Managing change in complex & large organizations - a study of Indian railways

Abstract

Change in today’s organizational context has become very much a part of life. The highly dynamic business environment, increasing competition, globalization and thus entry of many new and nimble footed organizations, increasing use of technology, growing consumer awareness and consequently expectations etc have lead to a situation where the organization lifespan is smaller. Adapt or get extinct is the new mantra. In such a situation it becomes imperative for organizations to not only adapt but pro-actively seek changes to gain and maintain competitive edge. But not all change initiatives are successful. McKinsey has reported that as many as two-third of all change initiatives to improve quality do not bring about the desired results1. In such an environment it is very important the initiative to bring about any change be well thought off, properly analyzed and carefully planned and coordinated. This becomes especially difficult to achieve with increasing organizational complexity. The more complex the organization undergoing the change, the more difficult it becomes to take the process to desired conclusion. Against this backdrop we plan to study the biggest employer of the world – The Indian Railways & how it has managed change in the last few years. How can a large and complex organization, in regulated or semi-regulated industries, strong unions and a history of difficult business climate negotiate change so convincingly and successfully? What are the important characteristics of these changes which were key to their success? What can be learnt for them and can these successes be replicated across other organization? There are definite learning has to be taken studied from such instances and the study proposes to do so and internalize the learning’s.