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The case under scrutiny involves the U.S. based global leader in money transfer services, Western Union. The organization had stopped growing and needed an operational and structural overhaul. With Christina Gold’s accession to the position of CEO, the organizational change process was initiated. Prior to her assumption of the leadership of the company, it faced a myriad of problems. Firstly, the company experienced a problem in its leadership.
Some of the leaders were not ready to give up their control over the various product lines that they controlled while others were willing to embrace change, but lacked a clear sense of what the necessary change entailed. Therefore, Gold’s change process needed to be broad based. She had to start from the recruitment of new leaders who could move the organization in the desired direction, to the development of new ideas for the organization.
Western Union’s target market consists of workers who are employed abroad and need to remit funds to their friends and families back in their home countries. Further, those workers who do not have bank accounts through which they can conduct such transactions can comfortably use Western Union to satisfy money transfer needs. Therefore, Western Union’s structure, target customers, and culture all required an alternative strategic context of growth.
Gold needed to restructure the organization because of its separated structure. The company was initially inconsiderate of other cultures. For example, Gold explains that the company’s leadership was unwilling to treat each person differently taking into account their different cultures. The leadership’s emphasis was that people should be understood through the allocation of adequate time to interact with them. Additionally, the leadership believed that more focus on customers’ needs was enough. The belief behind this approach was that it promoted effective communication and enhanced customer satisfaction.
The main organizational goal that was likely to be effectively achieved by implementing Gold’s change strategy was enhanced performance. The distribution of the organization’s core operations into regional hubs would help it to reach various regions more efficiently than before. This decentralization could also assist the organization to manage its activities around the globe easily and reach out to a diversity of cultural groupings. The idea of increased productivity could also be effectively achieved. By reaching a wider global customer base, the company would need to serve more customers. This need would compel it to enhance its productive capacity and in the end, there would be an increase in productivity.
Gold also emphasized the idea of consumer-to-consumer business as a driver of growth. She further suggested embracing change by using technology to permeate local markets. The introduction of the company’s online platform as well as prepaid services was considered a prudent move since the two developments could yield immeasurable benefits for the organization. This argument was pegged on the notion that technology would enable the company to reach a wider customer base within a short period and at a smaller cost in comparison to its conventional approaches.
In undertaking the change, the company was expected to face challenges. Restructuring would cost the company an estimated $4 million, which included the cost of creating new bases and recruiting new personnel. Gold felt that fostering a culture of responsibility within the organization would bring about accountability whether the organization realized profits or losses.
Another challenge was the development of leaders who would be capable of handling a particular area of specialization in the organization. The human resources department, however, gave a relevant solution by providing the required services and defining the right processes for the leaders. The decentralization idea also was a challenge in itself. Getting the right people who could run the company’s processes in different parts of the globe was an uphill task for the organization.
Anderson & Anderson (2001) argue that change needs to be instituted without considering any implications or else the intended goals may not be achieved. They add that there is need to adapt to change for it to be successful (Anderson & Anderson, 2001). Therefore, despite the potential and actual challenges, the change process at Western Union was had to proceed.
The problems that bedeviled Western Union could also be remedied using the following measures. Firstly, the organization needed to reconsider the strategic changes with regards to the new strategic context. Gold needed to align the organization’s structure with its redefined tasks using the keys to successful change. According to Branson (2008), a company’s strategic context should be well understood first for its goals and objectives to be attained. When an organization clearly defines its tasks, it can be easy to implement any changes that may be deemed necessary.
Secondly, the organization could align its structure and culture to the keys that drive successful change. For example, it could highlight those changes that do not elicit any resistance and implement them. Some changes can bring forth crises instead of creating better organizations. Therefore, despite the imperative need for change at Western Union and the argument that the change process should be implemented without focusing excessively on its possible ramifications, it would be prudent for Western Union to make this consideration.
References
Anderson, D., & Anderson, L.A. (2001). Beyond change management: Advanced strategies for today’s transformational leaders. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
Branson, C. M. (2008). Achieving organizational change through values alignment. Journal of Educational Administration, 46(3), 376-395.
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