TEAM WORK APPROACH TO THE MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE IN SELECTED MANUFACTURING ORGANIZATIONS IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study on team work approach to the management of change in selected manufacturing organisations in Nigeria: challenges, strategies and prospects focused on establishing the extent to which strategies for change management are compatible with teamwork approach to change, ascertaining the extent to which teamwork approach to change management holds good prospects for sustenance and viability in Nigerian manufacturing organizations, identifying the relationship between teamwork and organizational performance, determining the level of acceptance of organizational change among employees and finding out if the management of organizational change is hindered by the inability to cope with the challenges of teamwork approach. The study adopted the survey research design, in which ten (10) manufacturing companies in the South-Eastern Nigeria were studied. The population of the study was 13,623 and the sample size was calculated to be 598 using the Taro Yamane’s formula. The sampling selection was the stratified sampling method. A structured questionnaire and oral interview guide were the research instruments used for the study. Data collected were presented descriptively using charts, simple frequency and percentage distribution, mean and standard deviation. Hypotheses one and four were tested using the Chi-Square test statistic, the hypotheses two and five were tested using the Z-test statistic and the hypothesis three was tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The major findings of the study were that strategies for change management are significantly compatible with teamwork approach to change management in Nigerian manufacturing organizations (X²_cal = 13.78 > X²_critical = 9.49, p < 0.05); teamwork approach to change management in Nigeria manufacturing organizations to a large extent holds good prospects for sustenance and viability (Z_cal = 5.76 > Z_critical = 1.96, p < 0.05); there is significant positive relationship between teamwork and organizational performance in the management of manufacturing organisations (r_cal = 0.89 > r_critical = 0.09, p < 0.05); the employees of Nigerian manufacturing organizations to a large extent accept organizational change (X²_cal = 9.76 > X²_critical = 9.49, p < 0.05) and management of organizational change is severely hindered by inability to cope with the challenges of teamwork approach in Nigerian manufacturing organizations (Z_cal = 4.55 > Z_critical = 1.96, p < 0.05). The work concludes that teamwork approach to the management of change has the prospect of making the manufacturing organisations very effective, viable and sustainable. Specifically, it has the benefits of improved productivity and product quality, innovativeness and manpower development. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that teamwork approach should be adopted by manufacturing organizations as an integral concept within their organizations, particularly as interventionist strategy to the management of change; an effective team should be built by applying practical skills/strategies to maximize team performance and development; and Manufacturing organizations leaders should encourage their organizations to anticipate change, to understand the nature of change and to manage change well.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of the Study

Groups and teams are a major feature of organizational life. To Katzenbach and Smith (1993:111-120), a work team is a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common mission, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Work is a group- based activity and if the organization is to function effectively, it requires collaboration and co-operation among its members (Mullins, 2010:307). However, Nelson and Quick (2005:178) go further to differentiate between groups and teams, they affirm that all work teams are groups, but not all groups are work team, groups emphasize individual leadership, individual accountability, and individual work products. Work teams emphasize shared leadership, mutual accountability, and collective work products.

Teams are increasingly becoming the primary means for organizing work in contemporary business firms (Robins and Judge, 2007:338). Most activities of the organization require at least some degree of co-ordination through the operation of groups and team work. Mullins (2010:306) goes further to explain that an understanding of the nature of groups is vital if the manager is to influence the behavior of people in the work situation. The manager must be aware of the impact of groups and teams and their effects on organization performance. Organizations are increasingly making use of teams to achieve their objectives. Teams occur when a number of people have common goal and recognize that their personal success is dependent on the success of others (Ugbam, 2011:336). Organizational teams need to accomplish corporate goals. While the organization is a hub of all activities, teams are the spokes, which generate output. Teamwork can yield much more than a sum of individual efforts simply due to organized effort and streamlined work processes. Work efficiency is enhanced and needless multiplication of processes is eliminated (Nzewi, 2006:14).

Decades ago, when companies like W.L. Gore, Volvo, and General Foods introduced teams into their production processes, it made news because no one else was doing it. Today, it’s just the opposite; it’s the organization that does not use teams that has become news worthy (Robins and Judge, 2007:338). From late 1990’s, approximately 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies now have half or more of their employers on teams. And 68 percent of small U.S. manufacturers are using teams in their production areas (Strozniak, 2000:47). How do we explain the current popularity of teams? The evidence suggests that teams typically outperform individuals when the task being done requires multiple skills, judgment, and experience (Glassop, 2002:225-250).

As organizations have restructured themselves to compete more effectively and efficiently, they have turned to teams as a better way to use employees’ talents. Robins and Judge (2007:338) are of the opinion that teams have the capability to quickly assemble, deploy, refocus and disband. As a result, management has found that teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than are traditional departments or other forms of permanent groupings. Teams can compete, wrestle, succeed or fail. A good organizational team can be an invaluable asset to the organization. A bad team can break the internal structure of the organization (Nzewi, 2006:14). Also Coles (2002:19) in his own opinion says that it is also important that teams enjoy reasonable autonomy. When teams enjoy autonomy they are empowered (Gibson, 1996:23).

Onodugo and Igwe (2010:95) maintain that, team building is one of the key imperatives for a successful organization. Team-building is seen as one aspect of organizational development strategy that makes or helps organizational change to be successfully employed in many manufacturing organizations. By definition, Team-building is an organizational development strategy that is often used in organization to make work groups more cohesive, committed, satisfied, and productive (Parker, 1990:146-147). When interaction among group member is critical to group success, effective team building is always useful. Moorhead and Griffin (1995:481) see team building as members working together in a spirit of cooperation and generally has one or more of the following, goals;

• To set team goals, priorities, or both
• To analyze or allocate the way work is performed
• To examine the way a group is working, that is to examine processes such as norms, decision- making and communications.
• To examine relationships among the people doing their work

Change is an inevitable and constant feature. It is an inescapable part of both social and organizational life and we are all subject to continual change of one form or another. Akarele and Akarele (2000:794) opine that, change is an inevitable part of human beings, the institutions they establish, as well as their environment. Organizational change could be a reaction to the internal or external environment. An organization is subject to many pressures for change from a variety of sources. Moreover, because the complexity of events and the rapidity of change are increasing, predicting what type of pressure for change will be most meaningful in the next decades is difficult (Moorhead and Griffin, 1995:468). A central feature of the successful organization is the diagnosis of its culture, health and performance, and the ability of the organization to adapt to change (Mullins, 2010:736). In any case, the change presupposes that management assumes or believes that the values and goals of the proposed system are preferable to any other system (Akarele, 1998). Changes are meant to cope with emerging situation in the organization. Today’s business environment requires manufacturing organizations to undergo changes almost constantly if they are to remain competitive. Dubey and SanjeevBansal (2012:49) posit that, radical changes or incremental changes can be characterized as the implementation of deliberate and fundamental changes in business process to achieve breakthrough improvements in performance. Organizations must change because their environments change, managers must not rush in introducing a change. The process must be slow, steady and thorough (Fajana, 2002). Dessler (2011:316) maintains that organizational turn around often starts with a change in the firm’ strategy, mission, and vision-with strategic change. Adeyeye (2009:15) says that, nowadays business environment produce change in the workplace more suddenly and frequently than ever before. Mergers, acquisitions, new technology, restructuring, downsizing and economic meltdown are all factors that contribute to a growing climate of uncertainty. The ability to adapt to changing work conditions is key for individual and organizational survival. Change will be ever present and learning to manage and lead change includes not only understanding human factors, but also skill to manage and lead change effectively (Pettigrew and Whipp, 1991:323-336). Change is the only element of human phenomena that is constant.Organizational change occurs when a manufacturing organization makes a transition from its current state to some desired future state. Managing change is important in today’s challenging environment (Dessler, 2011:315). In other words, managing organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in organizations in such a way as to minimize employee resistance and cost to the organization, while also maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort (Fajana, 2002). Also organizational development is concerned with the planning and implementation of programs designed to enhance the effectiveness with which an organization functions and responds to change (Armstrong, 2006:337).

The greatest nightmare facing organizations and their managers today is the series of rapid and complex changes which they have to contend with on a continuous basis (Muo, 2004:1198). He goes further to clarify that some of these changes are externally propelled by forces which the organization has little control over: International forces like the Gulf war and the Israeli-Palestinian face-off; rapid changes in technology leading to frightening rates of obsolescence, unforeseen changes in the demographic configuration of societies which automatically changes customers tastes and desires and even what constitutes the target market; globalization and internationalization, increasing competitive pressures, regulatory and legal environment and new types of risks after September 2011. The forces for change may come from the environment external to the firm, from within the organization or from the individuals themselves (Weighrich and Koontz, 2005:337). Irrespective of any force that influences change in any organization, the change must be planned. McAfee and Champagne (1983) define planned changes as any deliberate attempt to modify the functioning of the total organization, or one of its major components, in order to improve effectiveness. The planned change efforts can focus on individual, group, or organizational behavior. Change and change management are concepts that have come to assume greater importance in the discussions of top executives of most manufacturing organizations.

Mckee (2005) suggests that one most significant essential for success during transition is team-building and maintains that leaders that can challenge, motivate, and empower their teams through change are successful. He went further to state that, leaders who can keep their work teams focused during changes will have organization and business which thrive. McAfee and Champagne (1983) assert that forces of change, also known as change drives or change initiators, can either be external or internal. The external change drives are those forces that are outside the control of management, but have made change imperative. These include government policies, political development, technology, competition, changing consumer behavior, industrial practices, external stake holder interests, socio-economic environment, and customer capabilities. Mullins (2010:752) opines that change also originates within the organization itself, of which the organization have reasonable measure of control for example, as material resources such as building, equipment or machinery deteriorate or loss of efficiency, or as human resources get older, or as skills and abilities become outdated. Mullins goes further to state that both external and internal forces for change, are not found in isolation, they are interrelated. More often than not, external change drives create internal change drives, which lead to organizational change.

The successful management of change is clearly essential for continued economic performance and competitiveness and is the life-blood of business success (Mullins, 2010:759). If change is important, then more important is its management. When change is not properly managed, the result can be disastrous, because of the possibilities of resistance among people. To successfully manage change, one needs to understand basic concepts and strategies to build commitment and acceptance to change in all levels of the organization. Robbins and Judge (2007:646) maintain that, if an organization is to survive, it must respond to changes in its environment. Efforts to stimulate innovation, empower employees, and introduce work teams are examples of planned-change activities directed at responding to changes in the environment. Judge (2000:216-226) concludes that change agents like managers or non-managers, current employees of the organization, newly hired employees, or outside consultants are responsible for managing change activities.

• Statement of the Problem

Business environment today produces change in the workplace more suddenly and frequently than ever before. Yet the process of change is difficult and implementing it successfully makes considerable demands on the managers involved. In most manufacturing organizations, changes occur because the existing situations and conditions are unfavorable for optimal realization of goals and objectives. The organization may experience unwholesome, undesirable, and wasteful practice from their members, which usually retard progress. These undesirable practices manifest in various forms, such as inter-personal and inter-group conflicts, general hostility, strikes, decreased performances, mismanagement of resources, and Luke-warmness. It has become apparent that for manufacturing organizations to remain in business and to weather the many challenges underpinning their efforts in this direction they must look for creative solutions, they must change.

A major feature of organizational life is team, and it can have significant influence on the successful implementation of change. Most change can disrupt teamwork. Unless people are involved, committed and prepared to adapt and learn; if not, objectives, plans, and future desired state may likely be resisted. The danger of domination of the team by some powerful members, the difficulty in placing responsibility for a bad team decision, the effects of selecting poorly qualified persons as members and team decisions may result from compromise; poses great challenges to team approach to change management. A major team problem may be that of conformity, which raises its head in a number of cases, ranging from groupthink to social loafing. With the wide use of teams, personal and inter-group conflict may arise. The ability of the leader to persuade and influence his followers, which in turn, depends largely on how much power the leader possesses, will determine how effective team-oriented approach to change management will succeed. Kola Jamodu president of MAN in his opening address during 2011 40^th Annual Report and Accounts recognizes the federal government initiative of vision 20:2020. He however identifies some urgent national issues bordering on; National Security, Power Sector Road Map, Tariff Issues and Government Fiscal Operation. Specifically, there are major challenges facing manufacturing organizations in Nigeria today, existing evidence shows that every economic sector across the country appears to be facing similar challenges and threats. While in other countries, in Africa, major infrastructural facilities, example water, electricity and transportation system work efficiently and taken for granted, Nigerians and indeed manufacturing industry have the problem of basic necessities of life, poor transportation system, currency devaluation, deregulation, globalization and collapse of the Nigerian stock exchange. Obviously most of the aforementioned challenges have compounded and escalated the cost of doing business in Nigeria. Today, each manufacturer in this country provides its own water via borehole, transportation needs by having fleet of vehicles, spends heavily outside normal overhead for security at personal and organizational levels, grades the roads leading to factories, buys and runs generators for a dedicated power supply, and so on.

Furthermore, a survey carried out by Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has shown that only six percent of industrialist in the country has been able to access the various intervention funds made available by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Also, Branch Chairman of Imo/Abia branch of MAN, G.C.

Ekenma in his address during the branch 25^th Annual General Meeting highlighted the following as part of the major issues that confront them; challenging business/operating environment, imposition of a fixed charge for energy by National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Collapse of public infrastructure, local patronage, Scarcity of Gas and security of lives and property. Another survey conducted by MAN revealed that out of about 2,500 member-companies of MAN, 30% of them had closed down, 60% are ailing and only 10% are operating at sustainable level. The cost of manufacturing in Nigeria therefore is nine times that of China, four times that of Europe, four times above the figure in South African and twice the figure in Ghana.

In order to address the crisis facing manufacturing organizations in Nigeria, many of them have turned to teamwork approach to change management in order to reinvent themselves. Another reason for using team approach to change management is due to the fact that it brings about innovation in the design of products and quality. To this end, it would be pertinent to investigate the challenges, strategies and prospects of team work approach to management of change in Nigerian manufacturing organizations. This will enable one to say with some air of confidence the extent to which managers of these organizations can cope with change using the team approach.

• Objectives of the Study

The study has the overall objective of examining how team work approach could be employed in management of change in Nigerian manufacturing organizations. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. To establish the extent to which strategies for change management are compatible with teamwork approach to change.
2. To ascertain the extent to which teamwork approach to change management holds good prospects for sustenance and viability in Nigerian Manufacturing organisations.
3. To identify the relationship between teamwork and organizational performance in management of manufacturing organisations under study.
4. To determine the level of acceptance of organizational change among employees in the manufacturing organizations under study.
5. To find out if the management of organizational change is hindered by the inability to cope with the challenges of teamwork approach

• Research Questions

1. To what extent are strategies for change management compatible with teamwork approach to change management in Nigeria Manufacturing organizations?
2. To what extent does teamwork approach to change management hold good prospects for sustenance and viability in Nigerian manufacturing organizations?
3. What is the nature of the relationship between teamwork and organizational performance in management of manufacturing organisations under study?
4. To what extent do the employees of Nigerian manufacturing organizations accept organizational changes?
5. To what extent is the management of organizational change hindered by inability to cope with the challenges of teamwork approach to change management.

• Research Hypotheses

To achieve the objectives of this study and provide answers to the research questions, the

following hypotheses have been formulated to guide the conduct of the study:

• Strategies for change management are significantly compatible with teamwork approach to change management in Nigerian manufacturing organizations.
• Teamwork approach to change management in Nigeria manufacturing organizations to a large extent holds good prospects for sustenance and viability.
• There is significant positive relationship between teamwork and organizational performance in the management of manufacturing organisations.

(iv)The employees of Nigerian manufacturing organizations to a large extent accept organizational change.

• Management of organizational change is significantly hindered by inability to cope with the challenges of teamwork approach in Nigerian manufacturing organizations.

1.6     Significance of the Study

The significance of the study is of great importance to the following:

1. To the manufacturing organizations: This study will help the organizations to understand the need and reason for change and how to use the teamwork approach to change management better to achieve their goals.
2. To the Government officials and Policymaker: The discussions carried out in this study will enlighten them more on how their policies, rules and regulations affect negatively the manufacturing organizations in Nigeria. These help them make better policies and rules that will be favourable to these organizations in order to improve their productivity and the economy in general.
3. To practicing managers and General Public: This study exposes the challenges, strategies and prospects of change management in manufacturing organizations. The revelation in this study will help to enlighten managers and the public on how to manage and reduce resistance to change in all their organizations and in all aspect of life in general.
4. To Future Researchers: This study will help future researchers in carrying out their own study, especially those that are related to this topic. It will serve as source of reference materials, in this regards by providing secondary data to them.

The Scope and Limitation of the Study

Choice of Organizations Selected: Ten manufacturing organizations Abuja of Nigeria which are duly registered members of MAN, doing business in Nigeria, must have up to 40 individuals working in the organization and specialize in the production of household products were purposively selected from 225 organisations in the Southeast.

Area Scope: The study is limited in scope to ten manufacturing organizations with reference to the examination of the challenges, strategies and prospects of teamwork approach to change management in Nigerian manufacturing organizations in Abuja Nigeria.

In carrying out a study of this nature, the following constraints were encountered;

The Attitude of some Respondents: Some of the respondents claimed that they were too busy and refused to accept our questionnaire. Even some that accepted the questionnaire refused to answer some questions in the instrument.

Data: All the materials needed for this work could not be gotten because as the respondent was gathering information for the work, new materials were been rolled out. Notwithstanding, the respondent visited many libraries both locally and internationally, organizations under study and made use of the internet; to gather enough data needed for this work. However, in all, we obtained responses which we consider adequate for the study.

• Operational Definition of Terms.

In the course of the study, we set out below operational definition in respect of terms which we have used.

Change: Is a pervasive influence, it is an inevitable and constant feature. It is an inescapable part of both social and organizational life and we all subject to continual change of one form or another. (Mullins, 2005:909)

Change Agents: These are persons who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing change activities. They are individual s or groups of individuals whose task is to effect the desired change in an organization. (Robbins and Judge, 2007: 647)

Change Management: Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state.

Group: A group is two or more people having common interests, objectives and continuing interaction (Nelson and Quick, 2005).

Groupthink: Groupthink occurs when group member have very similar experiences and frame of references, particularly when they have relatively long tenures in the group. (Hambrick, 2001)

Organizational Culture: Organizational culture helps to explain how things are performed in different organizations. (Mullins, 2010).

Organizational Development: Is concerned with planning and implementation of programs designed to enhance the effectiveness with which on organization functions and responds to change. (Armstrong, 2006).

Planned Change: A planned change is a deliberate attempt to modify the functioning of the total organization, or one of its major components, in order to improve effectiveness. Planned change represents an intentional attempt to improve in some important way, the operational effectiveness of the organization. (Mullins, 2010)

Social Loafing: Social Loafing is defined by Mullins (2010) as the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working as a member of a group than as an individual.

Team: Team is a group of people with complementary skills who work toward common goals for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. (Robert and David, 2011)

Team Norm: This refers to established standard to which all members of the team must conform.

Work Team: A work team is a group whose individual effort results in a performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs. (Robbins and Judges, 2007: 339)

Team Approach: This concerns the direction in which human and material resources will be applied in order to increase the chances of achieving selected objectives.

Team-building: Team-building activities aim to improve and develop the effectiveness of a group of people who work (permanently or temporarily) together. (Armstrong, 2006:355). It is also a high interaction among team members to increase trust and openness. (Robbins and Judge, 2007).