FDN124: Managing Barriers and Changes in General Motors Organisation

This essay examines the organisational barriers faced by General Motors (GM), focusing on impediments to information flow, such as outdated policies, hierarchical structures, and resistance to innovation. It argues that these barriers hinder productivity and negatively impact stakeholders. The essay proposes effective changes using change management models like Lewin's three-step model and Kotter's eight-step model to overcome resistance and implement new technologies and strategies. It emphasizes the importance of employee training, communication, and strategic planning to foster a more innovative and adaptable organisational culture within GM, ultimately aiming for improved market position and sustainable development. The essay concludes that addressing these barriers through strategic interventions is crucial for GM to regain momentum in the competitive global arena.

Running head: MANAGING AND ORGANISATION
MANAGING AND ORGANISATION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Topic: Organisational barriers and effective changes of General Motors
Introduction
Organisational barriers signify the impediment to the
flow of information that impacts over the employee's
performance and liable for commercial failure. The
major organisational barriers are rules and policies,
hierarchical positions, organisational facilities, and
complex organisational structures. These are the
situational and structural barriers of organisation and
these situations are imparted as the valid understanding
that organisational must enlist with their content so that
better market position will be gained them. These
problems mitigate the rate of production and also work
over these problems that influence a wrong directive in
business. The barriers can be perceptual, which is quite
relevant in this globalised world where different
perceptions are coming from different employees. The
barriers may be emotional and through the emotional
barriers, the fear and mistrust will occur in the
workplace. The language barrier and cultural barrier are
also important in that case to understand the situations
faced by a particular organisation and also need to know
the possible understanding they trying to deliver. In this
essay, General Motors Company has been chosen for

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this essay. General Motor (GM) is an American
multinational company, who manufactures trucks and
cars and sell more than 30 countries (Gm.com, 2018).
The barrier face of the company is the concern matter of
this.
Thesis statement
The thesis statement of this essay is to understand the
barriers of the company and applied effective changes
within the company so that organisation gets effective
chances to reduce their problem situation. Managers will
take effective initiative or strategies to overcome those
situations and this is the main thesis aspect to be
evaluated.
Barriers to the organisation
The major barrier that GM has faced in recent time that
their innovativeness (Gm.com, 2018). Due to some
external and internal factors, some of the activities and
changes are restricted. Lots of experienced employees
and managers are there and they have not updated their
thoughts and due to that reason company is lacking
behind in case of competitive advantages. Old
employees and managers are not providing their positive
feedback for this change as they will not accustom with
the modern technology and innovation (Khan & Hashim,
2014). Organisational productivity will hamper this

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unchanged situation of the organisation that impacted on
the existing stakeholders. Change in structural, policies,
material, social and cultural aspects are needed for the
better development and technology (Gm.com, 2018).
This is important for the organisation challenges for the
companies as well as employees. There are some
reasons for barriers that needed to evaluate the situation
of GM (Gm.com, 2018). The first barrier for this
situation is awareness and knowledge of employees and
employees do not want that change as they do not have
enough knowledge or training about the new technology
(Lozano, 2013). Motivation may work as another barrier
and employees doing the unnatural behaviour as some
leaders are against this change so their followers also do
not want the change.
Skill is an important aspect for the employee as they
need the skill to operate the technologies and that is the
reason most of the individual skill makings are
strengthen their case (Khan & Hashim, 2014). GM needs
to implement some good strategy so that effective
technological and structural process needs to be
implemented (Bolden, 2016). The perceptual barrier will
come in that case and that will impact on the

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organisational stagnant situation.
Different resistance has come in this situation and
through this process, analysis can be evaluated.
Selecting people who need change is important for GM,
as they will consider the positive alteration of the
organisation. On the other hand, education and level of
communication of those employees are good and they
can adopt themselves with the new changes that help
this organisation to move further (Flottorp et al., 2013).
So another barrier that comes on that occasion is the
execution of planning and employees’ resistance to the
new changes is the occasion of this section.
Effective changes in General
Motors
Organisational change management is the first
implemented change that managers want to impose. In
any organisation underpinning a new technology or
strategy not quite effective in all the case. It requires
better strategic planning to introduce those strategies.
The way change management models have been used is
the best way to implement the process and through the
intervention process global establishment will sustain
(Cresswell & Sheikh, 2013). The same situation
persisted in case of GM, as the most delivering
Chevrolet cars are not making their ground in some of

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the countries and transformational endeavour has
finished from the company (Khan & Hashim, 2014).
Lewin’s three steps change model is important at that
stage. The situation GM is in is the unfreeze situation,
where employees and some of the leaders are against the
change and they are quite happy with the old
technological situation to deliver the amount of product
persuade earlier also. The movement or change has
come when the management has decided to implement
the change strategy (West, 2012). Through this change
strategy, they can implement some of the new policies,
some technological development, some ideas, and some
trade regulations as well. This is the freeze situation of
the company when earlier thoughts and process are
nullified and new consequences are delivered. The last
section is refreezing and through this section, all
changing situation is considered as permanent and the
situation also balances the position of driving force and
restraining force. The refreeze positions are delivering
the same situation that evaluates the freeze situation.
Kotter’s eight steps model is also important in that
case and through these steps adopted changes are
planned. At the first stage sense of changing urgency is

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required and this urgency is needed by the management
in case of GM company (Fowler, 2013). Then the
company require enough power and potential to lead the
change. There are some simultaneous obstructions come
to fulfil the achievements but with the proper planning,
leading enforcement has provided. Set of the new vision
and achieving strategies are important in that case and
through this change new vision achieved (Hollnagel,
2016). The fourth stage considers the communication
and through the visual communication factors the
process enhances the meaning and nature of the study.
Generating some acts or revised policies that empower
the vision statement and mitigate all the barriers. The
organisation needs to plan for the short term reward
movement, which signifies they are setting their target
for the short-term goals and whenever they will get the
success they have been rewarded by the management
(Le Fevre, 2014). Continuous adjustment of improving
the new program is the seventh stage of the model and
through this model, a path of improvement has
practised. The last stage of the model highlights the
reinforcement in the organisational behaviour. Through
the behaviour change, the good relationship has

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maintained in this aspect.
These are the strategies that GM wants for the
development of the organisation and to provide a better
solution.
Overcome the situation by
managers
There are various types of physical barriers present in an
organisation, especially in an organisation where too
many people work together in a common area. To
trounce the physical barriers in an organization the first
thing should be done is to check out for the things which
make the obstacles in the way, the experts can be
involved in this process for overcoming the physical
barriers as sometimes it becomes difficult to handle
these associations (Carter et al., 2013).
Some of the situations like starting from the top of the
top, where the entire communication process has been
started. In other words, the recognizing limit of planning
is another aspect that managers have to do and through
the managers, the limit of strategic planning has been
set. Communication is another aspect that needs to
indulge in the situation and through the communication
big problem can be solved. The participation process
needs to be done in an effective manner so that
commitment level needs to be managing in a right form.

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The updated form and long-range planning are other
criteria that revision planning is required. Contingency
planning is another aspect that required for overcoming
the situation. Training is another aspect and employees
need that training for making that process in a swift
way. If they improve their training then the better result
can be expected by them. Through the training process,
better chances can be got to develop the production.
There are multiple sources of information and through
the information, extra knowledge can be attained and
this critical understanding highlights the basic planning
of operation process that GM has done.
Conclusion
Therefore it can be concluded that General Motors may
have faced some challenges and through this process
lack their momentum in a decreased from. The
situations are not favourable in midst of competitive
global arena. There are some barriers that need to be
mitigated by the managers. The improved training and
development procedure is important for the better
market position of the company. Improved structure and
common form of innovative acceleration are important
for the development of organisation and GM managers
implement the change for the organisation as well.

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