. The company intends to purchase 8 new trucks for the 8 drivers made redundant by the installation of the lift-gates.   The General Manager also anticipates that the incidence of injuries will decrease dramatically.

Will be required to operate one truck, thus bringing the wages-to-truck ratio down to industry standards. The company intends to purchase 8 new trucks for the 8 drivers made redundant by the installation of the lift-gates.   The General Manager also anticipates that the incidence of injuries will decrease dramatically.

YOU’RE REPORT

Assemble your report by answering the following questions:

1)    As a result of your analysis of the Precis above:

(a)  Describe any external threat(s) (i.e., from the market) to the continued existence of Fast Track as an operating concern;

(b) Identify, in detail, management’s strategic goats for 2017 in response to such threat(s);

(c)  Explain, in detail, management’s tactical goals for 2017, designed to achieve the strategic goals;

(d) Define, in detail, which issues call for the development of a change management plan;

(e) Identify, with precision, all stakeholders within the organization affected by the proposed changes, and explain  why they are stakeholders;

With reference to (d) and (e) above, make mention of whether the change­ management plan and the obstacle focus primarily on (i) people’s attitudes,(ii) technological changes ,and/or (iii) staff structure (as on an organizational chart).

(f) Describe, in detail, obstacles to change that pose threats to the success of the plan. Demonstrate the severity of each obstacle by locating it on a Risk Analysis Matrix:

2) Develop a strategy for a public presentation regarding the changes; with a view to winning-over the support of the affected staff (achieve ‘buy-in’).

(a) Demonstrate how a cost-benefit analysis can demonstrate that a $10,000 lift-gate could end up saving the life of the company, when compared to the cost of workers-compensation claims and a high incidence of sick days.

(b) Prepare a presentation for the affected staff. The object of the presentation will be to win their support (their ‘buy-in’) for the changes you have identified that must be made.

(i)  In the case of each change, prepare a PowerPoint slide which describes in detail how the change actually will better satisfy the staff’s needs and wants;Develop a strategy for a public presentation regarding the changes, with a view to winning-over the support of the affected staff (achieve ‘buy-in’).

 

(a)Demonstrate how a cost-benefit analysis can demonstrate that a $10,000 lift-gate could end up saving the life of the company, when compared to the cost of workers-compensation claims and a high incidence of sick days.

(b)Prepare a presentation for the affected staff.  The object of the presentation will be to win their support (their ‘ buy-in’) for the changes you have identified that must be made.

(i)In the case of each change, prepare a PowerPoint slide which describes in detail how the change actually will better satisfy the staff’s needs and wants;

(ii)On each such slide, describe one tactic you will use to elicit positive recommendations from the staff audience;

(iii)On each such slide, imagine one argument you anticipate from the audience that would threaten the success of the change, and describe in detail how you will overcome that argument

(iii)Prepare a list of resources you will require to stage the presentation.

3)Write an explanation of Kurt Levin’s Change Model.  Describe in detail what steps you must take to ensure that the changes you are championing are indeed finally embedded in Fast Track’s organizational behavior.

4)Return to the case study and examine it once again for areas in which communication can be improved within the organization. Write proposals of how to improve any shortcomings you detect.

5)Describe briefly which stakeholders you would support for approval to precede with your overall change-management strategy.

6)Imagine that you have returned to Fast Track after 6 months. How would you measure the effectiveness of the change? How would you determine the extent of its success or failure?

Please CHAT WITH LIVE Assignment Advisor to know more about Referencing styles and Citations.

Chat with our 24 x 7 Online Agents CLICK CHAT NOW

Ask Your Assignment Question?
Check out our Assignment Help Services
Find Your Assignment Experts