Case Analysis
Since its inception, Scouts Canada enjoyed massive membership as well as support from various institutions. It was among the first organizations to advise people on importance of conserving the environment. It was a vibrant organization which attracted many people especially the youth.
This was depicted by the high number of members who joined throughout the country. Moreover, the organization bragged of having high ethical values which were passed on from generation to generation.
However, the organization dwelled so much on the old methods of operation and was left behind when the wave of change was sweeping through the world. As a result, the membership of the organization started dwindling.
Many people who joined the organization as its members at a young age lost interest mid way and pulled out. Arguably, this was due to programs that were not in the interest of members. Volunteer support which is crucial for the progress of the organization also declined.
The worst scenario occurred when its leaders were accused of sexual abuse. This meant that the organization that was once respected for upholding high discipline among its members lost its glory.
Consequently, to recapture its position in the society and increase its members, Scouts Canada needed to strategize its actions. Some steps had to be taken to salvage the pride of the organization.
Organizational Culture
Among the issues that Scouts Canada considered necessary to change was its organizational culture. It should be noted that success of any organization highly depends on the corporate culture of the organization.
Organizational culture sends a message to the outside world about the organization’s commitment to achieving its vision. For an organization to succeed, all members of the organization must have a common vision which should also be the vision of the organization.
Consequently, all members of the organization should work towards achieving organizational goals and ideas. Similarly, moral as well as ethical code of conduct must be implemented to regulate behavior of the members.
Realizing that organizational culture is important, Scouts Canada decided to make its core visions, values and ideas part of its organizational culture. Each and every member needed to internalize the values of the organization and work towards achieving them.
It should be noted that this approach has several advantages to the organization. To begin with, the organization had been faced with moral issues that tainted its image. Changing organizational culture meant coming up with new moral code of conduct that the members should adhere to.
This will send a message to the public that the organization has changed thus enhancing its public image.
On the same note, the organization had been using the same method of operation over the years. However, needs of the organization were not the same as they had been right after its foundation.
The change in the needs and purposes meant that the visions and ideas of the organization had also changed. This required a change in the organizational culture to achieve them. Most importantly, the environment in which the organization was operating has changed drastically.
Probably, sticking to the old organizational culture in the face of many new changes in the society was the reason why many members withdrew from the organization. As a result, changing the organizational culture was inevitable.
Nevertheless, changing the organizational culture has its own disadvantages for any organization. Firstly, there is a possibility of resistance from some members who do not want changes, especially the old members.
These members have been used to the old mode of operation and they view any change as a threat to their status quo. As a result, they are bound to reject the changes thus distracting smooth running of the organization.
Similarly, it is also possible that the change of organizational culture may send wrong information to the public about the organization being unstable. Instead of the organization enhancing its activities, the change may lead to the opposite effects.
Change of Management Team
It has been depicted that management of Scouts Canada had been for a long time left for the old people. On the same note, management of the organization was involved in a very shameful scandal of sexual abuse.
This negatively portrayed Scouts Canada as far as ethical and moral codes of conduct were concerned. Many people might have advised their children not to join the organization thinking that they would have been taught bad behaviors.
Moreover, since people may consider the management of the organization as a characteristic of its other members’ behavior, there is a high possibility that many people would assume the sexual abuse claims against the management to reflect the behavior of the whole organization.
Change of management was, therefore, an unavoidable step to save the face of the organization.
It should be noted that this step is beneficial in any organization. To begin with, the fact that young people joined the organization and lost interest in it as they grew up sent a message of incompetence among the management team.
There had to be something that the youth did not like in the organization. Additionally, there is no way that the organization will purport to have changed if all the members of management team retain their positions.
Moreover, for an organization that mostly deals with youths, it is important to have young people in management positions. It is important to note that young people are more vibrant and can help in developing new ideas that can propel an organization.
Moreover, since the organization wants to come up with new strategies for its operations in the future, the best idea is to change the management team hiring young energetic people.
Similarly, technological advancements have necessitated the inclusion of young people in management due to their creativity.
Nevertheless, changing the management team may have several drawbacks.
Firstly, there is a possibility of opposition from other managers on whether some of them should be replaced by young employees.
On the same note, there is a possibility of disagreements between the old members and the young members of management. These frictions may affect and even deter some operations of the organization.
Additionally, change in management can reduce the output of the organization because employees may take time to adjust to the new management system. This is due to the fact that new management members may come up with new strategies taking time to be absorbed.
Arguably, change in management should not be regular as this will make members more concerned with the issues of management changes thus reducing their productivity.
Strategic Management
Any change in the external environment should be addressed quickly to avoid negative impacts. Scouts Canada was for a long time stagnant as it could not come up with the decision on the change of their strategic plans. Their operating strategies became obsolete and nothing was done about it.
Consequently, the organization was left behind when other organizations were changing. Its marketing strategies had become redundant with time. As a result, achieving the vision of the organization had become a problem.
Implementing strategic management is crucial because it helps in aligning organizational goals to marketing strategies of a firm. Unless marketing strategies are enhanced, the achievement of organizational goals is a daunting task.
Moreover, strategic management is very crucial in enhancing organizational culture. On the same note, strategic management is crucial in ensuring that an organization responds positively to changes in society which are essential for success of any organization.
However, coming up with new strategies does not guarantee success of a firm. While it is expected that new strategies implemented will be effective, there are still chances that the implemented strategy will fail to work. Moreover, it is not obvious how future events will turn out.
As a result, a strategy designed to be in place for two or three years might be redundant in a year or less. On the same note, implementing strategic changes might be expensive for Scouts Canada. This is due to the fact that it is a non-profit making organization.
Additionally, strategic management processes do not usually give results as quickly as people may want them to. As a result, Scouts Canada may take some time before the benefits of implementing strategic management are realized.
Arguably, members of the organization must support the changes being implemented if they want the process of change to be smooth. Nonetheless, every organization has members who do not accept changes and they may hinder the transformation.