Assessment Task: Time Constrained Case Study

Case Study: Ecology Matters

Having 10 years management experience in a corporate environment, John Kahui started Ecology Matters a few years ago to provide a range of services to protect and enhance the natural environment of New Zealand. One function of the organisation is to improve the cleanliness of forests, beaches, rivers and lakes. Another is to conduct environmental audits for companies. And help them comply with ISO 1400, an international set of environmental standards. The organization also has an open-ended agenda, taking on different projects such as lobbying local, regional and national government agencies, writing research reports or environmental guidelines and addressing school and youth groups.

The organisation was funded mostly through a sizeable inheritance that John had received, as well as donations from individuals and companies that John had approached. Most of the current donors are also members of the organisation who pay a small annual membership fee. It was formally incorporated as a non-profit organisation. It has never made a profit and has therefore not paid income tax. The paid staff consist of John Kahui as general manager, an accountant, an office administrator and an engineer with a master's degree in environmental science. A number of volunteers have also assisted various projects on request; for example, getting involved in cleaning up beaches and forests. One of the volunteers had also been given the responsibility for contacting other volunteers and organising activities and transport. There is a small board of directors consisting of a professor of sustainability (the chairperson), a retired accountant (the treasurer) and John Kahui (the general manager).

A number of issues have arisen that have led John to consider making some changes.

Firstly, the organisation's funds have been seriously depleted, with too little revenue from the environmental audit section and a declining number of donations. In addition, a number of individuals and companies have indicated that they are unwilling to donate as Ecology Matters is not registered with the Charities Commission. This means that donors cannot claim tax rebates from the Internal Revenue Department. Applying for charitable status will require a considerable amount of work to prepare the necessary documentation, including writing a new constitution and abiding by other required guidelines. John believes that this should be the responsibility of the organisation's accountant, working with the specialists in the governance of non-profit organisations.

Secondly, problems have occurred with some of the projects that use volunteers. For example, two volunteers on a community project to tidy up one of the beaches west of Auckland, have recently complained to John that the person who supervised them (the volunteer coordinator) had not bothered to thank them for their effort, had left the beach early when her son phoned her, and left them to catch the bus back to Auckland alone. They said that this was the last time they would do voluntary work for Ecology Matters. When asked about it, the coordinator told John that her son had had an accident at home and she had to leave immediately. She also informed John on several occasions that contacting volunteers is time-consuming and that it is difficult to find enough people. In addition, those who had agreed to help on a project often did not show up. She is usually very competent but appears to John to be too autocratic in making decisions and too patronising when dealing with her staff and volunteers. Her husband is one of Ecology Matters' founding members and regularly donates sizeable amounts.

Thirdly, other organisations involved in environmental protection have complained that Ecology Matters often works at cross-purposes to them, or does very similar work to what they do. One person indicated that some if their regular donors, volunteers and client organisations, have also been approached by Ecology Matters. At a recent conference of non-governmental organisations, this person made a presentation where she indirectly accused Ecology Matters of operating in ways that were not in the interests of collaborative approaches to support environmental issues.

Fourthly, the competent office administrator, who is responsible for maintaining the website, has little skill in such matters. Therefore the website is outdated and unappealing. Suggestions about the use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have never been actioned.

Finally, John has also been thinking about expanding the organisation's main revenue-generating activity-consulting-by forming a separate profit-making company. John feels that the engineer they currently employ does not have the requisite managerial skills to head this new organisation, and would prefer to take on this role himself. He thinks, too, that the new organisation should also raise extra capital, take additional staff and move to different premises.

Questions

Assume that you are a consultant engaged by John to advise him on how to manage these possible changes. (Each question is of equal value).

1. Making reference to the relevant change literature/theories, identify the forces driving and restraining current and potential changes

2. Using Lewins' Change Model, analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the different courses of action John could take acting as a Change Agent

3. Comment on who might support or resist the changes and why and explain how John could engage their support or deal with their resistance

4. Apply an action research approach with which to diagnose the need for change, introduce interventions, evaluate the results and stabilise changes.