Evaluation of the implementation of change management in business restructuring at ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited

Abstract

ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (organization/company)’s main business is the production and sales of carbon steel products in the domestic and export markets. The company is large and employs around 10 000 (ten thousand) employees. AMSA’s business environment is affected by forces for change external and internal to the organization. These factors are arguably key drivers of change resulting into the misalignment between the organization and its environment. AMSA’s actions to adapt to changes in the environment are likely to stimulate reaction from industry role players. An analysis of the competitive environment was employed to understand the likely reaction towards AMSA’s response to change. The research assumes that there are factors in the current business approach of AMSA hindering the organization from adapting to changes in its business environment. The study is focused on investigating possible barriers to the effective implementation of AMSA’s restructuring programme to achieve its strategic objectives. The research objectives are: • To identify key drivers of change. • To investigate possible barriers to the effective implementation of change. • To investigate the organization’s change readiness. The qualitative research approach was followed in the investigation. The method is suitable for the study of limited cases in greater depth and enabled the description of AMSA employees’ personal experience of the phenomenon. Raw data was collected from employees using a questionnaire developed using a 5 point Likert scale and contained closed-ended questions. The official company documents were also reviewed for existing information relevant to the investigation. Basic exploratory statistics was used to interpret the results which indicated the existence of significant patterns of variables being studied in the sample. The conclusion from the study of the sample has been generalized to the population and in combination with relevant information from company records as well as a reflective analysis, a view was taken to support that the data and results are sufficient to substantiate the position taken. The results of the study indicate that change in AMSA is driven by factors outside the control of the organization and that internal forces for change reflect some of the dictates of these external forces. The investigation also showed that employees of AMSA as individuals and as a group appear to resist change and the organization undertook the restructuring initiatives under conditions when some of the requirements for change readiness were not fulfilled.

The outcome of the investigation cannot provide conclusive answers to the management problem and it is accepted that the study took place in a dynamic environment and solutions are not prescribed. The recommendations made to mitigate individual and or group resistance are summarized as follows: • Monitoring of forces for change and identify the correct change target • Improve communication and optimize the use of informal channels • Develop strategy and create a climate for workforce diversity • Empower members of the organization and create a climate for learning • Create a vision-supportive organizational culture The implementation of the recommended actions is likely to improve the effectiveness of the restructuring process.