Organizational Change Management at B.R. Richardson Timber Products

This report examines the organizational change management strategies implemented at B.R. Richardson Timber Products Corporation, a timber and lamination company facing issues like low employee morale, poor communication, and outdated systems. The report identifies key problems, including overworking of employees, lack of a Human Resource Management department, and absence of common goals. It discusses various change management approaches, such as Lewin's model, Kotter's theory, and the McKinsey 7S Model, with the latter being deemed most appropriate for analyzing and categorizing information to address the company's challenges. The report highlights the need for scope change, goal setting, and employee commitment, emphasizing the importance of improved communication, updated systems, and a focus on long-term strategic planning to enhance productivity and employee well-being. The study recommends specific actions and strategies to improve the company's performance by implementing changes and new methods in the business.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT AT B.R. RICHARDSON TIMBER
PRODUCTS CORPORATE
[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees]
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]
Author Note
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INTRODUCTION
Organization change management, simply put as OCM, deals with the effects of new changes in
an organization. OCM is an effective way to deal with managing change from both the
organization’s point of view and the individual (Armenakis, 1999). OCM incorporates strategies
that redirect and reclassify the utilization of assets or different modes of operation that
significantly change an organization. It takes the firm into consideration and what requirements
that need to be changed while it may be utilized exclusively to refer to how individuals and
groups are influenced by such transition in the organization.
Many people are resistant to change. Once an individual has adapted to his environment, they are
afraid of making any changes in their life, whether personally or professionally. However,
change is good for a person’s growth and its inevitable encounter that they do not have the power
to change. Some individuals come up with different approaches to dealing with changes. These
approaches have been applied to organizations with the aim of dealing with change, and they
have been proven effective (Waterman, (1980)).A systematic approach to OCM is useful when
change requires individuals in an organization to learn new practices and skills. By setting
expectations, utilizing tools to enhance communication, looking for approaches to diminish
misinformation, stakeholders will probably get tied up with a change at first and remain
committed to the change all through any discomfort related to it.
For a successful change management in an organization, certain strategies must be followed.
They include;
 Having common vision for change
 Strong official authority to communicate the vision
 Techniques of educating employees about how their daily routine will change
 A solid arrangement that will gauge whether the change was a success or not
 Rewards that urges people to take ownership of their roles and obligations
BACKGROUND
B.R. Richardson Timber Products Corporation deals with timber and lamination and is located in
Papoose, Orengo. The employees’ morale reduces which in turn affected their productiveness,
which is dangerous for any business since the productiveness and effectiveness of employees

determine the profit or loss made by a company (Ashkenas, (1995)). A professor by the name
Jack Lawler and some of his students, at a local university, were asked to train employees’ at
B.R. Richardson for the organization’s development.
The company is made up of four branches located in four different geographical locations. It is a
timber factory and is as well involved in lamination works. Their timber purchases are made
from Forest Services and other Orengo companies. Lack of a Human Resource Management
department in the company meant that the employees’ welfare, like benefits, wages, and safety
were not maintained which may have contributed to their loss of morale in work.
Communication between staff was also poor, and senior executives did their work with regard of
how their actions affect other departments (Waddell, (2013)). Employees were overworked, and
those injured were not compensated for them lose nor given a period to rest and heal. There were
also no common goals set that could be achieved by all staff members together.
AIM
This report identifies the issues at B.R. Richardson that may have contributed to productivity
reduction of employees and their morale, how they impacted the organization, interventions for
the organization and what strategies to be used to ensure a successful implementation of
organization development in B.R. Richardson. The report also discussed different approaches
used in organizational change management and what approach was most effective to use in the
B.R. Richardson case and how this approach affected the firm.
SCOPE
The report states the areas that were investigated in the B.R. Richardson case study. Some of the
complaint raised was,
 Overworking of employees
 Poor pay
 Lack of management communication.
Professor Lawler was employees to teach employees, and it was a success.
Issues at B.R. Richardson Timber Products Corporation

Mr. Richard Bowman, the Industrial Relations Manager, contacted professor jack Lawler, after
being referred to him (Sturdy, (2003)). Lawler agreed to train the employees at B.R. Richardson
after a meeting with the organization’s president Mr. Ben Richardson. After conducting a
diagnosis, in his letter to both Richardson and Bowman, Lawler presented them with alternatives
to consider, and once the decision was made, Lawler and two of his students gathered
information, analyze it and present it to Richardson with a solution included. Some of the
problems noted during this diagnosis were;
I. Overtime
Laborers were being overworked over their limits. They were pushed to work for extra hours,
which was disappointing and dissatisfying to employees. The defenseless were more vulnerable
to fatal accidents.
II. Communication
There was no effective communication between the senior executives, and if there were changes
in agendas, information would not have transmitted to all or would have been misinterpreted.
The lower leveled management was also not included in the decision-making of the company.
Lack of communication also resulted to the branches not having same goals and visions thus
making tasks to collaborate with them difficult.
III. Health and safety
The wellbeing and security of employees were some of the issues identified. Laborers working
with backaches and broken body parts were a cause for low morale in employees, hence bringing
down the firm’s reputation.
IV. Systems and structures.
The systems were outdated, under working and hazardous in contrast to their competitors.
Employees complained about the nature of the machines and the desire of administration to give
the best possible equipment. The systems were operated manually and required a lot of
workforce by the laborers which caused harming of employees and at some extent, death. This
cost the firm's money, employees and lives since there was no optimization of resources at B.R.
Richardson.

V. Human resource management department
Lack of a human resource manager to cater for employees welfare lead to the dissatisfaction of
employees, who in turn did not effectively perform their tasks.
VI. Turnover
This was instigated by lack of start and introduction of employees to work design before
directing laborers to the occupation.
VII. Goal setting and strategies
There were no strategies that could be optimized to address long-term profitability. The
organization only concentrated on the daily activities with no sense of direction of what they
want to achieve in future. There were also no goals set for all staff members as a whole to
achieve together. This reduced the development of values within the firm.
VIII. Teamwork and skills
Employees did not work as a team. This decreased the development of organizations goals that
are meant to be achieved by all. Although they were loyal employees with skills to perform jobs
in the firm, lack of protective gears inhibited them from working effectively and efficiently.
There was also a skill gap between the most skilled laborers and those that were not highly
skilled.
Approaches and strategies to managing changes in an organization.
Once an organization identifies problems in its performance, it introduces changes that aim at
rectifying them. There are different approaches used by different firms to ensure the smooth
transition to the changes, and minimize the chances of change resistance by the staff members
(Warkotsch, (1994)). Some of these change management approaches include:
1. Lewin's change management model
This model was designed by Kurt Lewin, a physicist, and social research, in 1950’s. he
comes up with this idea using the changes in which a piece of ice undergoes through.
Three principle stages are followed in this model;

 Unfreeze- this was the first stage, and Lewin believed it involved the preparation of a
change
 Change – this was when the actual change took place, and new happenings are
embarrassed.
 Refreeze – Lewin believed that once the change is accepted and embraced, people
become stable again. The sense of stability is once again maintained, and laborers get
comfortable.
2. Kotter’s change management theory
John P. Kotter came up with this hypothesis. It has eight phases, and each one of them focuses
on key rule related with how people relate and react to change.
These steps are;
 Urgency
 Team building
 Get vision correct
 Effective communication
 Get this moving
 Step by step goal focusing
 Not giving up
 Incorporate change
3. McKinsey 7s Model
McKinsey and company consultants developed this model in 1980.Lawler utilized this approach
while implementing change and training of employees at B.R. Richardson. It is the most
appropriate approach since it allowed Lawler to analyze information he gathered and easily
categorized it appropriately. This approach involves seven steps, i.e.,
 Strategy
These are the activities that were undertaken by the company during change
management. There was no clear plan the guided the firm in addressing a long-term

achievement rather the firm work on a daily basis and achieving short-term basis.
This model helps in strategy making in the company which in turn will give them a
competitive advantage over rivals.
 Structure
This refers to the allocation of duties and responsibilities among staff member to
ensure that all jobs are done efficiently and effectively. This model will ensure that
every worker is allocated tasks according to their skill level.
 Systems
Systems at B.R. Richardson were outdated and manually operated. Changes in these
machines will help the company greatly. It is important for them to invest in quality
equipment.
 Style
At B.R. Richardson, the administration and administration style was exceptionally
involving and legitimate. Regularly supervisors were compelled to fill in around the
firm because of frequent absences of the forefront staff. Leadership was to a great
extent insufficient because of the threatening style that fell from upper management.
 Staff
Auditing the staff of B.R. Richardson's cover plant uncovered that a larger part of the
company was delegated as blue collar versus white collar. The turnover rate was also
high. Employees did not cooperate with groups, which impeded the advancement of
shared values inside the firm.
 Skills
At B.R. Richardson, there were strong abilities inside the organization, for example,
cutting, sticking, also, processing; however, there was numerous skills gap inside the
company. Wellbeing at the firm was at an inadmissible level, given the number of
mishaps including a recent casualty.
 Shared values

This model aims at an understanding of how the organization works and integrates components
necessary for changes. However, should one part of this approach be neglected, the whole
system fails.
ACTIONS NECESSARY
Change main aim is the introduction of new methods and systems in a business or implement
existing strategies and systems to enhance work (Eisenbach, (1999)). These changes may be
triggered by the outside world (external environment) or from within the organization (internal
environment).
Simple strategies that may be followed in resolving organizational change management in B.R.
Richardson include;
a) Scope change
This is the stage where an organization identifies ‘where it is now.' The management should
assess what they do, how they do it, effects of what they do and the results of their actions. They
should identify areas of weakness in their systems and strategies. The management should also
communicate with their employees regarding these changes and how that will affect their day-to-
day activities. Their positive and negative results should also be communicated.
b) Setting goals and visions
In this stage, the management should come up with long-term goals and visions that they hope to
achieve, how they will achieve this goal, the deadline in which these goals should be met and
who will be involved in this journey. They should involve every staff member at B.R.
Richardson while the setting of these visions, by involving them, new ideas may come up, and
the needs of every hierarchical level of management at the firm will be considered and catered
for.
c) Commitment
B.R. Richardson should address the terms and concepts of these changes and who will be
affected by these changes. Strategies set to achieve the set goals and visions should be designed,
processed and also be discussed to everyone. Skills of present employees should be analyzed and

each of the employees placed in their most appropriate section to ensure that their skills are fully
utilized for the benefit of the organization.
d) Implementation
At this stage, the real change is enforced. The skills discovered should be utilized to ensure a
smooth transition into these changes. New ideologies, technologies, and rewards should be
introduced.
e) Sustaining change
Organization should look back, review the success, and determine if strategies followed are good
for the organization or if there changes to be made. It is important to keep a tab on all staff
members to ensure that their wellbeing is catered for and they are happy.
Recommendation
B.R. Richardson is advised to follow the McKinsey 7s Model to monitor its employees and all
staff members. Creating of short and long-term goals will help them optimize the employee’s
potential and skills, which will benefit not only the company but also the employees. It is also
important for the senior executives to come up with strategies that will motivate the employees
in working willing and also increase their morale. This will ensure the productivity of the
company will improve.
Conclusion
Lawler utilized the McKinsey 7s Model while analyzing B.R. Richardson. The seven related
elements comprising of both hard and soft components were considered. B.R. Richardson was
most certainly not working at the ideal level because of irregularities uncovered by the 7S
examination. With Lawler's assistance, B.R. Richardson could start to adjust the inside
components to guarantee they all work together to accomplish shared objectives and qualities.
Change management strategies should be created and should consider the whole picture as much
as reasonably anticipated.

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