LEAD FPX 5220 Assessment 2 Assessing Priorities and Planning for Change

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Capella University

LEAD-FPX5220 Leader as Change Agent

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Date

Abstract

One of the significant advantages of a solid infrastructure is that it provides information across the organization. A strategic infrastructure reduces the inconsistencies and communication barriers inherent in an organization’s structure, establishing cross-functional and interpersonal communications. This paper addresses how XYZ Corporation’s infrastructure was not sustainable from the start. Making a change to IT infrastructure is akin to remodeling a house while still living in it – if not done correctly, there will be trouble. A business relies on sound technology to perform its jobs effectively. A poorly set-up IT infrastructure will result in frustrated team members, decreases in efficiency and productivity, and will cost much more in the long run (Lazor, 2020). This paper argues that the importance of strategic infrastructure was imperative to the success of the organization. The lack of it created chaos and resulted in a shutdown for several months. The paper concludes with a recommendation on what changes are needed, why these changes are essential to the organization’s success now and in the future, and how to sustain this change.

Change Challenge

Change is not something that can be avoided in any organization, but how the organization handles and deals with the changes will make the difference between success and failure. For the sake of anonymity, the company will be referred to as XYZ Corporation. As the Director of Finance for the gaming industry, change is inevitable, primarily related to games that are being published and produced. Many details go into getting a game ready, especially an online game. The infrastructure was sub-par and set up by employees without a background in IT. The equipment used was sufficient to sustain the few games released, but as we became more established, the need to upgrade was a must. However, the leadership team did not see the urgency to make this change.

At the time, we had three games in our portfolio and one data center that housed about four servers, routers, firewalls, storage systems, and server racks. About five employees worked during this time to get the company started. This data center was used for our games and within the organization. During its rapid growth in the early 2000s, our portfolio grew from three to 15 games, and employees grew from five to 215 people. XYZ Corporation provided games with good content, excellent customer service, and a cash shop that provided costumes, avatars, and customization of equipment that our customers loved. The company’s sales increased from $500,000 in 2001 to $3.5 million in 2003 and continued to increase in 2004 to $7.5 million. XYZ Corporation exceeded expectations and continued to succeed until 2005.

In April 2005, we started receiving complaints from customers related to the server not working, not connecting to the server, getting booted off during the game, avatars not showing up on the screen, or the cash shop not giving them the items they purchased. Complaints also began within the organization about the office server; emails stopped working, dedicated space for office files on the network reached capacity, employees were unable to log in to the server to export data, there were records deletion by the merchant, loss of three years of accounting data, and project completions by the creative and design department were deleted. Without a backup server, there was no way to retrieve the lost data.

Factors Driving Change

The ability to navigate the never-ending cycle of change is a cornerstone of success for any organization. Change affects everybody, every business, every industry, every day. The two primary forces of change are external forces and internal forces.

External Factor

Technology is an influential factor that shapes changes. In the digital world, organizations need to upgrade technologies to remain competitive in their industry. “An important prerequisite for a long-term and successful operation of any organization is the ability to predict events and the ability to adapt to market conditions” (Jan & Veronika, 2017, p. 5). XYZ Corporation did not have an experienced IT person who understood the need or importance of new technology. Due to this, the company had to close operations for six months and hire IT consultants to perform an analysis and diagnosis of the current IT infrastructure and implement a technology solution.

Internal Factors

The lack of vision from management is a key factor that affects organizations from achieving the company’s goals and mission. However, constant change in leadership could be another factor as to why changes occur. With new leadership comes a new vision, strategies, and working culture. New vision and strategies could be another factor driving change within the organization. The lack of leadership hurt XYZ Corporation. There were no strategies to improve the current situation or institute change within the organization.

Identify the Change

XYZ Corporation needs to invest in new technology and people with experience to move the company forward. The inefficiencies with the technology put XYZ in a position to lose traction when building momentum in the industry within North America. The leadership’s unsatisfactory guidance in realizing opportunities and capitalizing on them cost millions of dollars in potential revenue. Their inability to think strategically has been a significant deficiency. By changing their IT infrastructure and approaches, XYZ will move past this and become successful. “People resist change as a defense mechanism since change of any type elicits some level of anxiety” (Staren & Eckes, 2013).

Readiness for Change and Heighten Awareness

Force Field Analysis Approach

Lewin developed force field analysis (FFA) as a systematic method aimed to enhance the management of change by generating a tactical approach (Mak & Chang, 2019). There are five steps in the FFA: (1) identify planned change, (2) identify driving forces that will drive change, (3) identify restraining forces that will restrain the change, (4) formulate strategies to encourage driving forces, and (5) formulate strategies to reduce or eliminate resisting forces.

Driving Force #1: The Digital Revolution

The lack of equipment has made the digital revolution a driving force. Our customers want to play games without interruption, improve the speed of mainframe servers, and ensure that they receive the items purchased through the cash shop. However, the restraining forces are the cost of new equipment and staff not educated or experienced in new technology. Digitization affected XYZ Corporation in a way leadership never thought would happen. We depended on our servers to continue to function at a capacity higher than anticipated. The once-power of cheap technology not only affected the gaming industry but other companies as well. Deploying the computational resources that only big companies had become a significant barrier to smaller companies. XYZ Corporation relied heavily on this equipment to publish and produce new games, create content that could only be done digitally, and manage the organization’s finances and operations. We needed to figure out a way to get back online.

Driving Force #2: Globalization

The lack of executive mandate and trust in management has made globalization a driving force. However, the restraining forces are a lack of knowledge of the company goals and lack of incentives to make the changes from domestic to global thinking. The power and impact of globalization are essential for every company to understand the current and future impacts of worldwide trends on operations, to develop a globalization strategy to optimize learning opportunities through exposure to various markets around the world, and perhaps also to extend its reach to new customers (Morris, 2013). As a subsidiary of an international company, the leadership team did not consider our customers in Asia and only focused on North America. This was a colossal mistake that created the ripple effect of our downfall in 2005.

Driving Force #3: Acceleration

Customer demands have made acceleration a driving force. Our customers want changes now, not later. However, the restraining force is the increase in the portfolio. According to Morris (2013), “the driving forces are mutually interdependent, and they feed off one another. As their impacts converge, the result is the potential for thoroughly disruptive acceleration and the amplification of their impact in a way that is decisive and inescapable” (p. 11). The acceleration’s significance is visible with the increase in XYZ’s portfolio from three to 15 games and five to 215 employees within four years. Change is happening so fast that management must rethink their way of thinking and how the company operates.

Recommendation

My recommendation is to update and upgrade current technology with more robust equipment. The need for more than one data center is imperative to the business as it grows and expands globally. According to Dallas (2015):

Many times, once you’ve gathered your data, both formal and informal, you’ll be ready to make a recommendation. It’ll be smart. It’ll be innovative. You’ll be on fire to take your company into the future. Then, you’ll share that idea with your bosses and get a bucket of cold water on your head. They’ll tell you it can never be done, or that it’ll be too expensive, or – if you’ve got a real winner – that it’s the “worst idea ever” (p. 27).

XYZ Corporation has proved that they can be a force in the gaming industry and capitalize more if they broaden their strategic thinking and approach to more forward-thinking. One of the key assets of any corporation is people. They need to invest in people with the skills and knowledge to get them to where they see themselves in five years. Ensuring they have the right people in the correct positions will benefit XYZ Corporation now and in the future.

References

Dallas, H. J. (2015). Mastering the challenges of leading change: inspire the people and succeed where others fail. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/capella/reader.action?docID=4043016&ppg=15

Jan, D., & Veronika, T. (2017). Examination of factors affecting the implementation of organizational changes. Journal of Competitiveness, 9(4), 5-17. doi:http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.7441/joc.2017.04.01

Lazor, D. (2020, September 21). Lazor Point. Retrieved from https://www.lazorpoint.com/insights/bid/396690/it-infrastructure-matters-much-more-than-you-think#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20major%20advantages,cross%2Dfunctional%20and%20interpersonal%20communications.

Mak, A. H., & Chang, R. C. (2019). The driving and restraining forces for environmental strategy adoption in the hotel industry: A force field analysis approach. Tourism Management, 73, 48-60. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517719300123?via%3Dihub

LEAD FPX 5220 Assessment 2 Assessing Priorities and Planning for Change

Morris, L. (2013, July 18). Innovation Management. Retrieved from https://innovationmanagement.se/2013/07/18/the-driving-forces-of-change/

Staren, E., & Eckes, C. (2013). Optimizing organizational change. Physician Executive, 39(3), 58-60. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1349951321/145DFE115EB24542PQ/1?accountid=27965