Orbit Newspapers Go Digital

A case study on intervention styles

Orbit Newspapers Inc. based in Docklands, London, is a 110 year old print media company that publishes a popular tabloid newspaper Britain Today (Monday Friday) and Weekend Britain (Sunday). Orbit also publishes three magazines which it purchased from another company five years ago. The magazines are Homemakers Monthly; Outdoor Explorer and Celebrity Gossip!

The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange with the Fleming Family owning 61% of the shares and so control of the company. The company is heavily unionized and has a long history of industrial disputes between management and workers. There are two unions at Orbit; The National Union of Printers (NUP) and The British Reporters Association (BRA). NUP represents the Orbit employees who print the newspapers. This is a blue collar; semi-skilled occupation which is dirty and noisy work. BRA represents Orbits reporters and editorial staff who research and write stories for the newspapers and magazines.

94% of Orbits printers (862 people) are members of NUP and 72% (120 people) of Orbits reporters are members of BRA.

The unions and company management are often locked in bitter disputes over change that management tries to introduce to modernize the company and make it more efficient and competitive. Many disputes lead to strike action with both sides getting lawyers and fighting in court. These are costly and divisive and so trust between management and workers is very minimal. There is also a big divide between printers and reporters who do very different work in separate buildings. These unions think only of their own interests and do not care what the other is doing.

Because there are no friendly relations between management and the NUP, all communication is official and formal. Specially appointed senior union representatives meet with management at fortnightly planning meetings. Union representatives also serve on the companys committees. These representatives then hold meetings with union members and feedback information. Members tell the representatives what issues and questions they want raised on their behalf at future committee and management meetings. It can be a slow, frustrating communication method but it is the accepted procedure.

Orbit has had many failures trying to introduce change in the past. The company has tried to drive change from within using its own employees and has hired external change agents from management firms. Change has been poorly handled by managers who have previously dictated, demanded and forced change on workers. Managers have also tried to be secretive about change and quietly introduce change through the back door. There have been no collaborative change efforts with the workers because the powerful unions have tended to resist change on principle. Any change is seen by the workers as an attack on their rights and an effort by management to weaken their power.

Recently, the British Government passed The Foreign Media Ownership Law. This law allows foreign media companies to own and operate British media companies including radio, TV, internet and print media. Foreign companies can now buy or establish media companies in Britain. Many foreign media companies are expected to move into the lucrative British media industry.

Orbit recognizes that change is the only way to survive under the new law. If it fails to introduce change this time then the company will disappear. Probably a foreign media company would buy Orbit and merge it or break it up leading to big job losses. The Fleming Family is known to want to sell its shares in Orbit and other shareholders have been unhappy with poor returns over the past few years. Only dramatic change will turn the company around.

Orbit has identified that its technology is the main problem especially its out of date printing presses which are slow, costly to maintain and repair and take up too much room. New digital technologies in printing and newspaper preparation could save a lot of time and improve the quality of the finished product. Orbit wants to join the digital age. Previous attempts to change equipment and machinery have been blocked by the unions.

The change priorities Orbit has identified are:

Replace the old printing presses with cleaner, quicker printing machines using digital and computer technology. About 100 printer jobs would disappear and for those left behind it would mean a lot of retraining.

Introduce new digital technologies for the reporting and editorial staff to help in the design and organization of news stories and to facilitate communication between reporters out in the street and office based staff. This will involve the replacement of many processes and practices as well as the introduction of new technology.

Update internal communications processes and tools to better encourage and improve communication between all employees. This will mean new technologies including social media will be introduced. It will also mean breaking down barriers between the two unions and between the unions and management to build trust and cooperation.

Question

Which of the 5 Intervention styles would you recommend an external change agent adopt to bring about change at Orbit Newspapers? You must evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of EACH style as it applies to the case study.