Characteristics Of The Office Move As A Change Situation Essay Samples

Introduction

Change is an inevitable occurrence in a workplace or office. Changes may be brought about because of instances such as cost efficiency, the desire to stay up-to-date, or the implementation of the strategic programs mandated by government or made by the company. According to Finn and Nayab (2012) the following are the reasons behind changes made in a company: (1) changing of the nature of the business; (2) downsizing; (3) new work methods; (4) new management methods; (5) quality management;(6) mergers and acquisitions; (7) finance related issues; (8) buy-outs; (9) and statutory and legal compliance. The abovementioned reasons were the most common causes of changes in the company.
For the KI Company, the main cause of changing and restructuring their office is the new work methods and the changing of the nature of the business. Since the science journals they produce are read by few people, having a separate set of Editor-in-Chief, Copy Editors and Writers will be costly. In this regard, the company has decided to make the office space efficient, which means that there are departments that have to be consolidated.
The new work method is another innovative way of doing business. It includes telecommuting and virtual meetings. The hassle of going to the office will be minimized and will not make the office crowded, making it possible to have smaller office.
This paper will provide the assessment and critical evaluation of the restructuring of the office, its movement, and of home working.

One of the models of office move is the end to end model. This is used to identify the needs of the client or customers through segmentation. This model works with lean principles, which include the following five principles : customer value, which means delivering value to the customer; value stream, which means identifying the steps that do not provide value to the customers and eliminating them; flow, which means that the flow of work should be smooth and without disturbance; pull, which is the demand of the customers (a service or product is only done when it is demanded by the customers so that there will no wasted effort and money); and perfection, which involves continuously improving the services rendered (Planksy Regelman, Ellis and Silva. 2015, PDF, file). A further explanation of the end to end model is a restructure from the front to end office; fixed income from earnings; local versus international; business unit operations versus shared services and corporate functions; and information technology (Plansky, et al. 2015, PDF. file). By definition, the end to end design or model of restructuring makes a balance on the supply and demand (Plansky et al. 2015,PDF. file). End to end design is appropriate for attaining workload balance. This is in order to determine the change in the function of the individual in the company, enabling the company’s and the clients’ needs to be met (Plansky et al. 2015, PDF. file). This model will help benefit the company because it aids in identifying the things needed for the company’s progression, such as improvement and the installation of technology, if needed. It simply helps wipe out the services that no longer fit the needs of the clients. It also maintains a service and handles it in the most cost-effective way (Planksky et al. 2015, PDF. file).
The characteristic of this model is that it follows the need of the clients. For KI, the demand of the specialist journal is not that much; hence, they decided to consolidate the department of science journal. The end to end model can be used to reduce the cost of restructuring the office. They tried to eliminate the unnecessary things that will impede their progress. Another characteristic of this model is to drive improvements and to use information technology efficiently. According to Planksky et al. (2015, p.5), lean principles help save the company from 10 to 30 percent by downsizing the number of people in the company. With a smaller staff, centers of excellence or COEs will be established easily. A smaller number of staff members is manageable; thus, underutilized facilities should be upgraded or removed in order to efficiently provide services to the clients (Planksky et al. 2015, PDF. file).
The introduction of virtual meetings and telecommuting for other employees is another new way of saving office space. As long as the working environment enables the staff to provide services for the client then it is acceptable.

Leadership Skills That Contribute to Change Management

The leadership skills of the manager or the leader who proposes the change in management is crucial to the change in management. For KI, one department was merged with another department, which means having to increase the staff’s workload and downsizing the people in the department. This will come as a surprise and will cause problems for those who are laid off.
In this regard, the manager or leader must have the skills in curbing the problems, which will arise from change management. The following leadership skills contribute to the change management, which will be implemented in a company: (1) driving and managing change; (2) identifying and developing future talent; (3) fostering creativity and innovation; (4) coaching and developing others; and (5) executing organizational strategy (Adenle 2012). As a leader, one should be able to drive and manage change in the sense that they are able to foresee the good things that will come out of the change (Adenle 2012). Since downsizing the number of employees in KI is one of their answers in the reduction of readers, leaders should be able to develop employees who are given the task of those who were laid off from the company. The leader should be able to mold the employees to do what the others can do (Adenle 2012). A leader should foster innovation in the company and for KI, they see telecommuting as a way of helping to execute the plans of change in the company. A leader should know how to let his employees understand that this is a part of change and will help in making the company leaner for the future (Adenle 2012).
These skills will lead to better results when compounded with the following key factors for change and may help curtail the resistance among the employees. These factors may be best remembered in the form of an acronym: U is for the understanding of employees on what and why they are doing the change; S is for skills that a leader should have in executing the change; E is for removing impediments in the environment to ensure the successful implementation of the change; and M is for the motivation of people to help in achieving the change with the help of the leader (Anon., 2015). The skills mentioned are needed to properly execute the change management process.

Ethical Considerations

There are things to consider in relocating an office. One ethical consideration is the cost issues. When an office is relocated, the cost of living in the place should be considered (Henricks 2015). The cost of living in each place varies. If the former location of your office is located in a place where our employees can still manage to save money and then the new location of the office has a higher cost of living, then it will be a problem for some of the employees.
Henricks (2015) added that it is not only the cost of living that is an issue to employees; even the location itself poses a problem. To get closer to the target market, some companies may compromise the facility of the office (Henricks 2015). For KI, they chose to relocate in a place where other publishing companies are located as well. This could be the reason that they transferred in that place -- because it might get them closer to their market.
Another ethical issue that should be considered is the safety of the place. The things employees look for in a new environment are recreational places, education facilities, health care, and low crime rates. Deteriorating places will not be motivating for employees (Henricks 2015).
If an employee is given the opportunity to be a telecommuter, the things that must be considered are the honesty and productivity of the employee outside the physical office (Pixel and Company 2011). Honesty has two types in a virtual office: honesty in the finished product and honesty in the employee-employer relationship (Pixel and Company 2011). Even if there is no one to monitor how they work, they should always keep in mind that they are being properly compensated and that doing their work with all honesty should be done as well. In KI, making sure that the writers have produced an original article or journal is an important indicator of their honesty, both in their work and to their employers. Being productive while not in the physical office is quite difficult to do (Pixel and Company 2011). Without the physical environment or the office ambiance, it will be hard to maintain an office state of mind. Unlike when one is in the office, there are many available distractions when one is at home.
Another issue is the maintenance of communication (Pixel and Company 2011). It is hard to communicate in virtual offices, especially when the employee does not have enough knowledge on how to keep in touch with their employers. Unlike in the physical office where managers can just call their employees to their office, employees in virtual offices are not always available. Managers would have to wait for them to become available online.
Another ethical issue is fairness. According to Guy (1990, p.56), this means being fair in choosing who should be relocated among the employees. KI cannot just make a decision that 300 employees should be working at home without any basis at all. Guy (1990, p.56) explained as well that respect and care for the employees should be contemplated. Respect in terms of how the management respects the employees with regards to their life situations -- whether it will just add stress to the employee or not. Care is shown when the employer recognizes the burden that the additional tasks -- that result from downsizing -- will give the employee

Impact of Flexible Working on the Behaviour and Culture of KI

Flexible working time has numerous effects on the behaviour and culture of the employees. An open workplace environment improves corporate culture (Lang. 2015, PDF. file). According to the study by Lang (2015) it improves morale and equity among staff. Since around 300 employees will be telecommuters, there is a possibility that even Editors-in Chief will be working at home. This gives a sense of equality to the other employees.
Another impact of work from home is lessening the misconduct among employees. The employees have less contact to influences in the physical office (Lang. 2015, PDF. file). In the study by Khan, Khan, Shakeel and Khan (2015), having flexible work has positive effects on the employees. Flexible scheduling reduces the stress related to work and work-family conflicts, since employees can handle their own work time (Khan et al. 2015, PDF. file). This helps the employee develop a positive outlook towards work.
In a study conducted by Scandura and Lankau (1997), it was found that women perceived flexible working hours positively and that it resulted in a higher level of organizational commitment and job satisfaction, especially on those who have a family. This is another good effect of flexible working time. The company allowed working women to be with their family while doing their work. For KI, it would be advantageous for them that their workers for telecommuting experience this as this will enable them to attain a higher organizational commitment.
In the study of Richman, Johnson and Noble (2011), having flexible working hours increases employee satisfaction as well as employee engagement and commitment to the company. Employees who enjoy flexible working hours are most likely to develop positive attitudes about the company.
Another impact of flexible working is reducing the negative spillover (Boston College 2015). According to the definition provided by Boston College (2015), spillover is the carrying over of the attitudes and behaviour from one role to another. Negative spillover is when the employees’ stress is carried to their home. This may result in mothers not being able to perform their duties because they are preoccupied. This may also adversely affect one’s productivity in the workplace, especially if they are burned out (Boston College 2015).
However, according to the Herman Miller Insights Group (2015), corporate culture also shapes the impact of flexible working for the employees. If the employees feel that the company supports them, it will make them feel comfortable working at home without managers hanging around. It is important to them that the company shows support for their work-life balance, which is the goal for flexible working.

Recommendation for KI

It is recommended that the company follow through with their plan of consolidating the science department.This way, they will probably be more efficient. It is also a good idea for them to relocate to where other publishing houses are situated as this will allow the company to closely monitor the flow of the demand in the market. It will also enable them to forecast the effort and work they provide clients.
Making such a big change also requires the managers or leader to keep in mind that they would need the proper skills to manage such a change and its potential effects on the company and its employees. As such, undergoing training may be helpful for them. Finally, they should take into consideration the number of workers who will be working in virtual offices. There should be a basis or criteria for choosing who will be allowed to work at home.

References

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