Comments
Change is the only constant in life and it is all the more true of industry, said Mr S.V. Praveen, Director (Operations), LG Polymers.
A sustainable change management strategy is the essence, he said while delivering a guest lecture at the Maharajah PG College here. The event was organised by Business Line Club and sponsored by Tata Photon Plus.
Mr Praveen said three components of change management were crucial for any industry — identifying the needs of customers before competitors, fast implementation of a formulated strategy with the available resources, and real-time monitoring. “If the industry fails on any of the three counts, it will lag behind. Competitors will overtake it. The case for change management cannot be overstated in our changing and difficult times,” he told the management students. He cited the example of how McCain, a company selling frozen potato products, mainly chips, changed its product to suit the times and the needs of customers.
The customers were worried over obesity, particularly among children, and the consequent health hazards. The company modified the product by reducing the salt content and oil and started using specially selected potatoes. The company carried out an extensive advertising campaign to stress the nutritional value of the chips and regained customer acceptance.
Improvements in food technology also helped the company address some of the problems. It could successfully overcome the problems, he said. He also narrated some of his experiences in his company, LG Polymers, regarding change management.
Education — not coercion — should be the tool employed by the management. “Naturally, there will be resistance from a section of the employees at least to many of the changes sought to be introduced by the management. But they can be persuaded over a period of time. It can be time-consuming but not impossible,” he remarked.
Mr A. Seshagiri Rao, Deputy Regional Manager of The Hindu , Vizag, welcomed the gathering. Mr K. Hanumanta Rao, Director of the institute, also spoke.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.