Innovation and Change

Question: Discuss about theInnovation and Change. Answer: Set the Scene Valley view publishing is a virtual business established in 1990 by two friends and partner Angus Smissen and Dante Lucifer. The company publish guides for tourism and recreation with respect to different part of Australia. The company had twelve people to manage the affairs but conflict between the partners in 1994 lead to formation of Clearwater (Valley view publishing. 2014). It was headed by Lucifer who took three staff from Valley view publishing. At present both are competitor and it is found that Valley view publishing is facing reduction in profits. It is also facing the cramped condition with growth in staff. The goals and objectives of the company is produce quality tourist guide. Change in Detail The shareholders of Valley view publishing put forth their suggestion to minimize the overhead cost and identify better ways to market the product economically. There is also strong resistance on the part of the shareholders on the decision of Valley view publishing to move to new location or expanding the current one (Thornton, 2004). Based on above factor Valley view publishing has planning two significant changes in the operation of the company. It is venturing into E-Commerce and a range of new product. E-Commerce Valley view publishing will redesign the website and start a new marketing approach along with a new distribution process though old system will exist. The funding for the change will be arranged (Thornton, 2004). In addition Valley view publishing will undertake organization restructure and review of administrative officers role and responsibility with the objective of improving the efficiency. New Product After from publishing books Valley view publishing will develop a range of new product namely CDs, Videos, maps, guides on ecotourism and travel literature promoting the travellers story. External and Internal Forces Contributing to the Change On analysing the change in Valley view publishing it is found that both internal and external forces contribute to the change. The internal factor influencing the change include the reduction in profit, large staff, space issue in the office, shareholder concern related with the cost escalation in overhead (Todnem 2005). The external factors influencing the change include enquires about online buying from international customers, young customers demanding online sales, competition from Clearwater and market share taken by competitor. Change Affecting Work Area in Terms of Staffing and Work Practice The growing staff made the limited space in the office resulted in restricted space impacting the performance of the staff in the workplace. The proposed change of moving to new premise or expanding the existing workplace will make the work environment in the office more conducive and improve the motivation level of staff in the office. It will have a positive impact on the work practice in the company (Anderson, Anderson, 2010). The process of restructuring the organization and reviewing the role and responsibility of administrative officer will increase the efficiency of the staff that will improve the performance of the company. The change of venturing into E-Commerce business will open new opportunity for Valley view publishing demand enhancement in the IT skill and knowledge of the employees to effectively handle the E-Commerce business process. Benefits of the Change in Terms of Success The management of Valley view publishing has identified three changes namely change of location, venturing into the E-Commerce business and developing a range of new product and it will benefit the company by improving the business positively. The benefits of change with regard to the new premises or addition to the existing one will improve the workplace environment and employee morale (Paton, McCalman, 2008). The benefit of E-Commerce will improve the revenue and profit. Thus it will assist in addressing the issue of reduci8ng profit and market share. Similarly the benefit of introducing a range of new product will improve market share. Process for Implementing the Change The process for implementing the change is related with nature of change. In context to Valley view publishing the change in location will be implemented by the administrative manager who will identify the suitable location, negotiate the cost, design the interior, affect the shift and fix opening schedule for new office (Hayes, 2014). The E-Commerce venture will be managed by the IT manager who will contact the software partner and develop the website, conduct the training for staff, conduct a launch campaign and launch the E-Commerce venture. The change of introducing a range of new product will be undertaken by the product manager who will develop each product and launch them in the market. Resolve Issues and Remove Impediments to the Change Any change planned by the company is always resisted by the staff and it is no different in case of Valley view publishing. The company faced resistance from the staff with three changes planned by the company namely new premises, E-Commerce venture and a range of new product introduction in the market. In context to the location change some employees opposed it may take more time for them to reach the new office and it reduce the time for personal and social life. The company removed this impediment to change by ensuring that the new office will in a central location and will not require additional time (Mujtaba, McCartney, 2009). The E-Commerce venture was opposed by the employees as it required IT skills and the staff felt insecure and the management of Valley view publishing removed this impediment to change by conducting IT training for the staff and motivating them to use internet and social media for career growth. The third change of new product development was well accepted by the company as they felt it will help to improve the profit and market share of the company. Thus Valley view publishing was able to resolve the issues and implement the change. Resources Needed to Implement the Change The change of location is a landmark decision for a company like Valley view publishing and they need resources like finance, staff and information and successful relocation plan for people and physical aspects, communicating the plan, engage the consultant, listen to concern and take action, fixing realistic expectations and change management after relocation (Hall, Hord, 2006). It will cost a hefty amount. The E-Commerce venture demand resources like domain, email address, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), payment gateway, Australian post or other courier and cargo with international exposure, web analytics to monitor business data conversion and visitors (Kotter, 2008). The cost involved in setting up E-Commerce would range from $807 for a start up to $1722 for small store while medium to large one can cost $ 4398 to $9074 respectively. The detailed costing in the table below Related Changes that Could Occur in the Future The three changed planed by Valley view publishing namely change of location, E-Commerce venture and introduction of new product. All the three changes can have related changes that could occur in the future. The change of location can lead to change in the office layout and change of design in the new office that can take place at the same time or in future (Thompson, Martin, 2010). The E-Commerce change can lead to further change like digital communication and participation in the social media to communicate with the target customers as it facilitate two way communications unlike the traditional method of communication. Earlier Valley view publishing was focussing on the traditional promotional mix to communicate the message. On the other hand the process of introduction of new products like CDs, Videos, maps, guides on ecotourism and travel literature promoting the travellers story will have related change promotional mix focussing on them. References Anderson, D., Anderson, L. A. (2010). Beyond change management: How to achieve breakthrough results through conscious change leadership. John Wiley Sons. Hall, G. E., Hord, S. M. (2006). Implementing change: Patterns, principles, and potholes. Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. Kotter, J. P. (2008). Force for change: How leadership differs from management. Simon and Schuster. Mujtaba, B. G., McCartney, T. (2009). Managing workplace stress and conflict amid change. ILEAD Academy. Paton, R. A., McCalman, J. (2008). Change management: A guide to effective implementation. Sage. Thompson, J. L., Martin, F. (2010). Strategic management: awareness change. Cengage Learning EMEA. Thornton, P. H. (2004). Markets from culture: Institutional logics and organizational decisions in higher education publishing. Stanford University Press. Todnem By, R. (2005). Organisational change management: A critical review. Journal of change management, 5(4), 369-380. Valley view publishing. (2014).About the company. [online] Available at: https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/toolbox/admin/ValleyView/about.htm [Accessed 26 Aug. 2016].