It is worth noting that the discussed example of sustaining change in Starbucks brings the role of not only the team but also the leadership to the forefront. In order to reduce resistance from the side of employees, managers need to encourage them to participate in different stages of change (Bradutanu, 2015). In Starbucks, it was decided to introduce handcrafted drinks and sample those to customers in order to achieve greater engagement in this process of transformation.
This helped create an atmosphere in which employees became the owners of the situation, although the idea came from the management. This approach also partially transferred responsibility to employees since the team needed to look for reasons for success or failure within their unit.
However, as noted in the discussion, area managers did not participate in the measurement of the success of the new activities, which led to a breakdown in trust. Heads of units are a key element in the success of major transformations since they are directly connected with people who will master the new processes and implement changes in practice (Hunt, 2015). They should support alterations and promote them among the subordinates rather than simply keep track of wastes and perform a regulatory function. At Starbucks, area managers did not help employees comprehend the importance of transformations.
In general, restructuring processes in an organization will be effective if it gains the support of the people it affects. Nevertheless, managers of companies may not be able to give the necessary assistance for implementing planned changes (Wilson, 2015). Therefore, it may be concluded that sustaining change implies the active cooperation of managers and teams. Such an approach will not only draw attention to the need for change but also allow controlling and influencing internal processes at all stages of transformation.
References
Bradutanu, D. (2015). Resistance to change – a new perspective: A textbook for managers who plan to implement a change. Morrisville, NC: Lulu.
Hunt, P. (2015). Business express: Managing resistance to change: Get your team to embrace business change. Harlow, England: Pearson.
Wilson, L. (2015). How to implement lean manufacturing (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Professional.