Describe how the turnaround team may have used Gerard and Turfs’ transformation skills to overcome the frustration of employees
According to Gerard and Turf, transformation comes about when a collaborative culture emerges based on shared meaning and mutual understanding of thoughts and feelings (Palmer, 2009). The turnaround team at Tyco Corporation worked to bring about understanding to all employees on what the management team was doing. They had to explain in detail and to make the vision of the new management team very vivid and clear so that the employees would feel like part of a team.
This would also make them feel that they shared the same values and goals with the management, and their effort to deliver the best for the sake of the corporation was not being taken for granted. Good communication with the employees, which includes not only passing information but also listening to them, lead to a new collective understanding (Kanter, Stein, & Jick, 1992).
By emphasizing these key areas, they were able to make the employees feel like part of the vision bearers of the corporation and would feel appreciated and readily cooperate with the management. Making someone feel appreciated is a key motivating factor and helps to avoid incidences of having a frustrated workforce. This approach is similar to Gerard and Turfs’ transformation skills.
Tyco used vignettes to communicate changes in ethical behavior. Write a vignette that could be used by Tyco to assist in overcoming the cultural change barriers that companies like Tyco faced. What international issues might need to be taken into account in writing these vignettes?
One of the most important assets that we have as a corporation is our diverse backgrounds. We come from different corners of the world, and we live completely different lifestyles. Those of us from the United States probably will have a pizza for dinner, while our brothers from Japan would already have taken sushi for the same dinner, but several hours earlier. When some of us in the south go to work in frozen winter, others in the Middle East will have to endure some scorching sun. These are just but a few examples of how diverse we are as a corporation.
Our diversity is what makes us. We may be different, but without a single one of us, we are not complete. It is like the different fruits put together to form a pudding, or different vegetables constituting a salad. More clearly, we are like the different ingredients that make a cake! Without yeast, (never mind it is just a spoonful in whole dough), it is not a cake. The small ingredients used are as important as the rest in forming the final product.
We should be able to embrace each other despite our differences. We should be able to see ourselves as a whole part of Tyco Corporation. We are the ones to implement change and we are the change that we want to see in this corporation. If anyone does not play his part well, he or she is the one who holds us from moving to the next step. We should avoid the donkey mentality- so stubborn that it cannot change its point of view. If we embrace change, we will soon be like this nicely baked cake, which is one big item, yet we know it is made up of many minute ingredients. This is how we want to be.
Using Ford and Ford’s four types of change conversations, describe how Tyco would go through the process of communicating change to its staff
To communicate the change to its staff, Tyco Corporation would need to ensure that the staff is empowered appropriately. This makes it possible to integrate initiative conversations into the whole workforce. Empowered people tend to feel that it’s their responsibility to adopt and implement change that is proposed or introduced.
Secondly, the corporation would need to ensure that there is a common language that is understandable by all the staff, in order to ensure understanding. The absence of a shared language would lead to a breakdown of conversations for understanding (Ford & Ford, 1995). A common language can be ensured by interpreting all forms of communication into the local or native language of each location where the corporation has a branch.
To ensure maximum performance, conversations for performance would need to be established. The communication should be thorough and careful, to ensure that the intended message of change is received and comprehended comprehensively. There should be no case where the intended message is watered down or not delivered effectively. This would finally be followed by conversations for closure.
Imagine that you were CEO of Tyco when the former CEO was still on trial for fraud. You are trying to rebuild the company’s corporate reputation. Write a script for your address to the shareholders after 18 months in the position. Pay attention to the appropriate use of metaphors in your “change conversation” to this group
The last eighteen months have been a period of the baptism of fire for this corporation. We have seen some of our best and our worst moments. We have been forced to implement some very radical changes in the entire company from the smallest branch to the largest, in each country where we are present.
We have successfully managed to roll out training that will promote a paradigm shift from the bent mentality that was prevalent in our employees, to create a new, changed mindset and bring about new motivation. So far, our efforts are bearing fruit. The employees are motivated and our products are still top-rated in the world. Our partners have developed confidence in us and our rating is gradually improving.
We have written down an ethical guide which is a blueprint for our recovery. This corporation is founded on some very strict ethical standards. Regular auditing will is also being carried out on a regular basis. It is the responsibility of our staff to implement and uphold these moral standards, which are a major supporting ligament for any institution. This will ensure that there is no abuse of resources and the level of productivity is maintained to the maximum.
Our corporation is not yet completely out of the woods, but no doubt, we have made some great stride which has left both our friends and foes dumbstruck. We can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel, and in a short while, we will be where we want to be. This is not a dream, but a reality that is unfolding slowly day by day. The changes we have implemented will ensure that the corporation gains and are rejuvenated every day.
What issues emerge in this case in terms of communicating change with the outside world?
Communicating change with the outside world is really a daunting task. We have to ensure that people get to see and understand not only our point of view but also appreciate and like our way of thinking. Communicating change with the outside brings about the problem of a language barrier, culture, and different levels of understanding among people. The number of people who appreciate what is doing is so low; hence people tend to dwell on assumptions and fallacies which may not be true. This makes it a big challenge for any corporation or institution to rebrand easily without spending an enormous budget in the process.
It is also evident that the average person.
References
Ford J.D. and Ford L.W. (1995)|. The Role of Conversation in Producing Intentional Change organizations. Academy of Management Review, 20, 541-561.
Kanter, R. M., Stein, B. A., & Jick, T. D. (1992). The Challenge of organizational change: how companies experience it and leaders guide it. New York: Free Press.
Palmer, D. (2009). Managing Organizational Change. New York: Free Press.