Building Community at Terra Nova Consulting (Case Study Sample)

Students Name:
Institution:
Instructors Name:
Date:
Building Community at Terra Nova Consulting
Introduction
Navigating a business in the current speed of technological and economic change is challenging for a significant number of entrepreneurs. The right direction that the company takes today may not work for the premises tomorrow. The solution to the dynamic problems take time to take effect and the firms that succeed to solve them excel in their operations as opposed to those that do not take keen interest to the changes their company goes through. This paper presents an overview of the case of Terra Nova Consulting Company and the organizational problems the company went through as a result in the changes that took place from the time of inception until recently. In addition, this paper presents an organizational management model is proposed for the establishment and the implementation strategies to solve the problems at Terra Nova
An Overview of the Case
Terra Nova Consulting Company provides environmental and engineering consultancy services to its clients. The company president is faced with the problem of internal cultural divisions in the firm, which he seeks to address. Terra Nova started as a small firm that through internal development and mergers became an elite and an international firm that offered professional services. The establishment was founded over certain core values and principles that had changed over time as the company grew (Cawsey, Deszca & Ingols, 2012). The younger members thought that there was a disconnect between the values professed and the real culture in the organization. In this case, the business would only survive if they would be able to repair the divide and influence the next generation to develop a shared vision and uphold the founder’s vision.
Main Issues and Problems
Issues at the firm culture began at partner level when they were reluctant to change and at the junior level because of refusal to commit to the changes. The problems at the organization can be observed through a critical look at the stakeholder and their critical role in the success of the business. The internal stakeholders had the most experience and a strong relationship with the clients. In addition, they had vast knowledge about the industry and the power to influence change within the organization (Cawsey, Deszca & Ingols, 2012). The partners could provide general oversight in the company operations, which was a source of conflict with the junior level staff. The problem was that the firm catered for the needs of the partners and ignored those of the juniors such that they refused they did not see a future in the company.
Analysis of the Issues and Problems
In order to comprehend the barriers and needs in Terra Nova, a force-field analysis could be used in this case. The process entails fully grasping the restraining and driving forces of the change processes in the firm. Three driving forces include the labor forces, human forces, and the cultural forces. The human forces are the individuals at the managerial position in the company that contributed to the problem because they were unable to fulfill the changes in the firm. The labor forces consisted of the retired partners and the young partners who did not want to form a new collaboration. The labor and human forces are essential to a business because they influence the firm’s equity and provide the momentum to keep it going. The culture force is the loss of direction of the older employees who did not provide a clear vision to the new members.
The restraining forces can be divided into the disconnection forces and the structural forces. The decentralized structure of the company where everyone could take part in controlling and leading the operations constitute the structural forces. This kind of management structure made it difficult for the company to implement changes because everyone had their own point of view (Cawsey, Deszca & Ingols, 2012). In addition, this arrangement slowed down any efforts to implement change. The disparity between the partners and the younger generation and the culture to resist change constituted the disconnection forces.
The relationship between the partners and the younger generation was lost and this led to top-down management that did not work well for the company. Additionally, this management structure made it difficult for the firm to acquire new employees and resulted in the problem of resistance to culture. Moreover, the older generation wanted to stick to the old ways of working which caused a disparity with the younger partners who wanted to implement change in the organization (Cawsey, Deszca & Ingols, 2012). However, the driving forces were much stronger compared to the restraining forces, which could be a hope for the company to keep it alive. Although it is true to say that the restraining forces are a highly influential barrier that could slow down efforts to change. In this regard, they should be reduced or eliminated if the firm would be guaranteed of the success of their adjustments.
Organization’s Change Management Model
Kotter’s Change Model
John Kotter, a professor at Harvard University, developed this organization’s change model. According to the 8-step model, the leaders should convince the employees to buy into the desired changes and show the urgent need of the changes to occur (Appelbaum, Habashy, Malo, & Shafiq, 2012). The steps in this strategy include:
1. Augment the urgency for adjustments.
2. Develop a team dedicated to the proposed change.
3. Create a vision for change.
4. Share the need to make adjustments.
5. Empower the employees with the capacity to change.
6. Develop short-term objectives.
7. Stay persistent.
8. Make a permanent change.
Implementation Strategy
The CEO had two options, which are to sell that company or to make positive cultural changes. Non-partnered employees were hesitant to buy shares, while the partnered ones lack confidence in the firm and therefore, they do not want to increase their shares ...