Change For Productivity: Babcock International Reports Examples

CONTENTS Page

Executive Summary 3

Introduction to the areas examined 3
1.1 Examined areas
1.2 Overview of the organization
1.3 Problems presentation

Literature review 4

Analysis 7
3.1 Discussion
3.2 Relevance

Conclusion 10

Recommendations 10
Executive Summary
The challenges facing Babcock International Group plc in its international operations attribute to low productivity and thus less income. The major causes of these challenges are poor managerial styles and working procedures. The report covers the need for change for Babcock International, pointing out the advantages set for achievement with the adoption of these measures. Throughout the report, there is a major focus on the application of a change model to help enact the system easily and quickly, causing minimal effect on the company’s operations. The report expounds on the effects of the challenges in the organization, and the role played by the projected transformation in maximizing productivity, service delivery efficiency, and profitability. The report offers detailed information and has its source as peer-reviewed journals, which are most reliable in discussion of the change plan and impacts on Babcock.

Introduction

Babcock International Group plc is a global corporation with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The company deals with defense and infrastructure, making it a vital player in the economy of the country (MacBryde, Paton, Bayliss and Grant 2014, p. 160). However, there is a couple of problems affecting the multinational corporation, especially when it comes to the company’s managerial styles and working procedures. The company has major international engineering projects, demanding the incorporation of the appropriate managerial styles to counter the challenges resulting from the new environment (Great Britain, 2007, p. 11). It is also essential that the company adopt working procedures that suit each country, to enable it build a better reputation through the abidance to the host’s regulations.
Despite Babcock’s major achievements, the problem of management of conduction of projects outside the UK remains a major drawback. The company has no elaborate approach to conducting international projects, where the employees face cultural changes, language barriers, different working periods, and climate changes. The need to minimize the effect of these challenges demands adoption of better managerial styles in the organization (Sabri, Gupta and Beitler, 2007, p. 110). Working procedures in the international scale are vital for the organization’s global operations. The company should develop strategies aimed at counteracting the challenges faced abroad, and develop strategies that fit in the host country’s legal requirements. Adoption of these imperative strategic measures will eliminate the challenges faced by the company and its employees during engineering operations outside the United Kingdom.

Literature review

Managerial styles and working procedures play a major role in bettering the performance of an organization. It is through good working procedures that employees develop self-motivation, allowing them to maximize their productivity in the organization. Managerial styles are the vital drivers towards maximum organizational productivity, and through them, a company can better its services and production (Cameron and Green, 2012, p. 10). It thus boosts growth through a better integration of resources for maximum productivity. Babcock seeks to improve its conduction of engineering operations internationally, where the working environment differs from that of UK. The literature review aims at pointing out the roles played by managerial styles and working procedures in the improvement of an organization’s productivity.
Enacting change in an organization is necessary for the improvement of its productivity and betterment of the organization’s image. It is necessary to adopt a good change model, which will attribute to the success of the company. Once an organization discovers the need for change, it should seek the best model, which will enable it to apply the correct system to the corporation.
Benn, Dunphy and Griffiths (2014, p. 17) embark on appropriate change models for corporate sustainability. In their book, the authors point out the key phases of organizational change, through the reference to Kotter’s eight-step model for change. It focuses on the creation of urgency, coalition formation, and vision creation. Other phases include communicating the vision, eliminating obstacles, creation of short-term goals, building on change, and anchoring the changes. Adoption of this process, acknowledges the author, will enhance a smooth transition, enabling the organization to implement the set strategies into operation (Kotter, 2012, p. 2).
Authors have previously sought to embark the need for appropriate managerial styles in organizational change. Management of any organization is vital for the success of the company, as seen in the work of Jayashree Sadri (2014), “Ethics and Managerial Styles Revisited.” The author acknowledges that any repetition of a behavior becomes a style. For the enactment of true management in any organization, managerial styles must be improved, aiming at achieving the company’s objectives (Sadri, 2014, p. 9). In this case, Babcock should adopt desirable behavior and apply them in the company, which will result in growth and improvement in the conduction of projects abroad. In Sadri’s work, there is a vast focus on the role played by managerial styles in the organization setting. It is through these styles that the company generates maximum productivity or any other set goal. Poor management styles hinder organizational growth, and working becomes a challenge.
Mohan, Parul and Namita (2013, p. 240) offer a case study of HCL Technologies company, where they point out the results of adoption of vital managerial styles. The research involved 40 team leaders who filled out questionnaires on good managerial styles (Mohan, Malik and Srivastava, 2013, p. 238). Much of the organization's success attributes to the application of the essential management styles. The authors’ spotlight is on the need for better organizational, managerial styles for the improvement of productivity and efficiency. Maximum organizational productivity directly relates to fruitful managerial styles, which account for both employees’ and organization’s roles. Good managerial styles improve employee-manager relations, maximizing productivity through the improved communication (Cummings and Worley, 2014, p. 16). The company can easily manage its employees, allowing for maximum productivity.
Cornwall Council’s “Safe Working Procedures” (2012) is an artistic presentation, which focuses on the essence of working procedures that are safe for all employees. The work of Council has an interest in improving employee motivation through bettering their working procedures (Council, 2012, p. 129). The article presents an equation that states that Safe Working Procedures equals employee motivation, which equals increased productivity. For the improvement of organizational productivity, the company must thus better its working procedures, which will enhance improved production by the motivated employees.
Hale and Borys (2013, p. 225) give a deeper understanding of the role of good working procedures on the improvement of both organizational productivity and reputation. In their presentation, they advise organizations to better the management of the set procedures and rules of the organization that pertains to working procedures. The author notes that adoption of this technique will enormously improve productivity of an organization, and so will its quality of service (Hale and Borys, 2013, p. 225).

Analysis

Babcock has experienced major drawbacks resulting from the operation in foreign countries. As depicted in the report, undertaking construction activities in a country possessing a different culture, climate, set of regulations and expectations has resulted in the need for operational changes in the company. Babcock requires implementing a change model, which will focus on managerial styles and working procedures. The introduction of these changes will better the organization’s productivity and improve its efficiency in the conduction of projects in the international market (Tavakoli, 2014, p. 17). It will help eliminate the challenges faced by the company’s employees during their overseas operations, maximizing their productivity.
Babcock requires implementing new managerial styles and working procedures into its system to maximize productivity. However, implementation of these changes is not a simple process, and thus the need to adopt the best organizational change model. The change model should enable the organization to enact change without disrupting the operations of the company (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2013, p. 15). Babcock is a large multinational corporation that must remain focused on production and issuance of its services, and, therefore, the model should not disrupt any organizational function.

Diagnostic Model

(Channon and Caldart)
Therefore, for Babcock International to enact changes aimed at bettering productivity abroad, it requires to adopt this diagnostic model. It is vital for the company to apply the model in the organization to enable workability of all departments to enhance productivity maximization. The company should adopt the model as awhile, which will see to it that the company adopts the relevant change measures into a workable system that does not disrupt the production of the organization. Consequently, adoption of the diagnostic tool enables an organization to improve in performance, which is the major concern of Babcock International. Other advantages include shaping the implementation of the proposed strategy, aligning company’s departments for enhanced production, and examination of future internal changes within the company. It is thus a necessity for Babcock International to apply McKinsey 7-S model in its change process to maximize its efficiency and to create a smooth flow of the events. Here is a list outlining the role of each of the “7-Ss” (Channon and Caldart).

Structure

The structure involves the working of the organization, for example, who reports to whom. The structure also puts into account the working process devised by the organization for projects abroad.

Strategy

Strategy involves the devised plan to ensure the maintenance and creation of competitive advantages over the competition and improvement of the working process.

Systems

It incorporates the daily activities, processes, and procedures that the workforce engages in to get the job done on time.
It encompasses the leadership style adopted by the organization, for example during conduction of projects abroad.
Skills
It involves the actual technical expertise and competencies of the company’s workforce working on projects in a foreign country.
Shared Values:
Also known as super-ordinate objectives, it refers to the core values of Babcock International evident in its corporate culture and its work ethic.

Staff

Babcock’s workforce and its capabilities, skills, and expertise
Kotter's 8-step change model accounts for the introduction of new procedures or strategies in an organization quickly. The creator of the model is Harvard’s professor, John Kotter, who sought to introduce a model that would help enact fast changes into an organization (Kotter, 2012, p. 1). Babcock requires improving its performance in the international market immediately, making this model the best option.
Babcock International Group plc is facing operational challenges in other countries, owing to the difference in culture, weather, and laws. According to the report, the major causes are weakly not elaborate working procedures and poor management styles. However, with the adoption of Kotter’s model of change, the organization can harness its productivity, by enabling its employees to adapt to the new countries. The model focuses on eight major phases, which will enable the company to adopt new strategic approaches to these faced challenges fast and easily (Oreg, Michel and By, 2013, p. 2). Here are the steps that will enable the company overcome the challenges and maximize its production: (Kotter, 2012, p. 12)
1. Amplify the exigency for change.
The organization should embark on the need for change and show the importance of these changes to the employees (Ley et al., 2012, p. 1530). It will help the organization to maximize the efficiency of the process, where the employees will be part of the transformation. Here, the Babcock will point out the challenges being faced by the company as a whole in its operations overseas. The need for urgent change will be maximization of productivity and betterment of the organization’s image. Workers will benefit from better working conditions and better wages, owing to the demand of Babcock’s services based on its high adaptability level.
2. Build a group of workers enthusiastic about the change.
3. Craft the vision for change.
The organization’s vision for change is the improvement in productivity. With improved productivity, the company will increase its revenues, and employees will enjoy a better working environment.
4. Communicate the necessity for change.
There is an urgent need for change, in that the organization requires eliminating the challenges faced by employees when working in other countries. The company should inform all stakeholders about the necessity of the process, by pointing out the advantages associated with the change (Reuter, 2015, p. 161).
5. Empower employees with the aptitude to change.
The company can encourage the employees to change through constantly motivating them and pointing out the advantages they are bound to face once complete. They will enjoy better-working conditions and probably an improvement in wages and salaries, which is a major motivation source (Shneidman, 2013, p. 3).
6. Create short-term objectives.

They include improvement of working conditions overseas and adapting to host country’s laws, regulations, and culture.

7. Remain persistent.
Babcock should remain focused on the final objective, which is adoption of better working procedures and management styles. The process is only over when the organization attains both objectives.
8. Make the transformation permanent.

After the attainment of the organizational goal, the company should seek to maintain it and remain stringent to its upholding.

Conclusion
Babcock International Group’s challenges of working abroad have developed the need to inflict change in the organization. Working abroad will be easier for the employees and the company as a whole through the introduction of better working procedures and management styles. Adoption of the Kotter's 8-step model for change will help the organization adopt these new strategies, which will maximize productivity and enhance better service quality. Construction will improve bettering the company’s image and thus increment in overall revenues.

Recommendations

Babcock International Group plc requires altering its management styles to suit different cultures all over the world. The upholding of strict measures set for the UK hinders international operations, and thus the need for improvement. The company’s management should adopt new techniques for management, where the company easily takes up expectations from host countries and adopts them into their projects. It will ease conflicts with the cultures in that country, bettering the company’s reputation (Chatman, 2014, p. 115).
Working procedures are also vital when operating in the international scope. Construction works have different views in varied countries, and thus issues such as working hours and wages must meet the country’s expectations. The company should also abide by the cultural expectations of the host country, adhering to all events and times. Employees should be ranked with the host country’s standards, and not the overall performance in the UK, acting as a source of motivation to maximize productivity and quality of service (Haffar, Al-Karaghouli and Ghoneim, A., 2013, p. 695).

References

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