Change Management Using Culture to Drive Transformation
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- Date Submitted: 10/28/2010 01:21 AM
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INTRODUCTION
“Off Course innovation is risky. But so is stepping into the car to drive to the supermarket for a loaf of bread. All economic activity is by definition ‘high risk’. And defending yesterday – that is, not innovating-is far more risky than making tomorrow.’ (Innovation and Entrepreneurship .1995) I head up the Communications Division at Foskor which mines, processes and markets phosphate products, mainly fertilizer to local and international customers. Foskor is in the middle of a change programme. I have chosen the communication part of the change project for this assignment because it fits the assignment brief. I have been in a position where I have, and can continue to observe management of change in action by my colleagues and consultants assisting us with the project. Bringing about significant change in the way an organization works, frequently necessary in our current environment of major technological innovation and globalization, is a tremendous challenge. On the technical side, it may be relatively easy (although costly) to introduce new technology, work processes and structures. Experience tells us, however, that getting people to enthusiastically support such change is a more complex and difficult task. This is my case study. It is called, “The Foskor Way” and is a culture change exercise driven by the board’s desire to list the company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company was founded in Phalaborwa on a site rich in rare phosphate ore in the fifties by businessmen with the support of the National Party Government. It was seen as a strategic resource for the country. Recently Indian Ocean Fertilizer and Triomph were purchased adding a processing capability and were absorbed into the restructured business now comprising Foskor Acid, (Richards Bay) and Foskor Rock & Copper, (Phalaborwa). The 1994 democratic government placed Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment on the agenda and majority ownership by the State owned entity, the...
“Off Course innovation is risky. But so is stepping into the car to drive to the supermarket for a loaf of bread. All economic activity is by definition ‘high risk’. And defending yesterday – that is, not innovating-is far more risky than making tomorrow.’ (Innovation and Entrepreneurship .1995) I head up the Communications Division at Foskor which mines, processes and markets phosphate products, mainly fertilizer to local and international customers. Foskor is in the middle of a change programme. I have chosen the communication part of the change project for this assignment because it fits the assignment brief. I have been in a position where I have, and can continue to observe management of change in action by my colleagues and consultants assisting us with the project. Bringing about significant change in the way an organization works, frequently necessary in our current environment of major technological innovation and globalization, is a tremendous challenge. On the technical side, it may be relatively easy (although costly) to introduce new technology, work processes and structures. Experience tells us, however, that getting people to enthusiastically support such change is a more complex and difficult task. This is my case study. It is called, “The Foskor Way” and is a culture change exercise driven by the board’s desire to list the company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company was founded in Phalaborwa on a site rich in rare phosphate ore in the fifties by businessmen with the support of the National Party Government. It was seen as a strategic resource for the country. Recently Indian Ocean Fertilizer and Triomph were purchased adding a processing capability and were absorbed into the restructured business now comprising Foskor Acid, (Richards Bay) and Foskor Rock & Copper, (Phalaborwa). The 1994 democratic government placed Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment on the agenda and majority ownership by the State owned entity, the...