The South African Change environment and the context for Mergers and Acquisitions

Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »

Chapter Two: A review of Change Literature, the Change Landscape and Mergers and Acquisitions as the ‘Major Form of Change’ in the South African environment.

Van Tonder (2005, 2006) argues that the subject of organisational change has received much attention largely because of the fact that more organisational change initiatives and or practices turn out to be unsuccessful; this is further supported by Mariotti (1998). van Tonder (2006) proceeds to reminds us of recent historical corporate events such as the demise of Barings Bank, Enron, Parmalat, Saambou and WorldCom where the very concept of “change gone wrong” bears testimony to the limited value of the available change knowledge.
Van Tonder (2004) reports that the concept of “Transformation”; which has noticeably gained ‘faddish status’ in South Africa according to the King 1997 report continues to do so in most forms of institutional change since the transition of the 1994 political dispensation. Despite the research and the literature available on the proposed theme for research there is little consensus on the nature of organisational change and the critical success factors needed for change to be successful within South Africa.
Most of the change theories and models focus on the management and leadership of change, each from a different organisational perspective with special reference to the following:
• Affirmative action and Employment Equity – Diversity Management
Whilst the above topic has formed a major part of existing research literature, their appears to little or no focus on the different types of organisational change being experienced within South Africa, the required change processes and their related outputs being facilitated within a commonly accepted Change Framework.
The mistakes that are most commonly made in the research of Organisational Change include the following:
• Limited empirical evidence has been provided to support the many different change theories and approaches (Guimaraes and Armstrong, 1998)
• Lack of a critical review of the current change theories and approaches (Todnem, 2005)
• Lack of consensus concerning a framework for Organisational Change to encourage the formation of a new and pragmatic change framework (Todnem, 2005)
• The need for or the existence of a stable environment (Lewin, 1947)
• The separation of organisational change from organisational strategy (Burnes, 2004)
• The idea that change processes cannot be measured or reveal tangible results and or benefits because there are faults within the processes themselves (Edmonstone, 1995) and Kaplan and Norton (2004) • The inappropriate generalization of results to different situations and contexts with little or no relevance to the South African environment

Outline of the Literature Review:

This chapter will review and critique the major discussions, theories and models that have been developed so as to explain the fundamental concepts and building blocks of organisational change; the very nature of organisational change itself with a special focus on Mergers and Acquisitions as the major form of change. In addition, the study will set out to validate the critical success factors identified from other research studies, the recommendations for the identification of specific and measurable change processes within a clearly articulated Change Framework as well as the related measurements that help to identify successful change and the improvements that result there from within a Change Scorecard frame of reference.
Based on the above contextualization of the Literature Review, the following literature review chapters and sections will be discussed with special reference to the following:
• Chapter 2: A review of the Change Literature, the Change Landscape and Mergers and Acquisitions as the ‘Major Form of Change’ in the South African environment: o Defining Change Management o Organisational Change – the Forces for Change o Resistance to Change – the ‘Human-side’ of Mergers and Acquisitions o The South African Change environment and the context for Mergers and Acquisitions o Current Change Theories and Mergers and Acquisitions Models
• Chapter 3: The move towards a South African Change Management Framework and Scorecard for the measurement of Change: o The requirements for successful change – the move towards the critical success factors needed for change o Change Management Framework and related Change Processes – the move towards a South African Change Management Framework o The Balanced Scorecard – the move towards a Change Management Scorecard o The PROPOSED South African Change Management Framework and Scorecard

Defining Change Management

This section will provide an overview on the definition of change management, the context (the environment for change) and content (the types of change) for organisational change as well as a brief focus on some of the proposed change roles and change processes that are currently identified within the field of organisational change.
The available literature provides us with some key definitions of change management and organisational change, which are relevant to the research questions of this study:
• Change management is defined as the process of continually renewing an organisation’s direction, structure and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of the internal and external customers (Moran and Brightman, 2001).
• Burnes (2004) indicates that Organisational Change is an ever-present feature of organisational life, both on an operational and strategic level, and it is for this reason that organisations should develop their ability to identify where it needs to be in the future, and the necessary actions it will need to take in managing the changes required to get the organisation safely into the future.
• Senior (2002) and Graetz (2000) argue that organisational change and the management thereof is an essential management skill that is required throughout the world where there is increased deregulation, rapid technological innovation, a growing knowledge workforce and shifting social and demographic trends.
• Booysen and Beaty (1997), Booysen (2007) and Nkomo and Kriek (2011) remind us that organisational change is about ‘tweaking’ the organisation’s strategy and operations, and returning to the basics or searching for new tools and techniques that will help the organisation to navigate through the changes that lie ahead.
• Organisational change is further defined by Bennis (in Vermaak 1996:14) as ‘a response to change, a complex educational strategy intended to change beliefs, attitudes, values and structure of organisations so that they can better adapt to new technologies, markets and challenges, and the dizzying rate of change itself’.
For a merger and acquisition to be successful as a transformation initiative, it is important to identify the cycles of growth and maturity that an organisation will experience both, before, during and after the implementation of the change initiative. Senior (2002) points out that as cycles of growth and activity are an essential part of living, so are the concepts of an organisational life cycle as defined by Greiner (1998) and Kimberley and Miles (1980).
Greiner (1998) highlights how with each phase of change management experienced within an organisation, and that as each growth period moves into the next, the organisation goes through a shorter-lived crisis period – these periods are respectively known as the evolution and revolution stages as depicted in the Figure 2.1 on the following page.
Senior (2002) argues that more research is required to develop methods or techniques of bringing about the necessary changes from one organisational phase to another throughout the organisational life-cycle. It is for this reason that a change framework needs to be developed to diagnose the type of change situation prevailing at any given point in time, so as to accurately determine and assess the kind of change approach to be taken.
Greiner (1998) identified five critical elements in the current change literature on organisational change. These five elements include the:
(1) The Age of the Organisation – this is an obvious and essential element for any model of development. Historical research has shown that the same organisational practices are not maintained throughout a long life span (Greiner, 1998).
(2) The Size of the Organisation – a company’s problems and solutions will tend to change in accordance with the number of its employees and the rate at which its sales volume increases.
(3) The Stages of Evolution – research has shown that most growing organisations do not expand for the first two years of their organisational life, and will often constrict for at least a year thereafter and those organisations that normally do survive will enjoy up to four to eight years of continuous growth within its market environment.
(4) The Stages of Revolution – organisational growth cannot be assumed to be linear (Greiner, 1998). Several organisations will often experience periods of substantial turbulence spread between smoother periods of evolution. During these periods of revolution organisations have often subject to or have experienced serious upheavals in management practices.
(5) The Growth Rate of the Industry – the speed at which an organisation experience phases of evolution and revolution will largely depend upon the environment or market in which it is located (Greiner, 1998).
Todnem (2005) complements the work of Greiner (1998) by highlighting the primary task of today’s managers, namely that of leading organisations through organisational change and the above related practices; albeit at a specific stage within an organisation’s life-cycle or during a merger and acquisition. Todnem (2005) bases this recommendation on the following key change triggers being experienced within the organisational world of today, and these can be summarized as follows:
• Increased globalisaton
• Increased deregulation
• The rapid pace of technological change and innovation
• A growing knowledge workforce
• Shifting social and demographic trends
The above triggers, which could also facilitate a merger and acquisition, are confirmed by the earlier research of Maurer (1996) and Carter (1996) who acknowledge the following antecedent conditions which serve as stimuli for change in any organisation:
• changing forces in the internal and external environment of an organisation
• growth and decay of an organisation
• new personnel
• barometers of declining effectiveness – when an organisation’s declining productivity is an indication of the need for change • a change in organisational strategy • the personal goals of leaders – the pursuit of such goals normally brings about change in the company • the ‘domino effect’ – when a change in one part of the organisation sets off a sequence of related and supporting changes.
Luecke (2003), Okumus and Hemmington (1998) argue that the successful management of change has been accepted by many organisations as a necessity for survival in a highly competitive and continuously evolving environment, especially when you consider some of the key change triggers mentioned above, and that mergers and acquisitions are on the increase both nationally and internationally. The Researcher will provide specific reference the overall statistic later on in the study.
From the above the research on the context (environment for change) it could be argued that the content or type of change is largely determined. Todnem (2005) highlights

Table of Contents
Declaration
Dedication
Acknowledgements Abstract
Key figures listed in the Research study
Key tables listed in the Research study
Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Introduction to the Argument
1.2 The Statement of the Problem
1.3  Research Questions
1.4  Aim of the Research – Research Objectives
1.5  Assumptions
1.6  Delineation of the Study
1.7 Rationale
1.8  Who will benefit from the Findings
1.9  Organisation of the Research Study
1.10  Chapter Summary
Chapter Two: A review of Change Literature, the Change Landscape and Mergers and Acquisitions as the ‘Major Form of Change’ in the South African environment
2.1  Defining Change Management
2.2  Organisational Change – the forces for change
2.3  Resistance to Change – the ‘Human side’ of Mergers and Acquisitions
2.4 The South African Change environment and the context for Mergers and Acquisitions
2.5 Current Change Theories and Mergers and Acquisitions Models
2.6 Chapter Summary
Chapter Three: The move towards a South African Change Management Framework and Scorecard for the measurement of change in a Mergers and Acquisitions environment
3.1 The requirements for successful change – the move towards the critical success factors needed for change
3.2 Change Management Framework and related Change processes in Mergers and Acquisitions – the move towards a South African Change Management Framework
3.3 The Balanced Scorecard – the move towards a Change Management Scorecard
3.4 The PROPOSED South African Change Management Framework and Scorecard in a Merger and Acquisitions environment
3.5 Chapter Summary
Chapter Four: Research Design and Methodology
4.1 Research Design Strategy – Exploratory Study (Multiple Case Studies) with triangulation research design
4.2  Data Collection Design
4.3 Sources of information, Data Collection Methods and Techniques (Case Studies, Focus Groups, Interviews and Survey questionnaires)
4.4 Analysis and Interpretation of Data
4.5 Ethical Issues
4.6 Limitations of the Study
4.7 Research Schedule and Timetable
Chapter Five: Interpretation of Statistical Data
5.1  Statistical Analysis of the Demographic variables and Perceived success of the Organisational Change initiative for all Cases combined
5.2 Validity and Reliability of Survey questionnaire
5.3 Chapter Summary
Chapter Six: Case Studies – A Within-Case and Cross-case Analysis of four Case studies
6.1  Within-Case Analysis
6.2 Cross-Case Analysis
6.3 Legislative context for the biggest driver of organisational change within the South African Environment
6.4 Chapter Summary
Chapter Seven: The Road to the South African Change Management Framework and Scorecard within a Mergers and Acquisitions environment
7.1 The Critical Success Factors for successful Organisational Change within a Mergers and Acquisitions environment
7.2 The South African Change Framework for the Management of Organisational Change within a Mergers and Acquisitions environment
7.3 The South African Change Scorecard for the Management and Measurement of Organisational Change in a Mergers and Acquisitions environment
7.4 The suggested Tangible and Non-Tangible Organisational Change Outputs resulting from the South African Organisational Change Framework  Scorecard for the Management and Measurement of Organisational Change in a Mergers and Acquisitions environment
7.5 The revised South African Change Management Framework and Scorecard for the management and measurement of Organisational Change in a Mergers and Acquisitions environment
7.6 Chapter Summary
Chapter Eight: Conclusions and Recommendations
8.1 Summary overview of Research Findings and Results
8.2 General conclusions and observations – Gaps, anomalies, deviations in the data
8.3 Contributions to Knowledge (BoK) and Significance of Research Results
8.4 Recommendations for Organisational Change Practitioners
8.5 Recommendations for Further Research
8.6 Final Research conclusions
List of References
Appendices

GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA – THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHANGE FRAMEWORK AND SCORECARD WITHIN A MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS ENVIRONMENT