Introduction
Business leaders need to implement new changes depending on the existing challenges and the targeted objectives. The involvement of all key stakeholders is an evidence-based practice that can reduce the level of resistance. Managers should promote customized change processes depending on the current situation of an organization and the anticipated goals. From April 207, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) merged with the First Gulf Bank (FGB) and adopted the name the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FADB). This paper gives a detailed analysis and description of this change process.
Brief Organization’s Summary
NBAD used to be one of the leading banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and across the Middle East. It has been in operation since 1968 and used to have its headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The company’s majority shares belong to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) at around 70.5 percent (National Bank of Abu Dhabi, n.d.). It operates in various countries across the region, including Sudan, Egypt, Kuwait, and Oman (Haddad, 2017). It also meets the demands of its customers in different parts of the world, such as Paris, London, Geneva, and Washington DC.
In terms of culture, the company has been promoting a honest, transparent, and timely approach to the services available to the customers. The leaders focus on the best strategies to transform the existing business model depending on the needs of the customers. This bank operates in the Middle East banking industry. It provides various services and products that are customized depending on the expectations f the clients (National Bank of Abu Dhabi, n.d.). For example, it provides saving platforms, loans, and financial advice to the targeted customers. The current business model also allows the company to provide money transfer and mortgage services to different clients.
Need for Change
From 2017, the key stakeholders at NBAD and the FGB considered a new merger that would result in a big bank that would compete effectively in the region, attract more customers, and improve performance. The leaders wanted to overcome some of the issues experienced in the sector, such as increased competition and demand for quality services and products (Haddad, 2017). The merger would require an organizational change process that would support the integration of the available assets, the pooling of human resources (HR), and the reduction of possible objection (Haddad, 2017). The involvement of the leaders and HR professionals from the two banks would support the entire process and eventually deliver timely results.
Present State vs. Desired Future State
After the successful implementation of the merger process, the organizational leaders realized that the emerging cultural attributes and structures could affect the overall performance of the new entity, FADB. This new development meant that the workers from the two independent banks could have unique cultures and attributes that were capable of disorienting FADB’s objectives (Haddad, 2017). The desired outcome was a new organization that promoted a seamless and admirable model capable of delivering sustainable business results. This gap explains why the leaders focused on the most appropriate strategy to introduce change and focus on the best outcomes.
Need for Change: Source
The need for change was strong since there was a need for the leaders to create a better environment whereby the workers could work together and focus on the best initiatives. Failure to consider such a process would disorient the nature of operations and affect the new bank’s performance (Tanno & Banner, 2018). As indicated earlier, the completed merger process between NBAD and the FGB became the source for the new transformation. The effective management of the process would minimize the level of resistance and ensure that most of the stakeholders focused on the best outcomes.
External Aspect
The intended change was external to NBAD due to a number of reasons. First, the company had to consider the cultural practices and ideas that the leaders at FGB had promoted over the decades. Second, the organization was required to consider some of the emerging trends in the business environment and incorporate them to support the merger process (Tanno & Banner, 2018). Third, the company’s managers had to borrow new ideas from the processes and aspects recorded in the wider Middle East region. Such considerations would process the change initiative and deliver positive results.
Failure to Implement the Change
The identified change was critical to support the completion of the merger process and make it possible for the two firms to achieve their common business aims. Failure to consider such an initiative could have negative impacts on the organization within the next 2-6 years (Haddad, 2017). For instance, the decision would result in a complicated culture, thereby discouraging most of the workers from engaging in activities that could support organizational performance. The move could also be characterized by conflicts and increased resistance to change. Such occurrences can have negative impacts on the new company and make it impossible for the workers to complete their goals diligently. Additionally, the emerging challenges could make it impossible for most of the customers to receive high-quality services. Such issues explain why the leaders involved in such a process decided to take the issue of change seriously.
Change Process
The targeted merger created a new opportunity for a change that would support the company and take it closer to its goals. The leaders relied on an effective framework to launch and sustain the entire process. The first phase entailed the presentation of new guidelines and ideas to support the need for change and explain to the workers why the organization required a new culture (Umbeck & Bron, 2017). The professionals encouraged the stakeholders to present their options and views to achieve the intended aims. The acquired insights were taken into consideration to support the implementation process and solve most of the emerging challenges.
The professionals went further to introduce a new culture that resonated with the expectations of all employees and expectations of the identified customers. The HR department remained involved throughout the implementation process to address the recorded challenges. The company redesigned the units and sections to ensure that all participants were supportive of the change. Since the change is still ongoing, it is agreeable that the initiative has been largely successful (Northouse, 2018). The leaders expect that the organization will achieve the intended organizational aims in the long run. A new cloture has emerged whereby the workers at FADB can collaborate, solve their common problems, and consider new ways of achieving the outlined goals.
Readiness for Change: Suggestions
The class materials have offered powerful ideas for studying companies and identifying their readiness for change. The introduction and success of the merger process presented new opportunities for supporting additional transformations (Harrison et al., 2015). Most of the leaders were involved and willing to consider new strategies to take organizational culture to the next level. They merged the original operations and procedures of the two banks to form a seamless model that could deliver timely results. Such aspects reveal that FADB has put in place the right resources and initiatives in readiness for the new change.
The analyzed case has revealed that the involved stakeholders applied their competencies to support the delivery of positive results. The leaders considered the existing situation and applied additional frameworks to take the organization to the next level. Since the company was ready for change, a superior approach could have worked effectively to deliver a more successful process (Cummings et al., 2016). For instance, the managers should have applied Kurt Lewin’s theory of change to achieve the intended aims. Such a model would have guided more partners to be part of the process and identify some of the gaps that could have affected the entire process (Hussain et al., 2018). The three phases of unfreezing-changing-refreezing would have resulted in a superior culture and minimised the level of resistance. The inclusion of such attributes to complete the change process will take FADB closer to its business goals.
Conclusion
The above discussion has identified FADB as a new bank that resulted from the successful merger between NBAD and the FGB. The leaders realized that a new change process was needed to meet the demands of the stakeholders and improve organizational performance. The professionals collaborated, provided the relevant resources, and made timely decisions to deliver positive results. The presented recommendations could have sustained the entire process and supported the realization of additional gains.
References
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Haddad, S. (2017). UAE: First Abu Dhabi Bank name change approved by shareholders. RFI Group.
Harrison, J. S., Freeman, R. E., & de Abreu, M. C. (2015). Stakeholder theory as an ethical approach to effective management: Applying the theory to multiple contexts. Revista Brasileira de Gestão de Negócios, 17(55), 858-869.
Hussain, S. T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M. J., Hussain, S. H., & Ali, M. (2018). Kurt Lewin’s change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(3), 123-127.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi. (n.d.). Arabian Business.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership theory and practice (8th ed). Sage.
Tanno, J. P., & Banner, D. K. (2018). Servant leaders as change agents. Journal of Social Change, 10(1), 1-8.
Umbeck, T., & Bron, A. (2017). Change management in merger integration. Bain & Company.