Introduction
Change and innovation are crucial aspects of management in any organization. Worley Parson’s management seeks to create improvements in its operations to allow change and innovation to have a positive impact. The firm’s management seeks to include all stakeholders in this vision to ensure that the company’s work systems improve.
Therefore, it is necessary for the management to consult workers and make them prepared of changes which they will face while working in the organization (Thomke 2003, p. 45).
They need to encourage workers to be more open to changes in operations to make their work environments conducive for various innovative practices. This will make them resilient and open minded to different situation at the work place. This paper will make recommendations on how Worley Parsons Company needs to initiate change management and innovative practices.
Worley Parsons’ management needs to make all employees understand that change and innovation have a positive role to play in the organization. There are various external and internal factors which drive an organization to change its processes to make it more competitive in the market.
The firm’s managers need to take an active role in preparing their organizations for change to create a culture of continuous learning in the organization (Thomke 2003, p. 49). They need to act as change agents to encourage employees to improve internal work procedures which have a direct contribution to performance and growth.
Worley Parsons’ managers need to understand external and internal forces, which require the organization to change and innovate its operations. These forces determine the direction which the firm moves and the manner it is likely to operate in the market.
External Forces
External forces such as changes in customer needs and expectations, increase in competition, availability of new technology and changes in industry outlook, influence change and innovation. Worley Parsons needs to make its employees aware of these external forces to ensure they learn how to deal with them when they occur.
Changes in customer needs and expectations require the organization to improve the quality of its products to make them satisfy customers’ preferences and needs (Mosey 2005, p. 115). The introduction of innovative processes will enable the company to improve the design and quality of its products to strengthen their reputation in the market.
Worley Parsons needs to encourage constant learning in the organization to make employees have better attitudes to work. It is necessary for the firm to create a conducive work environment which encourages employees to use their creative instincts to achieve positive work outcomes.
Technology has a crucial effect on the organization. Therefore, Worley Parsons needs to implement changes in its policies to make various organizational processes benefit from technological improvements. Effective training needs to be done to all employees to make them acquire strong technological skills to make them more effective in their duties.
Worley Parsons needs to have a strong team of employees who constantly assess technology needs in the organization and how these needs can be addressed. In essence, technologies chosen need to be appropriate for functions which are performed in the firm to ensure they contribute positively to the process of innovation.
Any increase in competition in the market compels a firm to initiate appropriate changes in its operations to strengthen its market position (Mosey 2005, p. 119). Therefore, managers of Worley Parsons need to make their employees more skilled to enable them contribute new ideas to help the organization maintain its competitive edge in the market.
Internal Forces
There are several internal forces which require a firm to change the way it operates to enable it move effectively into a new direction. A strategic shift in Worley Parsons’ business objectives may create appropriate conditions for the introduction of changes the firm’s operations.
Workers need to be informed on the importance of this change in strategy and how this affects their relationship to the organization. Workers need to be assured that a strategic shift in organizational objectives will not threaten their status to make them more committed (Mosey 2005, p.122).
This will make them improve their contribution to various work processes, which will help the firm to benefit from innovative practices. Worley Parson’s workers need to be assured that the firm takes their interests seriously to enable them share its vision. This will motivate them to work harder to achieve positive results.
Other internal forces which may compel an organization to introduce change include workers’ attitudes, introduction of new equipment and changes in work processes. Worley Parsons’ management needs to implement effective strategies that encourage workers to embrace organizational changes, which are caused by these factors.
Workers may have negative attitudes towards work due to poor job design or weak relationships with their superiors. This in turn impacts negatively on their ability to perform (Davila, Epstein Shelton 2006, p. 78). Therefore, workers should be made aware of any changes in equipment and work processes to make them perform their roles more effectively. This approach stimulates their creativity to come up with new concepts, which makes it possible for the organization to develop new products and services.
Streamlining Operations
The firm needs to have a clear policy which addresses the way change and innovation concepts are related to its overall objectives. Worley Parsons’ management needs to manage expectations of their employees effectively to ensure change initiatives which are introduced have the desired impact.
All costs which are associated with the change proposed need to be evaluated to estimate returns which the organization stands to gain. Worley Parsons needs to put in place appropriate mechanisms which measure how changes and innovations in the firm add value to its operations.
The management needs to evaluate how innovations in the firm’s internal and external functions will contribute positively to its growth in the market (Davila, Epstein Shelton 2006, p. 82). This evaluation will help managers to allocate resources to satisfy priority needs in the organization.
Worley Parsons’ managers need to assess ideas which are generated by creative thinking processes in the organization. All innovative processes which are proposed in the organization need to be evaluated for their value proposition and competitive advantage before they are effected. Worley Parsons also needs to encourage employees to collaborate to develop plans on how concepts, which are developed internally can be applied to the market.
This will make it easy for the organization to develop products which add value to customers in the market (Davila, Epstein Shelton 2006, p. 87). This approach will enable the business firm to invest in development of products which are viable in the market to ensure efficient utilization of resources.
References
Davila, T, Epstein, MJ & Shelton, R 2006, Making innovation work: how to manage it, measure it, and profit from it, Pearson, Upper Saddle River.
Mosey, S 2005, ‘Understanding new-to-market product development in SMEs’, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 114-130.
Thomke, S 2003, Experimentation matters: unlocking the potential of new technologies for innovation, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston.