Understanding and Leading Change: A Case Study of Zoom's Evolution

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Zoom Video Communication's change management strategies, particularly in response to the surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent security challenges. It begins with an overview of Zoom's mission and vision, followed by an examination of the organization's change processes, highlighting the issues encountered and the measures taken to address them. A PEST/SWOT analysis identifies the key drivers of change, including political, economic, social, and technological factors, as well as the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report evaluates the impact of these changes on Zoom's organizational strategy, operations, leadership, individual behavior, and team dynamics. Furthermore, it assesses how the company minimized the negative impacts of change by applying appropriate models to plan for and process change efficiently. The conclusion offers a critical evaluation of the long-term implications of change, providing recommendations for minimizing future adverse effects through effective planning and management, including change impact analysis to identify potential risks. This analysis showcases Zoom's journey in navigating rapid growth and adapting to evolving security needs, offering valuable insights into organizational change management.

Understanding &
Leading Change
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Table of Content
Assessment Part 1
1.0 Introduction 3
2.0 An overview of the organisation and it’s change processes 3
3.0 A PEST/SWOT analysis to be undertaken to identify drivers of change
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4.1 An evaluation of the drivers and impacts of change and how they have
affected organisational strategy 14
4.2 Comparing the impacts of change and the effect they have had upon the
organisation’s strategy and operations 18
5.0 Evaluation of how change will have affected leadership, individuals and
team behaviour 20
6.0 An evaluation of how the impact of change was minimised and the
application of appropriate models applied to plan for and process change
efficiently 20
7.0 Critical evaluation of the long- term implications of change to inform
conclusions and recommendations for minimising affects of change through
effective planning and managing change, including change impact analysis
to identify potential risks of change 21
8.0 Conclusion 22
References 23
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1.0 Introduction
Zoom video communication is a distributor of video and online
messaging services which runs on a cloud-based end-to-end software platform.
Eric Yuan started this firm in 2011 in California, USA. Throughout the COVID-
19 outbreak, this was the most useful aspect and it was utilized for work from
home, corporate meetings, recruitment, online learning and online TV and web
enjoyment. Their mission is to make video chats more secure by reducing
friction. Their vision is that individuals can achieve more due to the video
interactions, that consumers, the business, colleagues and themselves are its
worth and that its culture is based on delivering joy to others. The aim of the
report is to measure the effect of large-scale change on the organization's
strategy and operations. Also analyzing how the change would affect business
behaviors and using theory and models, recommend steps that would be
implemented to reduce the negative impact on the firms.
Organizational change relates to a transition in an organization's existing
condition with the goal of improving performance. These changes would
involve improving an organization's procedures and routines, reorganizing its
operational structure or making a significant adjustment in its systems. This
means that organizational change aims to increase productivity in the short term
or long term. As a result, the transition should take particular actions in order to
reach specific objectives and aims (Alam, 2020). To implement the change
procedure and achieve the desired outcome, a defined plan and allocation of
resources method are necessary. External change drivers comprises of political,
economic, social and technological factors over which an enterprise could have
little or no control. As the elements are possible sources of strategic risk, they
must be carefully evaluated by organization or researcher.
2.0 An overview of the organisation and it’s change processes
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In 2020, the company encountered a lot of issues when executing its
application. The major worry was security, which resulted in a drop in sales and
stock. The company ran into issues as a result of undesirable individuals
collecting video conversations in order to disrupt routine operations and data
leaks. The phenomenon of Zoombombing wherein pranksters enter Zoom
meetings and display pornographic or scary videos. Zoom's standard settings are
to responsible in this case since they do not encourage meeting passwords and
allow any participant to share the screen. For resolving their issues, the
organisation has hired multiple number of experts to increase their security and
privacy policies (Bacova and et. al, 2020).
Organizational change describes the measures taken by a corporation or
firm to modify a significant aspect of its organisation, such as its culture, core
technology or infrastructure, or internal procedures. Organization design
includes the development of people, processes and structures to ensuring that
the firm's goals are met (Ali, Sun and Ali, 2017).
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Phase1: The change process begins when senior management recognizes
a desire for transformation from inside the organisation. This is generally the
result of a major crisis, such as a sudden decline in sales, substantial labour
problems, or excessive labour turnover (Belschak-Jacobs, 2018).
Phase2: An external entity is frequently recruited to propose a description
of the issue and begin the procedure of focusing organisational employees on it.
If internal staff members are skilled and trustworthy, they could also handle the
change process effectively.
Phase3: The change representative and management begin accumulating
and analysing required data in order to identify and address the most pressing
issues.
Phase4: It is necessary for the entity to encourage thinking and prevent
employing the same old tactics. Alternatives are found through generating fresh
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and viable possibilities in a creative manner (Hauser and et. Al, 2018). When
colleagues are enabled to engage in the process, they acquire a sense of
participation and are much more certain to be devoted to the ultimate plan of
action.
Phase5: Phase 4 alternatives are often tested on a limited scale and the
outcomes are analysed. If the approach is effective in one unit or a subset of a
unit, it may be implemented throughout the enterprise (Fullan, 2018).
Phase6: When the plan of action is considered appropriate, it must be
embraced freely by people in the organization. Performance improvement can
serve as a source of reinforcement, resulting in a dedication to the change.
3.0 A PEST/SWOT analysis to be undertaken to identify drivers of
change
PEST analysis
PEST Analysis is a measuring method used to analyse markets for a
certain product or business over a specific time period. PEST Analysis assists
businesses in making improved company decisions and increasing efficiency by
researching different factors that may impact a business, such as political,
economic, social and technological factors. In context to the selected
organisation, PEST analysis is mentioned below:
Political factors: The most crucial political element was the political
approach to nationwide lockdown in the year 2020, when the zoom application
experienced a significant increase in the amount of users and everyday
engagement in zoom sessions. In the social and health constraints that
lead imposed schools, colleges, companies and many people to seek simple and
free ways to communicate with their students, workers, teams, or
relatives(Berisha, Cotella and Solly, 2021). Zoom had approximately 10 million
daily participants prior to COVID-19. Within only a few weeks, the amount of
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users for this virtual solution had risen to more than 200 million. Several
countries, including those in Europe and North America, seek to drive the need
for zoom.
Economic factors: As it does not need the physical presence of teachers,
online education is a more cost-effective alternative to traditional education.
Additionally, because there are no productions or transportation costs to
consider for from copy to copy, suppliers of online education may provide their
course material at relatively low prices while still assuring a solid profit. While
being a more cost-effective long-term alternative to the conventional education,
online education has a somewhat significant initial cost (Bhopal and Bhopal, 2020).
This is due to the fact that in need to absorb digital information, every student
must have accessibility to an electronic device. And in advanced nations, there
is little of an issue because many students already own electronic gadgets and
can easily purchase them. The high price of computers and smart phones could
be problematic in underdeveloped nations.
Social factors: The split of work among on-site and teleporting customer
behaviour is one of the social and cultural societal factors that impact zoom.
During the first quarter of 2020, millions of people become customers through
having video meetings, conferences, or sharing moments. Several of these
behaviours remain as they are valued by employees, businesses and family
members that are far distant in the setting of a health crisis. The populace's
mobility and demand for digital are other factors affecting zoom and both are
raising trends in recent years in the framework of COVID-19. Social distancing
and curfew regulations enhanced the need for digital alternatives. Despite being
a very effective method of learning, internet education has the disadvantage of
diminishing personal connection (Choolam, 2020). Students that attend a physical
school engage make eye contact with former classmates, school employees and
a variety of other people, including those they meet on their route. The few who
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learn underneath an electronic screen miss out on this interpersonal connection
that is certainly essential to social growth and mental wellness. Another factor
that finds it challenging to substitute conventional education for younger kids is
the requirement for physical care. Conventional schools are a simple technique
for parents to ensuring that children are served, exercised and usually provided
for when they are normally out of the house for the most of the working day.
Young kids will be kept at homes for long periods of the day online schooling,
which would have been an unwise option for various reasons.
Technological factors: In terms of technology developments, the main
affecting factors of zoom at the beginning of this spring 2020 Lockdown,
enabling two-way encryption of conversations and their utilisation to digital
data overall, along with video conversations and conferences. This technology
was not well practised by the company and it received horrible criticism. As
nearly all students, particularly in poor nations, have access to technological
devices, students will be impossible to access online learning materials (Creary,
2021). Electronic gadgets may be accessible in some situations, but their quality
is insufficient to offer a good learning experience. Another significant
technological hurdle to online education is Internet connectivity. Even if a
student possesses a powerful enough electronic device to receive digital
educational materials, students must still be able to browse those resources over
the internet.
SWOT analysis
A SWOT analysis is a list of the corporation's strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. The fundamental goal of a SWOT analysis is to assist
companies in developing a complete understanding of all the elements
associated in taking a business decision. Internal factors are the corporation's
strengths and weaknesses. Strengths are attributes that provide a firm with a
competitive edge, whereas weaknesses are features that a corporation must
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conquer in order to enhance its effectiveness (Jacobs, Johnson and Hassell, 2018).
External factors are the corporation's opportunities and threats. Opportunities
are components in the external environment that the firm recognizes that this
could explore in the future to produce value. Threats are external forces that
might restrict the firm from accomplishing its purpose, mission, or producing
value. In context to the selected, SWOT analysis is mentioned below:
1) Video conferencing has been simplified
Zoom did not develop video conferencing technology, which existed
before 2011. Zoom prioritizes user-friendly information. Its advanced
technology and open API platform have been well received by users around the
world.
Zoom's biggest strengths are its technology products and services.
Although it is in a new production and development phase, it has established a
brand among industry leaders such as Google, Microsoft and Cisco (Geary, 2021).
2) Scope of products and services
Zoom has a great product range for video conferencing and webinar
solutions. It attracts individual clients and organizations around the world.
Zoom's clean user interface and third party integration make it an affordable
communication tool. It started with video conferencing and chat features, but
has now expanded its product range to include Internet calls and webinars.
3) International product acceptance and availability
Zoom offers one-on-one video, chat, screen sharing and free calling. It
soon attracted audiences from all over the world. Resource collaboration and
sharing has become an attractive organizational and educational institution
(Padmaja, 2019). Zoom has a brand name that is currently known for its apparent
strength in expanding global demand. Since last year (before the spread of
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Covid-19) it has reached over 300 million daily conferences through its
network.
II) Zoom. Weaknesses
Zoom in on the open source API and Code Access provides developer
integration and custom access. The interface is easy to use to attract a more
international audience. However, corporate and business consumers have been
critical of the platform over security issues.
1) Lack of encryption
Zoom has been widely criticized for not having encryption on its
platform. Large business, government and sensitive business organizations are
reluctant to use the Zoom video conferencing platform (Rhodes, 2020). Although
the company has announced the removal of all communication products, experts
still rely on these claims.
2) Data security concerns
Apart from the obvious lack of encryption feature, another major
criticism that Zoom faces is the security of user data. Critics say that even
though both users are outside of China, one of Zoom's most popular
applications went through "Chinese" servers. Lack of cloud data security for
their customers is another flaw in their most important communication
technology.
3) Economic instability
Zoom reported full annual gains after 7 years of operation. For a
technology-based product like Zoom with a global audience, the level of
financial stability is not the same. It received $ 3 million from WebX founder
Subra Iyer in the early years. Zoom 6 received additional investment from
multiple funding rounds worth $ 146 billion. The company reported net profit
for the last two operating years only from the IPO in April 2019. Despite the
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possibility of reporting higher profits in the past years, inflation this year has led
to the current crisis (Shalk, 2020).
III) Zoom opportunities
Zoom has finally made its mark in the global video conferencing
industry. The pandemic problem has opened new doors for technology
companies like Zoom.
1) Requirements to increase video conferencing
Zoom has grown from 10 billion meetings in December 2019 to the
current 300 million daily meetings limit. Although the significant increase in
styles is largely dependent on the current issues of COVID 19, consumption is
likely to increase in the coming years as well. Zoom focuses on organizational
clients with 10 or more users. It has already announced future plans to work
with startups and provide customized solutions for corporate customers.
2) Business partnership opportunities
Demand for work from home is likely to increase and this trend is likely
to increase in the coming years. Most businesses require customized
communication requirements for employees and their customers. Zoom
responds with improved API delivery to already optimized SDK and corporate
users. Zoom recently launched the event hosting event "Onzoom". The
education and health sectors will also grow in demand for video chats in the
coming years (Zamfir, 2019).
If Zoom can keep up with the pace of competition, it will show steady
growth over the next few years.
ZOOM Threat
Zoom works very fast in the technology industry. Its competitors are
industry leaders such as Microsoft and Google, which have unrestricted jobs
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around the world. Making its mark on the industry with the highest quality and
sustaining growth and development is always a challenge for Zoom.
1) Highly competitive market
Competing with global brands like Microsoft, Google and Cisco is not an
easy task for any company. Zoom faces stiff competition from well-established
and international products in the video conferencing industry. The company has
recently introduced new products such as cloud-based event products Zoom
Phone and OneZoom. However, market competition remains a major
commercial threat to Zoom.
2) Reliance on third party platform
Product dependence on third-party platform services is one of Zoom's
major issues. The pricing plans offered by Zoom are not the ultimate cost borne
by the end user. The total cost of video communications will result in significant
business losses for the company in the coming years (Khoo, 2018).
3) Intelligence safety concern
Zoom also faces commercial losses due to criticism of its lack of data
security. Government and major corporate users are not always ready to use
Zoom resources. Though the company has introduced its new end-to-end
(E2EE) features, it will take time to restore consumer confidence.
Mention the drivers of change (Session -1)
As more companies move to work remotely during the COVID-19
epidemic, companies face a new challenge to make greater use of their remote
work. Zoom has become a popular videoconference app and has always been a
top choice for most travel groups and organizations. However, as with any
change in technology, people will find that it causes them a lot of problems.
Video conferencing has proven to be an important part of many corporate social
media and collaborative strategies. Like the Board of Executive Board, the cost
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