Introduction
The rise of Covid-9 has rapidly changed the way for business organizations to process their
operations into a more efficient manner. Certain norms and protocols set forth by the
government of Australia have significantly advocated a massive change within every factor
of business. Symptoms of pandemic occur in an interval of every 10-15 years and incur
catastrophic changes in the world filled with ventures (Spinelli and Pellino, 2020). The
research addresses the massive amendments within communication, leadership, operations
and policies business firms took up to uphold a barrier into the spread of the virus and as to
how these changes have been implemented into the business. The data infused into the
research has mostly been framed through secondary data collection method and quantitative
analysis from accolade business journals and articles. At the first instance, the report displays
the various norms and protocols set by the Australian government to conduct business
operations after the massive rise of the pandemic. The research then follows the certain
changes that business needed to induce within its operations such as communicational,
leadership factors and stakeholder operations to advocate a stiff barrier against the spread of
the virus. The report displays organizational policies, environmental factors, leadership
models and communication practices that can result in formulating hurdles against
implementing these changes. Lastly, the research sets forth factors to endeavour these
hurdles.
Discussion
Records suggest that the death toll in Australia has risen to 907 with 27,622 total Covid-19
cases (Australian Government department of health, 2020). With the rising number of
patient’s the government of Australia has set forth certain measures and policies for business
to carry forth their operations even during the time of the pandemic. Prime Minister Scott
Morrison advocated that business should implement factors such as 100 people for non-
essential indoor gatherings and a maximum of 500 people for outdoor gatherings. Besides
these there have been other suitable measures induced within business operations by the
government such as a high number of employees can be at paid leave due to the risk of the
virus, daily hygiene work should be taken place both indoor and outdoor, physical distancing
during operations and assuring proper screening of daily workers and lastly contact tracing
with providing workers with personal protective equipment’s (Safe work Australia, 2020).
Indeed these compacted measures are thoroughly applicable to demean the spread of the virus
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but at the same instance business practices in Australia has widely changed their functioning
to adapt to these changes. Functioning while implementing these, applicable measures have
been quite hard as because adapting to changes requires more efficiency than to function with
the changes. In the opinion of Bateh, Castaneda and Farah (2013), a constant resistance by
the stakeholders of any corporate is one of the most acknowledged factors that has been
withstanding while implementing a positive attitude towards rapid changes within the
business. Thus assuring certain modifications within a business to maintain smooth
operations overall advocating the protocols, set forth by the government has been highly
strenuous.
The major changes in business
With the rising set of new reforms within business operations by the government supplies and
customer relationship has been widely affected. Researches assured that around 32% of
business in Australia had reduced cash flow and supply during the era of the pandemic.
Limited staff have been able to operate due to the marinating of social distancing procedures
as well as a reduced workforce. Into this varied situation, certain systematic changes had to
be implemented to assure the handful number of operations systematically takes place.
Technology is one of the most predominant factors that help in organizing systematic
functioning with reduced human behaviour applying a gap towards intimacy (Chui, Manyika
and Miremadi, 2018). One of the most applicable changes that need to be assured to raise
from the vandalism of Covid-19 is to access more of technology and less of globalization.
With efficient technology such as Artificial Intelligence, there would be less requirement of a
stimulus workforce and thus reduce human interferences within the corporate. This too will
also assure affirm social distancing among the limited workforce and thus intensify hygiene
protocols. A benefit of utilizing AI would be the use of less physical ability to determine
functionality error. Research by Akerkar (2019), claimed that the lack of knowledge emerged
due to human error can well be encountered by AI due to its cognitive augmentation which
assures an error proofed operational procedure. Thus implementing AI would ascertain a
reduction into the rate of affected supplies and customer relationship and uphold efficient
operations. Another factor to uphold business operations with limited staff would be to keep
investments lower and focus upon high impacted marketing. High impacted marketing
intensifies to develop business on a low scale targeted towards a limited audience on a low
budget (Wilden and Gudergan, 2015). Such marketing tactics could be achieved by
developing multiple roles for the limited workforce with an increased pay scale. This will
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lead to assure a systematic grip upon the operations of countable employees with better-
synchronized operations. High impacted marketing could also be achieved by inducing smart
means of operation. Every employee within the production firm would be assisted with
virtual doppelgangers- virtual counterpart or automated software to design operations. This
will lead towards the raising of more controlled and designed functionalities as well as persist
efficient operations even with limited staff. In a statement provided by Hanssens and Pauwels
(2016), impactful marketing is a way ahead into addressing the personalization of consumers.
Customer personalization acclaims developing a narrow focus specifically on the wants and
the needs of every customer individually. Applying VR technologies on business outlets will
help find customers what they want in an instance by reading analytics or past retail history.
VR will help in emerging a real-time shopping experience and an interactive 3D environment
for customers with limited physical care required. There is also a chance that virtual reality
will help to modify the training process for employees to carry forth operations with limited
backup. VR technologies are essential into increasing confidence among employees and
developing retention process for corporates into upheaving modulated business proceedings
(Jung, 2019). The limited workforce will be trained into managing frozen sections and
shopping events so as work is done with less backup is efficient and progressive. With less
physical workers, there would be adequate maintenance of physical distancing. Business
during the time of pandemic should also assure changes within its sustainability practices. To
degrade the spread of Covid-19 among the limited staff equipment tools such as mask, pocket
sanitizers and face shield is to be provided to every employee. Regular body temperature
screening before entering into business premises is also among applicable changes into
sustainability practices of any business.
Communication practices leading to rapid changes
All these rapid changes require a developed communicational strategy and a sound leadership
attribute to convey an efficient change management proceeding. Change management
procedures collectively acknowledge rapid changes with developing resistance so as every
variable within a business is dealt with significantly (Obidallah, Raahemi and Alaieri, 2014).
An outgrowth into communicational strategies will lead to the development of rapid changes
within the business as well as manage resistance to operation through a more calculated
manner. Firstly displaying the stakeholders to the need for change is a better applicable
strategy for every stakeholder to adopt the changes. Visualizing the purpose for the changes
as well as key requirements for the changes to the stakeholders will make them better
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understand the need for such rapid changes. Displaying the environmental scenario of the
business during the time of the pandemic and engaging a two-way communication with the
internal stakeholders will lead into framing every employee the urgent necessity for change
and systematic approaches to incorporate it. In the opinion of Woods, Morrison and
Palincsar (2018), stakeholders will be more approachable into acquitting with changes when
operational problems are discussed widely and evaluating humour in every solution is done
through social interactions. Communication becomes lewd when changes are dealt through a
wide outlook resulting in a raise of supportive collaboration. Every change should be
communicated collaboratively with the stakeholders so as they focus more on the values of
the business and accept future initiatives without resistance. Formalizing the flow of every
type of information will help to make the communication process for the change easier and
applicable. Researches by Lewis and Sahay (2019), assured that formalizing the flow of
information helps to raise collaborative operation of stakeholders into addressing changes
within the business which otherwise could not have been gettable with stimulation or
computer-generated knowledge. Proving sound information about future operations of the
corporate will help stakeholders realise the aim and objectives of business operations and
thus ascertain them with the exact need and the applicable hour to resonate change.
Leadership models
Besides these communicational strategies, there is also leadership attributes, which are
required to encounter and manage these changes along with the resistance. To handle change
management efficiently leaders are firmly required to applaud the confidence of the team and
the other employees within the business. A firm leader assures into motivating the
stakeholders on their integrated performance thus accelerating employee stability into
accepting changes. Leadership during a change management process applies to the
corporate’s ability into addressing challenging goals and outstretched objectives while
making impulsive and reluctant decisions framing better strategies for business growth (Van
der Voet, 2014). Working with rapid changes in technology, limited physical backup and
assured modifications into operations requires sharp training and optimized knowledge into
handling business apparatus. Better leadership sets forth an example themselves towards
displaying easiest means into acquitting with rapid changes. To implement effective change
leaders need to directly deal with resistance. This can be sort through a process of eliminating
inefficient employees and upbringing the limited ones with more efficiency. Resistance
directly formulates serious hurdles on productivity and operational engagement. Besides
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these leaders can also applaud changes within the system by minutely sharing the vision, goal
and future objectives of the corporate thus creating clear clarity and alignment towards
specific business needs. To drive forth the change management process leadership should be
more of team-oriented than of democratic or authoritative. Research by Daft (2014), assured
that a team-oriented leadership compels into building up of an efficient team implementing
greater goals and purpose to accelerate operations. With the rise of the pandemic, the
business has already been heavily affected and thus an authoritative or democratic leadership
might hinder the process of change management. Team-oriented leadership on the other hand
will be more efficient as because a team-oriented leader understands the capabilities and
effectiveness of their team more efficiently than a democratic or authoritative one.
Organizational policies
For inducing these rapid changes within business operations such as amending the
technological framework as well as applying the limited workforce with more regulation into
operations there are certain environmental factors, organizational policies and leadership
models that can drive or hinder the objectives of the change management process. In has been
argued by Kuipers et al. (2014), that every change management process within business
functioning is moulded reading assessments, communicational planning, organizational
policies towards training and development as well as leadership skills which wholly
comprises into framing the strength of the internal stakeholders of any corporate. To
encounter this time of crisis where the business has been widely affected by both suppliers
and customer range summoning to a shift in organizational policies will drive the necessity
for the proposed changes. To encounter the situation of pandemic organizations with less
modified protocols should formulate systematic culture to adopt compelled protocols. As a
limited workforce has abided the sharp rise in technology such as the VR and AI modified
software, thus organizations during recruitment should hire prominent candidates with a
background in technology. This will lead to an accelerating rise in technological outgrowth as
well as perform an efficient task with a limited workforce. Sound resistance is hard to deal
with and thus in the time of the pandemic where the business has been wide, affected
organizations should formulate policies into expelling inefficient and resistant employees
thus giving space for the efficient ones. Policies of the organization should also include
health and safety norms where it should be made mandatory for employees to wear masks
and provide proper screening before continuing operations. This will help in abiding safety of
the workforce.
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Environmental factors
The changes proposed would be of no valiant if organizations do not opt for environmental
factors. Pollutants in the air increase the flow of Covid-19 and thus might hamper the change
management process by affecting the limited workforce. An increase rise of Carbon Dioxide
through the business operations of the corporate might demean the change management
process and to encounter it corporates should abide by no-smoking policies during business
hours as well as assure a systematic rise in environmental up-gradation by implementing a cut
on transport fuels and demobilize productions leading to huge rise of CO 2 . Hygiene factors
such as sanitizing business outlets and apparatus should also be maintained for accelerating
the change management process reducing the risk for the spread of Covid-19.
Conclusion
The research report widely confirms of numerous factors require to handle the change
management process within business operations during the time of the pandemic advocating
government protocols. The research highlights the changes business can hereby affirm to
upheave from the effects in supplies, customer relationship and staff quantity induced due to
the government protocols. The report clear communicates about the changes within
leadership, communication, organizational policies and environmental factors that need to be
adopted by business outlets to confirm a systematic change management process.
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