For organizations to achieve sustainable growth, they must embrace change. Change allows organizations to adopt new cultures and systems. Firms that refuse to adopt change lag behind their competitors. The marketplace is becoming increasingly competitive and this is forcing companies to adopt new approaches. Instead of relying on the methods and approaches of yesterday, firms are developing new techniques and policies as they try to keep up with the changes being witnessed in the marketplace. One of the elements of organizations that is mostly affected by change is culture. Essentially, culture refers to the customs, policies and the traditional practices of an organization. It is advised that organizations must ensure that their culture is dynamic and flexible. This way, the organizations are able to ensure that their culture can evolve and undergo transformation. The question of the need for organizational change is the focus of this paper. The paper focuses on Creative Colors which intends to acquire Art Depot, a firm based in Canada whose culture is fundamentally different from that practiced at Creative Colors.
Norms and values at Art Depot before acquisition
There are certain characteristics that define the culture adopted by an organization that is committed to minimizing the cost of its products and services. Since the main feature of Art Depot’s culture is the focus on low cost, it is reasonable to expect that these characteristics apply to the company’s culture. One of these characteristics is sustainability. Many companies that have adopted a low-cost model strive to ensure that they are sustainable (Lueg,, Pedersen & Clemmensen, 2013). This means that even as they offer their products at low-prices, they must ensure that they are still profitable. Sustainability can be achieved by introducing cost-cutting measures such as having a leaner workforce. The other norm that one would expect to find at the low-cost Art Depot stores is strong relationships between the management and the employees. Low-cost companies recognize that they are at a disadvantage compared to other companies. They must ensure that their low-cost approach does not hurt their profitability. To achieve this, these companies must invest in their employees since the employees hold the key to customer satisfaction (Cuza, 2015). It would therefore be expected that the Art Depot stores attend to the needs of their employees. For instance, it is possible that the company offers its employees competitive remuneration.
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The norms identified above are not the only features that define an organization with a low-cost focus. In addition to these norms, there are some values that these organizations uphold. Innovation is among these values. The low-cost model is being adopted by many companies that wish to offer consumers affordable alternatives. This has intensified competition among these companies. Today, these companies recognize that their focus on low cost is insufficient to drive demand. Now, the companies have turned to innovation (Kumar, 2006). They are offering consumers solutions that cannot be found elsewhere. Given that it has adopted a model that focuses on low cost, it can be expected that the Art Depot stores have embraced innovation. Another value that has been adopted by low-cost companies is efficiency. These companies cannot rely solely on the revenues that they generate from sales. They must combine the low-cost strategy with a focus on efficiency. Efficiency involves cost-minimization and prudent exploitation of resources. By being efficient, the low-cost companies are able to maximize their profits without necessarily needing to increase the cost of their products or services.
Norms and values for encouraging quality
It must be the desire of the owner of Creative Colors to convince Art Depot to adopt the culture that focuses on quality and excellent service. There are various organizational norms and values that would encourage the employees at the Art Depot stores to offer personalized service and create products of high quality. Focus on customer satisfaction is among these norms (Lashley, 2012). The key to personalized service and quality products lies in committing all effort to ensuring that customers are satisfied. Customer satisfaction can be created by adopting friendlier policies and creating an environment that allows customers to feel valued and welcome (Lashley, 2012). The employees working at the Art Depot stores should be reminded that customer satisfaction holds the key to business success.
In addition to focusing on customer satisfaction, the other norm that the Art Depot employees should be encouraged to embrace is commitment to personal wellbeing. It has been shown that employees who feel fulfilled are more likely to offer quality and personalized service (Lashley, 2012). Frustrations and bitterness cause employees to adopt hurtful attitudes that compromise their capacity to deliver personalized and friendly service. To ensure that they are able to attend to all the need of their customers, the Art Depot employees must address any personal issues that could hinder their service delivery. They must also adopt friendlier attitudes and find satisfaction in their job. The Art Depot employees can also be encouraged to offer personalized service and quality products by creating some sense of belonging. It is understood that employees become more committed when they feel valued and are reminded that they matter. As the new owner of Art Depot, Creative Colors must find ways of encouraging the Art Depot employees to become committed. Offering the employees a stake in the company is one of these measures. When they are stakeholders in their companies, employees tend to be more committed since they have a personal stake that they strive to secure.
Creating an enabling culture
In the discussion above, some of the norms and values that the Art Depot employees need to embrace so as to enhance service delivery ad quality have been identified. The adoption of these norms and values will not occur without pressure from some external force. It will become necessary for the owner of Creative Colors to create a culture that encourages the employees to embrace these values and norms. The culture must also create an environment that facilitates the transition from the low-cost strategy that the Art Depot employees are familiar with to the strategy that prioritizes excellent service. This culture will be created by promoting employee participation. Since they will be most affected by the transition to the new strategy, it is important to begin by seeking the input of the employees. Encouraging employees to participate in policy formulation and decision making is known to encourage cooperation and enhance commitment (Lashley, 2012). Therefore, if the owner of Creative Colors truly wishes to create a new culture, he must begin by consulting the Art Depot employees.
Having consulted the Art Depot employees, the owner of Creative Colors now shifts his focus to actually creating the new culture. The new culture will place emphasis on quality service and products. To create this culture, there will be need to share with the employees the benefits that they stand to gain when the new culture comes into force. There are numerous benefits that result from adopting a culture that focuses on excellent service. These benefits include positive company image and enhanced profitability (Brink & Berndt, 2008). These benefits will trickle down to employees who will obtain such rewards as better pay as a result of the enhanced profitability. By opening the eyes of the employees to the gains that they are poised to make, the owner of Creative Colors will be able to win their support and total cooperation.
As he introduces the new culture, the owner of Creative Colors must consider the fundamental building blocks that constitute organizational culture. Values, norms, communication and celebrations are four of the most important elements of organizational culture (Driskill & Brenton, 2010). Values refer to the philosophies that drive an organization’s operations. Norms on the other hand are the established practices and traditions in an organization. As he implements the new culture, the owner of Creative Colors must ensure that the culture is compatible with the established value system and traditions that the Art Depot employees are familiar with. This will go a long way in ensuring that the new culture is adopted smoothly and that a clash between the cultures of the two organizations does not occur. It is also important to ensure that effective and appropriate communication channels are employed to inform the Art Depot employees of the impending change. Overall, provided that the owner of Creative Colors respects and integrates the beliefs, values and communication styles of the Art Depot employees, the introduction of the new culture should go ahead without any hitches.
Challenges and overcoming resistance
Implementing change in any organization is a difficult task. There are many challenges that are encountered as one attempts to introduce a new way of operating. The owner of Creative Colors must be wary of and prepare for these challenges. The first of the challenges is opposition from employees. Resistance from the establishment is one of the forces that impede the successful implementation of change (Cummings & Worley, 2009). As he attempts to introduce a new culture, the owner of Creative Colors should expect some opposition from the employees. The employees may protest that they are being forced to abandon their own traditions and adopt a new culture.
Apart from opposition from the employees, the other challenge that Creative Colors should brace for is prohibitively high costs. The implementation of change is usually costly (Cummings & Worley, 2009). As one implements change, they have to overhaul policies, purchase new equipment and hire new people. If the cost of doing all this is too high, then it is likely that the change will not be implemented at all. To ensure that this does not occur, the owner of Creative Colors must identify cost-effective approaches that will facilitate the culture change. Another challenge that Creative Colors is likely to face lies in the fact that Art Depot is based in Canada. The business environment in Canada is different from that found in the United States. This means that the owner of Creative Colors cannot merely transplant the practices and values that have worked in the United States and apply them to the Art Depot stores in Canada. Suppose that the Canadian market places little value on the quality of service and prioritizes the cost of a product. This means that the new culture which places focus on customer service at the expense of affordability will be counterproductive. The market dynamics in Canada are different and this is a key factor that must be considered.
It has been mentioned that one of the challenges that are likely to be encountered is resistance. This challenge must be addressed if the new culture is to be implemented successfully. There are various measures that can be implemented to ensure that no resistance is encountered and that all stakeholders cooperate. Involving employees in the implementation of change is among these measures (Cummings & Worley, 2009). When employees are involved, they are less likely to resist since they helped to create the change. Encouraging employees to abandon negative attitudes and to think in new ways is another measure that can help to tackle resistance to change (Cummings & Worley, 2009). As he introduces the new culture, the owner of Creative Colors needs to encourage the employees in the implementation process and address any concerns that they raise. This will allow him to earn the full support of the employees.
In conclusion, culture is one of the factors that determine how well an organization performs. The culture that an organization adopts must be aligned to its core mission and should reflect the desire of key stakeholders. Creative Colors wishes to acquire Art Depot. For this acquisition to occur successfully, a culture change must be executed. Creative Colors needs to convince the employees of Art Depot to abandon the culture that they have known for years and adopt new practices and values. This will be a difficult task. However, by consulting employees and addressing concerns, the change of culture and the acquisition will occur smoothly.
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