Implementing Strategy and Managing Change: UK Fire and Rescue - Case Study Example

Implementing Strategy and Managing Change 1. Introduction Various changes in environment such as legal requirements, changes in statutes such as Fire & Rescue Services Act can prompt organisations to change and adjust their internal structures, objectives and workforce attitudes. Both private and public sector organisations need to respond to such needs by planning the changes to be implemented and implementing them. In the case of UK Fire & Rescue Department, legislature prompts them to accept and undertake a broader scope of responsibilities in non fire related rescues falling outside of fire incidents. Whilst this requirement remains a matter of choice, the government and public expectations impose a moral requirement to undertake these non-fire incidents with as much the fire related incidents. However, the need for expanded duties is not perceived favourably by all employees in the department. Some feel that they should strictly perform only the fire related rescues stated in Fire and Rescue Act. This paper discusses the changes needed in workforce behavior as well as managerial practices needed to be in place to cater to this new changed environment. 2. Understanding Change Management Change can be planned or unplanned and organisations have to be well prepared to face both types of change. In implementing change, the key success factor needs to be taken in to consideration if the change is to be delivered effectively. People within the organisation need to be mobilized towards a shared vision and there should be a focus on fulfilling ethical responsibilities to all stakeholders. There should also be commitment to measure the progress being made through the change being implemented. Doherty & Horne (2002), propose that transformational management & change to consist of three key aspects. It should first develop a vision of change which captures the attention of the organisation. Secondly, the change plans should be communicated to the organisations. Finally, the leaders and change agents should negotiate consensus and commitment to the change program (Doherty & Horne, 2002). It is important to note that change can only be effectively implemented with strong leaders who can be visionary to map and chart a course to where the change should lead. These leaders should fully support, facilitate and assure the followers to embrace the change. But in most cases, it is common to face resistance to change as members of organisations go through various reactions to change from disengagement, disidentification, disenchantment and disorientation (Nelson & Quick, 2000). 3. Process of Implementing Change The starting point of a change program should be to have a proper analysis carried out to establish the state at which the organisation currently is and where it should reach after the change takes place (Doherty & Horne, 2002). According to Weiss (2001), evaluating and understanding the employee readiness for change is important as well. When faced with change, people go through a number of phases starting from 1) ignoring and go through 2) attending, 3) planning, 4) executing and 5) embedding the changes. The process of change can be split in to 3 key phases as Planning, Implementing and Consolidating. For public organisations of the scale of Fire and Rescue department, the need for planning change has to be in a national scale and depicted in documented plans such as the London Safety Plan, 2008-2011. In the planning phase, it is important that a realistic assessment of organisational strengths and weaknesses are carried out and the desired change is encapsulated in to a clean and concise vision statement. The change should be communicated to all stakeholders and the objective measures which are put in place to measure the effectiveness of change should be clearly explained to the members of the organisation. Another aspect of change is to prioritize the activities related to change and include new skill acquisitions and retraining as a top priority to assure members that they are a part of the state after the change and not to be adversely affected by the change. It is beneficial to apply a transitional approach to change, if the situation permits, where people have time to gradually adjust to the change being implemented in a step by step manner. A cornerstone of a successful change program is being honest and open with the rest of the members of the organisation (Doherty & Horne, 2002). Lastly, the process of change implementation has to attend to consolidation of change. There should be proper monitoring systems and performance measures that are transparent and justifiable in place to assess the headway made by the organisation undergoing change. These measurement plans should have milestones marked for celebrating which can improve work force moral and also mark the reaching of a certain phase in the change program. 4. Best Practices in Managing Change Implementing change must be done to minimize resistance and maximize the speed and agility in response. By applying best practices, organisations can avoid mistakes which other organisations have made and also acquire the knowledge of those who have achieved success in implementing change. Following are some of the best practices which UK Fire and Rescue Department can apply in to their change management programs. Create a clear vision of the state to be achieved through the change. Implement awareness campaigns to communicate change plans. Appoint change agents across various levels of the organisation. Support and total commitment to change of the leaders. Allocation of resources to retraining and new skill acquisitions required to sustain the change. Having clear and transparent performance measures in place to gauge the effectiveness of the change programs. By incorporating some or all of these best practices in to the change process, the chances of making the effort more effective increase significantly. 5. Implementing and Monitoring Change at UK Fire & Rescue Department To implement change within UK Fire and Rescue Department, and alter the mindset of the organisational members, a new vision for the department should be created to encapsulate the new expectations from the Fire & Rescue Department. The expansions of duties from Fire and Rescue management to a broader framework of fire management including resilience building, risk mitigation, fire management and rescue as well as non fire rescues must become a part of the organisational goals. These activities should then be built in to the performance management measures and monitored and evaluated continuously. A good example is the Performance Report and Action Plan (PR&AP) which serves a number of purposes. This planning tool allows the organisation to report performance over the last year and carryout internal and external assessments. It also facilitates gauging the financial position and allows us to seek a view on any changes we are advocating. 6. Conclusion Implementing change is not a choice but a pre requisite, if organisations are to survive changes in environment and forge ahead. Change management is a systematic process and by adhering to a recognized process, the effectiveness of the change program can be increased. Similarly, by incorporating best practices, the organisations can benefit from learning points of those other firms which have incorporated change successfully. Most importantly, having relevant performance management measures in place to monitor change rate and effectiveness must be addressed in delivering change. 7. Reference Doherty, T.L & Horne, T. (2002) Managing Public Services, Routledge Publishing. New York Mc Grawhill. Fire And Rescue Services Act (2004). Fire And Rescue Authorities. Nadler, D. & Thushman, M. (1982). A Diagnostic Model for Organisational behavior in Perspective on Behavior in Organisations eds. J Hackman, E. Lawlette, III and Porter, L. Lancashire Fire & Rescue Services: A Review Of Specialist Rescue & Support Arrangements July. 2010. Lakshire Fire and Rescue Nelson, O. and Quick, J. (2000) Organizational Behavior: Foundation, Realities and Challenges, Cincinnati: South Western Collage Publishing Making Greater Manchester Safer (2010). Overview of our proposed actions for 2010 – 2011 Fire and Rescue Service: National Framework 2008–11 (2008) Communities and Local Government. Performance Report 2004 – 2007 and Integrated Risk Management Plan 2007 – 2010. Strathclyde Fire & Rescue. Weiss, J.W. (2001) Organisational Behaviour & Change, 2nd ed. Ohio: South-Western Collage Publishing. Read More