Leading Change under Uncertainty: Lessons from a Multinational Automotive Company
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Date
2020
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The modern business environment is high paced, and organizations has to adapt in order to keep up with the technological advancement of its industries. The Automotive industry is currently facing a technological shift towards electrification which has disrupted the industry for many manufacturers, and many are undergoing change management. This study investigates the change management efforts of a multinational manufacturer of commercial vehicles through four different aspects; planning, implementation, communication and employee experiences/perceptions. 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with managers and employees of a Taiwanese subsidiary, currently in the process of change management. The findings showed that the change management planning was executed in the Headquarter of the mother organization while it was the responsibility of the subsidiary to implement concrete actions to match the plans, as well as communicate the new strategies to the local employees and stakeholders. The local employees raised issues about the change management, such as lack of transparency, language barriers, fear of leading change and cultural differences between mother organization and subsidiary. By investigating the change management of a multinational automotive manufacturer, it becomes evident that there are many problems faced by both management and employees. My research highlights the issues in this process which could be of interest for organizations currently undergoing change management in the same industry, or under similar circumstances.
The modern business environment is high paced, and organizations has to adapt in order to keep up with the technological advancement of its industries. The Automotive industry is currently facing a technological shift towards electrification which has disrupted the industry for many manufacturers, and many are undergoing change management. This study investigates the change management efforts of a multinational manufacturer of commercial vehicles through four different aspects; planning, implementation, communication and employee experiences/perceptions. 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with managers and employees of a Taiwanese subsidiary, currently in the process of change management. The findings showed that the change management planning was executed in the Headquarter of the mother organization while it was the responsibility of the subsidiary to implement concrete actions to match the plans, as well as communicate the new strategies to the local employees and stakeholders. The local employees raised issues about the change management, such as lack of transparency, language barriers, fear of leading change and cultural differences between mother organization and subsidiary. By investigating the change management of a multinational automotive manufacturer, it becomes evident that there are many problems faced by both management and employees. My research highlights the issues in this process which could be of interest for organizations currently undergoing change management in the same industry, or under similar circumstances.
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none, Organizational change, Organizational change management, Organizational culture, Automotive industry