LUẬN văn THẠC sĩ (KINH tế) staff and management perception of the change management process the case of carphone warehouse business integration between british and irish

TABLEOFCONTENT TABLEOFCONTENT...2 LISTOFFIGURESAND TABLES...5 DECLARATION...7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...8 CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTION...9 1.1.. Futureapplicationoflearning...90 APPENDICES...100 Append

Staffandmanagementperceptionofthechangemanagementprocess ThecaseofCarphoneWarehousebusinessintegrationbetweenBritish

Supervisor:ClaireDevlinMa

y2013

TABLEOFCONTENT

TABLEOFCONTENT 2

LISTOFFIGURESAND TABLES 5

DECLARATION 7

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 8

CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTION 9

1.1 Backgroundoftheissue 9

1.2 ResearchObjectives 10

1.3 ResearchHypothesis 10

1.5 ResearchRecipients 11

1.6 SuitabilityoftheResearcher 11

1.7 Interestinthesubject 12

1.8 OrganisationoftheResearch 12

1.9 Structureofthestudy 13

CHAPTER2:LITERATUREREVIEW 14

2.1 Introduction 14

2.2 ChangeManagement.Schoolsofthought 14

2.3 PlannedandEmergentapproachtochange 15

2.4 Reasonsforchange 16

2.5 Criticalsuccessfactorsforasuccessfulchange 19

2.5.1 Sharedservices 23

2.6 Leadership 23

2.6.1 Transformationalleadership 24

2.7 Transition 27

2.8 Literaturereviewconclusion 28

CHAPTER3:REASERCHMETHODSAND METHODOLOGY 30

3.1 Introduction 30

3.2 ResearchPhilosophy 31

3.2.1 Positivism 31

3.2.2 Interpretivism 32

3.2.3 ResearchPhilosophyChoice 32

3.3 ResearchApproaches 32

3.3.1 DeductiveApproach 33

3.3.2 InductiveApproach 33

3.3.3 ResearchApproach Choice 34

3.4 ResearchStrategy 34

3.5 ResearchChoice 35

3.6 TimeHorizons 35

3.7 Researchpopulationandsample 35

3.8 Researchdata collection methods 36

3.8.1 Secondarydata 37

3.8.2 Primary Data 37

3.9 Interview preparation 38

3.10 Questionnairedesign process 39

3.11 EthicalIssues 42

CHAPTER4:RESEARCHRESULTS 43

4.1 Introduction 43

4.2 Resultsofthe Interviews 43

4.2.1 Perceptionoftheintegrationprocess 44

4.2.2 Change 44

4.2.3 Expectations 45

4.2.4 Leadership 46

4.2.5 Transition 46

4.2.6 Solutionsandrecommendation for the future 47

4.3 Resultsofthe Questionnaire 49

4.3.1 Numberofresponders 49

4.3.2 Characteristicofresponders 50

4.3.3 Change 54

4.3.4 Reasonsforchange 55

4.3.5 Criticalsuccessfactors 58

4.3.6 Expectations 62

4.3.7 Leadership 65

4.3.8 Transition 67

4.3.9 OverallsuccessoftheorganisationalchangeintheCarphoneWarehouse 73

CHAPTER5:RESEARCHDISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 76

5.1 Introduction 76

5.2 ResearchObjectivesAchieved 76

5.2.1 Reasonsforchange 76

5.2.2 Criticalsuccessfactorsforasuccessfulchange 77

5.2.3 Staffandmanagementexpectations 77

5.2.4 Leadershipduring theintegrationprocess 78

5.2.5 Challenges during the transition 78

5.2.6 Successoftheorganisationalchange 79

5.3 ResearchHypothesis 80

5.4 Recommendedareasoffurtherstudy 80

CHAPTER6:RESEARCHRECOMMENDATIONS 81

6.1 Introduction 81

6.2 ProjectManagement 81

6.3 Leadership 82

6.4 Employeeengagementandcommunication 83

6.5 Sustainability 84

CHAPTER7:REFLECTIVELEARNING 85

7.1 Introduction 85

7.2 LearningStyles 85

7.3 ReflectionsonLearning 87

7.3.1 Researchskills 88

7.3.2 Finance 89

7.3.3 TimeManagement 89

7.4 Futureapplicationoflearning 90

APPENDICES 100

Appendix1:Carphone WarehouseDublin region 100

Appendix2:Companybackground 101

Appendix3:Interviewquestions 102

Appendix4:Detailednotesfromthe interviews 103

Appendix5:Questionnaire 120

Appendix6:ConsentFormfor participationinInterview Research 127

Appendix7:Emailsentoverto theresearchpopulation 130

Appendix8:Crosstabbedresponsestothequestionnaire 131

Appendix9:ResearchProjectPlan 158

Appendix10:ResearchProjectCost 158

Figure1:Theresearchprocess 12

Figure2:Theeffectivenessmatrix 19

Figure3:LeadingChangeModel 22

Figure4:TransformationalLeadership 25

Figure5:Transactionalmanagementvtransformationalleadership 26

Figure6:Theresearchonion 30

Figure8:Breakdownofemployeesmanagingatleast1person 50

Figure9:Involvementindecisionmakingprocessduringtheintegration 51

Figure10:Breakdownofrespondersworkservice 52

Figure11:Breakdownofrespondersworkchannel 53

Figure12:Integrationprocessratings 55

Figure13:Reasonsforchangebreakdown 57

Figure14:Understandingofreasonsforchange 58

Figure15:Criticalsuccessfactorsbreakdown 60

Figure16:Breakdownofcriticalsuccessfactorsduringthechange 62

Figure17:Breakdownofexpectationsfromtheintegrationprocess 64

Figure18:Breakdownofthefulfilmentofstafflevelofexpectations 65

Figure19:BreakdownofthesatisfactionlevelwithLeadershipTeam 67

Figure20:Breakdownofpreparationlevelforthechangeprocess 68

Figure21:Breakdownofemployees’stateofmind 70

Figure22:Breakdownofthelevelofsupport 71

Figure23:SharedServicessupportratings 73

Figure24:Organisationalchangesuccessratings 74

Table1:Externaldriverstriggeringchange 17

Table2:Internaldriverstriggeringchange 18

Table3:Practiceshelpingchange 20

Table4:Breakdownofresponderscompanyjoindate 49

Figure7:Breakdownofresponderscompanyjoindate 49

Table5:Breakdownofemployeesmanagingatleast1person 50

Table7:Breakdownofresponders workservice 52

Table8:Breakdownofresponderswork channel 53

Table9:Integrationprocessratings 54

Table10:Reasons forchangebreakdown 56

Table11:Understandingofreasons forchange 57

Table12:Criticalsuccessfactors breakdown 59

Table13:Breakdownofcriticalsuccess factors duringthechange 61

Table14:Breakdownofexpectationsfromtheintegrationprocess 63

Table15:Breakdownofthefulfilmentofstafflevelofexpectations 65

Table16:BreakdownofthesatisfactionlevelwithLeadershipTeam 66

Table17:Breakdownofpreparationlevelfor thechangeprocess 68

Table18:Breakdownofemployees’stateofmind 69

Table19:Breakdownofthelevelofsupport 71

Table20:SharedServicessupportratings 72

Table21:Organisationalchangesuccessratings 74

Ideclarethatalltheworkinthisdissertationisentirelymyownunlessotherwisestatedandreferencedwiththeoriginalsource

Adetailedreferencesectionisincludedwithinthisdissertation

Noportionoftheworkreferredtointhisdissertationhasbeensubmittedforassessment,ina n y form,eitheratDublinBusinessSchooloranyotheruniversityorinstituteoflearning

Signed: Date:

Thisdissertationcouldnothavebeenwrittenwithoutthesupportofmanypeoplewhohaveencouragedandsupportedmethroughoutthewritingofthisdissertation

TotheacademicstaffofDublinBusinessSchoolwhoprovidedguidanceandsupportthroughoutthewholeMBAjourney.Tomyresearchdissertationsupervisor,ClaireDevlin,whok e p t meontherighttrackandencouragedtocontinuethehardworkatalltimes

Totheleadershipteama n d staffo f theC a r p h o n e Warehousewithoutwhomthisresearchc o u l dnothavetakenplace

1.1 Backgroundoftheissue

Theeconomicenvironmentischallengingforallretailers.Increasedcompetitiononthehighstreet,alternativeonlinesaleschannelsandconsumer,whoisspendinglessa n d ha s nowm o r e choicesthaneverbefore,requirestheorganisationtoc h a n g e ino r d e r tos u r v i v e Organisationalchangeis

a

constantchallengeforallbusinessesacrosstheglobe(Cowan-Sahadath,2010)andtheemphasisoftoday’smanagementliteratureissendingaclearmessagethatcompaniesmustchangeinordertosurvive(Ojiakoetal.,2008).Pioch(2007)highlightsthatservicesecto

withincreasinglevelofinternationalisation.Competitionbetweennationalandmulti-nationalcompanieswenttothenewlevelandallcorporationsarelookingtomaximiseopportunitie

sa n d minimisecostsbasedonthattrend.C u r r e n t f a s t p a c e d businessenvironmentwithacceleratingchangesintechnology(Cowan-Sahadath,2010),highercustomerexpectations(Yen-Haoetal.,2010)requiresconstantchangetoremainsuccessful

(Ojiakoetal.,2008).Researchshowsthatover60%ofallchange

projectsareconsideredtofail,thereforeitisvitaltorecognisethatsuccessfulchangeisdifficulttobeachieved(Burnes,2004)

In2008theworldwidefinancialcrisisaffectedallsectorsofglobaleconomytriggeringsubstantial,longtermconsequenceswhicha r e stillvisibleintheservicessector.O ve r theyearsmanydifferentstrategies,businessplansandoperationaltacticshavebeenintroducedinordertochangeorimprovethefinancialstatusandperformanceoftheretailarea.Considerablerestructuringanddown-

sizinghavebeenintroducedinmanyindustriesinordertodecreaseanimpactofthefinancialcollapse(VonFriedrichsetal.,2009)

TheCarphoneWarehouse,thelargestindependentmobilephoneretailerinEuropewithover2,300stores,isamongmanyorganisationsthatarelookingintovariouswaysforimprovemento f itseconomicstatus.TheCompanycouldnolongerremain in thesamepositionandinordertostaycompetitiveonthemarketplacewentthroughnumberofchangesover thepast4years.T h e organisationw e n t throughanothermajorchangein2 0 1 1 resultinginI r i s h andBritishdivisionsintegratingtheiroperations

Theliteraturereviewhasshownlackofresearchcarriedoutin Irelandthatwouldpresentwiderretailmanagementstructurefromthep e r s p e c ti ve ofthec h a n g e managementintheorganisation.Theavailablematerialsarelimited;moreoverthereasonsforchangeandcriticalsuccessfactorsareveryoftendescribedinabroadcontextandarenotwellranked.

TheauthorwillinvestigateDublinregion1staffandmanagementperceptionofchangebasedo n thebusinessintegrationbetweentheIrishandBritishdivisionoftheCarphoneWarehouseGroup2

1.2 ResearchObjectives

AccordingtoSaunderse t al

(2007:32)theresearchobjectivesexpressthe“researcher’ssenseo f thep u r p o s e a n d direction”

T h e followingobjectiveswilla s s i s t ina c h i e v i n g thep r i m a r y aimoftheresearch:

TheperceptionofchangemanagementintheCarphoneWarehouseDublinregionbasedontheintegrationbetweenI r i s h a n d Britishoperationsw a s s u c c e s s f u l accordingtostaffa n d management

1.5 ResearchRecipients

Thedissertationwillbesubmittedinpartfulfilmento f theDublinBusinessSchoolMBAprogrammeinconjunctionwithLiverpoolJohnMoore’sUniversity.Theprincipalrecipientswillb e thedissertationsupervisorClaireDevlin.TheresearchwillbeofinteresttotheCarphoneW a r e h o u s e IrelandBoardofDirectors,whowouldwelcomealessonlearnedfromthechangeimplementedin20 11 ThereisanopportunitytoexaminethechangeprocessinCarphoneW a r e h o u s e withincreasedemphasiso n staff

a n d managementperceptiono f change,toidentifycriticalsuccessfactors,understandtheproblemsandwithenoughresearchevidence,tosuggestpotentialsolutions.Thistopicwillbealsointerestingtomanyprofessionals,whowillb e goingthroughthechangemanagementprocessintheirorganisations

1.6 SuitabilityoftheResearcher

Overthepastfiveyearso f hisworkintheCarphoneW a r e h o u se theauthorwentthroughnumbero f changeswithinthebusinesswhileindifferentpositionsa n d departments.T h e author’sprofessionalbackgroundandexcellentrelationshipsacrossthecompanymakeshimw e l l suitedtocarryoutthisresearcheffectivelywithastrongemphasisondeliveringcomprehensiveoutcome.Astrongcommercial,customerandprojectmanagementbackgroundthatauthorposeswillprovideadditionaldimensiontotheoverallscopeo f thec h a n g e managementresearch

1.7 Interestinthesubject

TheauthorwentthroughthechangemanagementprocesstwicewhileworkingintheCarphoneWarehouse.Hefeelsthatinbothcasestherewasaroomforimprovementintermso f theo v e r a l l processdelivery.O n topo f thatthec u r r e n t businessenvironmentisverychallenginga n d theresearcherfeelsthath e mightb e goingthroughm o r e changemanagementprocessesinthefuture.Everys i n g l e businessinordertosustain itssuccessrationeedstoevolve;especiallynowduetothefastpacedchangesthatappearsinbusinessenvironment.C u r r e n t l y thereisa n increasedemphasiso n thechangemanagementp r o c e s s e s , butitisunclearwhichfactorsaremakingthatprocesssuccessful.Thedissertationwillcontributetothatknowledgebydeterminingwhatemployeesandmanagersperceiveasthecriticalsuccessfactorsforaneffectivechange.Thisparticularsubjectwillbeveryinterestingtomanyprofessionalswhowillbegoingthroughthechangemanagementprocessinthefuture

1.9 Structureofthestudy

Thedissertationisdividedintosevenchapters

Introductiontothedissertationisbeingprovidedinc h a p t e r o n e Thischapteroutlinesa backgroundtotheresearchissue,researchobjectivesandhypothesis.Italsoidentifiesthereasonsfortheresearcher’sinterest

Chaptertwoundertakesanextensivereviewofexistingliteratureinrelationtotheresearcha r e a basedonthevarioussourcesincludingb o o k s , onlinejournals,articlesa n d internetmaterials.Allthes

o u r c e s usedtocriticallyevaluatethei s s u e arelistedinthereferencess e c t i o n anddividedintothreemainsections:books,articlesandinternet

Chapter threeexplainsthe research methodology,designandstrategy,which

dissertationhypothesis.Thischapteroffersalsoreasoning

fore a c h approachappliedinthestudybytheauthor

Inchapterfourauthorpresentsthefindingsoftheresearchgatheredbasedonqualitativeandquantitativemethodsofdatacollection

Chapterfivedrawsconclusionsbasedonthecollecteddatafrominterviewsandquestionnaire

RecommendationsbasedonthedataanalysedareavailableinChaptersix.Thispartincludesw h a t theresearcherbelievesmightb e thefuturep r o o f solutioninrelationtothec h a n g e managementintheretailorientatedorganisationinIreland

Finally,chaptersevendescribesresearcher’sself-reflectiononthedissertationprojectandtheo v e r a l l MBAprogramme.Authoralsoanalysesfutureapplicationsoflearning’s

2.1 Introduction

Thischapterexplorestheemergingareaofchangeinorganisation,demonstratesandanalysesdifferentapproachestochangeprocessandexaminesreasonsforchange.Italsoattemptstoidentifyreasonsfor

change,criticalsuccessfactorsassociatedwithdrivingchangeinorganisationandstudiestheimpactofthetransitionprocess

Althoughthereisa n extensiveliteratureavailableinrelationtothec h a n g e management,authordecidedtopresentcriticalsuccessfactorsandtransitionfromageneralperspective,asthereviewedliteraturepresentedlackofcontrastingviewsanddifferentschoolsofthought

2.2 ChangeManagement.Schoolsofthought

Theavailableliteratureo n changemanagementdescribesita s a d i s c i p l i n e withunclearlydefinedboundaries,interconnectedwithnumbero f socials c i e n c e theoriesa n d practices.Burnes(2009)recognisesthatandlimitstheexaminationofthechangemanagementtheoreticalbackgroundtothreeschoolsofthought:

- TheIndividualPerspectiveSchool

- TheGroupDynamicsSchool

- TheOpenSystemSchool

AstheobjectiveofthebusinessintegrationchangeintheCarphoneWarehouseisnotbasedo n theindividuallevel,theauthorwillnotconsiderinvestigatingseparatelyIndividualPerspectiveSchool.TheGroup

DynamicsschoolhasthelongesthistoryanditoriginatedfromKurtLewin’swork(Burnes,2009),whoproducedtheevidencethatagroupisshapingvalues,behavioursandbeliefsoftheindividual(Hayes,2010).Thisresultedinbelievingthatchangec a n beachievedthroughastronggroupinfluenceandbychangingnorms,rolesandvalues.Althoughthistheoryhasbeen

veryinfluential,somearguethatthecorrectapproachto

changedealswithanorganisationasa w hole (Burnes,2009).T h a t conceptisrepresentedbytheO p

e n SystemsSchool,whichsees“anorganisationasasystemofinterrelatedcomponentsthattransactwithalargerenvironment”(Hayes,2010:93).As organisations arenotinisolation,

areasaswella s ontheexternalenvironment,andviceversa(Burnes,2009).Beach(1980)iscriticisingthisidea,basedonthefactthatitconstitutesahighlevelofabstractionwithoutarequiredlevelofconcreteandconciseapproach.Althoughthefoundationforbothschoolsarecontrasting,Burnes(2009)makesapointthatdependingonthelevelofchangeinorganisationandthew a y itwillbemanaged,theseapproachescouldbecomplementary

2.3 PlannedandEmergentapproachtochange

Changemanagementliteraturerecognisesmanydifferentapproachestoorganisationalc h a n g e ,however

thereisageneralagreementthatplannedandemergentapproachesaretwodominantones(Burnes,2004;Todnem,2005;Kerber,2005).TheplannedapproachtochangeoriginatedfromLewin’sworkandfrom1950sto1980sdominatedthefieldoforganisationalc h a n g e (Burnes,2004).Plannedchangemeansthatorganisation“identifiesanareawhere,itbelieves,changeisrequiredandundertakesaprocesstoevaluateand,ifnecessary, bringa b o u t change”(Burnes,2009).AccordingtoLewin,successfulchangeinvolvesthreestepsofunfreezingthepresentlevel,movingtothenewoneandthenrefreezingit(Todnem,2005).Thismodel,wherechangesaregenerallyoriginatedfromhigherlevelwithinanorganisation(Williamsetal.,2007),recognisestheneedtodiscardoldbehaviours,processesandculturebeforepursuingsuccessfuladoptionofnewapproaches(Bamforde tal.,2003).AsLewin’smodelwasratherbroad,severalauthorsmadeanattempttoimproveitovertheyearsandtherefore,basedonover30models,BullockandBattendevelopedafourphasemodelhighlyapplicabletomostchangesituations(Burnes,2005).Thatmodeldivideschangeintofollowingp h a s e s : exploration,planning,action

a n d integration( T o d n e m , 2005).Sinceearly1980splannedapproachtochangestartedtobeheavilycriticised,whichresultedindevelopmentofe m e r g e n t changeapproach(Burnes,2009).Liu(2009)indicatesthatinturbulentenvironmentsitisimpossibletomoveclearlyfromonestateto

another,assituationsbeforerefreezingmightb e alreadydifferent.Alsoplannedapproachestochangecannotcopewithanyunpredictablechanges(Kerber,2005),whichisafoundationforanemergentapproach(Burns,2009).Thee m e r g e n t approachshouldbeperceivedasacontinuous,open-endedprocessofadaptationtochangingconditionsresultedbyuncertaintiesofboththeexternalandinternalenvironments( T o d n e m , 2 0 0 5 ; Bamfordetal.,2 0 0 3 ) B a s e d onthatcharacteristic,significantnumberso f modelswerecreatedovertheyears.Liu (2009) listsfiveelements addressedinthesemodels,