Hindering Organizational Change
This study is about the innovative challenges. Its main aim is to analyze the innovative challenges hindering organizational change. Apparently, every organization has the ability to apply proper innovation to solve the daily challenges they encounter. However, while almost all organizations have a basic knowledge with regard to the innovation and even attempt to apply it, various studies have highlighted that only a few of them actually implement it successfully. This is why this study aims at identifying such challenges that prevent organizations from implementing innovation fully. ABC Company was used as the case study and a mail survey was conducted to collect data.
This study is basically rooted on a quantitative methodology and is composed of several sections. These include questionnaire design, sampling, pretest, the collection of data and data analysis. The study analyzes both the primary and secondary data. The secondary data is basically collected from books, journals and articles with regard to the topic of study. Essentially, the case studies will be analyzed in the secondary sources to identify some of the innovative challenges that have hindered organizational change within the identified cases.
Primary data is obtained through the use of questionnaires, which will be randomly distributed to the sampled respondents within the company. Basically, the response rate was 70 per cent, which was quite high. The previous literature had been used to form the hypotheses, which were later tested by the study. The findings revealed that the managerial influence, particularly the commitment of the management, as well as their attitudes had a lot of significance in innovation and therefore, lack of these is what was hindering innovation in the company. In addition, some of the organizational characteristics such as lack of slack resources, along with the innovative characteristics such as complexity and incompatibility, were identified as the challenges hindering innovation within the company.
1.1 Background of the Study Most current organizations are knowledge-based, and thus, they understand the fact that their survival and success is highly dependent on the discovery, innovation inventiveness, and creativity (Tushman & Anderson 1986). Therefore, an effective response to such demands calls not only for some individual and behavioral changes but also for the innovative changes within the organizations that will ensure their success. Furthermore, as noted by Christensen (2003) the rate of change is rapidly increasing, considering the fact that there is an increase in the generation of a new knowledge, global diffusion, along with the idea generation (Beer et al. 1990; Robbins 1996). Innovation generates significant benefits, for instance, it can introduce a stream of the latest and superior quality products and services into the market, which can enable the organization to attain higher profitability (Vernardakis 2006).
Apparently, most organizations, globally, encounter various challenges, most of which take place during their routine activities, hence generating significant costs for the organization (Klein & Sorra 1996). However, when such challenges are encountered, the organization’s management often carries the blame and assigns various allegations, for instance, the lack of appropriate decisions with regard to the daily organizational operations, technological assistance employed, and the labour force (Beer & Eisenstat 1996). Nonetheless, a significant amount of research indicates that such organizations can easily transform the challenges they encounter into success through innovation (Christensen 2003; (Schalk et al. 1998). Every organization has the ability to apply proper innovation to solve the daily challenges they encounter (Beer & Eisenstat 1996).
However, while almost all organizations have a basic knowledge with regard to the innovation and even attempt to apply it, various studies have highlighted that only a few of them actually implement it successfully (Schalk et al. 1998; Christensen 2003). This is because most of the organizations only pay lip service to the benefits and power of innovation (Beer et al. 1990). They actually remain reluctant to the aggressive commitment and investment that are demanded by innovation. Despite the fact that innovation is highly recognized as the lifeblood of an organization and numerous benefits have been attached to it, most of the organizations have actually ignored it (Beer et al.
1990). Indeed, it has been highlighted by Christensen (2003) that innovations reflect a significant approach through which the organizations from different corners of the world can respond to the market or technological challenges. Furthermore, it has been noted that survival in the global competitive market demands innovation (Christensen 003). Therefore, it is very clear that innovation is a fundamental tool that any organization can apply to attain success. However, innovation has not been fully attained within The American Broadcasting Company (ABC), thus raising an alarm that the company might be facing some innovative challenges that have hindered it from attaining organizational change.
ABC is a commercial broadcasting television network, based in America. Established in 1943, ABC has grown to be the largest global broadcaster, by revenues with its programming considered to have largely contributed to the popular American culture. It is worth noting that numerous studies have emphasized that the reasons that have led to failure of most of the change initiatives can be identified in the resistance to change (Maurer 1996). As Ansoff (1990) highlights, the resistance to change generates delays and is significant to costs in the process of change. This dissertation will, therefore, analyze the innovative challenges hindering organizational change in ABC Company.
ABC Company has attempted to implement innovation but has encountered various challenges that, indeed, have an effect on the overall organizational change process. This paper seeks to identify these challenges in order to establish the ways in which innovation could be appropriately applied to solve organizational problems. 1.2 The Definition of Key Terms and Concepts The definitions of innovation, as highlighted by various studies, vary depending on the degree of the analysis that is used. Some definitions appear to be more general and broad while others are more specific, inferring the implementation of ideas directed at restructuring or minimizing costs, enhanced communication, latest technology for improved production processes, new personnel programs and plans, and new organizational structures (Kanter 1983, cited in West & Farr 1990; Robbins 1996).
According to West and Farr (1990), innovation is the intentional introduction and implementation within the group, role or organization of ideas, procedures, processes or products that are new to the intended unit of adoption aimed at benefiting the organization, group, or even a wider society. Innovation is normally linked to change (Schalk et al. 1998). Innovation often generates something new, hence resulting in a change. On the other hand, change cannot be considered as innovation, regarding the fact that change does not always entail fresh ideas and does not necessarily generate improvements within the organization (CIMA Study Text 1996; West & Farr 1990).
However, there are factors that have resulted in the failure of the change initiatives, which are encompassed in the resistance to change (Waddell & Sohal 1998). Indeed, such factors have been considered as rather significant in the development of a more successful change process (Goodstein & Burke 1991).1.3 Problem Statement Numerous studies have established that, indeed, modern technological equipment can be implemented within the organization to help solve various challenges being encountered in the daily routine activities (Nemeth 1997; Reichers et al. 1997). Furthermore, such equipment helps to improve the productivity along with the quality of the organization’s output.
However, despite such revelations, it is apparent that most organizations globally are still encountering problems of maintaining their daily activities and operations due to the lack of modern technological equipment to support such operations (Beer et al. 1990). Moreover, most of the organizations encounter problems related to slow and ineffective operations that are often considered unreliable while dealing with the production and marketing of the customers (Christensen, 2003). Besides, most organizations also encounter challenges relating to the sourcing of resources and handling costs together with poor human expertise. These challenges often translate to huge costs for the organizations (Howells 2005). This, therefore, calls for the adoption of innovative technological equipment to help such organizations counter such challenges, something that has long been ignored by many organizations (Maurer 1996).
One such organization is ABC Company that has been for quite a long time encountering some innovative challenges that has hindered the overall change processes within the company. Moreover, these challenges have translated to huge losses for the company (Klein & Sorra 1996). This study, therefore, seeks to identify some of the hindrances that have made it difficult for ABC Company to adopt and implement some of the modern technological equipment, regardless of the established significant benefits, which this equipment generates to the organization. 1.4 Aims and Research Questions The main aim of this research study is to identify the innovative challenges hindering organizational change within ABC Company. This is based on the fact that this company has actually overlooked the adoption of innovation, regardless of the significant benefits that have been associated with innovation.
This, therefore, implies that the company faces significant challenges that have hindered it from attaining organizational change that is imperative for the success in the contemporary competitive world of business. Some of the specific research questions that will be analyzed in the study include: Why is innovation significant for organizational change? Is ABC Company ready to embrace organizational change through innovation? What challenges hinder innovation within the company? How can the identified challenges be managed within the company? 1.5 Overview of the Research Design The study will use both primary and secondary data. Primary data is the type of data that is collected from the field, which will then be analyzed to find out whether the research questions have been answered, while secondary data is the type of data that is documented in books, journals, articles, newspapers, among many other sources, relating to the topic of the research. The secondary data will be collected from books, journals, and articles with regard to the topic of the study (Breakwell et al. 1995).
Basically, the case studies will be analyzed in the secondary sources to identify some of the innovative challenges that have hindered organizational change within the identified cases, along with some of the measures that were suggested to help organizations manage such challenges. Primary data will be collected through the use of questionnaires, which will be randomly distributed to the sampled respondents within the company. The questionnaires will, therefore, be given to the randomly selected respondents, who will then be advised on how to fill in the questionnaires. The study will incorporate all of the company’s branches in order to get unbiased results. The questionnaires will be mailed to the sampled respondents within the company’s divisions as this will be a cost effective approach of collecting data, rather than having to travel to all the of the company’s divisions (Gratton & Jones 2010).
The data collection process is expected to take about two weeks, after which that data will be analyzed in order to find out if the research questions have actually been answered or not 1.6 The Overview of How the Other Chapters Will Look LikeThe second chapter, also known as literature review, entails the analysis and evaluation of the already documented literature regarding the topic under research. It is clear that numerous studies have been conducted regarding the same topic that is being studied here, however, in different organizational contexts, and the findings are established and stored in books, journals, articles, which will then be reviewed in order to analyze what other authors have said about the topic under the study. Basically, this chapter is all about identifying the views of the other authors. Chapter three, also known as methodology, gives a description of the methodology applied in the collection and analysis of the data. It describes the instruments along with the procedure that will be applied while collecting data.
However, it is worth noting that the type of instrument and procedure that will be applied will always depend on the type of information that is required. For instance, this is a quantitative study, and thus, questionnaires will be appropriate in collecting the required information. In addition, this chapter will also provide the sample size of the population that will be used as respondents, describing the procedure through which the sample size was arrived at. The method that will be sued for the data analysis will also be described in this chapter. Chapter four carries the findings of the study.
Basically, after the data has been collected, it has to be analyzed and the findings will then be presented in this chapter. The findings are primarily based on the views of the respondents regarding the research questions. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight if the results of the study are describing the views of the respondents. Chapter five provides the conclusion of the study, which highlights if the research questions have been adequately answered or not. In addition, this chapter will focus on the gaps and recommend aspects or issues that should be researched in the future.
