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The present study examines the theory and practice of change management in the
SMEs of the UK and looks at the role played by the communication in change
management in SMEs by reviewing scholarly literature on the subject and by
conducting secondary research case studies on two important SMEs from the IT-
industry of the UK, namely Softcat and ANS group plc. These two SMEs are at the
top in the list of The Sunday Times¶ top 100 SMEs to work for. The secondary data
published on the two SMEs was selected on the basis of its relevance with the
subject and was analysed using µgeneric inductive analysis.¶ The analysis of the
secondary data on Softcat and ANS Group confirmed the importance of change
management in SMEs as was found in the literature on the subject. It was also
found that communication can play a significant role in employee engagement,
strategy implementation and consequently in change management. The study also
produced some other important findings regarding the SMEs of the UK and made
important recommendation for the SMEs as well as for the future studies on the
subject.
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Abstract ..................................................................................................... 1Y
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Winch and McDonald (1999) were very right in their assentation that SMEs,
thoughimportant contributors of GDP, often lack the managerial skills needed to
improve the competitive advantage of a firm (Tilley and Tonge, 2003). However, it
seems untrue that their experience of change is limited as compared to larger
firms. As they are less formal, they have less structural resistance to change and
therefore they are expected to be more agile (Macri, Tagliaventi, & Bertolotti,
2002). Nevertheless, it is important for them to use these changes for improving
the competitive advantage and this is the area where the problem lies. Due to lack
of managerial and technological skills, they often fail to properly plan and
implement changes in the organization (Tilley & Tonge, 2003). In simple words,
SMEs welcomes changes but fails to manage them.
revealed that communication is the key to the success of any transformation within
the organization and is an important part of change management (Vinson, Pung, &
González-Blanch, 2006). The importance of communication for change
management has also been acknowledged by other experts in the field like Lautner
(1999), Kitchen & Daly (2002), and Proctor & Doukakis (2003).
The purpose of the current study is to examine the theory and practices of
change management in SMEs and to look at the emphasis given to
³communication´ in managing change in SMEs. For theoretical understanding the
researcher has reviewedscholarly literature on change management in SMEs
whereas for understanding the change management practices, secondary research
has been conducted on two SMEs working in the IT-industry of the UK. The two
selected SMEs are Softcat and ANS group plc.
One other rational for conducting the present study is based on the
importance of SMEs in the economic development of a country. SMEs have been
recognised as ³life blood of modern economies´ (Ghobadian & Galler, 1996). Their
survival in this highly competitive business environment is important for the sake of
the entire economy and change management is one important way through which
these enterprises can achieve competitive advantage (McAdam, Stevenson &
Armstrong, 2000). Therefore, it is important to conduct studies on change
management in SMEs in order to suggest the ways to improve change management
in these enterprises. The current study is expected to fulfil the same objective by
showing the role of communication in improving change management in SMEs.
&? ?
The aim of the present study is to examine the theory and practice of change
management in SMEs and to look at the importance given to the communication as
a change management tool in these organizations. To achieve this purpose, the
researcher critically reviewed the relevant scholarly literature on the subject. The
chapter presents that literature review which assisted the researcher in conceptual
and theoretical understanding of the subject together with setting the direction of
the study in line with the direction provided in the previous studies.
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There is no universally accepted definition of change management. Nickols
(2010) claimed that all the definitions of change management can be categorised
into four views namely change management as task of managing change, as an
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For Lientz and Rea (2004) change management is the µapproach to plan,
design, implement, manage, measure and sustain changes in business process and
work¶ (p. 9). As compared to Lorenzi (2005), Lientz and Rea (2004) did not
explicitly mention the nature of the approach. Furthermore, they also recognised
change management as a process and suggested some activities which ought to be
the part of change management process (Lientz & Rea, 2004). Combining the two
view of change management we can say that change management is a process of
planning, designing, implementing, managing, measuring and sustaining change
with a vision-oriented approach.
details of these strategies are shown in the table below. Mackenzie-Robb (2004)
held that the most common strategies are power-coercive and a combination of
power-coercive and rational-empirical strategies Whatever, the strategy is, it is
important for a manager to have a clear vision of the desired future state of
organization as well as the complete understanding of current and past state before
developing strategies for change management (Lorenzi, 2005).
Strategy Focus
Rational-Empirical The change strategy is based on
appealing to human self-interest through
offering incentives.
Normative-Reeducative This strategy has the tenet that people
tend to adhere to social and cultural
normalities, and therefore if these are
re-defined, commitment to the new
values can be achieved through
communication and education
Power-Coercive Here, the approach accepts that people
will do as they are told, so the change
strategy is based on the exercise of
authority with, where necessary, the
imposition of penalties for failure to
comply.
Environmental-Adaptive People are adaptable. This approach is
based on a gradual transference from an
old environment/organisation to a new
one.
Table 2.1: Strategies to change management and their focus (Mackenzie-Robb,
2004, p. 8)
Once the change has been implemented the final and very important stage of
change management is to re-access the impact of change. The stage is similar to
the first stage of assessment but in this stage the purpose of the assessment is to
ensure that the change will sustain (Lorenzi, 2005). Lientz and Rea (2004) were of
the opinion that the most neglected area of change management process is the re-
assessment of implemented change to ensure that the change is persistent and to
maintain the momentum of change.
Y
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In this highly competitive business environment, organizations are trying
hard to continuously re-analyse their strategies and approaches in order to choose
the best suitable strategy or approach for gaining competitive advantage (Lorenzi,
2005). Introduction of new business strategies, advanced managerial techniques,
and revised business models have also increased due to greater research in
business management (Paton and McCalman, 2008). The change in the structure
and function of the organization as well as the market has been greatly accelerated.
In the rapidly changing environment, the challenge is not to implement changes but
to survive with them and, where possible, to use them to improve the organization
performance (Kitchen & Daly, 2002)
but also aids in sustaining the implemented change (Paton & McCalman, 2008;
Lientz & Rea, 2004).
Hiam (1997) claimed that organizations that have the ability to implement
better changes in lesser period of time can easily gain competitive advantage.
However he also pointed out that the faster and better implementation and
management of change is not a simple task and is one of the most challenging jobs
of management.
Palmer and Andrews (1997) has called SMEs the ³fastest growing section of
business population¶ which is evident from the fact that in 1996, there were 3.7
million SMEs in the UK (Department of Trade and Industry, 1996) and in 2009, the
figure raised to 4.9 million (Department for Business Innovation and Skills, 2009).
Their contributed to the economy of the UK is a well-documented fact (Ghobadian
and Gallear, 1996). Therefore, their economic survival is critically important for the
14
economic development of the country and for this, they need to change themselves
with the changes in industry and market (McAdam, Stevenson & Armstrong, 2000).
Like larger organizations of the country, SMEs are also working in the
dynamic environment and are trying to change themselves with the changes in the
business environment. Important organizational changes in the SMEs, as identified
by the previous studies, are merger and acquisition (Raukko, 2009);web presence
(Fernando & Guy, 2005); e-procurement (Meehan & Muir, 2008); and extended
enterprise resource planning (Búrca, Fynes, & Marshall, 2005). Department of
Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) conducts surveys of SMEs
annually to look at their economic and organizational performance. In a recent
survey of BERR, it was found that SMEs have become more innovative in past few
years (Williams & Cowling, 2009). They are introducing new products and services
in the market and are experimenting with new methods and process in their
business operations (Williams & Cowling, 2009).
Todtling and Kaufmann (2001) have claimed that SMEs are more prone to
innovative changes than larger organizational because of less power and closer
relationship with market. Furthermore, it is relatively easier to implement changes
in SMEs because of their simple organizational structure and smaller size (Moger,
2000; McDonald & Wiesner, 1997). In addition, as found by McAdam (2000), SMEs
are also able to sense the changes in the market prior to larger competitors as their
relationship with the market is much closer than the larger ones. This early
recognition and earlier response to market changes can serve as a key factor for
the competitive advantage of SMEs (Wiesner, Banham & Poole, 2004).
Resistance to change come from the management side as well (Gray, 2002).
Some managers are reluctant to experiment new approaches and technologies in
organisation because of the risk involved in such changes (Kahneman, Knetsch, &
Thaler, 1991). Kehneman, Knetsch and Thaler (1991) noted that in mangers the
fear of negative outcome is much stronger than the attraction of potential gains.
They named this stronger fear of negative outcome as ³endowment effect.´ Gray
(2002) claimed that the endowment effect is stronger in SMEs as compared to
larger organization. Since in the majority of SMEs, the owners of enterprises also
serve as managers, there is greater chance of resistance to change that involve risk
(Gray, 2002).
However, Wiesner, Banham & Poole (2004) claimed that this centralised and
dominant leadership can work in the favour of change adaptation. They asserted
that individual entrepreneurship plays a vital role in SMEs and if the owner or the
manager of the organization is welcoming to the changes and innovation, there is
higher probability that the organizational will go for change. Nevertheless, they
seemed to overlook the importance of employees working in the organization. It is
true that managers play an important role in SMEs and they have the authority to
implement any change they want. However, for sustained implementation of
change and for gaining the desired output from the implemented change, the
acceptance of change among the employees is significantly important. Therefore, in
recent years the focus of studies on organizational change has been shifted toward
the behavioural change in the employees of organization to develop a change-
welcoming culture in organization (Kulvisaechana, 2001).
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Raukko (2009) found that majority of the literature on organizational change
is focussed on the role of management. Change management has been seen as a
critical success factor for organizational change (Lamsa & Savolainen, 2000; Hiatt &
Creasey, 2003). A number of studies have also looked at the management of
16
change in SMEs (Coetsee & Visagie, 1994; Gray, 2002; Guido, Gail, Nancy &
Pierluigi, 2010).
Coestee and Visagie (1994) were of the opinion that there is high resistance
to change in SMEs and to deal with this resistance effective management of change
is necessary. However, as observed by Garratt (1994), SMEs pay little attention to
the preparation and training of mangers for change management despite the
dominant role of managers in SMEs. Marshall ¬ . (1995) conducted a study on
SMEs of UK and found that the changes in such organization are more successful if
supported by managers of those organizations.
behaviour and vision of involved people (Kennerfalk & Klefsjo, 1995). For this you
need to communicate with them to inform them about the reason for change
implementation, to convince then that the desired change is critically needed, to
make their vision similar to the vision of change and to examine the effects of
change in them once the change has been implemented (Armenakis, Harris, &
Field, 1999).
In SMEs the flow of communication is easier and more effective due to their
simple structure and smaller size (Banham, 2006). This can help managers in
effective management of change. In SMEs managers often follow the traditional
managerial techniques with lesser involvement of people in change process. In the
18
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This chapter is on the research methods of the present study which include
the details of the paradigm, approach, method, strategy and instrument selected
for the research study together with the justification to select them. Selection of
appropriate research methods is very important because it decides the quality of
study findings. Experts in the field are of the opinion that the selection should be
made with consideration to aim of the study, research questions and available
resources (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe, & Lowe, 2002). In the present study, all the
factors have been given proper consideration.
Smith, Thorpe and Lowe, 2002). In qualitative studies, data is collected through
instruments like interviews, focus group discussions, and observation which take
time but allow detailed understanding of reported information as well as the context
of the information (Amaratunga ¬ , 2002).
Qualitative research is more suitable for the present study because the
research questions ± which the study seeks to answer ± requires detailed enquiry of
the SMEs of the UK. The researcher wanted to look at both the structural and
behavioural changes implemented in the selected SMEs and the how the
implemented changes are being managed. The study also required the analysis of
the use of communication in the selected organizations. Phenomenological
paradigm and inductive research approach also favours the use of qualitative
research methods (Amaratunga ¬ , 2002)
Despite the strengths of case study which make is suitable for the present
research, it ought to be noted that some issues inherent in the case study strategy
has raised the mind of some scholars to question its credibility. Bryman (2001), for
20
instance, questions the role of human objectivity in such studies when selecting
evidence to support or refute, or when choosing a particular explanation for the
evidence found, a fact. One of the implications of this influence is that content
analysis will often be invoked to convert qualitative data into quantitative, which
can lead to losing the uniqueness and µcontextuality¶ of the case being studied.
However, phenomenological paradigm used in the present study assisted the
researcher in dealing with this problem by allowing the researcher to be more
focussed on the contextual exploration of the phenomenon under study instead of
trying to separate itself from the subject being observed for the sake of objectivity
(Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2009).
More so, Collis and Hussey (2003) noted that case studies are time
consuming and result in a massive deluge of information which most often is
impossible to be analysed, thereby increasing the tendency to selectivity and
biasness. Nevertheless, it is important to note that considering the nature of the
research under enquiry and the research philosophy adopted, there is no or less
doubt that case study strategy amidst other research strategies stands more
appropriate in shedding light to the issue under investigation. It allows in-depth
understanding and can provide anecdotal evidence which can be generalised using
inductive approach (Saunders, Lewis, & Thorhill, 2009).
While adopting the case study strategy for the present study, the researcher
has two purposes in his mind. The first purpose of using case study, as described
above, was to thoroughly analyse the change management process as practiced in
the SMEs of the UK and to understand the value given to communication in these
organizations. However, the researcher was also interested in examining how
change in the degree of importance given to communication can impact the change
management process in an organization. This purpose can only be achieved either
by longitudinal case study of a single SME before and after the use of
communication as change management tool or by cross sectional case study of two
or more organizations with different approach toward communication and change
management. The researcher chose the second option. However, for avoiding the
collection of massive deluge of information, as identified by Collis and Hussey
21
The unit of analysis in this case study is the organization i.e. the two selected
SMEs from the IT industry of the UK. These two SMEs are among the Sunday times¶
top 100 SMEs of the UK and are the top most SMEs of IT-industry of the country
(The Sunday Times, 2010). The first SME ³Softcat´ is a privately-owned SME
working in IT-solution sector (Softcat, n.d., ³who we are´). According to the
information placed in its website, it currently employees over 300 people and cares
³passionately´ about the satisfaction of these employees (Softcat, n.d., ³who we
are´). The second SME ³ANS Group´ is at 9th rank in the list of top 100 SME and at
2nd rank in the list of SMEs from IT-industry (The Sunday Times, 2010). It is located
in two important cities of UK: Manchester and London and has 120 employees (ANS
Group, 2011). Both companies are quite new, the former was established in 1993
and the latter in 1997. They are providing almost similar IT-services ± Softcat is the
provider of software licensing, hardware and security while ANS group claims to
offers services related to infrastructure 3.0; networking and security and unified
comms and collaboration.These similarities in the two companies make them a
good choice for comparison in the present study.
two organization with the background information about the two SMEs. Such a
contextual based learning is very important requirement of qualitative analysis.
Softcat was founded in 1993 by Peter Kelly who is still the chairmen and the
major shareholder of the company (Softcat, n.d. a). Besides, some 90 employees
out of the total 300 employees of the company are shareholder or option holder of
the company (Softcat, n.d. b). The company claimed to have strong financial
position with turnover in excess of ƕ146 million in 2010 (Softcat, n.d. a). The graph
below presents the revenue growth of the company from the financial year 2001-02
to 2009-10 which clearly shows the consistent progress of the company since its
inception (Softcat, n.d., b).
The company has been praised for its innovative and employee-based
strategies (The Sunday Times, 2010b). The management of the company is of the
view that the products they offer are not unique but the way they offer it is unique
(MacLeod, & Clarke, 2009; Hockey & Ley, 2010; The Sunday Times, 2010b). The
company¶s innovative approach with efficient management of change with focus on
staff¶s involvement in change process and recognition of the importance of internal
communication and team cohesiveness is what makes the company the right choice
for this case study research. Understanding the company management approaches
and techniques can provide the guidelines for other SMEs in the IT-sector on how to
survive in this highly competitive and rapidly changing business environment.
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ANS Group was founded in 1996 ± three year after the foundation of Softcat
± and currently owns two offices in the UK housing 120 employees (ANS Group,
2011). It provides hardware, software and managed services to public and private
24
enterprises in the UK (ANS Group, 2010a). It offers solution and services in four
key areas:
©Y Infrastructure 3.0
©Y Networking and Security
©Y Unified Comms and Collaboration
©Y Managed Services (ANS Group, 2010a)
The financial position of the company is quite good. Its turnover has
increased from ƕ12.1 million in 2009 to ƕ13.3 million in 2010 (Malthouse, 2010).
The company has recently announced the opening of 20 jobs across (³ANS Group to
create 20 jobs´, 2011) and has found to have a plan of growing the size of their
organization even further (Malthouse, 2010).
The company was at the 9th place in the Sunday Times¶ top 100 SMEs to
work for and at the 2nd position in the SMEs related to IT-industry (The Sunday
Times, 2010a). The company claimed to respect the corporate social responsibility
and has the policy to make the environment clean through recycling and reducing
carbon footprint as well as to prove education, job opportunities and sponsorship
for young local people (ANS Group, 2010b).
methods. In the present study, the aim as well as the paradigm and method of the
research asks for the selection of an instrument that can collect adequate data
related to the structure and function of selected organization using organizations as
unit of analysis. Thus, the study requires detailed inquiry of all forces working
inside and outside the SMEs to support or hinder the change process as well as the
importance given to communication by these organizations. Such a detailed enquiry
was only possible through the secondary research. Though primary research
instruments like interview and focus group discussion can provide in-depth enquiry
of the problem it can deviate the unit of analysis from organization to individual.
Furthermore, it was very difficult to get access to relevant information through
primary research instruments.
The secondary data used as the instrument in the present study include the
publications of the two selected organizations as well as the information placed in
their official website. Furthermore, news articles published in the popular
newspapers and magazines of UK will also be analysed.
For the first phase of data collection, the researcher registered himself in
important databases of management studies like | ¬ |
. The
research articles were usually taken from the renowned journals of management
and SMEs like
¬¬¬
| ¬¬
| ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬
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¬ | ¬¬ ¬¬
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" ¬
and
#
! ¬ ¬ ¬ Furthermore, works of the experts on the
subject understudy like Lornzi and McAdam were also collected for review. The
main sources of data collection in the second phase were the official websites of
Softcat and ANS group and the websites of the important newspapers like The
Times, The Sunday Times, and Guardian.
The researcher analysed the collected data through multiple reading and
interpretation to answer the research questions. After this primary analysis,
categories were derived from the raw data which were used as key themes. The
researcher then made decision about the important and less important themes on
the basis of the dominance of the themes in the secondary data and on the basis of
the information obtained from the literature review.
28
#
*
#
The chapter presents the findings of the secondary case study research
conducted on Softcat and ANS Group ± two important SMEs from IT-industry of the
UK. The chapter begins with the presentationof the key and core categories
obtained from close reading of the collected text published on Softcat. The
researcher read the text in detail and after getting familiar with the content,
identified and defined the key categories. The general categories were derived from
the research questions while the specific categories were derived from the multiple
reading of text. All the key categories are shown and explained in this chapter
followed by the presentation of core categories which are the categories obtained
from refinement of the key categories. These core categories provides the answers
to research questions as well as some new information on the subject on which
future studies can be conducted. The key and core categories of two case studies
have been shown separately and the core categories for the two have been
compared keeping in consideration their contextual information to obtain final
context-specific findings. Finally, the chapter ends with the discussion of the
findings obtained from the present research.
#
A large number of webpages, publications and news articles were collected
for the analysis out of which the researcher selected the ones relevant to the
subject under study. Details of the secondary data reviewed for the present
research is shown in appendix (For details of the secondary data on Softcat see
Appendix A and for details of secondary data on ANS Group see Appendix B). The
29
selected secondary data for both organizations was closely read and categorised.
Further refining of the key categories led to the formation of core categories. The
obtained categories as well as the comparison of the categories for the two case
studies are provided below.
- !"
#
The table shown below presents the key and core categories obtained from
the close reading of the secondary data on Softcat. As can be seen some 41 key
categories were obtained which were further categorised into 7 core categories. Of
the seven core categories four are related to the research questions while 3
categories provide additional information about company.
µVoicing the idea [of doing some social work] at a dinner party, chief
executive officer, Peter Kelly, was advised to get in touch with Hands
Up Holidays, which specialises in holidays with a volunteering element¶
(Kelly, 2008, p. 18).
The third important theme found in the secondary data highlighted the
company¶s focus on changing with the changing environment. Mr Kelly criticised a
30
µThe me, me, me mentality that traditionally typifies sales jobs, where
prima donnas win the day ² and the commission ² is conspicuously
absent at Softcat. Here it is all about the team¶ (The Sunday Times,
2010b).
The core category of ³change´ clearly shows that the company not only
recognises the importance of change in the current rapidly changing environment
but has also implemented a number of changes and will welcome the changes in
future.
µHowever, not all of the hard-working sales force was keen on the idea
of giving up their annual reward in return for hard labour.
31
µThe average age of our sales team is 26; they¶re young graduates and they
got tonnes from doing this¶ (Kelly, 2008, p. 19)
The secondary data also revealed some other important practices of Softcat
with regard to change management. Some portions of text were found to indicate
the company¶s, particularly the chairman¶s, focus on changing the culture rather
structure. These portions were coded with the fourth key category ³focus on
culture´. Kelly¶s focus on cultural change is evident from the way he introduced
himself on the website of the company:
The paragraph shown above was also coded with the fifth key category
because it shows the ³Owner¶s determination to change.´ A lot of secondary data
was coded wit this category as there is greater focus on Kelly¶s personality and
efforts to create an innovative and unique company. The sixth key category in this
core category is much linked with the fifth one as it indicates the company¶s
centralised and dominated leadership which plays a significant role in
implementation and management of change.This category includes text like this:
The last key category in this core category is ³taking risk´ which includes the
text referring to the company¶s practice of taking risk while implementing new
changes. Risk management was found to be an important part of company¶s change
management.
Some content in the collected secondary data was coded for ³communicating
for achieving desired goals,´ which shows the importance of communication in
strategy formation and management:
µIf you can¶t communicate and relate to your staff in a way that they
understand and they feel a part of, it¶s impossible to achieve what we want
to achieve¶ (Hockey & Ley, 2010, p. 62).
µAnd every Thursday I hold a management meeting« and we hold that from
8.30 to 10.00 and we discuss every issue going on in the business¶ (Hockey
& Ley, 2010, p. 52).
The last three categories are the by-products of this analysis. They are
related to the important areas of management which were not part of this study.
However, they cannot be neglected as they contain some valuable information for
future studies on management. ³Employee engagement´, ³employee satisfaction´
and ³customers satisfaction´ appears as the key features of the company that made
it the best SME of the UK to work for.
to build a loving relationship with the company. The company also acknowledges
the importance of employee motivation and gives attractive incentives to the
deserved employees. One important incentive given to the sales staff is ³incentive
trip.´ One such trip has been made and the company is planning to arrange another
trip in coming years. The company¶s is focussed on improving dedication and
passion in the employees and for this it formally recognises the efforts by the staff
while talking about the success of the company.
- - !"
#
The key and core categories obtained from the inductive analysis of selected
publications is provided as follows
There are total 15 key categories related to the subject understudy which
grouped together to form 6 core categories. The firs core category is about
³change´ and it includes four key categories composed of secondary data on the
how the company views change and what new changes has recently been
implemented in the company.
The first key category in this core category is ³introducing latest product´.
The secondary data coded with this category revealed company practice of
introducing latest products that can be very useful for business firms in the market.
As noted by Company Eye,
µANS Group takes the latest world-class vendor products one step closer to
market by packaging them into solutions that offer a real business benefit¶
(Company Eye, 2007, p. 2).
µScott Founded ANS and has been responsible for its steady growth over the
last 10 years¶ (Company Eye, 2007, p. 3)
Despite the dominant leadership, one sentence was found to show that the
company recognising the importance of taking input from the change. This sentence
37
is published by The Sunday Times on the company¶s staff belief that the company¶s
did acknowledge their opinions and views while making decisions:
µThey [employees] feel that these people [managers] listen rather than just
tell them what to do¶ (The Sunday Times, 2010c)
ANS takes advantage of new technologies to communicate with staff, with its
own Twitter account and a regular "latest and greatest" email update from
the marketing team (The Sunday Times, 2010c).
-
The core categories of the two companies have many similarities and
differences. The core categories of ³change,´ ³change management,´ and ³practice
of communication´ are common and are related to the subject understudy. The
secondary data on ANS Group provides no information regarding the ³importance of
communication´ on which secondary data on Softcat provides detailed information.
The secondary data on Softcat was focused on employee engagement, employee
satisfaction and loyalty and customer satisfaction. By contrast the secondary data
on the ANS Group was neither focussed on employees nor customers but on
knowledge and incentives offered by the company.
38
With regard to change, both Softcat and ANS Group recognised the
importance of technological changes with the company and in the market. However,
in case of Softcat, cultural change has been given considerable importance which
was not present in the case of ANS Group. Furthermore, Softcat rejected a number
oftraditional practices still in use in ANS Group plc. For instance, in Softcat the staff
takes part in decision making except the strategic decision making which is the
responsibility of management. Nevertheless, ANS Group plc.has not yet
implemented the democratic ethic of Softcat and in this company major decisions
are made by the board with consideration to the input received from the
employees.
These differences in the company may arise out of the differences in the
involvement of employees in the business. In Softcat, many employees are
shareholder or option holder which makes their involvement more significant in the
39
#!
The present study was set out with the aim of finding the theory and practice
of change management in the SMEs of the UK. The researcher first concern was to
know the importance given to change management in SMEs. The literature shows
that in theory, the importance of change management for SMEs is well recognised
(Coetsee & Visagie, 1994; Gray, 2002; Guido, Gail, Nancy & Pierluigi, 2010). The
secondary research showed that though change management is being practiced in
the selected SMEs of the UK, the companies do not give verbal recognition to the
importance of change management.
part in the change process and the company is often successful in implementing
and sustaining changes. On the other hand the SMEs with the traditional centralised
and dominant management often manage changes with little involvement of
employees. In the companies where employee engagement in change management
process is higher has higher employee satisfaction, as evident from the results of
survey conducted by The Sunday Times (2010a).
These findings of the study are in concordance with what has been reported
in the literature on change management. Goleman (1998) has reported that many
SMEs in the UK are still practicing the traditional managerial techniques with lesser
involvement of people in change process. However, he also suggested that
managers of SME ought to act as leader and should pay attention to the
interpersonal dimensions of management. This leadership role and focus on
interpersonal dimension of management has been found to be practiced by Softcat.
The success of the Softcat clearly shows the importance of employee involvement
in change process for the success of an SME.
This finding of the study contradicts with what has been reported in the
literature. The importance of communication for change management has also
provided by a number of scholars like Lautner (1999), Kitchen & Daly (2002), and
Proctor &Doukakis (2003). The secondary data also reported no association
between the communication and change acceptance in the SMEs. This finding
neither means that the communication is not important for the SMEs in the UK nor
means that communication is indirectly associated with change management. It
simply shows that the mangers of the SMEs in the two selected organizations have
little awareness about the importance of communication for change management
and there is a need to develop this awareness among the mangers of SMEs in the
UK.
$ &
$
The aim of the present study is to find the theory and practice of change
management in the SMEs of the UK as well as to examine the role played by the
communication in the change management process. For this purpose, two SMEs
from the IT-industry of the UK have been selected as case studies and the
researcher analysed the secondary data published on them. The chapter presents
the conclusion derived from the ³general inductive analysis´ of secondary data
published on the two selected case study. Besides the description of conclusion, the
chapter also contains recommendation for the future studies on the subject and for
the SMEs of the UK. At the end of the chapter the limitations of the study has been
provided.
$
The analysis of the secondary data on Softcat and ANS Group resulted in the
creation of two types of core categories. Some of the core categories were directly
associated with the research questions while some were treated as the by-product
of the present study as they have no direct link with the subject understudy but are
important enough to be part of the study findings. Therefore, the conclusions
derived from the study findings are divided in two groups: major and minor
conclusions. Major conclusions were the conclusions related to the research
questions while the minor conclusion provide the important information with regard
to the SMEs of the UK but has no direct link with the subject understudy.
43
-
$
After thorough analysis of the literature published on the change
management in SMEs and the secondary data on the Softcat and ANS Group ± two
important SMEs of the UK ± the researcher came to the conclusion that importance
of change management in the SMEs of the UK is not negligible. Both SMEs of the
UK were found to practice change management but they do not give verbal
recognition to the importance of change management. Another important
conclusion of the present study is with regard to the importance of changing culture
in the organization. The theory and the practice of Softcatis evident of the benefits
of changing the culture of the organization with the technological changes which are
common in the SMEs of the IT industry of the UK.
With regard to the practice of change management in the UK, the study
concludes that the SMEs of the UK differ significantly in the process of change
management. In some SMEs, the involvement of the employees in the process of
change management is much higher whereas in others the management plays the
main role in managing change. The study concludes that the SMEs having higher
involvement of employees in change management process have higher employee
satisfaction and are relatively more successful.
There are also significant differences in the way communication is being done
in the SMEs of the UK. Regarding these practices, the present study concludes that
open communication facilitates employee engagement and better management of
change.
44
- -
The study found some important key areas which are the focus of the SMEs
of the UK and the companies claimed to gain competitive advantage from them.
These key areas include employee engagement, employee satisfaction and
customer satisfaction for Softcat and knowledge management and employee
incentives for ANS Group. The study concludes that the main reason for the growth
of Softcat can be its recognition of the importance of employee and customer
satisfaction. Similarly, the success of ANS Group can be behind the role played by
knowledge management and employee incentive.
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56
This is a report from two experts in the field of business management to the
government. One of the authors has served as Senior Advisor on Change and
Performance in the Cabinet Office while the other was a former advisor to
former Prime Minister Tony Blair. The purpose of the report is to assist the
government of UK in recovering Britain¶s economy through promoting
employee engagement in organizations. While narrating the challenges faced
by the SME in employee engagement, the report talked about Softcat in
brief. The paragraph has been taken from the report for inductive analysis
©Y Hockey, J. & Ley, I. (2010). 3¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ " ¬ ¬¬¬ ¬
<http://www.nationalschool.gov.uk/downloads/LeadingForEngagementReport.p
This is a web page from the official website of the company. The webpage
provide details of the company and was analyzed to examine the importance
given to change and communication by the company in its formal
introduction.
2011]
This webpage provides the views and opinion of the senior management of
the company which can be helpful in understanding management focus on
change and communication
March, 2011]
©Y The Sunday Times (2010c) ANS Group: IT and Communication. ¬ %
<http://www.ansgroup.co.uk/files/pdf/financial_accounts_2010.pdf> [Accessed
12 March, 2011].
Available from:
<http://www.ansgroup.co.uk/files/pdf/financial_accounts_2010.pdf> [Accessed
12 March, 2011].
Another section of annual report 2010 ± written by the chairman Mr. Fletcher
± contains the company¶s overall performance in the last financial year. This
publication of ANS Group is important was examined to look at the changes
implemented during 2009-2010 and the way they have been managed.
©Y Company Eye (2007) ¬)¬ ¬ +. [Internet]. Available from:
<http://www.unquoted.co.uk/companyinfo/Associated%20Network%20Solution