Introduction
Bottled water is a portable drinking water that is used for private consumption and retail sales. Developed countries have been trying to regulate the quality of bottled water through government laws and rules. The government rules are used to ensure that water quality is safe and the labels of the bottled water will reflect the exact content of bottled water. In many developing countries such laws and rules are variable and are often less stringent than those of developed nations. Like In other states, water is a problem in Hong Kong not because it is lacking but because there are more people using bottled water than tap water. For the citizens of Hong Kong there prefer to use bottled water rather than tap water because it has more health benefits and is more convenient than boiling tap water. Supporters of bottled water view the product as a healthy choice instead of soft drinks or sport drinks. The government on the other hand wants the people to refrain from using such water and go back to the use of tap water to prevent over crowded waste facilities. Some non government agencies also want the people to refrain from using bottled water because according to them bottled water causes waste of money and waste of energy. It is a waste of energy in transporting such products that has containers that cannot be recycled. With such issues changes have to made in order to counter the negative effects of the use of bottled water products. This project is a change plan to be suggested to Hong Kong Government and some recommendations and methods to be proposed for minimizing the bottled water usage. This paper uses the change approach for the bottled water problem in Hong Kong.
Main Body
Change Process
When the concept of change management first took root, change was treated as a deliberate intervention by specified change agents who set out to design and implement new strategies and operational procedures in order to enhance organizational functioning (Naylor 1996). While some researchers recognize that even planned, strategic change has a processual and emergent character, there is still an underlying assumption in the change management literature that change is top-down and executive-driven. To the extent that change management is now very much associated with downsizing and reductions in headcounts (Cunha, JV, Cunha, PE & Kamoche 2002). The change process is not an instant thing that will have an instant effect. It takes a lot of months for the change process to show its result. The first thing that will be done on the change process is research and analysis of the depth of the problem. This will take around 6 months. In this process the use of bottled water will be given an in depth result and analysis to determine what can be done to minimize its use. The next process will be determining the methods that will be used to solve the problem. This will take 2 years. In this process the probable means to reduce bottled water use will be determined. The third process is implementation of the chosen means to reduce bottled water use. This will take 2 years. In this process the most acceptable means to reduce bottled water use will be initiated into society. The last process is evaluation of the method used. This will take 6 months. In this process the problems of the method will fixed.
Kurt Lewin’s Change process
Unfreezing
In this stage the Hong Kong Society is in the process of overcoming its current inertia. The people have just realized that there is a need for change thus it slowly goes into the process of creating changes within the organization. In this stage different activities will be done and it includes the following:
1. Advertisements on the negative effects of bottled water will be aired on various media such as the internet, television and newspaper. This will be done for 2 to 3 weeks.
2. Members of non government organizations will be tasked to move around and give out pamphlets explaining the need for change and what would happen if change would not be done. This will be done for a month.
3. Lines of discussion for the pro and anti change will be opened. This will remain open until the end of the project.
4. The tap water system would be examined. This will be done for a month as well.
Moving
In this stage the users of bottled water are still confused and are still in the process of transition. The users of bottled water are now conditioned to accept gradual changes. Specialized groups have been assigned to help the bottled water users to slowly stop the use of such products and go back to the use of tap water. This stage features different activities that include:
Refreezing
In this stage the focus is to integrate the new mindset into the people and return the comfort level into allowable positions. In this stage the people are already using tap water and they are slowly getting used to using such product. The tap water has now acquired the same loyalty the bottled water has. This stage features different activities that include:
Kotter Process of change
1. Establish a sense of urgency
In establishing the sense of urgency advertisements on the negative effects of bottled water will be aired on various media such as the internet, television and newspaper; companies who create bottled water will be given explanation on why change is needed.
2. Form a powerful coalition
Coalitions will be made with government and non government institutions that are concerned with the use of bottled water. The coalition will happen in the beginning of the change process and will not end until the objectives will be met. The coalition will begin with communication with the concerned authorities.
3. Create the vision
The vision is to reduce or totally eradicate the use of bottled water in Hong Kong by 2012. Involved are the members of the coalition and the citizens of Hong Kong.
4. Communicate the vision
The members of the coalition will first hand information on what is the vision and how it will be attained. The vision will be communicated via personal correspondence and/or the use of technologies such as e-mail the internet and telephone.
5. Empower others to act
. The coalition will make use of individuals who have experienced the negative effect of the use of bottled water, these individuals will be put on informative advertisements and they will narrate why people should use tap water. The advertisements will be reviewed weekly to see if it affects the people.
6. Plan for short term wins
Once initial results of the change process are evident, the best thing to do is to make the advertisements better, entertaining and more informative so that more people will be encouraged to view the advertisement.
7. Consolidate improvements and produce further change
The improvements that have transpired will be consolidated and analyzed to see whether additional change should continue. In this changes in the environment will be observed and documented. It will then be consolidated with other changes that have happened.
8. Institutionalize the new approach
In this step no trend will have a higher priority than the new approach and the people will not be easily tempted to try out their old habits. In doing this the coalition have finished making sure that people have stopped using bottled water. When the people have been institutionalized they will not be tempted to try bottled water and they will rely on the use of tap water.
Stakeholder Analysis
The stakeholders in the bottled water scenario include the users of bottled water in Hong Kong, the government of Hong Kong and the manufacturers and distributors of bottled water. The users of bottled water are stakeholders because they are the ones that used bottled water and they are the main target of the change process and they are the ones that will mostly benefit from the change. The government is a stakeholder because it is the one that wants change to happen. The manufacturers and distributors of the bottled water are stakeholders top the change process because the effect of the change process will give them problems unless the government will give them assistance.
Resistance
Resistance may be mainly sourced from human barrier that stems from people’s fear to change in working place and uncertainty. The main resistance in this change project will come from the manufacturers and distributors of bottled water. They are the ones that will lose income from the reduction or abolition of the use of bottled water. The employees of the manufacturers and distributors of bottled water will lose their job because their respective company has no market to sell their bottled products. The manufacturers and distributors will also have problems in determining their market unless they have markets in other regions. The manufacturers and distributors of bottled waters will have to determine what to do with the materials and machines they use to create and distribute their bottled products.
Key issues in the implementation of the change program
The change program may have various issues before it can be implemented. One issue is the effect of the change program. Some members of society might be adamant to change because they are not sure of what will be the effect of changes to their welfare. Another issue in the implementation of the change program is the availability of the budget that will be used for the change program. The budget is an important part of the change program. The lack of it will create problems for the initiation of the change program. Moreover an issue for the change program is resistance from the businesses that will be affected by the change process. Makers and distributors of bottled water will lose their market if the change process succeeds. People will be unemployed due to the businesses closing down. The solution towards resistance is explaining the background of the process and what will be the extent of the change process. This can help the people to understand how these changes will not affect them greatly. It will also help in dispelling rumors. Communicating with the people to assist them view the logic of a change can reduce the resistance. Good communication is not only reducing the resistance but also creates a harmonious relationship in the company. Lastly an issue in the implementation of the change program is the time that will be used by the change program. The change program should not disrupt any activity of the society that was previously scheduled. Since the Hong Kong people are busy people, the change process has to be included in their daily schedule. Adjustments should be made to prevent these things to happen.
Change in leadership
Organizations with the purpose of starting change need to have good leaders so that the learning process would be uninterrupted and cannot be influenced by outside forces. Outside forces can be in the form of questions about the change process and contradictions from different sectors in the firm. Good leaders can thwart the advances of such forces and can provide answers to the different questions they have regarding the change process. Good leaders can find sources of information that will be of great value to the change process. They can make decisions that can help the change process to run smoothly and be equipped with appropriate information beneficial to the process. In the change process leadership initially falls on the government but once the change process begins it transfers to each members of the change process who have various tasks at hand.
Conclusion
The problem is on the people’s use of bottled water. For the citizens of Hong Kong there prefer to use bottled water rather than tap water because it has more health benefits and is more convenient than boiling tap water. The government on the other hand wants the people to refrain from using such water and go back to the use of tap water to prevent over crowded waste facilities. To change the practice of people in using bottled water, change process was used. The change process is not an instant thing that will have an instant effect. It takes a lot of months for the change process to show its result. The change project has many risks but it should be used because it costs less and can start significant changes in the region. The project design is appropriate for the region and it has the best means to encourage change to happen in the region. The project design is intended to finish until 2012 and by this time people would have refrained from using bottled water and would have used tap water.
Recommendations
The first thing that should be done is to fix communication lines between those that will be affected by the change process. Communication between the government, the leaders of the change process and the stakeholders of the change process is vital so that the change process will have lesser barriers. One member of the coalition in the change process should serve as a bridge for those that initiated the change process and those who oppose the change process. He/she will relate to each other their ideas on why the change process should continue or vice versa. Another thing that can be done is for the government to suggest alternative businesses that the manufacturers and distributors of bottled water can go to so that they will not lose their source of income. The government should suggest newer business to those who will lose jobs due to the change. Lastly before the change process is completed, the tap water system should be fully revitalized. Since goal is to make the people use tap water, the government should ensure that the tap water system has been checked and fixed for any health problems. The tap water system should be made from standards that can be competitive to other tap water systems in the world.
References
All About Water Org 2004, The Effects of Bottled Water on
the Environment, viewed 22 July, 2008,
<http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html>.
Benveniste, J, Dunphy, D, Griffiths, A & Sutton, P (eds.)
2000, Sustainability: the corporate challenge of the 21st
century, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, N.S.W.
Biswas, AK & Uitto, JI (ed.) 2001, Water for urban areas:
Challenges and perspectives, United Nations University
Press, New York.
Binney G & Williams, C 1995, Leaning into the future:
Changing the way people change organizations, Nicholas
Brealey, London.
Conner, DR 1992, Managing at the speed of change, Wiley,
Chichester
Cunha, JV, Cunha, PE & Kamoche, KN (eds.) 2002,
Organizational improvisation, Routledge, New York.
Doherty, TL & Horne, T 2002, Managing public services
implementing changes: A thoughtful approach to the
practice of management, Routledge, London.
Gottlieb, MR 2001, Managing group process, Praeger,
Westport, CT.
Minnesota Department of Health 2005, Health Risk Assessment Unit and Drinking Water Protection Section, 141 – 1430.
Naylor, LL 1996, Culture and change: An introduction,
Bergin & Garvey, Westport, CT.
The Sidney Morning Herald 2007, Disaster in a bottle, 1-2.
Appendix: Time line
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment