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Chapter-5 CASE STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP IN MANAGING CHANGE The previous chapter presented the results of quantitative analysis conducted through a survey given to employees at different organizations, whereas this chapter presents case studies on International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Indigm Consulting Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). As the study is concerned with the role of leadership behavior in managing change considering the particular change context, case study has been used. Case methodology is used to understand the undercurrents of a particular change phenomenon which are unique to an organization, yet generalization is not possible (Yin, 1994). Since organizational change is typically an integral part of the leadership process (Bennis & Nanus, 1985; Kotter, 1990; Tichy & Devanna, 1986), events such as achievements, failures, challenges, opportunities, and crises constantly reshape leadership experiences for both the leader and the led. Because leadership behaviors during periods of change is a relatively unexplored domain, a necessary part of this study’s design approach was to determine what existing theories, concepts, and methodologies might be used to understand the leadership behavior in the context of change. Thus, this chapter uses case studies to ascertain employees’ own understandings of change (management, processes and practices) within selected organizations. The emphasis of the case studies is to assess the employees’ work environment and to understand their attitudes, feelings and perceptions of organizational change. 5.1 Choice of the organization The endeavor of this research is to examine the role of leadership behavior in managing change. As each organization is unique, so the process for managing change is unique. The scope and extent of the change, the culture, the context and the characteristics of the stakeholders involved influence each and every change. Therefore, it is imperative to examine the leadership of change initiatives within the context of particular organization cultures. This chapter presents case studies in three different organizations because of the unique nature of the phenomenon. Each case study presents an exceptional understanding in the leadership of change within the organizational context. The three organizations chosen were International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Indigm Consulting Ltd. All organizations selected belonged to different sectors and had different work cultures. ICRISAT was selected as it is an agricultural research institute and not for profit organization and the institute had faced a major crisis in the year 2000 and it underwent a transformational change to bring the institute back to its old days of glory. This case study brings out the various challenges faced by the Director General, Dr. William Dar when he took over and how he managed change in transforming the organization. Also, ICRISAT is a large enough company in order to gain sufficient insights, and also because of access to information/data and for unrestricted permission to conduct research. Indigm Consulting Limited, a private information technology (IT) was selected as the challenges and issues of managing change in an IT company are different. The drivers for change in the IT industry are highly complex and uncertain. In recent years numerous changes both in back end technologies as well as in consumer expectations have contributed to increase the complexity of the IT infrastructure. This case study brings out the unique aspects of the change initiative implemented due to the legislative forces and the way the change process was dealt with, provided unique insights into the process of the change management in a private IT company. It also brings out the leadership behaviors of the CEO of the company in managing change and making it more resilient to future changes. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a public sector company was selected as the organization culture in a public sector organization is totally different compared to a private organization. Public sector organizations are often perceived as resisting change. However, in present times, public sector organizations are continually searching for ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in their service delivery. Management of change is a key requirement for success in these endeavors. Most change management research in India, however has been done specifically in the private sector. The objective of selecting ONGC, therefore, was to identify factors responsible for successful change management unique to the public sector energy company. This study should also be valuable in providing the government a basis to formulate successful change strategies. This study highlights how the leadership of Subir Raha, the chairman of ONGC brought about a change in its strategy to reduce risks and achieve financial stability through corporate rejuvenation programme to put it on a path of steady growth. 5.2 ICRISAT Case Study 5.2.1 Data Collection Strategy for ICRISAT In order to have a clear view of the change process and to better understand the situation, employees were interviewed from different departments, at different levels of management, with different roles in the change process in the organization, and, as observed after the interviews, with different opinions about the organizational change. Data collection strategies was designed to capture organizational members’ accounts of change across time and the role of leadership in managing the said change and also to understand how the organization culture and structure impacts the management of change and how the leadership behavior influences the level of resistance to change and its impact on stress on employees and employee satisfaction. The method of data collection chosen for this case study was informal and formal interviews, that sought to gain information on the perspectives, understandings and meanings constructed by people regarding the events and experiences of change (management, processes and practices). This study relies heavily on semi-structured interviews, formal interviews and analysis of organizational documents. 5.2.2 The Interview Process After receiving permission from the DG of ICRISAT, in March 2010 the researcher interviewed the employees on an informal basis (informal conversational interviewing) regarding current and past work processes and practices. A total of 10 informal interviews were conducted and those participants were chosen who had been with the organization for atleast 12 years. The criterion of 12 years was selected, as the crucial period under study was the year 2000. The participants were all middle level managers and senior scientists, who were asked questions related to the crisis faced by the organization, probable reasons for the crisis, employees’ morale at the time, research output effectiveness, various actions taken and their impact on the human resources effectiveness, team work, empowerment. All comments echoed by employees were noted by the researcher. Managers and scientists were all asked the same guiding questions which formed the basis of discussions. This informal interviewing allowed maximum flexibility to encourage participants to provide information on employees’ views on current and past workplace processes and practices within ICRISAT. Participants were also informed that their anonymity would be protected and the data would be aggregated and individual respondents would not be identified. However, due to time constraints and the number of processes and practices involved, viewpoints relating only to what employees considered important, were noted by the researcher. In most cases, the employees did not hesitate to respond to the questions and were quickly engaged in conversational dialogue. At the end of interviews, participants were always asked if they had any final words, which usually led them to provide recommendations. In November 2010, the top level employees which included the DG, DDG, the various project directors, especially those employees who had been with the organization since year 2000, participated in the phase two of data collection process that is the formal interview process. A total of 8 formal interviews were conducted which lasted approximately one to one and a half hours. The research questions as stated in chapter one helped to guide the process of the interviews and provided a context to develop an interview guide consisting of questions and statements to assist the participants in reconstructing their own experiences. The guiding questions which led the interview are placed as Appendix-C. The interview process was not a structured question and answer session. Rather the questions guided the process and helped to facilitate a discussion with the top managers, allowing for individual differences and similarities among the participants. With permission, the interviews were audio taped to support and clarify the written documentation that was also taken in note form by the researcher at the time of the interview.
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