MGT300 Case Study: Evaluating Change at HCL Technologies (2019)

This case study analyzes the change intervention implemented at HCL Technologies under the leadership of CEO Vineet Nayar. The analysis explores the reactive nature of the change, driven by declining market share and the need to adapt to evolving industry demands. The internal drivers of change included a lack of employee cooperation and inefficiencies in the decision-making process, while external factors encompassed rising technological advancements and increased competition. The case examines the rationales, objectives, and emergent nature of the change, highlighting the emotional responses of employees and the perspectives underlying the transformation. Furthermore, the analysis evaluates the nature and strength of resistance to change, the interpretation of data regarding the change process, and the overall effectiveness of the intervention. The study concludes with alternative intervention strategies that could be employed to foster future innovation and address organizational challenges, emphasizing the importance of streamlining overhead costs and promoting employee-centric and customer-centric approaches.

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Analysis of the change intervention
The CEO and the other members of the management are responsible for bringing about a change
or an intervention in the organization. Vineet Nayar was appointed as the new CEO of HCL
Technologies in and with his arrival there was a sea change in the overall working of the
organization. The employees were made to realize that in order to function properly, the
organization will have to work for satisfying their employees a great deal and also to give a very
tough competition to the other IT companies. This will ensure that the customers are being able
to get a complete satisfaction.
Proactive change
This change intervention was a reactive change as it was started by CEO Vineet Nayar after he
was appointed and saw that people are not talking about HCL products. Though there were
several changes made in order to meet up to the standards and to cope up with the changing
needs and demands of the organization but they were not able to bring any fruitful results. As a
result of this, the change interventions were undertaken.
The internal and external drivers of the change
The internal factor was the lack of unity and cooperation among the employees and the
executive. It is evident from the article as CEO Nayar says that he wanted to involve in a
horizontal communication with all the employees. Therefore he wanted to make sure that he
employees are being able to speak about their issues and their expectations in a free and frank
manner without feeling any kind of hesitations. This would be helping the senior managers and

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the other members of the management to understand and analyze the issues that are actually
being faced by the employees. In order to get rid of these changes he wanted to build a very
strong and friendly culture so that he can actually build a very friendly and a good culture in the
organization.
The other internal problem was the issue of decision making process. In order to make sure that
the communication is being carried on easily it is essential to develop a two way system of
interaction where employees can actually give their opinion and their feedback. This would help
them so that they can actually carry on the business decision making procedures by taking the
opinions and the advices from all the different employees or the stakeholders Stacey, F.G.,
(James et al. 2015). BOD or the blue ocean droplet is used for the purpose of understanding the
small step by step process that is involved in the process of bringing about the change.
One of the external factors is the rise in the technology about the other scientific methods that
were being used in the other IT firms. The rising competition is one of the major problems that
need to be addressed. As is evident from the article it must be noticed that the customers are not
speaking about the products of their company. It is for this reason that CEO Vineet Nayar
wanted to make sure that they are being able to develop themselves scientifically and make sure
that their products are being liked by all the customers. It is for this reason that the CEO wanted
to improve the current reputation of the industry and also make sure that their customers are
enjoying the same. Therefore one of the significant change was the setting up of the online
platform where the employees could develop a complaint forum where they can immediately
report their complaints whenever they have to say anything. This system was the smart device

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desk that has several purposes. It is not only useful in making the problems easier but also in
making the relationship between the frontline managers and the employees much easier but also
helps in enhancing the communication properly.
The historical and situational factors
The situation was not very good as there was a huge lack of cooperation and understanding
among the employees and the managers (Crainer 2013). Therefore, the CEO realized that the
situation has to be changed. However he wanted to proceed with small steps so that he can
manage the work properly and also take the feedback and the opinions from all the employees
before taking any strong decisions.
The rational and intent and objectives of the change
The rational of the change is that they wanted to bring about sound changes in order to make sure
that the HCL Company is able to move forward in the proper way so that they can give a very
tough competition to all their competitors.
As there is a very tough and rapidly advancing competition in the field of IT services, it is
rational enough to say that this change intervention was needed for meeting both the internal and
the external challenges. The internal challenges were like the lack of proper communication and
decision making process. As a result of this the change intervention was really needed so that
HCL Company can actually pose a major competition to all their competitors (Crainer 2013).
The intent and the objective is also much wise in this case because the company is trying to focus
both on the internal and the external aspect of the organization.

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If the change was planned or emergent
The changes were emergent in nature. This is because it is evident from the article that the CEO
Vineet Nayar wanted to make use of the BODs or the blue ocean droplets in order to make sure
that they are moving forward with small steps and not the larger or unplanned ones. After
studying then ongoing market scenario it was decided by the CEO that this will be the right time
for bringing about the change (Crainer 2013). However, he brought many different kinds of
change interventions at different levels of the organization so that there can be an all pervasive
well fare of the employees.
Different emotions associated
There were several emotions associated with then change. One prime emotion was to form a
right connection with all the employees. The first and foremost responsibility of CEO is to make
sure that all the employees are happy and are being able to enjoy a peaceful and friendly stay in
the organization. However it must be ensured that the employees are being able to share all their
emotions with each other. It is evident from the given article that the 360 degree feedback
system was established because the CEO wanted to take the feedback and the emotion from all
the employees before any right decision is being taken. In other words, all the employees of the
organization must have a proper opinion in the business decisions. Therefore the 360 degree
feedback system was established by the newly appointed CEO.

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Calculate the Passion is a new kind of feedback system that was established in order to
understand if the employees are actually being benefitted from the change (Nayar 2012). In other
words, it must be ensured that the there is a proper feedback system so that the employees are
able to understand about the different ways in which they can share their problems to the senior
managers. Apart from this the employees will also be able to share their feedbacks and their
innovative ideas on how to improve the ongoing conditions of the business. After the change
intervention it was seen that the middle level managers are disheartened as they had lost some of
their power (DeFillippi, Rieple and Wikström 2016). This was really unfortunate and was also
one of the major concerns. It was for this reason that Vineet Nayar wanted to make sure that the
new changes which are being implemented are able to solve the issues of all the different levels
of managers (Neville, Milat and O'Hara 2017). The new survey called the employee passion
indicative count was developed. This would help the employees and the managers to break down
the barriers from among themselves and bring more meaning and understanding to their personal
and the professional lives (Nayar 2012).
The contributing factors to these emotions are the different internal and external changes in the
business environment. This is mainly because of the fact that there was a very tough competition
in the market and customers wanted some new innovations (Ramdas and Gajulapalli 2017).
The underlying perspectives of change
The major perspective of the change was to create both an employee centric and customer centric
approach. In order to develop newer and innovative products, it is the duty of the organization to
make sure that the employees are being able to describe about all their issues irrespective of any
fear.

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Apart from this CEO Vineet Nayar also wanted to make sure that he is being able to bridge the
gap or the barriers that arise within the employees because of their social, political and religious
differences.
The nature and strength of the resistance to the change
The change was transformational in nature. CEO Vineet Nayar made sure that he is able to bring
all the employees together at the same place and make them feel comfortable. He can be
considered as a true leader as he has not only developed the new kinds of principles but also
made sure that he is being able to follow those changes himself. This would help him to
understand about the actual issues that are being faced by his employees (Nayar 2012).
Strength of the change is the openness and the employee friendly nature that was imbibed by the
new change strategies. Employees were able to interact with each other freely and also give in
their opinions to their managers without feeling any kinds of hesitations (Madhavan 2017).
Interpretation of data about change and change process and the organization
The change process was really effective because it could bring some good news for the
organization. HCL was able to give a very tough competition to the other IT giants that were
much active in the organization. However it was also noted that the well known companies like
IBM and many others were becoming nervous in order to gain an advantage over HCL
Technologies (Shergill and Notra 2015). However the most essential point to be considered is the
selection of the right time in which the change must be initiated (Nayar 2012).
Effectiveness of the change intervention

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Vineet Nayar has opined in the given article that he started with the initiation of these changes at
a time when the company was growing. However he has also added that if he did not made his
move at that point of time then the entire process of bringing about the change might really have
been difficult. It is for this reason that they were able to understand the competition and thus take
the right kinds of strategies that were actually needed for the purpose of bringing about the
different changes in a proper and successful manner.

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Alternative Interventions
There are other strategies that the organization can use in future whenever they are about to bring
about any kinds of innovations. The different strategies that they can use are
Streamline overhead
It is essential for the organization to make sure that they are taking a close look at the different
expenses and the overhead costs that they are bearing. In order to do this the company will have
to cut down the expenditure or the excess money for their household purposes. Apart from this
the managers must also conduct some important workshops and ideas on many different and
alternative ways for solving the energy problems (Nayar 2012).. It must be ensured that all the
excess amount of money is being kept for bringing about any new changes in the organization.
For an instance if HCL Technologies wanted to install some new software systems or any other
kinds of software in their organization then it is their duty to make sure that there is no financial
issues being faced. Therefore saving the excess amount of money is really essential.
Cross training
Bring about any new change or interventions are often much costly. It is for this reason that the
organization can switch over to the cross training system. This will help them to cut down the
money that would otherwise be spent on the hiring of the other officials or the trainers for the
purpose of training the present employees. Cross training will be a very good step for HCL
technologies as they will be able to imbibe new expertise among the employees and at the same
time, make sure that they are also being able to overcome any kinds of political, social or cultural
barriers that might be existing between them.

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References
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