Project Report - Role of Communication in Effective Change Management (A Case Study of Godrej Group)

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

(A Case Study of Godrej Group)
Research Paper
Rashmi Rawat PGD in Strategic Human Resource Management (PGDSHRM) Department of Business Administration Faculty of Commerce The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
17/01/2012 1
ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN EFFECTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Abstract
A plethora of theory, research and practice in change management has evolved considerably over decades, and experienced a major transformation in form and function amid a rapidly changing environment. Oftentimes, many organizations with radical change transition sent angle themselves in the mess of chronic management impediments. In recent years, the role of communication strategies emerges to solve the puzzle of the change upheaval by providing a comprehensive mechanism to facilitate a change process. Based on a case study of Godrej Group brand and business status introduction, this research has two aims. First, a conceptualized framework of the integrated role of communication strategies formulation in conjunction with change management process is mapped out. Also, it intends to investigate some depth of understanding of how the executives at different management levels perceive the internal communication process surrounding the change in the Godrej Group. Second, such a framework has been theoretically explored and empirically demonstrated to examine the process of strategic formulation of corporate communications in accordance with diverse phases of changes to the Godrej Group. The research paper is attributable to a double-edged management contribution. It can reflect a new construct of academic theories and suggest a gap which the firm may leave unaddressed in the first place. Due to time and space constraints, a number of relevant issues are selected for succinct discussion on a basis of theoretical and practical perspectives. limitations, and further research are discussed. Last but not least, implications,
The structure of the paper incorporates six chapters addressing both foundational grounds of theories and practices. This chapter is particularly devoted to an introduction of the study rationale on change, change management, issues of change management. Chapter Two features a review of literature on the fundamental concepts of communication strategies and change management processes. For Chapter Three, the Godrej Group Case background, together with significant findings from the fieldwork, reveals the underpinning reasons of which the brand and business status changes are expedited. The key findings are derived from an analysis of the secondary data. Moreover, the obtained findings attempt to answer the authors questions regarding the purpose of the research. A conceptualized framework of the study is thereafter developed. Chapter Four includes in-depth discussions about the findings pertaining to the literature. Last but not least, Chapter Five comprises concluding remarks, implications and limitations, and further research.
Keywords
Change Management, Effective Communication, Role of Communication, Case Study of Godrej Group
Letter of Submission
Ms. Rashmi Vijay Kunwar Singh Rawat Examination Seat Number. 38 PG Diploma in Strategic Human Resource Management Faculty of Commerce, The M S University of Baroda Vadodara-390 005 Date: 12/01/2012 To, The Course Director PG Diploma in Strategic Human Resource Management Centre for PG Studies in Commerce Deep Building Faculty of Commerce The M S University of Baroda Vadodara-390 005. Sub: Submission of Project Report Entitled Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Sir, As desired, I am pleased to submit herewith the Soft Copy [CD] and a Hard Copy of the Project Report entitled ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN EFFECTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT [A Case Study of GODREJ GROUP] as a partial fulfillment for the award of for PG Diploma in Strategic Human Resource Management to our esteemed The M S University of Baroda for your perusal and necessary action please. Thanking you, Yours faithfully,
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management (Ms. Rashmi Rawat) Enclosure: As Above
THE M S UNIVERSITY OF BARODA FACULTY OF COMMERCE
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Ms. Rashmi Rawat (Exam Seat Number. 38)
of PGDSHRM PGDSHRM (First Semester: 2011 2012) has satisfactorily completed her project work on ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN EFFECTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT [A CASE STUDY OF GODREJ GROUP] for Partial fulfillment of the degree of Post Graduate Diploma in Strategic Human Resource Management
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of The M.S.University of Baroda. Baroda.
(Mr. Kalpesh Purohit) Vyas) Project Guide (Ms. Rashmi Rawat)
(Prof. Parimal H. Course Director
Acknowledgements
This report could not have been completed without the ideas, encouragement, cooperation, and assistance of numerous individuals. First, and foremost, my project guide Mr. Kalpesh Purohit, has been an inexhaustible source of advice and knowledge not only throughout the completion of the research project but also throughout my entire PGDSHRM Program at the Centre for PG Studies, Faculty of Commerce, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr. Parimal Vyas, Director of Centre for PG Studies, Faculty of Commerce, , who have been instrumental in facilitating accessibility to the institution and providing necessary information at the outset of the project. Additionally, their comments have directed my critical attention to the theories and thinking that are the foundation of case research in change management.
Finally, I am profoundly grateful to my parents, family members, and friends for their support and understanding during this intensive challenging research project and throughout my post graduation career.
Certificate of Originality
This is to certify that this project Report entitled "Role of Communication in Effective Change Management ( A Case Study on Godrej Group) which is to be submitted to the Course Director, PG Diploma in Strategic Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce, The M S University of Baroda has been prepared by Ms. Rashmi Rawat, Examination Seat Number.38) in partial fulfillment of requirement for the PG Diploma in Strategic Human Resource Management.
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She
has
carried
out
this
work
under
my
personal
supervision and guidance. The work is an original one and has not been submitted earlier to this university or to any other institution / organization for fulfillment of the requirement of a course or for award of any other Degree / Diploma / Certificate Course.
(Mr. Kalpesh Purohit) Rawat) Project Guide
(Ms. Rashmi Student
Table of Contents
Chapter Chapter
I II
Introduction Literature Review: Theoretical Perspectives 2.1 Change Management Theories 2.2 Communication Strategy Theories
1
Chapter
III
Case Study 3.1 Case Overview 3.2 Issues and Observations
Chapter
IV
Discussions 4.1 Practical Views of Change Management 4.2 Communication Strategies Reinvigorated 4.3 Integrative Communication Strategies in Change Process
Chapter
Conclusion and Further Research 5.1 Concluding Remarks 5.2 Implications 5.3 Research Limitations 5.4 Further Research
Bibliography
CHAPTER I Introduction
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change - Charles Darwin (1808-1892) 2
In a highly competitive environment, the dynamism for changes in any large organizations becomes indispensable for greater success and excellence. Most business leaders and top executives in various industries have been vigilant toward the modification of business strategies along with effective and continuous changes up to reach their potential. In addition, nowadays, pressures for change are not merely stemmed from the organizational elements but also the international forces galvanized by the notion of globalization, technology, and competition. management issues. Organizational scholars have long acknowledged the importance of communication processes in explanations of organizational change (Lewis and Seibold, 1996; Rogers, 1995; Fairhurst and Wendt, 1993). Nonetheless, Lewis (2000a) argues that the systematic research about the effectiveness of communication strategies about change is sparse. Connected to that, though the various research on change management has been produced in reflection of diverse organizational angles, the communication strategy, which serves as a critical instrument in facilitating changes, falls short of academics attention. Additionally, the extant literature has insufficiently provided a wide range of case examples, which may broaden horizons of change on real business circumstances. If changes are expected to occur over a long period and are likely to involve high ambiguity at some points, then this should be clearly communicated in advance in order to avoid potential loss of momentum, disappointment, and cynicism in certain groups of employees (Heracleous and Langham, 1996). From the aforementioned aspects, it triggers the authors interest to conduct research on how the communication strategies help effectively facilitate change management processes, especially in a large organization. Since this integrative study of the subjects is under researched, an exploratory case approach is considered an appropriate tool to be employed on the basis of empirical research methodologies. In terms of the case selection, Godrej Group proves to be an intriguing case of an organization in transition where both change management and communication strategy theories play major roles in bringing out successful change. Of the voluminous issues of changes within Godrej Group, the new brand and business status introduction has received much attention from both internal employees and external stakeholders but not been yet well researched. Basically, it has undergone some extensive changes on the purpose of image improvement, particularly in the international market. Owing to some constraints, the research project in fact tends to focus on how the senior managers generally perceive the internal communication in light of changes within Godrej Group and, thereafter, how the communication strategies are formulated so as to enhance the change management process. 1 Therefore, revolutionary changes have been prioritized as one of the most important agendas needed for discussion in a parallel relationship with other
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management In relation to that, the first research question aims to investigate some depth of understanding of how senior managers at different management levels perceive the internal communication process surrounding the change in the Godrej Group and the strategies they formulate to respond to change. From this initial question, a fundamental ground of the critical inquiry tends to be addressed in the first place, thereby leading to a further quest asserted in the following question. The nature of the second question is to examine the process of strategic formulation of corporate communications in accordance with diverse phases of changes to Godrej Group. Once synonymous with locks and safes today it has presence in FMCG, consumer electronics, engineering, IT and other fields. Safely ensconced in the protective environment of the license raj, the liberalization of 1991 and the ensuing challenges from the MNCs provided yet another stimulus for change. The company shed its image of a closely held family business and moved from a family-owned family managed to family- owned professionally managed organization. The movement has been gradual and marked with a number of hindrances. This can be attributed to the organizational inertia which tries to maintain the status quo.
The two major companies of Godrej group Godrej & Boyce and Godrej Industries Limited, have sea change of difference in organizational culture and focus areas. While, Godrej & Boyce continues to focus on consumer, industrial and office equipment products, Godrej Industries Limited is more dynamic and focuses on range of sectors including FMCG, retailing, food, IT, real estate, etc. It gives a lot of independence to its affiliate companies and subsidiaries in decision-making. However, the control of Godrej family exists with family members having full control or as board members in some of the companies. The company had other shares of troubles as well, for instance unsuccessful partnership with P&G. Godrej has since 1990 deliberately undertaken a process of self-improvement. The main problem faced by the group in 1991 was that it was getting too bureaucratic with slow pace, getting bogged down in routine matters, too many slow-moving products and a reluctance to do away with old practices. 2
CHAPTER II
Literature Review
In this chapter, voluminous streams of literature on change management and communication strategy are reviewed. Though both issues have been extensively researched and empirically demonstrated in the organizational level, many extant studies have left an integrative pattern of those constructs unheeded, particularly on how communication strategies are formulated to enhance the change efforts. Not only are some theoretical aspects of communication and change processes presented, but certain case examples also are illustrated to mirror their practicability. The outline of the literature review is divided into two main sections: change management theories and communication strategy theories. In each section, a foundational ground of theories aims to provide the comprehensive evolution of the constructs to be studied in this research.
2.1 2.1.1
Change Management Theories

Definition of Changes
Prior to delving into the complexity of change management, it is imperative to highlight the fundamental definition of changes, including organizational change, to seek for a common standpoint. Burnes (2000) depicts that change is a multi-level, cross-organization process that unveils an iterative and messy fashion over a period of time and comprises a series of interlocking projects. Berger (1994: p. 7) defines change management as the continuous process of aligning an organization with its marketplace and doing it more responsively and effectively than competitors. Thus, organizational change management is a continuous process of experiment and adaptation aimed at matching an organizations capabilities to the needs and dictates of a volatile environment (Burnes, 2000). By the same token, Lichtenstein (2000) views organizational change as a transformative change through a complex adaptive system model of change, which consists of three stages: increased organizing, tension and a threshold, and newly emerging configuration.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Nonetheless, in the article, Managing Rapid Change: From Theory to Practice, written by McDonald (2000), theoretical and practical perspectives on organizational change are distinguished. He notes that some academics have applied Darwins survival of the fittest theory to the organizational change theory (Vaill, 1989). It means that any organizations which fail to make changes are likely to be eliminated by the competition. In practice, several organizations have put an emphasis on measurable results driven change because it serves as one of the most powerful approaches to change management. Such evaluation results primarily purport to spell out the level of corporate performance improvement. Scrutinized from those perspectives, both academics and practitioners have contributed to the notion of changes that aims to help the firm outperform competitors. Burke and Litwin (1992) argue that, despite the complexity of change issues, the notion of transformational and transactional dynamics inherent in successful change efforts can be identified (see Appendix1). Transformational factors deal with areas that require new employee behaviors as a consequence of external and internal environmental pressures, such as leadership, culture, and mission. On the contrary, transactional factors deal with psychological and organizational variables that predict and control the motivational and performance consequences of a work groups climate. These variables include management practices, structure, systems (policies and procedures), and task requirements.
2.1.2
Significance of Change Management
The concept of change in organizations has captured both academics and practitioners attention for decades. Kennerfalk and Klefsjo (1995) suggest that the fundamental changes in organizations can be categorized into two main dimensions: changes in culture (Silvester et al., 1999; Brown, 1998) and changes in structure (Daft, 2001; Bloodgood and Morrow, 2000). As for the structural change in organization, Fenton and Pettigrew (2000) study about the evolution of the theoretical perspectives of organization design, ranging from bureaucratic organization (Weber, 1947) to network organization (Uzzi, 1997) during the past 50 years. In their work, empirical evidence on change management constructs is emphasized. On the other hand, Chandler (1994) comments that the importance of change management in 1990s can be better comprehended if it is viewed in the context of corporate expansion, contraction, and restructuring.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management In a general perspective of a change management model, major organizational characteristics, underlying systems and business strategies are rigorously investigated and essential to accommodating transformation (Laud, 1994). The Andersen Consultings Organizational Change Model in Figure 1 draws on a classic outcome of research and experience from the fields of management and organizational behavior, whereby corporate culture is placed at the heart of the change management process. It is theoretically derived from an input-process-output model.
Figure 1: Andersen Consultings Organizational Change Model
Structure
External Environment
Vision/ Strategy
Leadership Work Culture Force
Process
Output
Competitive Environment
Source: Adapted from Laud, R. L. (1994). The Tortoise and the Hare: Cultural Change and Corporate Strategy. In The Change Management Handbook: A Road Map to Corporate Transformation. Edited by Berger, Sikora, and Berger McGraw-Hill.
If strategic change is to be succeeded, the important changes should take place in the cultural beliefs and assumptions of the organization (Heracleous and Langham, 1996) leading to the cultivation of employee commitment (Unzicker et al., 2000). Ellis (1998) conducts research on a new role and reveals three underpinning dimensions for the strategic change: organizational culture, change management and technology-enabled change. Oftentimes, change agents, or persons who trigger and mobilize the change schemes, raise an issue of how the change effort can be assessed (Reichheld, 1994). Practically, the magnitude of change is difficult to be measured due to unprecedented situations and organizational environments involved (Burnes, 2000; Brown 1998; Peters, 1998; Kanter et al., 1997; Brown 1995). In the existing literature, Burnes (2000) asserts that there are three current models addressing the characteristics of change magnitudes; the incremental model of change (Miller and Friesen, 1984), the punctuated equilibrium model of organizational transformation (Romanelli and Tushman, 1994), and the continuous transformation model of change (Brown and Eisenhardt, 1997). In the work of Pettigrew and Fenton (2000), change initiatives such as delayering, decentralizing, networking and information technology investment will not succeed if done piecemeal. To reap the 1
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management benefits of organizational change, particularly galvanized by innovation, firms must think and act holistically and make changes on several fronts in careful alignment. Furthermore, ample evidence shows that managers have a good reason to be anxious about organizational change (Stickland, 1998; Sastry, 1997; Stace and Dunphy, 1994). If managers and change agents utilize a well-orchestrated, integrated design that responds to needs for learning, realignment, negotiation, and grieving, they might find themselves in the fast lane toward success and improvement (Bolman and Deal, 1999). For example, John Sunderland of Cadbury Schweppes successfully communicates his change message across a multinational corporation in various countries where working cultures and environments are enormously disparate (McCune, 1999). The road to change is never paved with roses, no matter how good the intentions or far-reaching the support will be. As the successes and failures of companies have been enumerated, it is clear that any organization that needs to succeed in the 1990s and beyond must have a systematic and well-lubricated change management process in place. Given the frequency and potency of change, the system is no frill but a radical life-support network (Berger, 1994).
2.1.3
Forces for Change
An amalgam of industrial and organizational challenges has much contributed to a new pace of change with multidimensional facets. Essentially, the forces impacting change are powerful and pervasive (Sikora, 1994). It is imperative to conduct an organizational analysis of external conditions and internal forces that affect the need for change and the development of change strategies (Kanter et al., 1992). As such, the interrelationships among internal forces for change, external forces for change, and organizational characteristics can be cooperating initiators of a change process (Witherspoon and Wohlert 1996; Levy and Merry, Somboon Kulvisaechana 1986). External forces for change include market forces, legislation, tax structures, new technologies, and political reasons. Whereas internal forces for change are profitability, reorganization, conflicts between organizational components (departments), and changes in culture/social environment (Anonymous, 1999). Harari (1999a) and McCune (1999) reiterate that various uncontrollable factors emerge to shake up the majority of the business organizations. Some of them are the explosion of technological advances, the crumbling of global barriers to entry, the swarm of new competitor, the antipathy of the most talented employees toward bureaucratic controls, and the insistence of customers on being treated as individuals, not as part of a mass market (Sikora, 1994).
2.1.4
Kurt Lewins model for Change Management
Execute the intended Ensure that the Unfreeze Refreeze Change change becomes employees are permanent ready for change
The work of Kurt Lewin dominated the theory and practice of change management for over 40 years. His is an approach to understanding group behaviour by trying to map out the totality and complexity of the eld in which the behaviour takes place (Back, 1992). Lewin maintained that to understand any situation it was necessary that: One should view the present situation the status quo as being maintained by certain conditions or forces (Lewin, 1943a, p. 172). Lewin (1947b) postulated that group behaviour is an intricate set of symbolic interactions and forces that not only affect group structures, but also modify individual behaviour. Therefore, individual behaviour is a function of the group environment or eld, as he termed it. Consequently, any changes in behaviour stem from changes are small or large, in the forces within the eld (Lewin, 1947a). Lewin dened a eld as a totality of coexisting facts which are conceived of as mutually interdependent . . . (Lewin,1946, p. 240). Lewin believed that a eld was in a continuous state of adaptation and that Change and constancy are relative concepts; group life is never without change, merely differences in the amount and type of change exist (Lewin, 1947a,p. 199). This is why Lewin used the term quasi-stationary equilibrium to indicate that whilst there might be a rhythm and pattern to the behaviour and processes of a group, these tended to uctuate constantly owing to changes in the forces or circumstances that impinge on the group.
Lewins view was that if one could identify, plot and establish the potency of these forces, then it would be possible not only to understand why individuals, diminished or strengthened in order to bring about change. In the main, Lewin saw behavioural change as a slow process; however, he did recognize that under certain circumstances, such as a personal, organizational or societal crisis, the various forces in the eld can shift quickly and radically. In such situations, established routines and behaviours break down and the status quo is no longer viable; new patterns of activity can rapidly emerge and a new equilibrium (or quasi- stationary equilibrium) is formed (Kippenberger, 1998a; Lewin, 1947a). Despite its obvious value as a vehicle for understanding and changing group behaviour, with Lewins death, the general interest in Field Theory waned (Back, 1992; Gold, 1992; Hendry, 1996). However, in recent years, with the work of Argyris (1990) and Hirschhorn (1988) on understanding and overcoming resistance to change, Lewins work on Field Theory has once again begun to attract interest. According to Hendry (1996), even critics of Lewins work have drawn on Field Theory to develop their own models of change (see Pettigrew et al., 1989, 1992). Indeed, parallels have even been drawn between Lewins work and the work of complexity theorists (Kippenberger, 1998a). Back (1992), for example, arguedthat the formulation and behaviour of complex systems as described by Chaos and Catastrophe theorists bear striking similarities to Lewins conceptualization of Field Theory. Nevertheless, Field Theory is now probably the least understood element of Lewins work, yet, because of its potential to map the forces impinging on an individual, group or organization, it underpinned the other elements of his work.
Group Dynamics . . . the word dynamics . . . comes from a Greek word meaning force . . . group dynamics refers to the forces operating in groups . . . it is a study of these forces: what gives rise to them, what conditions modify them, what consequences they have, etc. (Cartwright, 1951, p. 382) Lewin was the rst psychologist to write about group dynamics and the importance of the group in shaping the behaviour of its members (Allport, 1948; Bargal et al., 1992). Indeed, Lewins (1939, p. 165) denition of a group is still gener-ally accepted: . . . it is not the similarity or dissimilarity of individuals that constitutes a group, but interdependence of fate.
In addition, Dervitsiotis (1998) embarks on the major forces for organizational change, which are attributed to the following characteristics: A sufficient dissatisfaction with the status quo as described by current performance levels and their trends; A strong attraction towards moving to a more desirable condition or improvement; and The appeal of a well-thought-out strategy for realizing the vision.
In the absence of any one of the three forces, there is no motivation to provoke management to act for bringing about organizational change. With the aforementioned factors to change, their ramifications tend to be of constructive benefits to the organization at the expense of the hurdle of employees response to change in the first place (Lewis, 2000a; Markus, 1983). Though some studies reveal that, due to a strong desire to remain the status quo, employees attempt not to change from what they are currently doing, the hindsight of change resistance is still under-researched.
2.1.5
Resistance to Change
Of the many studies on change efforts, the issue of change resistance has always been included as part of notorious impediments throughout the change stages. In fact, it is argued that employees do not resist all change, only change that they do not understand or that they see as psychologically or economically threatening (Hayes, 1996; Baird et al., 1990). As such, they usually respond to contradictory messages with displeasure, frustration, confusionand anxiety (Stohl, 1995). Connected to that, the change resistance, which may occur during change efforts reduction of productivity, work slowdowns, hostility and pessimism regarding goal attainment, can be attributed to several political, cultural, normative, and individual causes (Miller et al., 1994). As for understanding the notion of resistance to change, Hayes (1996) asserts that one needs to identify the factors underpinning such resistance. They are self-interest, fear, group pressures, and inertia.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management In the review of empirical research, Piderit (2000) posits that there are three different emphases in conceptualizations of resistance: as a cognitive state, as an emotional state, and as a behavior. These constructs might be well understood through the sources of change resistance, which are individual and organization levels (Hellriegel et al., 2001; Dent et al., 1998; Strebel, 1996; Brown, 1995) as shown in Figure 2. In the work of Stoltz (1997), three categories of peoples reactions to change are: quitters who disagree with change; campers, who simply sit things out, and climbers, who actively seek change. From his study, it shows that the majority of the employees fall into the campers category, whereby the desire to remain status quo is initially prevalent. Interestingly, in the article, Why Do Leaders Avoid Change?, written by Harari (1999a), some managers try to keep themselves away from any kinds of change. Not only does their fear of failure become the primary issue, but also loads of work, additional to what they currently have, appears to be an unpleasant consequence. Figure 2: Sources of Change Resistance
Individual Resistance Perception Personality Habit Threat to power and influence Fear of the unknown Economic Reasons
Organisational Resistance Organisation Structure Organisational Culture Resource Limitation Fixed Investments Inter organisational agreements
Resistance to Change Source: Hellriegel, D., Slocum, J. W. & Woodman, R. W. (2001). Organizational Behavior Ninth Edition. South-Western College Publishing.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management As for optimizing the change resistance, managers are required to observe employee readiness for change. Normally, their readiness emerges when the employees perceive little personal risk from change and feel highly dissatisfied with the status quo (Hellriegel et al., 2001). With this respect, resistance to change seems to be submerged. In addition, successful organizational adaptation is increasingly reliant on generating employee support and enthusiasm for proposed changes, rather than merely overcoming resistance (Pederit, 2000).Hayes (1996) proposes that resistance to change can be optimized by utilizing the following strategies: Participation and involvement (Daft, 1995; Smith, 1995); Facilitation and support (Daft, 1995; Kirkpatrick, 1985); Negotiation (Daft, 1995; Ivancevich et al., 1994); Coercion (Humphreys, 1996).
Because some employees will already have formed ambivalence or an attitude toward the current point, they may be able to infer their attitude toward the proposed shift for change in accordance with the extant ambivalence. In other words, most employees responses to a proposed change will involve some ambivalence. Thus, Piderit (2000) comments that their resistance to change does not always spell out the antagonistic attitude against change, rather than expressing their responses along emotional, cognitive, and intentional dimensions. For this reason, the phrase resistance to change should be retired and a new wave of research on employees responses to change is to be emphasized. Hellriegel et al. (2000) supports the idea of replacing the above phrase with pressure to change.
2.1.6
Change Formulation and Implementation
After examining the thrust for change and potential resistance to change within the organization, the formulation of change strategies serves as a subsequent pivotal step to be undertaken. Fundamentally, there are diverse ways to formulate change strategies, depending upon the extent of potential change, the time and the information available and the power distribution in the organization (Heracleous and Langham, 1996). According to the literature, a change management team with high credibility and intellectual ability should be identified in the first place (Heracleous and Langham, 1996). Such a team normally comprises change agents, or top managers, and other key persons to trigger and mobilize the change engines throughout the organization. Not only do the top managers play this critical role, but middle-level managers can also bring about profound change since they are the ones who directly involve in day-to-day business operations (Harari, 1999b). Although a debate between general managers and change specialists in taking charge of the change drives is substantial, there is usually one individual, regardless of those titles, who takes charge of ensuring the change effort takes place and is well carried out (Burnes, 2000). With this respect, Hartley et al. (1997) and Beer (1994) argue that there has been relatively little empirical research on the clear-cut roles played by change agents. However, Buchanan and Boddy (1992), cited by Burnes (2000: p. 298), analyze the skills and competency essential to be a successful change agent by depicting that a picture of the change agent is a highly skilled and well-trained political operator who has not only an in-depth knowledge of change processes and tools, but also the personal qualities an experiences to use them both in the open, and especially, behind the scenes In order to formulate change strategies, a series of change stages needs to be closely scrutinized. Traditionally, Lewin (1947), cited by Burnes (2000), provides a classic framework of change levels: unfreezing, moving and refreezing. Each phase is consistent with certain social behaviors and a particular cognitive state (Brown, 1995). A better understanding of change has been supported by empirical evidence from various authors, namely Weiss (2001), Bloodgood and Morrow (2000), Bolman and Deal (1999), and Day (1999). In the recent work of Armenakis and Bedeian (1999), employee behaviors in the change process have been extensively studied. Furthermore, Isabella (1990) and Jaffe et al. (1994) propose a relatively similar model of change stages as to the employees reaction as shown in Figure 3 Figure 3: Stages of Change
Isabella 1990 Anticipation Assemble the rumor about change Confirmation Confirm the rumor with reality Culmination Compare pre and post change events Aftermath Evaluate the consequences of change
Jaffe et al. (1994) Denial Refuse to accept changes as solutions Resistance Postpone participation and implementation Exploration Test new behaviours with promised results Commitment Accept the proposed change
Source: Adapted from Armenakis, A. A. & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational Change: A Review of Theory and Research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, vol. 25, iss. 3, p. 300
Throughout the aforementioned stages of changes, the change messages have to be conveyed to employees in a strategic manner. As such, the accuracy and clarity of the contents are regarded as significant components of the strategic change messages. In relation to that, Armenakis et al. (1999) propose two models of change management. The first model considers creating a message for change readiness so that resistance is minimized. depicted in Figure 4. The other model is about facilitating the adoption and institutionalization of desired change. Both models are associated with the notion of change messages as
Figure 4: Five Components of the Change Messages Components 1. Discrepancy 2. Self Efficacy 3. Personal Valence Descriptive Meaning We need to change We have the capability to successfully change It is in our best interest to change
4. Principal support 5. Appropriateness
Those affected are behind the change The desired change is right for the focal organisation
Source: Adapted from Armenakis, A. A. & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational Change: A Review of Theory and Research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, vol. 25, iss. 3, p. 300.\
No matter how well change strategies are formulated, the implementation of change still accounts for success. The substantial volume of evidence indicating change implementation failure has confirmed an underlying reason why people are anxious about organizational change (Stickland, 1998; Cummings and Worley, 1997). Perhaps, this seems to be consistent with the work of management consultant Rick Maurer, President of Maurer & Associates. (McCune, 1999). In another aspect, Lewis (2000a) denotes that some change implementers struggle with how to publicize what they perceived as positive results of their programs. The implementers learn over time that the success of the program depends, in large part, on the perception among employees that it is accomplished. Spencer and Mountford (1997) point out that the gain from a well-managed change effort brings out growth and prosperity to organizations and stakeholders. Among the outcomes that can be expected are: 1. Employees deliver or exceed target levels of performance on time and on budget. 2. Stakeholders remain loyal and new stakeholders are attracted. 3. Risks associated with change are eliminated or minimized. 4. The organization is left better able to change rapidly and effectively in the future. As is evident from many of the studies reviewed, Armenakis and Bedeian (1999) posit that the implementation models of Galpin (1996) and Judson (1991) are similar in concept and parallel to the model of Kotter (1995), which is illustrated in Figure 5. He addresses that only about one-third of major reengineering efforts and 29 percent of mergers and acquisitions are successes in the United States
Figure 5: Eight Steps of Change Implementation for Change Agents
Phase I
Phase II
Establishing a sense of urgency by relating to potential crisis and opportunities facing the firm Forming a powerful coalition of change oriented individuals Creating a vision to achieve the desired end- result Communicating the vision through numerous channels of communication Empowering others to change structures or policies in the way that will facilitate Planning to publicise short term wins or successes so as to encourage change continuity Consolidating improvements and changing some policies that are not associated with the vision Institutionalising the new approaches by publicizing the firms success of changes
Phase III
Phase IV
Phase V
Phase VI
Phase VII
Phase VIII
Source: Adapted from Kotter, J. (1995). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review, vol. 73, iss. 2.
To recapitulate the importance of change formulation and implementation, words and actions are indispensable to create images and meanings that will focus attention on the need for change, to establish 2
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management an environment receptive to change efforts, to communicate change messages and to encourage participation in the strategies designed to achieve it (Witherspoon and Wohlert, 1996). The formulation and implementation of change strategies could be perceived as a united entity and an ongoing process. Framing the change targets with comprehensive schemes or meanings of change is of radical challenges to overcoming the obstacle of organizational changes (Gilsdorf, 1998). On the ground of these facts, a communication tends to be considered as a bloodstream that helps transmit the change messages throughout both change formulation and implementation stages.
2.2
2.2.1
Communication Strategy Theories

Fundamentals of Communication
Undoubtedly, communication proves to be of the most significant tools in social life and business management. It also plays a pivotal role in collaboration of all human activities that link people together and create relationships (Duncan and Moriarty, 1998). Moreover, in the organizational level, Barker and Camarata (1998) assert that communication is embedded in every aspect of becoming an effective organization and of continuing to be a learning organization. As such, organizational communication is essentially viewed as the collective interactive process of generating and interpreting messages between people within the organization through either directional (one-way) or bidirectional (two-way) manner of communication (Stohl, 1995). For instance, the nature of hierarchical relationships with communication patterns is examined in the research of Stohl (1995). It is found that a high bureaucratic organization tends to shape its communication practices in a vertical formal way, such as a top-down chain of command through written forms of communication, while personal interactions may not be well exposed. Originally, Kreitner and Kinicki (1995: p. 368), quoted from Bowditch and Buono (1994), define communication as the exchange of information between a sender and a receiver, and the inference (perception) of meaning between the individuals involved so as to reach a common understanding (George and Jones, 1998). Recently, a description of communication theories has expanded to cover more of psychological and cognitive aspects. In the literature of Weiss (2001) and Kreitner and Kinicki (1995), a perceptual model of communication is basically elaborated from a traditional communication process model (Schermerhorn, 1998; Baguley, 1994). In the perceptual model, the cognitive interpretation of messages is focused by which the miscommunication becomes better understood (Kreitner and Kinicki, 1995). 2
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management According to the work of Kreitner and Kinicki (1995) in Figure 6, a perceptual model of communication begins with a sender cognitively encodes an idea or thought by using verbal and non-verbal cues, including attitudes. The output of encoding is a message transmitted on medium selected by the sender. Then the receiver cognitively decodes that idea or thought based on his/her understanding and perception toward the message. A message for feedback is created and transmitted on medium of the new sender (receiver)s choice. The process of communication tends to be completed after the original sender interprets the message received and acts upon. Barriers of communication, such as loud noise, poor handwriting, and inaccurate statistics in a memo, can distort the quality of the perceptual communication process at any stages.
Figure 6: A Perceptual Model of Communication
Encoding Transmitte Receiver Source: Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A.Message Organizational Behavior. Third Edition. Irwin. (1995). d on medium Decodes
Sender
Barrier (Noise)
Receiver creates meaning
Source Decodes
Transmitte d on medium
Message
Encoding
Feedback Loop
Source: Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (1995). Organizational Behavior Third Edition. Irwin.
2.2.2
The Elements of Effective Communication Strategy
Effective communication is important for both managerial and organizational success (Dawson, 1996; Kreitner and Kinicki, 1995). It can be witnessed from the viewpoint where employees collaborate, 1
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management interact, and engage with others in ways which help them understand the importance and meaning of the engagement and achieve certain goals (Barker and Camarata, 1998; Pace and Faules, 1989). According to the literature, the notion of effectiveness communication is not merely confined with an interactive collaboration between employees, but it also has an impact on organizational issues. For instance, Clampitt and Downs (1993) demonstrate a close link between effective communication and productivity. Whereas Pettit et al. (1997) examine how effective organizational communication relates to job performance and job satisfaction. Moreover, an empirical study shows that employees commitment to the organization correlates positively with organizational clarity and is maintained even when changes are occurring in the organization (Guzley, 1992). As such, the communication strategy can be perceived as a mechanism to clarify the facts to various stakeholders of what is going to change, why, and what benefits they can expect to derive from the change (See Appendix 2).
Partially drawn from the marketing communication literature, the underlying philosophy of effective communication strategy is held true and proves to be literally practical to other contexts. With this regard, Mohr and Nevin (1990) define a communication strategy as the use of a combination of communication facets, which include frequency and formality of communication (Maltz and Kohli, 1996; Mohr and Nevin, 1990), and content of communication (Mohr and Nevin, 1990; Jablin et al., 1987), and channel of communication (Carlson and Davis, 1998). For example, one communication strategy might be frequent communication through informal modes, with indirect content. In the following section, each facet of communication strategy will be elaborated as part of the key constructs for this study.
2.2.2.1
Frequency of Communication
Normally, dissemination frequency is measured as the number of dissemination events or the amount of communication between a sender and a receiver during a given period of time or duration of contact (Maltz, 2000; Maltz and Kohli, 1996; Mohr and Nevin, 1990). In assessing the frequency of communication, one should examine the amount of contact necessary to achieve a particular activity, not simply including the amount of contact per se. Because most empirical research has used frequency as the indicator of the amount of communication, the author tends to adopt the frequency of communication rather than the duration of contact.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Formality of Communication Maltz and Kohli (1996: p. 48) comment that the dissemination formality has not been empirically explored in the communication literature; though a number of researchers have noted that organizational intelligence may be disseminated through formal or informal channels. Moreover, some scholars might not explicitly define what is meant by formal and informal channels. Johnson et al. (1994) address the issue of distinctive clarification between them. Formal communication basically refers to communication that flows through written channels, though formal meetings or training sessions also may be considered a formal mode. However, informal communication refers to the communication that occurs in a non-structured manner, such as a normal conversation or social discussion. The aforementioned definitions have been reiterated in the findings of the research work conducted by Johnson et al. (1994). Such a project is studied in a large midwestern state governmental agency to compare formal and informal organizational communication structures, specially focusing on salience, channel factors, and channel usage.
2.2.2.3 Content of Communication

The content of communication refers to the message that is transmitted or what is said (Mohr and Nevin, 1990: p. 39). It can be verbal or non-verbal, intentional or unintentional. Shelby (1998) points out that the content in the message is considered the central part of the communication. Furthermore, the complexity of the language appeared in the message can determine the success or failure of the communication effort (Anonymous, 2000). As such, simple words and clear structures of the context can essentially overcome the complex issues. In relation to that, Mohr and Nevin (1990) and Frazier and Summers (1984) attempt to distinguish between direct and indirect influence strategies embedded in the exchanged information. Direct communication strategies are designed to change behaviors of the target by implying or requesting the specific action that the source wants the target to take. For instance, recommendations, requests and appeals to legal obligations fall into this type of influence strategy. Whereas indirect communication strategies are designed to change the targets beliefs and attitudes about the desirability of the intended behavior; no specific action is requested directly. An example of indirect communication content is information exchange, whereby the source uses discussions on general business issues and operates procedures to alter the targets attitude about desirable behaviors. Sengupta et al. (2000) address that the communication quality, which refers to the content of the communication received and understood by the other party in the relationship, marks a desirable outcome 1
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management of communication. It also associates with the context of developing and maintaining personal
relationships. However, Shelby (1998) comments that appropriate choices of channel communication are those most likely to result in communication effectiveness and efficiency for both message senders and receivers; they are those that provide perceived quality to communication process. 2.2.2.2 Channel of Communication
Channels of communication are regarded as the vessels of the message delivery (Anonymous, 2000). According to the literature, they have been broadly discussed in the notion of the flow of information, (Johnson et al.,1994) and information richness (Krietner and Kinicki, 1995). Editorial tone and communication potentials are of important characteristics determining the flow of information (Johnson et al.,1994). Basically, editorial tone mirrors an individuals perception of the credibility and trustworthiness of the source, which has an impact on the upward flow of information in the organisations (Glauser, 1984). Whereas communication potential refers to an individuals perception of the manner in which the information is presented. (Johnson et al., 1994: p.114). This is relating to the issues and of styles and comprehension of the documents, such as newsletters. Information richness is the amount of information carried out between senders to receivers to reach a common understanding (Carlson and Davis, 1998). Media that are high in information richness are capable of transmitting more information and are more likely to generate a common understanding than are media that are low in richness (George and Jones, 1998).
2.2.3
Issues of Communication for Change
Organizational scholars have long acknowledged the importance of communication processes in explanations of organizational change processes (Lewis and Seibold, 1996; Rogers, 1995; Fairhurst and Wendt, 1993). Nonetheless, Lewis (2000a) argues that the systematic research about the effectiveness of communication strategies about change is scant. Carmichael (1996) supports Lewiss argument by depicting that academics and practitioners have tried to search for a complete, well-grounded definition of communication for change, but their efforts primarily have focused on the invention, design, adoption, and responses to planned organizational change, as well as outcomes of change efforts. In addition, central communication processes involved in the implementation of planned changes within organizations have received far less attention by communication scholars (Lewis, 2000a). 2.2.3.1 Impediments of Communication for Change 2
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Communication problems are commonplace when changes are not clearly identified (Lewis, 2000b). Not only do they cause a drain on profitability, but also the effectiveness of management declines (Gilsdorf, 1998). In the work of Dawson (1996: p. 192), many underlying reasons why communication often falls short of the ideals, which are accuracy, reliability, validity, adequacy, and effectiveness, are addressed with some general issues within the relationship between information and communication in organizations. 2 According to Lewis (2000b)s research findings, the most frequently noted categories of problem encountered by the company in transition are communicating vision and negative attitudes. If an organizations management does not consider which communication behaviors it wishes to foster for its success, the signals it sends to employees may be inconsistent or counterproductive. Thus, managers should consider conveying clear communication-behavior expectations as a fundamental element of strategy. In doing so, firms might pursue communication audits which involve ethnographic analysis, including observation and interviewing, to learn exactly what organizational policies are operating (Gilsdorf, 1998). Moreover, Gilsdorf moves on to argue that analysis of organizational culture should be conducted in order to help determine the communication strategy used to solve the problem.
2.2.3.2 Formulation and Implementation of Communication for Change At the outset of the business competition for the 21st century, there is a trend of increasingly rapid change in organizations. Viable communication counts for an increase in not only individual receptiveness but also organizational change preparedness (Sinetar, 1988). It is axiomatic that good communication has become an essential component in successful change (McGill, 1996). Because any change schemes require ample communication to reduce confusion and to realign structural patterns to support the new direction (Bolman and Deal, 1999), both formulation and implementation plans of communication in change plays a crucial role in helping navigate change to the planned direction (Axley, 2000). The formulation of communication change plans seems to be relatively scarce in academic research journals. Since there is no clear distinction between the formulation and implementation planning in principle, the formulation part is included into the notion of the implementation plan of communication change. Tornatzky and Johnson (1982), quoted by Lewis (2000a: p. 193), define implementation as the translation of any tool or technique, process, or method of doing, from knowledge to practice.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management It encompasses that range of activities which take place between adoption of a tool or technique (defined as a decision to use the technology) and its stable incorporation into on-going organizational practice. The importance of communication for change is not only informing, motivating and coordinating but also managing employee expectations (Heracleous and Langham, 1996). Covin and Kilmann (1990) suggest that it is critical to communicating information (e.g., mission statements and goal achievement status) during change. They find that failure to share information or to inform people adequately of what changes are necessary and why they are necessary viewed as having a highly negative impact. (p. 239) Feedback gathering from employees, which is pertinent to implementation issues, serves a significant evaluative function for organizational leaders. Additionally, it may be radical for managers to provide channels and opportunities for employees to gather feedback about their own participation in change programs (Lewis, 2000a). In relation to that, face-to-face communication in seeking employees views and concerns is highly recommended (Heracleous and Langham, 1996). By the same token, Sinetar (1988) suggests the informal communication program, which refers to a mechanism to help various corporate stakeholders become comfortable with change and with the organizations long-term goals, to be extensively conducted so as to create mutual understandings among change agents and employees.
At the outset of the business competition for the 21st century, there is a trend of increasingly rapid change in organizations. Viable communication counts for an increase in not only individual receptiveness but also organizational change preparedness (Sinetar, 1988). It is axiomatic that good communication has become an essential component in successful change (McGill, 1996). Because any change schemes require ample communication to reduce confusion and to realign structural patterns to support the new direction (Bolman and Deal, 1999), both formulation and implementation plans of communication in change plays a crucial role in helping navigate change to the planned direction (Axley, 2000). The formulation of communication change plans seems to be relatively scarce in academic research journals. Since there is no clear distinction between the formulation and implementation planning in principle, the formulation part is included into the notion of the implementation plan of communication change. Tornatzky and Johnson (1982), quoted by Lewis (2000a: p. 193), define implementation as the translation of any tool or technique, process, or method of doing, from knowledge to practice.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management It encompasses that range of activities which take place between adoption of a tool or technique (defined as a decision to use the technology) and its stable incorporation into on-going organizational practice. The importance of communication for change is not only informing, motivating and coordinating but also managing employee expectations (Heracleous and Langham, 1996). Covin and Kilmann (1990) suggest that it is critical to communicating information (e.g., mission statements and goal achievement status) during change. They find that failure to share information or to inform people adequately of what changes are necessary and why they are necessary viewed as having a highly negative impact. (p. 239) Feedback gathering from employees, which is pertinent to implementation issues, serves a significant evaluative function for organizational leaders. Additionally, it may be radical for managers to provide channels and opportunities for employees to gather feedback about their own participation in change programs (Lewis, 2000a). In relation to that, face-to-face communication in seeking employees views and concerns is highly recommended (Heracleous and Langham, 1996). By the same token, Sinetar (1988) suggests the informal communication program, which refers to a mechanism to help various corporate stakeholders become comfortable with change and with the organizations long-term goals, to be extensively conducted so as to create mutual understandings among change agents and employees.
Chapter III GODREJ 3.1 History

The Godrej Group is one of the oldest and most diversified firms in India. From a lock making company in 1897 to a present day conglomerate the transformation has been Phenomenal. It provides us a rich insight into a company that successfully adapted to a dynamically changing environment. Once synonymous with locks and safes today it has presence in FMCG, consumer electronics, engineering, IT and other fields. Safely ensconced in the protective environment of the license raj, the liberalization of 91 and the ensuing challenges from the MNCs provided yet another stimulus for change. The company shed its image of a closely held family business and moved from a family-owned family managed to family owned professionally managed organization. inertia which tries to maintain the status quo. The movement has been gradual and marked with a number of hindrances. This can be attributed to the organizational
The two major companies of Godrej group Godrej & Boyce and Godrej Industries Limited, have sea change of difference in organizational culture and focus areas. While, Godrej & Boyce continues to focus on consumer, industrial and office equipment products, Godrej Industries Limited is more dynamic and focuses on range of sectors including FMCG, retailing, food, IT, real estate, etc. It gives a lot of independence to its affiliate companies and subsidiaries in decision-making. However, the control of Godrej family exists with family members having full control or as board members in some of the companies.
3.2 Overview
An average Indian starts the day with the use of Godrej soaps and Godrej shaving cream in the morning, picks up clothes from a Godrej Almirah, sits on Godrej furniture in the office, drinks coffee from the Godrej vending machines., eats Godrej food products, uses Godrej fax/conferencing equipment for communication, puts money in Godrej safe, plugs Good Night and goes to sleep at the end of the day. A recent estimate suggested that 400 million people across India use at least one Godrej product every day. Godrej Group today is one of the largest diversified industrial corporations in India. It stands in a strong position today, with annual sales in excess of US$ 1.7 billion, a workforce of approximately 20,000, and a strong diversified portfolio. The saga of the success of Godrej group is a story which runs into about four generations. From the humble beginning driven by honesty, integrity and outstanding service to customers now Godrej is a huge empire, which has come all the way as being know as a lock making company for over more than 100 years ago and is an epitome for success. This endeavor began in the last century with Ardeshir Godrej starting at the grass roots level with the manufacture of locks. After mastering the technology thoroughly he decided to manufacture locks, which could compete with locks imported from foreign countries. From then on there has been no looking back. He along with his younger brother Pirojsha went on to make security equipments of a high quality. They kicked off Godrej & Boyce and successfully began the manufacture of toilet soaps from vegetable oils. Ardeshir moved from locks, safes, soaps to biscuits and confectionery and canning and processing and Pirojsha focused on growing businesses. They further diversified into cupboards and furniture. The next generation was dominated by Naval who forayed into ventures like typewriters and refrigerators. The third generation led by Jamshyd, took on the challenge as managing director of Godrej & Boyce and is carrying on its business.
3.2. 1 Timeline
1897 - Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd established 1918 - Godrej Soaps Limited incorporated 1961- Godrej Started Manufacturing Forklift Trucks in India 1971- Godrej Agrovet Limited began as an Animal Feeds division of Godrej Soaps 1974 - Veg oils division in Wadala, Mumbai acquired 1990 - Godrej Properties Limited, another subsidiary, established 1991 - Foods business started 1991 - Godrej Agrovet Limited incorporated 1994 - Transelektra Domestic Products acquired alliance with Sara Lee USA 1995 - Transelektra forged a strategic
1999 - Transelektra renamed Godrej Sara Lee Limited and incorporated Godrej InfoTech Ltd 2001 - Godrej Consumer Products was formed as a result of the demerger of Godrej Soaps Limited. Godrej Soaps renamed Godrej Industries Limited 2002 - Godrej Tea Limited set up 2003 - Entered the BPO solutions and services space with Godrej Global Solutions Limited 2004 - Godrej HiCare Limited set up to provide a Safe Healthy Environment to customers by providing professional pest management services 2006 - Foods business was merged with Godrej Tea and Godrej Tea renamed Godrej Beverages & Foods Limited 2007 - Godrej Beverages & Foods Limited formed a JV with The Hershey Company of North America and the company was renamed Godrej Hershey Foods & Beverages Limited 2008 - Godrej relaunched itself with new colorful logo and a fresh identity music 2010 - Godrej launched GoJiyo a free, browser based 3D virtual world
3.2.2 Companies in the Group

The spirit of entrepreneurship, the vision of a dynamic tomorrow, and the capacity to build and realize dreams! This is the essence of the Godrej group. No wonder then, Godrej has become the symbol of a vibrant multi-business enterprise touching the lives of millions and at the same time an icon of enduring ideals in a changing world. Godrej & Boyce From locks to aerospace, furniture to construction, appliances to custom-built critical equipment, and several more, Godrej & Boyce has a diverse range of products and services. Godrej Industries India's leading manufacturer of oleo chemicals making more than a hundred chemicals for use in over two dozen industries. Its products also include edible oils, vanaspati and bakery fats. Godrej Properties One of Indias leading real estate development companies focusing on residential, commercial and township development. Godrej Consumer Products A major player in the Indian FMCG market with leadership in personal care, hair care, household care and fabric care segments. Godrej Household Products Godrej Household Products Limited (GHPL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Godrej
Consumer Products Limited. With strong brands like Good Knight, HIT, Jet, Ambipur, Brylcreem and Kiwi, GHPL is the market leader in the Indian household insecticides category and has a dominant presence in the air care, shoe care and male hair care markets. Godrej Hershey A joint venture between the Hershey Company, USA and the Godrej group, it is one of India's leading businesses operating in Food and Beverages segment. Godrej Agrovet 1
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management It is Diversified agribusiness Company with interests in animal feed, oil, palm plantations, agro chemicals and poultry. It is Indias largest animal feed company.
Other Companies Godrej InfoTech Godrej Efacec Automation & Robotics Geometric International Operations
Appliances Furniture FMCG Real Estate
Agri AV Solutions Chemicals Construction
3.2.3 Products and services
Electricals and Electronics IT & Software Solutions Locks
Material Handling Motors Precision Engineering
Process Equipment Security Solutions Storage Solutions
Tooling Vending Batteries
3.3 Change Management and Strategies and Role of Communication in Godrej Industries
Indeed, since their inception 105 years ago, Godrej have consistently and constantly been agents of change. It has only recently come to light, in papers unearthed after former Chairman Sohrab Godrejs death, that the pioneer-founder Ardeshir Godrej not only changed from law to surgical instruments, to locks and safes and, in a startling departure, vegetable oil soaps, but also established, and for some time successfully ran, a farm at Nasik, patterned along the lines of agricultural cooperatives in Europe and America. Ardeshir saw the basic need and great potential for the processing and canning industries in a country like India, which is the largest producer of fruit after Brazil and America and of vegetables after China. Ardeshir didnt live to see his vision come to fruition. So, change is in the Godrej blood. Change is what has enabled Godrej to survive with a strong value system and adapt itself to an even faster changing world. In an address on Management of Change to the Indian Merchants Chamber in 1991, industrialist Harishankar Singhania described how the technology of communication and travel had shrunk the world and how globalisation of production and financial needs had promoted a closer integration of the economies of nations, making the world highly interdependent. In this continual state of flux, "in a world which is becoming multi-polar economically and tending towards uni-polarity politically," change is the only constant and the only resort for us is to keep pace with it, not let it overtake us. According to Singhania, there are three levels of response to change at the national, the industrial/organisational and the personal levels. The so-called socialistic pattern of society, with its highly centralised planning process forced upon reluctant industrialists in the first 45 years of Independence, severely curtailed their individual, organisational and national freedom as well as the ability to respond rationally to change in any form and at any level.At the level of industry/organisation, too, it was the same. Government policy created a highly regulated industrial regime in which competition was conspicuous by its absence. Insufficient attention was paid to the quality of goods and services. We lacked an outward orientation, and the global stream passed us by.
But our most significant, most dangerous lack of response was at the individual level. Our national trait of resting on past laurels (at one time we were the 10th highest industrial nation in the world), our chalta hai, chalne do attitude, our belief in karma that all is ordained, and our lack of a work culture have irretrievably damaged our present. The increasing lack of individual commitment, our lack of identification with national goals and failures in personal integrity have reduced usto the status of a development-striving but poverty-stricken nation.As J. Watson Wilson profoundly understood: "If you dig deeply into any problem, you will get to people." We as "people" were the losers, yet "people" remain our only hope. Singhania aptly concluded: "Let us vow not to be the proverbial wheelbarrows, which go only as far as they are pushed, but instead forge ahead like spaceships into the known and yet unexplored destinations with a dynamism that is the need of the hour." Godrej Industries and its associate companies have several initiatives in place with a view to improve both corporate governance and stakeholder returns. Among the many initiatives are:
3.3.1 Initiatives
a) EVA- The Economic Value Added Principle EVA, short for Economic Value Added, is a financial performance metric developed by the New Yorkbased consulting firm Stern Stewart & Company. In simple terms, EVA is the true measure of the value created by a firm, calculated by taking into account the economic profits generated by the firm and the cost of the resources used to achieve these profits. Arithmetically, EVA is calculated by subtracting the cost of capital from a firms net operating profit after tax (NOPAT). The EVA framework provides a comprehensive and integrated approach to valuebased management. Further, when integrated with the variable compensation philosophy of a firm, the EVA framework provides an excellent tool to focus the entire management teams attention and energy to creating superior operational efficiencies and improving upon the same each year.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management EVA was implemented at Godrej Industries and its associate companies in four phases from October 2000 to July 2001. All the major businesses were covered: Godrej Agrovet Ltd. (agribusiness), Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (FMCG: soaps and personal products), Godrej Industries Ltd. (Oleochemicals), Godrej Properties & Investments Ltd. (Property development), Godrej Sara Lee Ltd. (FMCG: household insecticides), and the newly acquired Gold Mohur Foods & Feeds Ltd. (agribusiness).EVA and Performance-Linked Incentives. In the past (1996-2001), performance-linked bonuses at the Group were a step function in which exceedingly superior performance went unrewarded and poor performance went unrealized.
Along with the EVA framework, Godrej Industries and its associated companies implemented the EVAlinked incentive plan. "Performance-Linked Variable Remu-neration" (PLVR) is our EVA-linked incentive plan. It has no caps, no floors, and a deferred bonus "bank" to encourage long-term thinking and owner-like behaviour. Under the PLVR plan, achieving target performance yields the target bonus while exceeding the target bonus leads to additional rewards without any limit to the upside. Similarly, falling short of the target bonus leads to an erosion of the bonus earned. Further, each year, a part of the bonus earned by the employee is retained in a notional "bonus bank". Every subsequent years bonus paid out comprises in part the bonus earned in that year and in part a portion of the bank. Thus, the "notional bank" serves to smoothen out fluctuations in bonus payments which might otherwise occur due to business cycles. As with any change process, obtaining the buy-in of key managers and employees was important. Initially there was skepticism about the "bonus banking" concept and the longer-horizon stretch targets. Relentless communication and demonstrable results was the key to ensuring that the concept of EVA was imbibed at all levels of the organisations. Following EVA implementation, our operating performance has improved significantly. Between the years 2001 and 2004, Return on Capital Employment has improved by 8 percentage points, Sales have grown by 15 per cent per annum, and PBT has grown by 42 percent per annum. All the businesses improved their performance, many of them well ahead of the stretched targets. In 2002, three of the five businesses achieved their respective EVA improvement targets. In 2003, four out of six achieved their targets - and all had positive EVA improvements.
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management To summarize, Godrej Industries Ltd. and its associate companies have been very successful in improving their operating performance substantially by implementing the EVA framework. It certain that many other companies can and will benefit in the near future by using the same principle as a management tool. Between the years 2001 and 2004, Return on Capital Employment has improved by 8 percentage points, Sales have grown by 15 per cent per annum, and PBT has grown by 42 percent per annum.
Benefits of EVA: From the Management point of view: Improvements in capital efficiency and operating profitability. Greater focus on optimal capital structure. Improved strategic and scenario planning. More robust acquisition analysis tools. From a Motivation point of view: Longer-term focus. Greater alignment in shareholders and employees interests. In a recent Gallup employee satisfaction survey, about 80 per cent of Godrej Industries Ltd. and associate companies employees felt that EVA/PLVR (Performance-Linked Variable Remuneration) was the initiative that made the most difference. b) The Think Tank: This team, comprising senior managers from across the Group, examines long-term trends in technology, consumer behaviour, distribution, finance, etc., and makes strategic recommendations to the Group Management Committee. 6
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management c) The Young Executive Board: This team comprises managers under 32 years of age, who are assessed to have high leadership potential and outstanding performance. Among other things, the YEB works on strategy for the Group and gives advice to the top management on specific topics of interest, like Human Resources, Corporate Governance, etc. d) Red & Blue Teams: These teams, comprising managers from the respective businesses, are unique as they form a part of the bottom-up strategic planning exercise for each of the businesses. The recommendations of the Red & Blue Teams are distilled through the management committee and pursued by the Plum Team. e) Kaizen: The system has led to significant increase in employee involvement and morale. Significant savings have also resulted. The organisation is becoming more flexible, with greater capability to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of the environment.A reduction of over 70 per cent in changeover time on the shop floor has been achieved in all Plants. Manufacturing has been able to meet the changing needs of marketing with smaller lot sizes without losing economies of scale. Today, Godrej enjoys one of the lowest changeover times in the industry. The quick response to marketings needs has reduced finished products inventory by over 40 per cent maintaining the same service level. Introduction of the first phase of Total Productive Operations has resulted in a continuous decline in the cost of spares and repairs, to about 50 per cent of that at the introduction of the programme.
Through lower energy consumption, one of the two high pressure boilers in the Vikhroli Factory has now become redundant. It was a result of hundreds of tiny improvements brought about by everybody in the organisation. Reducing demands of energy for the same output has become a set pattern in the Company. Value Analysis exercises has reduced costs of materials while enhancing the quality of output. This runs into lakhs of rupees every month. Every month, thousands of improvements are occurring company-wide; they extend to all spheres of activity including Finance, Marketing, and Personnel. An improvementoriented culture has set into the organisation with employees looking out for opportunities to make improvements and savings. f) Total Quality Management: 1995-96 : TQM Awareness programmes conducted for all employees across all cadres from the Chairman and Managing Director to the lowest grade worker. The first 7 awareness programmes were conducted by Eicher Consultancy Services (ECS). 7
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Train-the-Trainer concept was utilized for creating a pool of 60 internal trainers. 1996-97: Visioning session held to select our 10 Corporate Shared Values;No more hand-holding by ECS (consultant) required; TQM training and facilitation across the organisation done entirely by an internal team TQM Centre created. 1997-98 : Initiation of 5S all across the organisation; Commencement of 5S Audits;Special focus on integration of business strategy/plans and TQM;Tracking and compiling of monetary benefits from SGAs initiated; Initiation of Task Forces; Employees start participating in QC Conventions held at various locations. 1998-99: Introduction of the CII-EXIM Business Excellence Model; 20 employees undergo special training as Assessors for the CII-EXIM BE Award. Kaizen Appreciation Forum held for the first time to recognise and appreciate Star Kaizens from across the organisation; held regularly every quarter. 1999-00: Self-Assessment of all businesses conducted as per the CII-EXIM Business Excellence Model; Strengths and Areas for Improvement listed for each of the 9 criteria in the Model. 2000-01: TQM Awareness programmes conducted for our business partners: Suppliers, C&F Agents, Distributors, etc. TPM initiated at Pondy Factory (GSLL) and Valia Factory (GSL); Six Sigma initiated at Pondy Factory. 2001-02: TPM initiated in almost all our major factories/units.
Realizing this need, Godrej adopted Partnership 2000 as a further step, a fresh initiative to meet the diverse needs of a wide variety of businesses across the Godrej organisation. In terms of attracting, motivating and retaining talent while remaining focused on performance, it is one bolder step on the long journey of forging partnerships with "people", who are our biggest asset. It involves a moving away from a too closed supervisory attitude to a more open-minded, trusting one, the driving motto being "Entrust and Empower". Above all, quality continues to be the watchword. "Exceeding the expectations of the consumer" is for Jamshyd one of the best definitions of quality he has come across: "Expectations are psychological and to that extent Quality has a philosophical connotation The challenge is not so much in reducing the defect 8
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management rates. It is in manufacturing, engineering, marketing and design with all the elements that describe a product and how that is going to affect it in the market." Jamshyds words take us back over a hundred years when, working in a lowly shed in the crowded recesses of Lalbaug, young Ardeshir Godrej, lawyer turned talachaviwalla, devised a lock that provided better value than all the locks then being made in the country a lock that was unpickable, that didnt rust because its springs had been replaced by levers and that could be opened only by its own key. He was the innovator. He set the trend. What was then becoming a household name was transformed by his successors into a strong brand name. Change Management in Godrej today is going to call for all Jamshyds reserves of personal fortitude. We too, being empowered, have to join in for the rewards are rich renewal, reinvigoration. All boils down to Values (moral) and Value (business). It is not enough for the incumbent management to preserve and cherish the values laid down by our forefathers who made Godrej a household name and then a strong brand name it has constantly to question itself as to what value it is adding for the Companys growth and development. B.K. Karanjia Pooja Saxena, Assistant Manager, Human Resources Department, makes a case for Riding on the Wings of Change. A leading management guru believes that there are two primary reasons for the failure of companies today: a) Inability to escape from past success and glory, and b) Inability to invent/anticipate the future. Both these causes can be attributed to a failure of leadership. It is leadership that drives change, and the success or failure of a company depends on the direction of change and how it is managed.
As many a leader or "driver of change" will have found, commitment to and acceptance of change seldom comes about as soon as it is introduced. Commitment to the process of change follows from the experience of carrying it out or being a part of it. Commitment is the result of action. The leadership must, however, have the capacity for tolerance and respect, as well as a spirit of adventure, as these are essential for the growth of a social organisation.
3.3.2
Personal examination 9
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management First things first, they sayWhen we desire to transform a firm or organisation from one culture to another, we must recognise that every change starts with personal transformation. A prerequisite for this is personal examination, which starts with an in-depth exploration of personal beliefs, unconscious assumptions, values regarding the nature of management, the organisation, purposes of work and the effectiveness of technology. It also involves an examination of alternative visions of the future. Effective leaders are motivated by an inner vision, purpose and mission. This is an authentic expression of their own being and not a persona they develop to prove to others that they are effective. These individuals define themselves on the basis of "being" rather than "doing". Everyone, from economists to psychologists, tries to understand change. Nowadays people also try to measure change from the turbulence created in the atmosphere. However, exploring the nature of change is not a new challenge. Just as change requires new ways of thinking, it also involves a rethinking of the "architecture" of organisational structures and relationships. We do not hear much any more about overcoming resistance to change, which 10 or 15 years ago was one of the most popular topics of management books and management seminars. Everybody accepts that change is unavoidable. But unless an organisation sees that its task is to lead change, that organisation whether a business, a university, or a hospital will not survive. In a period of rapid structural change the only organisations that survive are the "change leaders". Organisational change has many sides to it. It is both subtle and dramatic: On the surface, many organisations appear to be stable, unified and generally efficient in their day-to-day operations. Yet beneath the cover, the effects of continuous change are creating new patterns and structures, changing the way organisations define themselves and how they respond to customers, etc. Organisational change can be planned or unplanned, formal or informal, directed or non -directed, fast or slow, conscious or subconscious, negative or positive, visible or invisible.
3. 4 Organisational structure
At Godrej and its group companies, there seems to be clarity in the roles and responsibilities of the employees from middle management to the blue collared workers because of the emphasis on 10
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Standard Operating Procedures. However there is considerable amount of freedom given to each employee to conceive and implement improvements (kaizen) continuously in the organization. Organizational culture is also not same across the group companies as the very nature of each company dictates its style of functioning. For instance, the manager-employee relation in a relatively new and dynamic organization like Godrej Infotech might be very informal while in a traditional manufacturing based company like Godrej & Boyce, the relation might be a more formal one. In an internal assessment, there exists a clear differentiation across various levels in the organization with a hierarchy of authority and reporting relationships, the mechanism which Godrej adopts and the employees. An overwhelmingly large number of respondents (97%) believed that senior management is easily approachable, though, 40% believed that power distance does exist. However information on the kind of interaction that happens between the middle management and the grassroots level employees is not available to draw any judgments. Owing to the divisionalisation of Godrej that happened in the 90s, organizational tasks have been grouped into roles and similar roles have been grouped into functions. Each division of Godrej has functions to take care of the core and support activities. Thus the horizontal differentiation of tasks is achieved in Godrej and integrating these various functions in the group companies is done through Task forces that encourage Kaizen practices across Godrej to mitigate this differentiation is by informal interactions between the top management
3.4.1
Culture
The influence of family-controlled business can be seen on the organizational culture. The mission and vision statements are clearly defined for the group companies and the family and the senior management adheres to it. Vision: Godrej in Every Home and Workplace Mission: Enriching Quality of Life Everyday Everywhere Values: Integrity, Trust, To Serve Respect, Environment About 85% of the respondents rated Godrej above average and above in terms of adherence to the mission and vision statements. However, 43% of the respondents believed that family control has reduced dynamism to an extent and that Godrej has not utilized its resources and assets fully. Godrejs recent foray as Godrej Properties is a step towards capitalizing its vast land assets.
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Role of Communication in Effective Change Management 3.4.2 HR Practices The family control has led to greater employee care and employee-friendly work practices at Godrej (74% of the respondents favored). HR practices followed in Godrej are considered amongst the best in the industry because of which they have been ranked amongst the Top 20 in the 'Great Places to Work' in a study conducted by the Grow Talent Company in partnership with the Great Places to Work Institute, Inc, USA and Business World. Godrej was also honoured with the Best Managed Workforce Award from Hewitt Associated-CNBC-TV18. People Practices at Godrej are guided by six strong, well defined principles: 1. Strong values which have helped in setting high standards of ethics at work place. They form the key principles of behaviour and belongingness which form the core of any culture that prevails in a company. There is no compromise of any kind on this front come what may. Every employee joining the company has to sign a code of conduct which helps in creating awareness about the rules and regulations that are to be abided by in day to day work. They believe in the policy that economic success goes hand in hand with ethical responsibility. Approximately, 66%/24% of the respondents rated Godrej having excellent/good ethical practices, respectively. 2. Providing employees a wide scope and platform to perform. The diverse portfolio of products and
verticals provide the employees with an opportunity to work across businesses and functions within the company giving them a great deal of exposure in the business. People are trained to perform multiple tasks and leaders are developed internally (75% of the respondents favoured). 3. Speed and flexibility in decision making empowering people on the job A conducive environment to grow faster, thrive better and succeed together. This has motivated employees to perform better and deliver faster (63% of the respondents favoured). 4. Freedom and autonomy at work and freedom to promptly recognize and reward performance. A powerful tool that motivates people to give their best is to link a substantial part of their compensation to a robust financial measure like Economic Value Added. This incites them to outperform their expectations as long as they are within the value standards. 5. A specialized ambience at work to thrive. A very competitive work force, professionally managed entity recruiting talent from top B-schools building professional leaders. Three pronged strategy followed a. Set stretch goals b. Help achieve them by providing development inputs and coaching 12
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management c. Recognize achievement through rewards
6. Creating an organization that advocates learning amongst its employees. Feedback from employees is taken in multiple ways to get an idea about the kind of perception. Know Your Consumer Programs, internal customer satisfaction surveys, Voice-of-the-Employee Program and 360 degree feedback programs are some of them. Employees have the flexibility to draft their own development plans and take them forward after consulting with the seniors. It has defined performance tools. The group has defined performance tools and processes, which reward top performers disproportionately and identify weak performers. It offers performance-based variable remuneration, which is dependent on EVA of the group. This is essentially a policy of participative management, which instils a sense of responsibility, accountability and also the ability to take calculated risk in the interest of the organization, in the employees. The group gives adequate support to the employees ideas and say in the functioning of the organization. Approximately, 67% of the respondents rated Godrej, good and above, in terms of, support by senior management to the ideas of the employees. However, strategic decision making lies with the senior management (39% favoured), who get adequate support by the family (28% favoured) and involves middle-level managers as well. The learning culture at Godrej is based on a conservative, innovative and risk-free approach. This can be interpreted, to an extent, as due to the influence of strong initial family control, which defined the boundaries for the employees. Approximately, 42% of the respondents favoured it as conservative and 37% as innovative and minimal support to the risk taking approach. The group has well defined formal training procedures, with a focus on on-the-job training. It also has continuous training programs to hone the competencies and skills of the employees, for instance, through the concept of "GOLD" - the Godrej Organization for Learning and Development. It helps employees acquire new skills as well as hone existing skills and strengths. The talent management process at Godrej identifies talented and passionate people from diverse backgrounds, take them on board and later help them shape their careers. GCPL has an employee development programme IDLE (Internal Development of Leaders) through which it provides MBA education to its talented employees through a tie-up with Symbiosis. The attrition issue at Godrej has increased in the last few years, due to more opportunities and desire for higher education. Godrej has taken measures, such as funding the higher education of the employees to contain the attrition rate to an extent.
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Godrej has taken various initiatives for care of its employee and their families. It was one of the early adopters of employee welfare schemes, such as holiday benefit, provident fund, bonus, gratuity and medical and food facilities. Some of the other steps include the following: Listening, Sharing, Inspiring Employees by using various channels to ensure there is ample communication across and within teams and the hierarchy. Chairmans Tea, voice of the employee and induction programs are some of them. Enlightened Employment Policies encompass strict code of conduct, such as non discrimination and whistle blowing and adherence to safety, health and environment standards. Balancing Work & Life by flexi - time working wherever operationally possible, company buses at regular intervals too help reduce commuting stress Godrej was steeped in traditional values because of the nature of family business. The result was that the organization was conservative. The group could not avoid bureaucracy due to presence of family members at the power centers (as board members or at the senior management). Approximately, 49% of the respondents believed the organization to be bureaucratic. Ironically, this goes against the believed perception of family-run businesses as having lesser bureaucracy. Perhaps, it is the scale of Godrej groups operations, which is responsible for bureaucratic culture. Therefore, even though the family orientated work culture has been fairly successful in winning loyalty and trust of employees, there has been instances of conflicts between family and employees. There are two specific instances to quote, which occurred in 1972 and 1979, when due to aggressive clashes between labour and the family, Naval Godrej and his daughter-in-law and mother-in-law were stabbed. This incident eventually led to the death of Naval Godrej. Some conflicts are necessary for any organization so as to increase its effectiveness and bring some change. The birth of GCPL from Godrej Soaps Ltd., was a successful consequence of the initial conflicts, giving the shape to what Godrej Industries Limited is today. Godrej Industries Limited managed by Adi Godrej has a very dynamic and open culture and has ventured into diverse sectors. However, 14
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Godrej & Boyce continued to follow a conservative attitude and was content with moderate growth rates (of 30%) and was relegated to an also ran from market leader in many segments like appliances, home and office furniture and fast moving consumer goods. It is not sure whether this cautious approach was by design or whether it is the inertia of the preliberalization era that still exists in the system, but it created a lot of frustration in youngsters who were yearning for part of the action in the markets. A large part of the management trainees who joined in the nineties have quit the company.
Instances of innovation have been few and far that Godrej has never been identified with innovative practices. Kaizen has attempted to change that mindset but it has primarily been aiming at improving existing processes rather than innovation. In fact, Kaizen was implemented in a very traditional manner and could not attract employees interest. The strict adherence to rules and meetings created psychological pressure losing interest of some of the employees. Godrej had been very slow in adapting to the uncertainty in the market owing to the mechanistic nature of the organization and it clearly shows in the market share of its various traditional businesses when compared with the leadership position earlier it used to command. Approximately, 66% of the respondents rated Godrej as average and below it in terms of innovativeness. The focus on innovativeness is more in GIL as compared to Godrej & Boyce. GIL introduced the concept of blue and red team, which worked independently to formulate Godrejs future strategies. The results of their exercise had to be evaluated by a plum team, comprising the top management. It was an innovative concept empowering the employees and providing good quality of work. In fact, they also invited management guru, Prof. C.K. Prahalad, for addressing the teams and guiding them on the approach they could follow. The results of this exercise are awaited and it would be difficult to comment at this time. 3.4.3 Steady transformation Organisations have always been wary of drastic change. Taking an organisation through the change process, with the help of experts and at a steady pace, gives employees the necessary momentum and prepares them for the future. That was how Godrej & Co. was salvaged. Organisations have always viewed change with trepidation. Change usually involves uncertainties. Employees are reluctant to make any drastic changes as they find their routine comfortable. So, organisations either force the change on them or avoid making any serious changes. 15
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management However, certain organisations take a middle road. These organisations implement the change at a steady pace, based on the pulse of the employees.
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3.5
Structural Changes
Godrej has since 1990 deliberately undertaken a process of self-improvement. The main problem faced by the group in 1991 was that it was getting too bureaucratic with slow pace, getting bogged down in routine matters, too many slow-moving products and a reluctance to do away with old practices. The key to break this shackle, Godrej realized is that to make everybody accountable and responsive. Godrej went all out into incorporating corporate governance in all its subsidiaries and group companies (both listed and unlisted). Each group company had a CEO or a President (not necessarily from the family). Full freedom was given to these leaders to devise strategy for the companies and lead Godrej in the liberalized and open economy. However the board of each company still has some family members to oversee the working of the top management and the company and there is consultation at both family and business levels on critical issues. This change led to the concept of divisionalisation with each division as a profit centre, decentralization of decision-making and empowerment of managers at the grassroots level, and Quality the watchword. There was a realization on the part of Godrej that for all their successes in the past, they still fell short of a world class organization and they had to make up for it. Along with implementing innovative techniques like TQM for technology, product and process improvement there was a compelling need to ensure that a balance was maintained between new ideas and enduring wisdom gathered levels. through the century old experiences, especially on the human side by preserving the traditional bonds of trust which the owner-top management had always enjoyed with employees at all
3.6
Product Changes
In the washing machines segment Godrej is catering to all pockets as they manufacture semi- automatic and fully automatic. In the fully automatic category, Godrej has both front load and top load models with 14 variants of Allure, Enchant etc series having capacity ranging from 5 kg to 7 kg. The latest washing machine Ergoz, having a capacity of 5.5 kg and 5 kg has a unique tilt open drum design. This design has been specially created for the comfort and convenience of the users and helpful for those with back or knee problems. All models have different advancedfeatures like air clean programme, ozone clean technology, turbulator, fuzzy logic, u sonic technology to name a few.
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In the world of home appliances there is more than enough choice for consumers today, with more and more new brands entering the market every day. However, one brand that has successfully built and maintained consumer trust for decades is Godrej. Manufacturing different products, right from washing machines to refrigerators, from microwaves to air conditioners and now, furniture, Godrej has proved to be a reliable company in every field. In the refrigerator market, Godrej isn't a new player and it has a vast collection of refrigerators. It has been manufacturing refrigerators since 1958. Revamping the cooling technology with PUF, launching 100% CFC free refrigerators, coming up with the Godrej Pentacool with five sides cooling in and Pentafresh Technology are all examples of Godrej's style of working. The latest series Eon that has been recently launched has a got a large number of new and innovative features such as cool shower technology, swivel shelf, integrated ice hangers, tinted shelves, anti B technology. All new semi-automatic washing machines from Godrej, GDS 950, have all the features that one needs. This machine with 8.5 KG wash capacity is designed with HexaScrub and Pulse4 technology. While, HexaScrub is a useful blend of powerful pulsator and six micro scrubbers, the Pulse4 refers to the powerful central pulsator supported by three roto wheels Latest fully-automatic washing machines from Godrej are equipped with DAC (Dynamic Aqua-Power control) technology. This feature of the machine is used for controlling the water flow and power cuts. Machine goes into the sleep mode and resumes its operations whenever supply of water or power restores. In Microwaves, Godrej uses the latest technology, Microsteam, which helps in keeping all the nutrients of the food intact. This feature reduces the fat content and makes the food almost fat-free and also helps it. Godrej soaps: Evita is first launched in 1990s and later relaunched as age control soap. Godrej soaps include Cinthol, Evita, Fresco, vigil, Ganga, Fay, Crowning glory, Shikakai, Fairglow, No.1. In 2007 Godrej launched Vigil.
3. 7 Segment changes
Godrej Interio has started designs for young and fun loving customers. They were concentrating on
slightly aged people till date but now they were into new designs.
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3.8 Technology changes

The Godrej story began in 1897 with the manufacture of Locks. Since then, Godrej Locks has set several benchmarks in the locks industry from the first spring-less lock in 1907 to the iconic 'NavTal' in 1954 to the Ultra range in 1995 to the revolutionary 3KS in 2007. The security levels are divided into 5 by Godrej and by all means, Level 2 locks (at the most level 3) should be the best suited ones for the doors in the households. The locks under Level 2 (commonly referred as Godrej Ultra locks) are further divided in various types such as Ultra Padlocks, Ultra furniture locks, Ultra Rim, Ultra Mortise, Cylindrical locks and Ultra shutter locks. Among the Level 2 locks, the Ultra Rim type is the most widely used lock which further has different variations like Ultra Vertibolt, Ultra Nightlatch, Ultra Retrofit Adaptor, Ultra Latchbolt, Ultra Twin bolt and Ultra Tribolt. All level 2 keys use the Dimple key technology which provides 10 crore key combinations making extremely difficult (read impossible) to duplicate the dimples. Level 3 keys are the upgraded version of Level 2 Ultra keys, which beside being easy to install and upgrade, provide almost 200 crore key combinations. Refrigerator technologies: Silver shower technology, Anti- B technology, SIF technology, ZOP technology, Air conditioners technologies: Gold fin technology, Blue fin technology, Packaging change: packaging soap is changed for Cinthol soap Logo change: It changed its logo in 2008.
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3. 9 Organisational Strategies
Godrej group has been active in and outside India in its history of last 100 years. Its progress has been shaped by number of political and socio-economic changes in India during the same period. The strategic decisions are driven by the senior management, with the support of the board members of Godrej family. Some of the salient features of Godrejs strategy are the following; R-Strategy (Blue Ocean Strategy) Godrej has been a pioneer in number of sectors in India. It has been maintaining its leadership in security products division since the starting of its operations. The second and third generation of Godrej family continued to follow the strategy of entering into uncharted territories of its founders. Godrej enjoyed first mover advantage in most of its ventures, as it directly touched the masses and endeavored to improve their quality of life. Introduced first lock with lever technology Anchor brand Introduced first Indian safe in 1902 First company to manufacture soaps from Vegetable oil in 1930, which was later followed by other FMCG players. It manufactured Alpha Olefins from Olechemicals instead of from Petrochemicals. Introduced mechanical typewriters in India in 1955 and electronic typewriters in 1985. First organized business house to enter into the material storage solutions in 1956. First Indian company to manufacture refrigerators in 1958. First to introduce Poly Urethane Technology in India in 1957 First company in India to manufacture high pressure doors for Marine applications. 20
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Its brands in the insecticide market Good Night, Hit and Jet are one of most well established/organized brands in this sector.
Unrelated Diversification Godrej was synonymous with locks for a long time. The lock making business has evolved to a security products division with products, such as Electronic safetylocks, specialized locks (for example, for Nuclear Reactors, Marine applications), ATM safes in the market. The company started to manufacture steel cupboard and cabinets in 1923. It forayed into consumer appliances sector by manufacturing of refrigerators and microwave ovens, material handling equipment division by manufacturing of forklift trucks, precision components division by manufacturing of satellite components, rocket liquid propulsion engine, cryogenic engines. Some of the other sectors in which Godrej has its operators are life sciences (tissue culture), Life Insurance, Real Estate, Telecommunications and Medical Diagnostics. Godrejs strategy of unrelated diversification is more prominent in later generations. Essentially, this follows the trend in family-run businesses in India, such as Dabur, Wadia and Murugappa group, which did not diversify during the control by initial generations. The factors responsible were restricted Indian economy during the pre-independence times. The support from government increased during the later generations helped the firms diversify into unrelated sectors. Unlike Murugappa, Kirloskar and Dabur families which have consolidated in the last few years, Godrej has adopted an inorganic growth strategy. Researchers have averred that the strategy of former set of families has been driven by decisionmaking through consensus, whereas for Godrej it has been by risk minimization and preservation of wealth with family keeping a trusteeship role. Godrej acquired Transelaktra to increase its presence in mosquito repellant market. GCPL made a successful acquisition of Keyline Brands Limited, a prestigious name in the UK, increasing its international brands portfolio with a total share to 80% in South African ethnic hair color market. 21 of seven international brands. It also made a recent acquisition of Rapidol South Africa increasing its market
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Some internal restructuring has been taking place as well. Due to independent decision making of various subsidiaries, this has been referred to as acquisition. For instance, the recent transfer of Godrej Global Mideast FZE from Godrej International to GCPL is a step in this direction. Godrej properties is also planning to enter into a joint venture with Godrej Agrovet to develop the land owned by them.
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Globalization Strategy During the pre-independence period Godrejs operations were focused in India. After independence it started to expand its operations across diverse fields across different geographies. With the economy opening-up in 1991, it entered into alliances with international players. Almost all the Godrej groups of companies have alliances with top Multi-national companies for learning from their best practices in local geographies Godrejs clientele is impressive including institutions, such as BARC, ISRO, Indian Air Force, Navy, HAL, Indian Parliament and MNCs, such as Hitachi, Reliance, Conoco Philips, Bechtel, Valero, MOOG, Ion America Lab. The group has 20% revenues from operations outside India and it aims to increase it to 30% within next 10 years. As per Adi Godrej, "For us globalization is beyond exports and imports. We have manufacturing facilities abroad in
countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, South Africa and the U.K. We will globalize in select businesses where we have the global size and competitive advantage such as Office Equipment, Hair Care and Household Insecticide. 'Godrej' is an umbrella brand for us and we have decided to invest in long term brand accretion". Functional Strategy Godrej leverages its efficient processes in providing products of low cost and high quality to the customers. Godrej Soaps (parent company of GCPL) initiated Total Quality Management (TQM) by implementation of Kaizen in March 1991. At that time, many organizations embarked on ISO 9000 standard as a benchmark for quality improvements. However, it did not cover employee management and did not reduce operational costs. Godrej Soaps, having identified this issue, switched to Kaizen. By 2001-02, the success of Kaizen at Godrej Soaps was implemented across all the factories. GCPL is working to optimize its inventory levels at the distributor and retailer by switching to an inventory management system based on a Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFaR) model instead of forecasting and push model. The system, having implemented, is expected to reduce the inventory levels by 3-4 days. In this manner, Godrej continues to emphasize the importance of dealers/suppliers in its operations. The image and Godrej brand has been instrumental in winning suppliers trust. Approximately, 74% of the respondents believed that the family control has led to strong relations with the suppliers and customers, as well.
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Other measures of cost minimization include setting up manufacturing facilities in low tax areas, such as Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and in Assam. Godrej Soaps used the ERP solution MFG-PRO in 1998 and then SAP to improve its distributor management process. The system integrated suppliers, distributors and customers and reduced the lead times. Godrej & Boyce implemented the balanced score card in 1998 and has achieved operational efficiencies by using it. The lock division of Godrej & Boyce commercialized the computer-coded dimple-key lock, a feat that has been achieved by a very few manufacturers worldwide. Godrej has taken advantage of its efficient processes by offering consumer products specific to medium-income to low-income segments (though it also targets premium segment). It offers a range of products, with most of the products sold for the common mass. However, it has not been able to successfully target premium class and has been able to attract the medium and low income groups. Godrej No 1 is the largest selling toilet soap in the country. The percentage share of revenue from Soaps segment has reduced as GCPL is focusing more on hair color and toiletries market in India. This segment is high growth segment having low penetration markets in India fetching high margin to Godrej. GCPL is focusing on mass market for selling hair color products. It launched Godrej Fashion Hair Colour in sachets of different hair colors costing Rs 10 for mass market affordability. Current Positioning Beginning its journey as a security equipment and soaps company, the Godrej Group has today diversified into a variety of consumer goods and services sectors. Its entry into new businesses has been on the back of the sturdy and trusted Godrej brand. Ashutosh Tiwari, Executive Vice President - Strategic Marketing, Godrej, elaborated, Godrej is one of foremost consumer brands in the country for the last 100-plus years, used by 470 million Indians, with a scope straddling almost 70 per cent of household consumption. Over a period of time, there was a need felt for the brand to re-energise its bond with a new, optimistic, resurgent India. The brand adopted a new positioning of Brighter Living on the bulwark of core consumer insights anchored in the territories of freedom, optimism, progress and expression. Thus, there is a need to re-launch the brand with a new synergistic identity and a cohesive and clear set of values capable of taking the Godrej brand forward.
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Tiwari further said, The journey since then can be divided into three phases: re-launch, acquisition of new values and acquisition of new franchise. In Phase I, brand Godrej was relaunched in 2008 in order to communicate the new brand positioning and identity. We initiated the process of having a coherent portfolio under one Godrej. This was accomplished through the launch campaign, Good Morning Wall, which successfully delivered the first step towards changing the perspective of millions of Indians towards Godrej coinciding with the first season of IPL. This was the first time that the Godrej master-brand was communicating with its consumers above the margins of its category portfolio. Phase II saw Godrej work relentlessly towards evolving beyond its traditional brand value of trust towards new vistas of expression, progression, experience and empathy. This was accompanied by a slew of initiatives to communicate the change in positioning and identity of various parts of the portfolio. The first major communication initiative of Phase II was the Godrej Aerospace campaign, which gave an unprecedented technological sheen to Godrej and helping it resonate with values of progression and empathy. The second big communication initiative of this phase was production and launch of Indias first branded lifestyle game show: Godrej Khelo Jeeto Jiyo, a unique concept showcasing the Godrej range of products wired into a singular proposition of Godrej Lifestyle. After a long time, Godrej started becoming bigger than the sum of its parts. The results were stupendous. Godrej started vaulting ahead on expression and experience too, he added. Phase III has just started with the launch of GoJiyo.com, said to be Indias first virtual world. GoJiyo brings together the power of social networking, virtual worlds and gaming on a simple, developing country friendly browser based platform.
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Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Godrej has always believed in going beyond tag lines to imbuing all its communication endeavours with aunique ethos and essence. The essence that guides us has always been Brighter Living, though it has manifested itself in a myriad different ways depending on the communication vehicle used. Thus, Enjoy a brighter Godrej or Khelo, Jeeto, Jiyo or even Explore, Experience, Enjoy, and so on, Tiwari added.
The Agencys Take Dhunji Wadia, Managing Partner, JWT Mumbai, observed, Charles Darwin had said: It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Godrej, a brand trusted and loved by generations of Indians and used by 470 million Indians, started being perceived as a good heritage brand, but not for me. It was looked upon as a dated brand that the younger generation could not connect with. Thus, there was a need to re-launch the brand and to build a cohesive and clear set of values that would take the Godrej brand forward. Reiterating what Tiwari had said, Wadia added, Godrejs journey since then can be divided into 3 phases: Re-launch, Acquisition of new values, Acquisition of new franchise. The launch campaign, Good Morning Wall, announced Godrejs new identity and vision of Brighter Living. It successfull delivered the first step towards changing the perspective of millions of Indians. Phase II saw Godrej work relentlessly towards evolving beyond its traditional brand value of trust towards new vistas of expression, progression, and experience and empathy. This was accompanied by a slew of initiatives to communicate the change in positioning and identity of various parts of the portfolio.
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Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Sonal Saxena, Associate Vice President and Client Services Director, JWT Mumbai, said, While individual Godrej portfolio brands have used brand ambassadors for their campaigns, Godrej has never had a brand ambassador to support its corporate advertising and communication. Since the re-launch in 2008, all communication done has worked towards strengthening the brands Brighter living philosophy. After launching Godrejs new identity during IPL 2008, the next step was to strengthen and communicate its technological and innovation edge. Godrej has continuously innovated in technology. The best proof of this is in their mastery of aerospace technology, where Godrej is one of the best placed Indian companies. Godrej is a mission critical partner to ISRO for Indias space programme. This mastery has led to technology innovation and upgradation across many categories that Godrej is present in. Some of these innovations are in products formulation others are in the processes used to create these products. The campaign was developed to help all Godrej businesses benefit from association with aerospace technology. The Aerospace campaign was launched during IPL 2009. The message communicated was simple The learning from space technology helps Godrej produce products which are superior in nature. Almost in parallel, Godrej helped co-produce an advertiser-funded TV property called Godrej Khelo Jeeto Jiyo Indias first lifestyle show.
Through this show, Godrej showcased the various household and lifestyle products in its portfolio. The grand prize was a house from Godrej Properties. This TV property was extremely successfuland helped Godrej connect strongly with its existing core franchise. While the above helped up the brands levers in terms of empathy and technology, there was still the need to expand franchise - to reach out to the optimistic, urban youth in India, Saxena added. Onlookers perspective
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Role of Communication in Effective Change Management KV Sridhar, NCD, Leo Burnett, said, I remember the Godrej from the Storewell days, when it used to given to every girl as part of her wedding gifts. There were a powerful set of TV campaigns that made millions of people connect with safety and almirahs. TV commercials changed from the earlier stance and now it is a highly emotional brand. Godrej was one of the first brands to get into sponsored programmes. They are one of early adapters on TV. Now, they are trying to modernize themselves. The turning point was when people started bonding with Godrej emotionally in TV commercials. They have tremendous equity. After Tatas, it is only the Godrej brand that people buy in an unconditional way. Now, they are targeting the new age audience.
Key Strength of Godrej Group We believe that the core strength of the Godrej Group is its value system put in place by the founders and has been nurtured all along. The strong relationships with stakeholders suppliers, dealers, employees, customers, have established Godrej brand in the market and increased loyalty. Some other factors nurtured on the values are as follows: Brand name very loyal customer base, brand associated with durability and quality (especially due to the products like steel cupboards, locks, steel furniture, safes) National presence The group has been able to establish itself in virtually every district of India through a network of dealers, distributors and branches reducing marketing costs tremendously. The trade is nurtured meticulously using a multi-tier approach (local/regional/national contact). The trade partnership sometimes runs into the second generation also. People most valuable asset Relationships nurtured with dealers and suppliers drives down traditional marketing costs Financial strength ability to take up large projects through internal funding Resources land, machinery, technology, competent management teams, social goodwill
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3.10
Some Observations
The family control has ensured that the vision and values of the founders are adhered to by all the Godrej group of companies. This has set clear goals and objectives for the employees giving a direction to the growth in interest of family vision and values. As the group companies have common objectives in the interest of the group, it has reduced agency costs giving it an advantage over its competitors. The family influence has enabled the group companies to survive and grow even during adverse external conditions. It is believed that family-run businesses less respond to economic cycles and have lower cost of capital.
A resources based analysis of the Godrej group indicates that it is extremely rich in resources of different types tangible resources, such as manpower, machinery, technological expertise, land, and intangible resources, such as brand, customer and supplier loyalty and acquired knowledge. This is due to the scale of operations of Godrej, and has increased complexity with time. Some of the long-term goals include investment in quality, infrastructure and enduring relationship with the employees. Godrej also has had a typically higher duration of tenure of the family members. This has helped them invest in long term benefits and also invest in next generation leaders.
The decision-making in a family-run business can also have emotional implications based on the relationships between family members controlling the organizations. The success of such organizations depends upon the behavior of family members. Many a times, conflict within the family members, may lead to the downfall of the companies, though sometimes the companies have emerged stronger as well. Nevertheless, it is always accompanied from resentment of the employees. With some of the divisions, such as appliances division, which are still facing the losses due to relaxed attitude of the Godrej, the group might have problems deciding the fate of the division. There could be a lot of exit barriers that prevail like the family culture and control, goodwill in the market social and psychological barriers, such as emotional attachments of family members.
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There should be proper succession plan in place in family-run businesses, so as to maintain the family control. This requires producing competent leaders capable of continuing the growth of groups. Godrej has been following a succession plan wherein the younger generation of the family are groomed under the guidance of the senior family members and outside professionals. This is important to ensure that there is no crisis for power between professionals and family members and only competent people reach the helm. In many families, for instance in Reliance, the family members did their higher education from premier institutions of the world, such as Kelloggs (Mukesh and Anil), which provided them a higher pedestal in the hierarchical structure of their family business.
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CHAPTER IV
Discussion
Much of the findings in Chapter Four are attributed to the applications of the business phenomenon, reflecting a pragmatic dimension to which the company appeals. In spite of the significant progress that has been made with respect to both the literature reviews of theories and the case findings of Godrej Group, a disparity between these two aspects remains for discussion. This chapter aims to demonstrate a broader context of how the change management process tends to be practically viewed in relation to the integrative communication strategies.
4.1
Practical Views of Change Management
4.1.1 The Nature of Change Patterns

In general, numerous change mode literatures suggested in past studies stem from more or less similar grounds of change patterns, which refer to phases or steps in developing the change configuration. From the findings, the major phases of change formulation appear to be consistent with Andersen Consultings Organizational Change Model or AC Change Model (Figure 1) in principle. The diagnosis of the external environments, together with internal factors, is of the preliminary maneuver to be undertaken. According to the literature, the effects of globalization, regulation, technology, and competition become intensified to which most of the international organizations need to pay very close attention (McCune, 1999). Likewise, the internal factors, such as corporate identity, brand improvement, etc. also significantly contribute to the instigation of organizational change. With these regards, the Godrej Group management team and change agents are required to understand the current status of the organization in order to 31
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management determine the need for change, leading to brand and business status introduction. The following thought in change formulation is to understand the objectives of the change or to identify the destination of change achievement competitive advantage, successful business or sustainable change commitment. The aforementioned steps are explicitly applied to the Godrej Group case. In the process of the AC Change Model, some components essentially touch upon main issues, such as leadership and workforce, in which the Godrej brand and business status changes have readjusted where appropriate. In sum, both the AC Change Model and the Godrej Group change phrases have shared a common rationale of a systematic framework for change.
Phase I
Establishing a sense of urgency by relating to potential crisis and opportunities facing the firm
Understanding the status quo of the organisation by considering: Environmental scanning Leadership attributes Top management commitment Resistance to change
Phase II
Forming a powerful coalition of change oriented individuals
Phase III
Creating a vision to achieve the desired end- result
Bridge the gap with communication strategies
Phase IV
Communicating the vision through numerous channels of communication
Phase V
Empowering others to change structures or policies in the way that will facilitate
Identifying the destination for change achievement: Continuous change interventions Organizational culture and change commitment Successful business Sustainable change management
Phase VI
Planning to publicise short term wins or successes so as to encourage change continuity
Phase VII
Consolidating improvements and changing some policies that are not associated with the vision
Phase VIII
Institutionalising the new approaches by publicizing the firms success of changes
It is argued that there is no clear distinction between the formulation and implementation plans of change in principle. This argument has been empirically proven in the case of Godrej Group against Kotters 32
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management ideas, as diagrammatically shown above. Each phase of the implementation stages closely associates with the formulation process of the Godrej Group change scheme despite different factors concerned. A strengthening argument can be made upon the fact that the change mechanism should be perceived as an amalgamated, ongoing process where an entire series of action plans is logically outlined and developed at once at the beginning of the process.
4.1.2
Reconsidering Change Resistance
Extensive research reveals that employees may resist change unless they understand the context of psychological or economical threats (Hayes, 1996; Baird et al., 1990). It seems to be unfair for employees to assert that their change resistance constantly impedes the change efforts. The underpinning reasons need to be researched from several cases with different organizational settings since the existing concepts of change resistance may not be applicable to other circumstances. The majority of employees of Godrej Group have not completely denied the change. Rather, a great deal of in-depth information about changes is required to optimize the level of change repercussion. They are basically aware and understand why the company needs to change. In connection with that, the degree of reactions can be determined by the degree of the receivers understanding of the content. Moreover, the terminology used in public could have been reconsidered. As Piderit (2000) proposes the phrase resistance to change be replaced with employees responses to change, this has been supported by one of the top executives of Godrej Group. The reason is that it seems to be psychologically acceptable and practically applicable to the phenomenon. The employees should be viewed as friends, not foes for change.
4.1.3
Rethinking Top Management Commitment: A Strategic Spearhead of Change
Generally, top executives are considered knowledgeable captains behind the steering wheel of change in the organizations. Corporate strategic directions mainly reflect upon their determination and courage to lead changes. However, evidence shows that they are anxious about organizational change due to costs 33
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management and time scales involved (Stickland, 1998; Sastry, 1997; Stace and Dunphy, 1994). The aforementioned statements seem to be paradoxical in a pragmatic sense. On the one hand, they intend to navigate changes successfully, but on the other hand they live in fear of change failure. Oftentimes, change success is determined by the degree of risks on which the managers attempt to take. The Godrej Group case reveals that the top management teams actions fall into such a paradox. According to a Senior Manager of Godrej Group, the top executives initiate the general principle of the brand and business status changes but fail to carry on an efficient engagement of change schemes. They are supposed to demonstrate role models to show a strong proactive commitment to change, such as challenging managers who refuse to change, reorganizing the structure of the Board of Directors and dismissing unproductive executives from the Board.
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4.1.4
Final Destination: Organizational Culture and Sustainable Change Management
Creating an effective change management scheme involves creating an environment in which all organizational members can excel (Weiss, 2001). The notion of corporate culture comes into play reshaping the organizational climate during and after the change missions are undertaken. As implicitly scribed in the case findings, changes in organizational culture are highly anticipated upon completion of the change schemes. A new attitude and behavior toward an increasing degree of competitiveness tends to facilitate a long-term effect of organizational change in terms of business operations. That is to reform the extant culture to be much more people-profited, customer-focused, and decision-decentralized. In spite of being extensively used in various academic contexts, the term sustainability suggests much more than it simply connotes lasting for a long time. It also conveys the essence of embeddedness to the change applications for which Godrej Group is striving. Successful business and incremental profitability are no longer to secure sustainable change management since employees might not have developed their commitment to change yet. Therefore, the ultimate aims of the Godrej Group changes are to bring a new organizational culture and a sense of sustainable change management to bear upon the organizational members, thereby achieving the long-term competitive advantage over other competitors.
4.2
Communication Strategies Reinvigorated
4.2.1 Formulating the Integrative Communication Strategies

By applying the idea of the change initiative development (Pettigrew and Fenton, 2000) tocommunication strategies, the management team must think and act holistically and communicate as such to several fronts in careful alignment. In essence, communication strategies will not succeed if done piecemeal. They should be done in form of an integrating framework, incorporating non-communication factors, which can yield an enlightening strategy to implement the plan in a broad perspective. And that term integrative communication strategy is specifically given in the Godrej Group case.
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Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Originally, Mohr and Nevin (1990) define a communication strategy as the use of a combination of communication facets, which include frequency and formality of communication, content of communication and channel of communication. From the findings, this definition is proven true in practice. Nevertheless, in order to become systematically integrated, an emphasis on the evaluation concept of the communication strategies needs to be incorporated, so that the feedback system of the communication becomes established thereafter. Supported by empirical evidence in the literature, a twoway communication enables change agents to assess the effectiveness of change strategies and, simultaneously, rectify unfavorable strategies to promote smooth change efforts.
In general, the communication strategies in Godrej Group are consistent with past research studies. Most of significant elements of communication have been closely scrutinized prior to formulating the strategy accordingly. The findings of the case reveal that the audience-driven focus along with an appropriate tone of the message have to be identified in the first place. Based upon the notion of what the employees need to know, the content or message is tailored and transmitted through several rich channels of communication, such as team briefings, executive presentations, launch packs, electronic mail, and internal publications. One of the communication strategies that have been implemented is to deliver a formal message in an informal way. It proves to be successful in creating awareness and understanding on the issues, but not commitment as such. Overall, the integrative communication strategy seems to be well thought out and effectively facilitate these changes. However, further discussions can be made upon the adverse aspects of such strategies after the implementation takes place.
4.2.2 Unexpected Pitfalls of the Integrative Communication Strategies
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Role of Communication in Effective Change Management Practically, there are numerous factors that might involve in the ineffectiveness of the communication strategies. According to the literature, psychological filtering, subcultures, and personal perceptions are of the most common barriers to effective communications (Schermerhorn, 1998). In this case study, the pitfalls of communication have not only derived from the individual level but also the organizational level. Information overload in each business unit becomes a chronic impediment for employees because the unit attempts to create its own identity. At the same time, the problem of information insufficiency on the holistic picture of Godrej Group remains slackening in some business units. One of the Godrej Group top executives views that the internal communication is good in parts or patchy. The management team ends up telling rather than listening to what employees voice back. Primarily, the strategy focuses on two-way communication. It turns out to be one dimensional or one-way communication. A large number of written materials, such as newsletters, memos, etc., are sent to employees but there is no guarantee whether they are going to read them or understand the issues clearly. In this respect, Sinetar (1988) suggests that an organization undergoing change transitions should pursue the informal discussion group as a powerful agent for change. Its underlying philosophy is to communicate the change issues with parties concerned in an interactive atmosphere. Essentially, face-to-face communication aims to be reinforced and mobilized by the open discussion in regard to the change issues. The work of Johnson et al. (1994) posits that the team briefings in each business unit are characterized as a formal mode of communication, leading to a non-substantial group interaction.
4.3
Integrative Communication Strategies in Change Process
Change management and communication has been literally considered Siamese twins sharing interdependent properties and resources. Communication is not only spread throughout all change activities, it is at the heart of many organizational transformation aspects. A new verge to facilitating change management is to infuse the right medicine of communications into the vessel of change problems. Axiomatically, the degree of impact on the organizational level tends to hinge upon the degree of a change magnitude with which the top management or change agents reckon.
37
Role of Communication in Effective Change Management In the Godrej Group case of brand and business status changes, the integrative communication strategy plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between the present and the future change states. The impression from the study attributes this to a systematic approach to measure the effectiveness of the communication encouraging employees to give responses toward the strategies put forth. That is one of the main elements of the integrative communication strategies at Godrej Group. Within any change process, communication schemes aim not only to create awareness and understanding of the issues but also to influence continuous change interventions, including publicizing the change progress report to employees. Connected to that, the organizational culture change and employee commitment to change for Godrej Group gear toward reforming the extant culture to become much more competitive in an atmosphere of harmonized corporate identity.
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CHAPTER V 5.1 Conclusion

Although change may seem ubiquitous, it is an unnatural provision in which most organizations deal. Normally, change produces a crisis when it significantly disrupts expectations about important issues or events. As such, the upheaval of change becomes inevitable to the extent that its magnitude has a farreaching impact on internal employees and pertinent stakeholders. Most of academics and practitioners have been tempting to search for a best practice among a repertoire of potential change drivers developed elsewhere. It nevertheless appears that each organization is best at adapting and customizing its own distinctive blend. What works well for some may not be effective for others. For these reasons, a case study approach about change management tends to be asserted for this uniqueness. In association with the above rationale, communication strategy, which serves as the key fundamental part of the change management strategy, challenges the traditional mechanisms in terms of facilitating a transitional hurdle of change. In essence, communication strategies will not succeed if done piecemeal. They should be done in the form of an integrated framework, thereby broadening horizons toward a holistic aspect of the entire organization. Empirical evidence in past research shows that the functions of organizational communications are analogous to those of human blood vessels. They act as nutritious substance transmitters or change message carriers throughout the body or the organization so as to maintain healthy conditions or to arrange the corporate realignment. Godrej group has been very successful since the last 100 years. Much of the success of the group can be attributed to the values and vision of Godrej family, which continued as generations passed-by. During the latter half of the century, Godrej adopted strong corporate governance practices and tried to shed its image of a family-run business. However, looking at the vast scale of its operations, Godrej still has a long way to go to overcome the existing inertia in the organization, due to the family control. The current strategies adopted by Godrej Industries Limited are more in line in this direction; however, Godrej & Boyce is still lagging behind. The group has an enormous potential and with lots of opportunities in the India market, it will have to be more dynamic to sustain and grow in the future.
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5.2
Implications
Academic Implications Although the literature on change management and communication theories has been prolific in the academic research, an integrative pattern of both constructs is under investigated. This volume of research aims to provide a theoretical framework of the integrated role of communication strategy formulation in conjunction with the change management process. Based on a case study of Godrej group, such a framework has been theoretically explored and empirically demonstrated some important aspects of the academic stance. That is, the formulation of communication strategies must be harmonized with different change stages to ensure the change messages are effectively conveyed to the right target group of change. A derivative of the framework, the study partially adapts the work of Armenakis and Bedeian, 1999; Burnes, 2000; Hellriegel et al., 2001; Kreitner and Kinicki, 1995; Kotter, 1995; Maltz and Kohli, 1996; Sikora, 1994; and Sinetar, 1988 as foundational grounds of theories to apply for the investigation of the change processes as well as communication flows across the organization. Practical Implications In mirror of the Godrej group case, the research study aims to explore how executives in various management levels perceive the internal communication process and formulate the appropriate strategies not only to optimize the repercussion of change but also to bring out greater success in the future. By the same token, it reflects upon which senior managers need to conceptually understand how different communication practices lead to the desirable organizational change. Additionally, it has shed some light on a pragmatic process of communicating the change efforts to the internal parties concerned. The author believes that the practical applications can be extended to other organizations, regardless of size, and, possibly, across the industry. However, they should at least share a similar pattern of change issues -- either the brand or the business status change. In this regard, a certain benefit from this study tends to be reaped in general. Last but not least, an integrative framework, of which numerous factors of the communication strategy in the change context are composed, serves as a functional guidance for managers to navigate a plan of change.
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5.3
Research Limitations
Provisional to this research conducted within a limited timeframe and space, the findings could not have been yielded at a greater extent as anticipated. The constraining boundary of the research hence is necessary to be revealed for the sake of future research improvement. Also, it helps the readers to determine the degree of credibility of the research results. The constraining factors are attributable to 1) Inherent limitations of the case study approach and 2) Certain features of the authors research methodology choices. First are the inherent limitations of the case study approach. It has been long argued that the single case study is susceptible to the low level of validity of the findings, although the multiple-method triangulation employed has ensured that their internal validity is high (Yin, 1994). In this study, the research focus embarks on exploring the depth of the communication strategy formulation in change issues within a single organization rather than the breadth of the phenomenon in different organizational settings. As such, the generalization ability to other organizations is relatively confined. The author believes that, with a comparatively similar change matter to the case of Godrej group, the partial findings of the empirical framework can be practically applied to various circumstances, whereby communications play a major role in facilitating change efforts across the organization. Second, a certain feature of the authors research methodology choices has somehow limited the amount of information obtained for data analysis. The interview arrangement with every senior manager or key person concerned is perhaps beyond the authors capability to control over a specified time period. Therefore, a mixture of interview formats, which are face-to-face interviews and electronic interviews, are of the best options to cope with this impediment. In regard to the electronic interviews or e-mail interviews, an interaction between interviewers and interviewees during the course of the interviews, which may lead to some further insights, does not seem to be technically plausible. Supported by a theory of qualitative research methods, the face-to-face interviews tend to bring more fruitful perspectives on the subjects, and that a greater amount of relevant information is likely to be incremental. In addition, the interpretations of data in this study are not meant to be superior or exclusive to other potential interpretations. Despite being undertaken by the authors best discretion, they are still subject to bias. Such a bias may be alleviated if the data are to be interpreted by several researchers, thereby achieving a balance of the viewpoints. 41
5.4
Further Research
From these research findings, there are several intriguing areas of research left unaddressed and worth investigating for empirical evidence and elucidating theories. First, this research aims to focus merely on the formulation part of the communication strategy in change contexts but less attention is paid to the implementation scheme of the communication strategy. As such, it would be useful to conduct further research on the implementation part of the communication strategy in a similar circumstance, where diverse sub-units are focused to strengthen the validity. A holistic and systematic case analysis tends to provide both academics and practitioners a better understanding of those issues in a broader context. Second, the longitudinal approach is suggested to be part of the research methods for further research. Such a method would be very practical in observing the employees reaction toward changes. Also, it helps the researchers to understand how behaviors and attitudes are developed and influenced (Pettigrew, 1990). Since the interviews enable the researchers to comprehend a phenomenon superficially, the method of observations serves as a powerful tool to delve into the underlying reasons of the observed reactions. As a result, more in-depth findings can be yielded. In connection with that, the study of how the brand and business status changes contribute to the organizational culture change should be empirically researched. Finally, in order to challenge the framework of the findings, the use of contrasting observations from multiple cases seems to enhance the notion of replication. Additionally, the external validity of the initial investigation can be inspected and thereafter either verifies or falsifies the theory (Yin, 1994). A multiple case approach may be extended to include a comparative study between organizations, whereby similar research procedures are applied. Nonetheless, it should be noted that, to select the cases for a comparative study, the characteristics of the study issues in each organization, regardless of industry, need to be at least comparable in the sense of research contributions. For instance, a comparative study in the communication strategies for the brand change between Godrej group and other family run diversified business (Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group) would be an interesting topic to challenge the current findings and, potentially, attribute the similarities or differences of change practices. 42
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Project Report - Role of Communication in Effective Change Management (A Case Study of Godrej Group)

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Project Report - Role of Communication in Effective Change Management (A Case Study of Godrej Group)

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Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN EFFECTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

THE M S UNIVERSITY OF BARODA FACULTY OF COMMERCE

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

of The M.S.University of Baroda. Baroda.

(Mr. Kalpesh Purohit) Vyas) Project Guide (Ms. Rashmi Rawat)

(Prof. Parimal H. Course Director

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

(Mr. Kalpesh Purohit) Rawat) Project Guide

(Ms. Rashmi Student

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Case Study 3.1 Case Overview 3.2 Issues and Observations

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Change Management Theories

Significance of Change Management

Figure 1: Andersen Consultings Organizational Change Model

Leadership Work Culture Force

Forces for Change

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Kurt Lewins model for Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Change Formulation and Implementation

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

4. Principal support 5. Appropriateness

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Figure 5: Eight Steps of Change Implementation for Change Agents

Communication Strategy Theories

Figure 6: A Perceptual Model of Communication

Receiver creates meaning

The Elements of Effective Communication Strategy

2.2.2.3 Content of Communication

Issues of Communication for Change

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Chapter III GODREJ 3.1 History

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

3.2.2 Companies in the Group

Appliances Furniture FMCG Real Estate

Agri AV Solutions Chemicals Construction

3.2.3 Products and services

Electricals and Electronics IT & Software Solutions Locks

Material Handling Motors Precision Engineering

Process Equipment Security Solutions Storage Solutions

Tooling Vending Batteries

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management c. Recognize achievement through rewards

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management

Role of Communication in Effective Change Management