Forestry Commission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Forestry Commission - Essay Example The isolated rural of England, Scotland, and Wales consisted of three thousand employees made it even more difficult to integrate changes. (McCann, 2003, p. 948.) The leaders in charge had been accustomed to doing things the old way. Some realized that in order to implement change and to train their workforce, they had to change themselves. This was necessary in order to create teamwork instead of orders coming down from up top without the involvement of others. (McCann, 2003, p. 948.) The author reports that a manager in Forest District B stated that he realized that in order to create an environment that was team-based, he had to change himself. (McCann, 2003, p. 950.) Consultants helped managers analyze their own attitudes and behaviors. It was believed that at every level, the organizational culture was one of blame and that managers and their workforce would point the finger at everyone else. Leadership events were coordinated to help all transition from the old way of doing things to the new way. Regardless of these efforts, some managerial still refused to change and some even quit. Fifteen selected to retire early and some managers were moved to other posts. (McCann, 2003, p. 948.) Due to the company's extremely hierarchical system, some were skeptical and even reluctant to change. Although the change process was gentle, team members still feel that despite the new district team approach, the entire company is still under the old way. They feel that although they are encouraged to voice their opinion but even so, people are afraid to really say what they think due to fear of the consequences. So they believe that although their district has made some changes, the overall company is still under the old system so there is much skepticism and lack of trust and belief. (McCann, 2003, p. 950.) Resistance to change was also due to low morale and the feeling of hopelessness; like the efforts would be worthless. Although the organization had already shown that it could make changes and deal with them, a problem seemed to be that they were all "changed out". They felt that more and more changes were being imposed on them and that the only solution is that things remain the same and no more changes. (McCann, 2003, p. 949.) Management had the capability to implement change by helping the staff members to grab the initiative instead of having, or feeling, change imposed on them. They had access to consultants to help them do their jobs in implementing, training, and monitoring the changes. They could help people look outwardly at the organization instead of what they are used to doing-looking inwardly. Management also implemented Connect workshop events which allowed group discussions to work through difficult issues that directly affect their workplace. Connect workshops allowed the senior staff to converse with staff directly. (McCann, 2003, p. 948.) These group discussions to come up with solutions helped to reduce the blaming question of "why don't they fix it" Rapid changes were mostly seen in the work culture when this strategy was used. The Connect events were voluntary and it was up to each district whether or not they wanted to participate. (McCann, 2003, p. 947.) The author states on page 948 of his writing that, "The workshops provided a safe environment in which the participants could explore why some of the traditional behaviours