Realigning strategy and culture in a context of major political change.
Capespan,
a South African-based business, was in the process of moving
from regulation to deregulation.
Increased competition and
a consolidation of retailers, along
with a major political change in South Africa, meant the company
would have to take a giant leap in competitiveness.
The business needed to change its strategy in
order to succeed so, with the help of Bath Consultancy Group,
the top 25 leaders
and board members undertook a Strategic Review.
The review led to a strategic change, which included a merger
with Unifruco and the creation of "Capespan" as
a brand. In order to reap benefits from the merger, the CEO
recognised
that there would need to be a programme of culture change throughout
the organisation.
The first step was to create a shift in the
thinking within the company, which had been owned by growers,
from being somewhat
parochial to truly global. Initially there was resistance to
this change - so Bath Consultancy Group worked in partnership
with HR to overcome this.
The people within the company needed to experience the "new
reality" in order to change so a change agent network
was created to work with teams at all levels. Events were held
to
shift people towards the new reality through an experiential
shift. A key technique was that they were taught to think like
a competitor.
As a result, Capespan stayed as No 1 exporter
of fruit in South Africa and held on to its market position
better than any other
regulated product business after deregulation. The company
became a global supplier with a total "fruit basket" concept
and the change happened more effectively and with greater speed
than it would otherwise have done.
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