• Home
• Module overview
• 1. Introduction to logistics
  • 1.1. The logistics concept
    • 1.1.1 A question of definition
    • 1.1.2 Technological context
  • 1.2. Evolution of modern business logistics
    • 1.2.1 Materials management or supply-side logistics
    • 1.2.2 Physical distribution or demand-side logistics
    • 1.2.3 The total logistics concept
  • 1.3 Logistics, the critical interfaces

• 2. Supply side logistics: Procurement and materials management

  • 2.1 Materials management
    • 2.1.1 Purchasing and procurement
    • 2.1.2 Production control
    • 2.1.3 Warehousing and storage
    • 2.1.4 Data and information systems
  • 2.2 Quality in logistics
    • 2.2.1 Total quality management
    • 2.2.2 Benchmarking
  • 2.3 Kanban
  • 2.4 Measurement and evaluation
  • 2.5 MRP 1 and 2

• 3. Demand side logistics: Forecasting and order processing

  • 3.1 Customer order processing
  • 3.2 Environmental scanning
    • 3.2.1 The environments
    • 3.2.2 Approaches to scanning
  • 3.3 Logistics needs forecasting
  • 3.4 Lead time components
  • 3.5 Enhancing forewarning of demand

• 4. Inventory management and control

  • 4.1 Basic concepts and rationale for inventory holding
  • 4.2 Inventory costs
    • 4.2.1 Managing inventory costs
    • 4.2.2 Push and pull control methods
  • 4.3 Types of inventory
  • 4.4 Inventory management
    • 4.4.1 Inventory management systems
    • 4.4.2 Computers and inventory management
  • 4.5 Inventory management and business success

• 5. Storage facilities, materials handling equipment and packaging

  • 5.1 The management of warehouses and distribution centres
    • 5.1.1 Storage alternatives
    • 5.1.2 Warehouse design
    • 5.1.3 Productivity associated with warehousing
    • 5.1.4 Warehouse information systems
  • 5.2 Materials handling
    • 5.2.1 Objectives of material handling
    • 5.2.2 Materials handling systems and equipment
    • 5.2.3 Materials handling productivity ratios
  • 5.3 Packaging
    • 5.3.1 The role of packaging
    • 5.3.2 Packaging materials
    • 5.3.3 Packaging design considerations

• 6. Physical distribution transportation system

  • 6.1 The role of transportation in logistics
  • 6.2 Economic and service characteristics of the modes of transport
    • 6.2.1 Rail
    • 6.2.2 Road
    • 6.2.3 Air
    • 6.2.4 Water
    • 6.2.5 Pipeline
  • 6.3 Intermodal transport services
  • 6.4 Transportation cost structures
  • 6.5 Transportation rate profiles
  • 6.6 Modal and carrier selection
  • 6.7 Management of the transport function

• 7. Change and transformation

  • 7.1 Nature of change
    • 7.1.1 The manager's role and change
    • 7.1.2 Transformation and change continuums
    • 7.1.3 Responding late in the change continuum
    • 7.1.4 Rapid change continuum cycles
    • 7.1.5 Increasing organisational responsiveness and agility
  • 7.2 Scale and pace of change
    • 7.2.1 Leading rapid change
  • 7.3 Stages of change
    • 7.3.1 The stages of change and approaches to management
    • 7.3.2 Change and the organisation's development stage
  • 7.4 Communicating change
    • 7.4.1 Guidelines for communicating change
    • 7.4.2 Communicating change to stakeholders

• 8. Building agility and responsiveness

  • 8.1 Organisational agility and the art of rapid change
  • 8.2 Agility and transformational leadership
    • 8.2.1 Transactional Leadership
    • 8.2.2 Transformational Leadership
  • 8.3 Agility and organisational responsiveness
    • 8.3.1 Principles for Constructive Change
    • 8.3.2 Agility and environmental attunement
  • 8.4 Organisational learning and enhanced agility
    • 8.4.1 Learning and organisational life cycles
    • 8.4.2 Double loop learning and the learning organisation
    • 8.4.3 The learning cycle
    • 8.4.4 Leading learning from being adaptive to generative

• 9. Foster innovation and creativity

  • 9.1 Innovation and agility
  • 9.2 Levels of innovation and their impact
    • 9.2.1 Innovation
    • 9.2.2 Improvement
    • 9.2.3 Re-engineering
    • 9.2.4 Reinventing
    • 9.2.5 Re-engineering
  • 9.3 Re-engineering and business process re-engineering
    • 9.3.1 Reengineering and quality improvement
    • 9.3.2 Identifying when to re-engineer processes
    • 9.3.3 To innovate slowly or reengineer?
  • 9.4 The need for speed
  • 9.5 Organise work to facilitate innovative practices and organisational agility
    • 9.5.1 Innovative and agile organisation
  • 9.6 Enhancing diversity and creativity of thinking in teams and work practices
    • 9.6.1 Convergent and divergent thinking
    • 9.6.2 Left- and right- brain activities
    • 9.6.3 How to generate new ideas?
  • 9.7 Creativity and solutions search in teams
    • 9.7.1 Brainstorming
    • 9.7.2 Synectics
    • 9.7.3 Forcing Techniques
    • 9.7.4 Nominal Technique
  • 9.8 Review the use of innovation in work and team practices.
    • 9.8.1 Assess the ability of the team to achieve goals
    • 9.8.2 Review the success of team leadership

7.4.1 Guidelines for communicating change

Many people have put forward ideas about how to communicate change. Some of the more typical ones are summarised below. What specific communication strategies can you suggest to put these guidelines into practice?

Guide 1: Establishing the right environment for change

1. Establish credibility with those affected by change.
2. Gather the necessary information to identify and solve the problems associated with the change (credulity of purpose).
3. Establish a supportive environment for the change (empathy).
4. Implement the approaches necessary to achieve the desired change (persuade, force, reward, and/or train).
5. Establish procedures for stabilising, monitoring and evaluating the change (including feedback to employees).

Guide 2: Traditional approach to communicating change

1. Explain the action to be implemented and the reasons for it. This combats rumours and minimises disruptive behaviour.
2. Prepare the employees for major changes by alerting them to the benefits and difficulties. Sudden changes can result in employee fear and anxiety.
3. Identify informal leaders in the organisation and explain management's objectives. Informal leaders can encourage others to be co-operative with the change.
4. Repeat important information and techniques, thereby increasing memory.
5. Allow people time to adjust to the change; recognise that conflict communicates issues that need to be resolved.
6. Encourage change by recognising good (appropriate) performance.

Guide 3: Strategic approach to communicating change

1. Explore the need for change in relation to the external environment (identify the purpose for change).
2. Relate the organisation's purpose and vision to the change strategy (put change into the milieu of the familiar).
3. Identify the organisational qualities needed to implement the business strategy (appeal to the skills and talents of the work team).
4. Assess the gap between the current state of the organisation and the needed state, and the organisation's readiness to change (identify the training required to change).
5. Determine a transition strategy for whatever organisational change is needed (plan your communications).
6. Determine tactics for implementing the transition strategy (appeal to the needs of employees).
7. Implement and monitor the transition process (coach and provide feedback).
8. Recognise and celebrate (reinforce) the completion of the transition (acknowledge contributions) (Miller, 1986:214).

Activity 8

Devise some visual and interpersonal mechanisms/ tools you could use in your workplace on a day to day basis to communicate change information to staff.

1. What methods or tools would you use to visually communicate new budget targets and on-going performance against these targets.
2. What methods or tools would you use to visually communicate levels of staff performance and means of change in order to improve these outcomes.
3. What methods would you use to communicate team or organisational change from one position to another (eg. market share, sales, etc.)

Much of this section has provided a background to the enduring principles on how to manage change. The following reading provides a somewhat historical perspective on the five core theories and approaches to change. While dated it does give a very useful insight into the fundamental approaches that provide the foundations to today's approaches to the management of change. The reading from Graham and Bowles is then followed by a more contemporary look at the 10 principles for successfully managing change.

Reading 7.2

Graham, C & Bowles, M (1994), Chapter 5 'Five theories of change', extract from the Workbook on Change Management , DIRETFE & Centre for Working Futures NSW. Download

Graham (1994) (Used with permission)

Reading 3

Jones, J, Aguirre, D & Calderone, M (April, 2004) 'Principles of Change Management', Resilience Report, Strategy+Business, Booz, Allen, Hamilton , Sourced July 2004, at http://www.strategy-business.com/resilience/rr00006?pg=all .

Previous Page - Next Page