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• 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

7.3.1 The stages of change and approaches to management

Change can be managed well or managed very poorly. One of the major reasons that change initiatives fail is that management fails to involve people in the process. If people feel alienated or 'kept in the dark' they are much more likely to remain in the early stages of the change process i.e. Denial or Resistance. If they are key people then this can derail the entire change initiative.

To successfully implement therefore, the key questions that must be answered are:

• Who will be affected by the change?
• Of these, who needs to be involved in implementing the change?
• Who are the people that are critical to have 'on board'?

For each of the key people or groups that are critical for the successful implementation of the change process, commitment to the change must be gained and the key question that they will want answered is What's in it for me?

To persuade effectively involves appealing to a belief, a contingency (such as a monetary reward) or a recognised purpose in others; it also depends on the credibility of the manager and the trust employees place in him/her.

Activity 5

Answer and reflect on the following.

1. Is there a right way and a wrong way to implement change?
2. How would you know it was right?
3. How would you know it was wrong?

Activity 6

Complete this change resistance audit activity.

How ready is an organisation to undertake a major renewal of the way it does business through structural, technology, human or customer service changes? Using an organisation you are familiar with consider the following:

Place a score next to each response, using the following key to determine the score:

1 = Will not occur	3 = Will occur on commencement of change
2 = Unlikely to occur	4 = Already evidence

 

Resistance factor	Score
Individuals lose social standing
Individuals lose career pathways
Individuals lose reward and remuneration
Company reduces recruitment of local employees
New technology cannot be adopted quickly due to low skill levels
Company reduces contribution to local economy
Control will be removed from key individuals
Control will be centralised away from the current location
Guarantees of final destination for the change process cannot be provided
Processes and jobs are constantly being redesigned as external market factors impact
Expansion of operations is not planned
Senior management is not committed to the change process
Total your score

 

Note: The above is an indicative tool in a field where many complex and very accurate tools can be sourced. But if you are scoring over 38, a very sophisticated change strategy and approach will be required. The preconditions for resistance and failure of an orchestrated change process are already present. If you score over 30 but below 38 the need for communication and a clear scope to the change direction, is apparent.

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