Change process in a forestry association : case Metsänhoitoyhdistys Etelä-Savo
Parkkinen, Pinja (2017)
Parkkinen, Pinja
Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017052710562
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017052710562
Tiivistelmä
Metsänhoitoyhdistys is a country-wide forestry management association consisting of associations and interest groups that provide help and information for private land and forest owners on issues regarding maintaining, buying or selling land and forest. The company went through a fusion in 2015 where four forestry associations, Haukivuori, Itä-Savo, Järvi-Savo and Metsä-Savo, merged into one new one called Etelä-Savo. Metsänhoitoyhdistys Etelä-Savo is the case company for this thesis.
The purpose of this thesis was to gather information about the successfulness of the change process during the fusion of the case company and use that information to provide the case company’s management with useful information that they can use when planning how to lead the organization and its employees in the future. In addition to studying the change process, this thesis will also walk through the aspect of leadership.
Primary data for this thesis was collected in two ways; by conducting a group interview with the management of the case company and by sending out a questionnaire to the employees of Metsänhoitoyhdistys Etelä-Savo. The data was treated as qualitative data and it was analyzed by categorizing, creating distributions, summarizing, finding similarities and differences as well as interpreting the answers.
The findings suggest that the biggest issue is the fact that the employees are spread on a vast region and they do not all know each other well enough to work in teams the best possible way. Other points that need to be paid more attention are allowing the employees to contribute more and ask for their opinions on specific matters, as well as to put more focus on the core business instead of placing emphasis on just profits. It was also mentioned that as the organization grew in size, it has also to some extent alienated from the customers.
Metsänhoitoyhdistys Etelä-Savo should invest in team activities that include members from all of the offices as well as to ponder how to learn better team working and dividing responsibilities. Focusing more on customer service can help the organization stay close to the forest owners and diminish the feeling of “profit only” thinking.
The purpose of this thesis was to gather information about the successfulness of the change process during the fusion of the case company and use that information to provide the case company’s management with useful information that they can use when planning how to lead the organization and its employees in the future. In addition to studying the change process, this thesis will also walk through the aspect of leadership.
Primary data for this thesis was collected in two ways; by conducting a group interview with the management of the case company and by sending out a questionnaire to the employees of Metsänhoitoyhdistys Etelä-Savo. The data was treated as qualitative data and it was analyzed by categorizing, creating distributions, summarizing, finding similarities and differences as well as interpreting the answers.
The findings suggest that the biggest issue is the fact that the employees are spread on a vast region and they do not all know each other well enough to work in teams the best possible way. Other points that need to be paid more attention are allowing the employees to contribute more and ask for their opinions on specific matters, as well as to put more focus on the core business instead of placing emphasis on just profits. It was also mentioned that as the organization grew in size, it has also to some extent alienated from the customers.
Metsänhoitoyhdistys Etelä-Savo should invest in team activities that include members from all of the offices as well as to ponder how to learn better team working and dividing responsibilities. Focusing more on customer service can help the organization stay close to the forest owners and diminish the feeling of “profit only” thinking.