As an HR manager, of the four models that drive change in an organization, I would have selected the top-down change versus bottom-up model employed at Starbucks. No matter at what stage a change is applied in an organization, if the employees are not working as hard as the leadership team or vice versa, then implementing the change in the organization might be impossible . Starbucks had majorly been built on the value of employee employment, a strategy that is under the employee-centric model ( Savitz & Weber, 2013). Starbucks provides coffee and thus having employees who are friendly, warm and the descent was a primary step for the business. By the beginning of 2008, the employees were failing that it led to the closure of hundreds of their stores and dropping about 67 employees due to lack of sustainability .
The CEO worked with HR by closing their stores for one day in February 2008, for a retraining program of 135,000 employees (Savitz & Weber, 2013). The program was to expound on reasons that made Starbucks a leading coffee provider and how to improve customer relationship. The program also led to the introduction of perfect espresso. Starbucks attained its sustainability because the leadership worked with the HR and employees to find a way forward for the company. Starbucks structural frame is to ensure clear goals, roles and relationships have been established, and its human resource frame is to understand that the employees are a valuable resource of the company. Moreover, its political frame is demonstrated through power where the leaders have to see an improvement made, and its symbolic frame is represented with myths, values, symbols, and vision that leads to growth (Bolman & Deal, 2017). All these frames are a foundation as to why Starbucks is a successful company because change can come from any level, and thus the company uses the top-down change versus bottom-up model. A Starbucks, the CEO or any member of the leadership can make a change from the top, and from the bottom, the HR or any employee can introduce a change as long as it works towards the success of the company.
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The techniques an HR can use to lead and support change include overcoming resistance by continually communicating with employees about the importance of that change until they understand it and engaging employees by giving them roles and responsibilities that work towards that change. Also, implementing the change in steps which include preparing for change, manage the move, and reinforce the change together as an organization (Bolman & Deal, 2017). The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that HR professionals need to be effective as agents of change include knowledge of the organization, knowledge of employment laws, conflict management, HR skill development, credibility, and performance management.
This course is important as it has benefited me academically in discovering the different ways by which leaders influence organization, teams, and organizations. I have learned that being a leader is not about giving instructions about what should be done but rather showing what you want the employee to implement (Younger, Younger, & Thompson, 2011). Moreover, the course has expounded my knowledge on how organizations operate from the implementation of an idea to the developing a product. Professionally, I have learned the importance of communication in any business, and employees are an important part of a company (Bolman, & Deal, 2003).
My current frame which majorly focuses on an organization working together impacts my view on the CapraTek scenario which I viewed as entirely a leadership task. My current response is different because currently, I am responding from a perspective that an organization cannot make a change or take responsibility at a single level such as the leadership or employees only. Capra tek underwent a leadership change that was unexpected by the organization (Connor, 2011). It was announced during lunchtime that Mark Cranston, who served as the Plant Manager at CapraTek’s Spartanburg branch was being promoted to be the Plant Manager at the Illinois branch. I thought this was not a professional step because one of the members of the leadership team would have taken the position. However, with my current frame references, a company should work together in identifying the capabilities of employees that when a higher position is vacant, they occupy it (Colville & Millner, 2011). The whole company is responsible for implementing a change, and thus the leaders and employees at the lunch session would have come together to support the hard work of Mark Cranston instead of politicizing it ( Raelin, 2002).
At work, I have experienced a change of the working hours which was made using the Top-down model meaning the leaders implemented it (Sutherland, & Smith, 2011). This change would have worked if the organization had put all hands on deck because employees are the ones who work, and thus changing their working hours without consulting them is not healthy. Some employees have two jobs, and therefore it became hard to balance them. Thus, the organization would have communicated with the employees to have a convenient working period for everyone.
References
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Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley & Sons, 350-393
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. Reframing Ethics and Spirit , 393–406
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. Bringing It All Together: Change and Leadership in Action , 407–429.
Colville, K., & Millner, D. (2011). Embedding performance management: understanding the enablers for change. Strategic HR Review , 10(1), 35-40.
Connor, R. (2011). Changing change management . Strategic HR Review , 10(5).
Raelin, J. A. (2002). I don’t have time to think!” versus the art of reflective practice. Reflections , 4(1), 66-79.
Savitz, A., & Weber, K. (2013). Talent, transformation, and the triple bottom line: How companies can leverage human resources to achieve sustainable growth . John Wiley & Sons, 296-301
Savitz, A., & Weber, K. (2013). Talent, transformation, and the triple bottom line: How to Get Where You Want to Go: Sustainability and Organizational Change . 301–313
Sutherland, F., & Smith, A. C. (2011). Duality theory and the management of the change–stability paradox. Journal of Management & Organization , 17(4), 534-547.
Younger, J., Younger, A., & Thompson, N. (2011). Developing the skills of HR business partnership: consulting and change management. Strategic HR Review , 10(1), 6-14.
