How to Ensure Greater Success in Implementing Organisational Improvement & Restructuring Programmes

27 Pages Posted: 23 Oct 2012

See all articles by C. Reddy

C. Reddy

Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore

Date Written: November 30, 1999

Abstract

Indian economy has gone through a process of gradual de-regulation in the eighties and this process has accelerated further in nineties. Globalisation and liberalisation have become the catch words of the nineties.

Regulation and protectionism of the licence-permit raj had debelitated the competitive capability of many Indian organisations. Since whatever produced could be sold easily, technological upgradation, quality improvement and customer service suffered. As costs could be passed on to the customer without any problem, there was no emphasis on cost consciousness or efficiency. All these handicaps didn't matter in an era of regulation and protectionism.

But with deregulation, liberalisation and globalisation, the genie of competition has been let loose. Many erstwhile high performing Indian organisations like Bajaj Auto, TISCO, SIEMENS and ITI have become the recent victims of the process of globalisation and liberalisation. This process will continue even during the next decade. As more and more sectors like banking, insurance, telecommunications, air-transport, power, oil exploration and refining are being deregulated and opened up to the global competition, some of the hitherto highly-respected and successful organisations may find themselves unable to cope with the changed business realities.

Given this scenario, more and more organisations have been forced to embark on the process of organisational improvement, restructuring and transformation. Many organisations like ITI, HMT and SIEMENS, whose fortunes have undergone a drastic change for the worse in the last few years have initiated several measures to achieve turnaround.

Other organisations like MTNL, IOC, HPCL and SBI whose performance continues to be fairly good have also become aware of the need to prepare themselves to face the drastic changes expected in their business environment in the near future and have begun taking steps to bring about changes in their functioning. A survey of more than 100 top level managers indicated that a large number of Indian organisations have gone through or about to go through some kind of restructuring.

While several Indian organisations have initiated organisational improvement programmes, the results have been mixed. Some organisations like TVS-SUZUKI have achieved remarkable turn-around in their fortunes, some others like Hindustan Photofilms have not at all been able to improve their health. Others like HMT, ITI and SIEMENS are still grappling with issues of turn-around. Some other organisations like SBI, IOC and MTNL who have initiated restructuring exercises only recently may have to wait a while before they can assess the effectiveness of their restructuring and transformation programmes. For Indian organisations to survive and grow in this scenario of globalised competition, achieving greater success in their organisational improvement programmes is very critical.

I have often wondered about the degree of success of the many organisational improvement and restructuring programmes being reported every day in the business magazines and the newspapers. "Why are some organisations more successful than others in implementing their organisational restructuring and improvement programme, and what factors contribute to this success?" are the questions I have been mulling over for some time Over a considerable period of reflection on these questions, I have developed some insight based on my own direct experience of working as an executive and internal change-agent in some organisations and as a management consultant to some more organisations. Reflecting on the cases of Indian organisations reported in the business magazines, I could gain some more insight about the factors contributing to the success of organisational improvement programmes. In the rest of this article, I have presented a synthesis of my learning and insights regarding what goes into making an organisational improvement programme more effective and successful and the factors that need to be kept in mind by the Indian organisation before they embark on an organisational-restructuring programme.

Suggested Citation

Reddy, C., How to Ensure Greater Success in Implementing Organisational Improvement & Restructuring Programmes (November 30, 1999). IIM Bangalore Research Paper No. 144, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2162817 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2162817

C. Reddy (Contact Author)

Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore ( email )

Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore, Karnataka 560076
India

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