Customer Service: Black and Decker International - Case Study Example

CUSTOMER SERVICE: A CASE STUDY OF BLACK AND DECKER INTERNATIONAL by Student’s name Course code+name Professor’s name University name City, State Date of submission Customer service: A case study of Black and Decker International Introduction Change is constant and it is necessary for a business entity. This is the same to customer service; it keeps on changing in relation to the changing needs of their clientele. Changing business dynamics may be triggered by external pressures (such as new competition or technology, customer feedback, change in global markets and government legislation) and internal pressures (such as, review policies, employee feedback, pay structures and review procedures) and it important for organization to know when to make the changes and how (Lovelock & Young 1979). In light of this, it is of paramount importance that customer service is of satisfactory standards while change is ongoing within the organization. Change is characterized by the desire to improve cash flow, processes, customer service and products. When an organization wants to make changes in relation to customer service they must first analyze where they are coming from, their current status and the way forward and this should always relate what their customers need current and future trends (Mills & Moberg, 1982). It is important to remember that organization employees are part of the customer service process and when the organization wants to make changes they need to be communicated to. When a company engages with various activities of changes they must have a strong team to manage this change. The management should know which direction they are headed by looking at where they are coming from so as to make informed decisions on strategies to apply to ensure that they fulfill their overall mission, objectives and vision. Customer service and change management are all based on the organization on particular assumptions on the forecasting of customer future trends. An organization can do a wrong predications and this may be costly to an establishment. Change and Managing at Individual and Organization Levels Changes that are adapted by various organizations will normally deal with two levels that is the individual or organizational level. When analyzing at the individual level of change issues such as; new job description or individual redundancy. Organization level deals with company re-branding or office move. The organization provides relevant methods, tools and training to enable change to facilitate customer service. An establishment monitors and shares information about the changing customer services. Looks at client feedback their positive or negative. When an organization undergoes change it influences the behavior of individuals and this produces different outcomes for the organization, such as when Black and Decker International restructured the shift in responsibilities and accountability for each individual. In this light, different business outcomes and new behavior results are achieved. According to Hiatt (2007) organizations do not change but rather people within the organization change. According to Robson, M. (1988) organizational and individual change management must work hand in hand to be able to manage change in an effective and successful. The Black and Decker International overall goal is realize the global opportunity by ensuring that their customers are satisfied. This can only be done by excellent customer service and managing change in the two levels (Individual and Organization). Lovelock & Young (1979) argues that customer service is an investment that manufacturing and service organization have to bank their money and energy in. Analyzing The Black and Decker International which is a manufacturing and service company that deals with a wide range of products that include; electric and battery powered tools and accessories, household products, outdoor products and locks and hardware, plumbing, mechanical fastening systems. The Black and Decker International have undertaken some numerous changes that include one major acquisition of Emhart Corporation. When a company takes over a particular company, they also inherit their customers most especially if they are having the same products. The customer service has to be better than the previous company’s operations and this is only possible by ensuring proper market research has been conducted (Mills & Moberg 1982). When an organization wants to make changes on its customer service delivery then there is need to evaluate customer satisfaction data and strategies (communication strategy). Communication strategy is very important because it deals with lots of aspects that will enhance customer service and change management. Issues that are dealt with at are; Issues addressed. What does an organization need to do to ensure smooth customer service in relations to issues they have raised through feedback brief meetings or internet feedback facilities? Channels of communications. Which media will be suitable for different target markets so that an organization can use to communicate the changes within the establishment? Risks. The risks involved would be scenarios where an organization has communicated and there are delays in relation to the time schedule thus the implementation plans stall. Measurement. An organization need to know that they have achieved their set objective. This can only be done through getting feedback through the customers and also the employees. Review. The review needs to be constant and will be achieved through analyzing the feedback received. (Robson, M. 1988) Organizational Barriers to Change There are various barriers to change in an organization level. These need to be addressed to allow smooth transition and reduce resistance from various players. They include; Bad Resource Allocation: This normally occurs when managers make wrong decisions in allocating money, time, staff, managers and machinery. Insufficient Communication: Communication should be open and transparent for both the organization and employees and organization and customers. Organizations that do not communicate change effective are destined for failure. Bad Leadership: Management has to appoint a well able manager to spear head the change process. When an organization has bad leadership this normally cause a lot of friction and might affect the whole process of customer service. Individuals Resisting Change There are various barriers to change at the individual level that need to be dealt with in order to implement change with less resistance. These include and are not limited to Fear: Change in an organization always brings uncertainties and fear among the employees. This normally brings a lot of discomfort and makes influence customer service in a negative way. Lack of Involvement in the Process: when employees are not involved in the process of change of customer service then they tend to resist change. This can cause failure in the whole process. All these issues or barriers can be dealt with by use of force field analysis. Force Field Analysis It deals with analyzing of forces working for and against change. It assesses the balance of power between the opposing forces. The future vision will be analyzed after planned changes are dealt with. Sources: www.acas.org.uk. How to manage change booklet  Then develop and change services to meet the long-term needs of the clients. The bottom line is that the relationship between the organization and the customers is the understanding of their needs. There are different factors that may affect the extent at which an organization can implement change in customer service (Lovelock & Young1979).The factors are; cost, attitudes of managers and staff, legal factors, timescale, vested interest (the stakeholders) and current practices ( that is, the current position and the past trends). Reflections Majority of the organizations have failed by ignoring internal cultural situation which is very important. Some organizations overlook this cultural situation and they concentrate on technological aspect and they have full confidence it will work because they are successful. Most organizations come up with plans to change various processes or services to suit their customer needs but they do not invest time to ensure that they are headed in the right directions. They are supposed get everyone views and address the issues and come up with a way forward that is supported by a majority. When organizations are restructuring they always reduce the number of employees, this is always a sure result of the whole exercise. Organization at least try and see if this would be the last option and always try and ensure that they let staff kept their jobs. Most organizations lose their corporate culture while they deal with change in customer service. This should not be the case because the corporate culture is what kept customers loyal to a particular brand and services. Conclusion and Recommendation When dealing with customer service and managing change within the organization it is important to involve all employees from all levels so that service process runs smoothly. This is can be implemented by having champions on particular areas of service or product production and delivery. According to Mills & Mober (1982) It is necessary that an organization conducts a SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis as a tool for testing out new ideas and problem solving. Or an organization can have a brainstorming session and bring out their view. Braining storming involves most members of staff and management in the decision making process. The team implementing the changes needs to be passionate and own the whole process of customer service delivery. This will ensure that the process is smooth and they will be a better position to address customer issues that will be raised because they we were there since inception of the change process. It is rather obvious that consumers want courteous, timely, competent treatment but this is subject to personal interpretation, regional and cultural alignment. So when an organization is trying to generalize certain perception on all their clients they need to remember that people have their own way of life. References List Blacker, F. and Shimmin, S. 1984. Applying Psychology in Organizations. Metheun, London. Holm-Öste, G., and Norling., M. 2008. Ericsson’s User Service Performance Framework, Ericsson Review, Issue no. 1 Implementing Change, change management (n.d.), Accessed on September 16, 2012 from http://www. solutions4training.com/32. Jones, G. 1987. Organization-client transactional and organizational governance structures. Academy of Management Journal, vol. 30, pp. 197-218. Kelley, S. 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