Organizational Change Vision Analysis (Of a Supplied Brief Case Study) Research Paper

Organizational Change Vision Analysis (Of a Supplied Brief Case Study) - Research Paper Example Vision is often confused with mission statement and values, which is precisely what happened at HP. Vision is a statement that describes the mid- to long-term goals. It is an expression of how the organization wants to be perceived. Mission statement on the other hand is a one sentence statement that defines the purpose of the organization. Visions statements should be inspirational, aspirational and measurable (Schraeder, 2002). Vision is also the ability of the organization to articulate the inner voice of the organization. The purpose of planning is to bring effective change. Organizational vision should be the focal point of all planning activities. The vision should be analyzed in the context of the external environment. Organizational vision ash three components – why the change is needed, the aim of change and how the change action will be initiated. The CEO at HP knew why the change was needed (to gain competitive advantage, to enhance sales coordination and increased market share) but the aim of change was not clear. There was no compelling vision and nor was this vision communicated effectively among the subordinates. Application analysis Vision is plan for the future and it should clarify the direction for the future (Kotter, 1975). The CEO of HP merely stated that culture could be changed by â€Å"going back to the roots of the place†. This statement has no inspirational message and neither is it measurable. It was too vague and Paler et al contend that visions fail when they are vague. Kotter clarifies that without a clear vision the transformation efforts can easily dissolve into confusing and incompatible projects that steer the organization in the wrong direction. To go back to the root, the CEO started restructuring the organization by reorganizing the company into â€Å"quadrants,† creating two â€Å"front-end† sections that consisted of sales and marketing and two â€Å"back-end† functions. This effort met w ith subtle employee resistance changes should be done in a systematic manner. The CEO’s vision had an affective component as it sought to achieve the intended outcome. It did not focus on motivating people and in increasing their commitment to change. Strained relations made the post-merger integration difficult. To achieve the objectives, new personnel were inducted which temporarily made the transition task easier but it increased resistance from the existing staff. The clear and compelling vision statement was not communicated effectively by the CEO which is evident from the fact that even after the merger many employees were not convinced of HP’s riskiest move. This can confuse or alienate the workers contends Kotter and this is what the employees at HP underwent. The CEO used â€Å"a range of methods† to communicate the vision including â€Å"management by walking around† style but Kotter believes that the compelling vision statement should be commun icated in five minutes or less. This implies that communication of the vision was not right and hence the company could not move in the right direction. The CEO gained popularity with the â€Å"new DNA† and the â€Å"transferees from Compaq† but not from the employees from the HP system. People were unable to relate to the description of change. Vision is a plan for the future and hence should drive change but HP could not handle the internal and external pressures as the vision lacked clarity.