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The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers to the change management in the public sector of educational institutions such as public schools of the Ministry of Education in the GCC countries. The exploration of the research is based on the ADKAR change management model that consists of five key elements, which are awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement. The ADKAR model was used for many reasons, among these reasons is that it allows management to separate the change process into parts, pinpointing where change is failing and addressing that impact point.

Five public schools and employees from the educational directorate were taken as samples in this study. The unit of analysis was the employees, and data on these change drivers were collected from questionnaires and interviews.

The study findings were articulated through strengths and weaknesses. The strengths were the desire to change and networking. The weaknesses were the knowledge element such as the absence of predetermining guideline for the implementation of the system; another observed weakness was in the leader’s authority, where leaders do not have clear definition of authority and responsibility to take a decision; and finally the deficiency in performance appraisal for not being taken on regular basis and the rewarding system for not being linked to performance appraisal.

The information and feedback collected from the questionnaire may not represent all of the facts of the questionnaire subject; therefore, the researchers may have to use an unstructured interview to enhance the quality of information obtained. Due to the long bureaucratic procedures for issuance of permission from the higher research authorities (Scientific Research Directorate) to apply the questionnaire in the Ministry of Education, this took nearly three weeks, which was long considering the time available to end the research and resulted in a significant change in the project schedule.

This study provides an empirical evidence that gives a deep insight about the elements that act as barriers to change in the public sector of educational institutions, as there are certain elements that are tied to the nature and characteristics of the public sector itself that act as barriers to change.

Knowledge development is an essential part of the public sector development scheme. Effective training programs are the most important means to develop knowledge, considering that it has to be properly designed and delivered. Training programs should also be structured in a way that fills the knowledge gaps that exist between the present state and the future state. One useful technique for filling and assessing the gaps between the current state and future state requirements is by writing new job descriptions for employees, which should include details of knowledge and skills needed to perform that role during and after the transition.

The purpose of this study is to discover the factors related to human resource (HR) digital transformation (DT) in Bahrain during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to analyze the impact of e-human resource management (e-HRM) on organizational performance. These factors are funding, information technology (IT) infrastructure, technical support, digital skills or talents, organizational culture, employee resistance and top management support. These factors were tested to determine whether they affected HR DT in Bahrain during COVID-19. There are no findings in the researched literature regarding the proposed factors that affect HR DT in Bahrain during COVID-19 in this study.

For data collection, a quantitative method was applied by conducting an online survey and distributing it to HR executives and employees from multiple organizations in Bahrain, both in the private and public sectors.

This study proposes a DT adoption model based on seven factors extracted from the literature review. A questionnaire was deployed, and accurate data were collected, processed and then analyzed. The logit model shows determinants factor to the DT adoption where all variables have a positive effect.

Using technology in an organization’s HR practices, known as e-HRM or HR DT, is becoming more crucial since the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike European countries, the HR sector in Bahrain is not prepared to adopt the e-HRM process. This paper proposes a model that enables the HR sector to adopt digital technologies. This model is based on the key factors that enable an effective transition to the sector’s digitalization (e-HRM). Future research is sought to provide additional insights into the same factors and measure their effect on HR DT during COVID-19 in other countries.

The subject areas are entrepreneurship, start-up ventures and business strategy.

The case is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate MBA.

Shikhar Veer Singh (Singh), a post graduate in Medical Biotechnology, quit a cushy corporate job to start his own food venture WoknStove Foodworks Pvt. Ltd. (WSFL) in October 2015. WSFL sold the ubiquitous popular Indian snack food “Samosas” under the brand name of “Samosa Singh”. “Samosa” – a deep fried triangular in shape with conical edges crispy wrap with variety fillings of potatoes/vegetables – was part of unorganized sector and sold by small shops and road-side hawkers. Singh spotted an opportunity to “brand” the “Samosas” that as well was gaining momentum in the international convenience food markets. The company set up a central kitchen near Electronic city, Bangalore, and started experimenting with different fillings. In February 2016, WSFL opened its first quick service restaurant (QSR) in Electronic city, Bangalore. It was an instant hit with consumers of all age groups. Gradually, the company started supplying bulk orders to various other customer segments such as corporate customers, schools and movie theatres/event stalls, that resulted in revenue growth. By January 2017, his monthly annual revenues amounted to INR […] Singh had ambitious plans to expand his business from a single QSR to 15 QSRs across the city by 2018. However, to cater to the increasing demands and support his expansion plans, he was yet to find out the most suitable back-end processes. He had adopted few standard operating procedures (SOPs) for quality operations and implemented 30 per cent of automation for backend processes at his central kitchen. Singh was aware of the automated machinery available in international markets that had conveyor belt arrangements where one could place the flour dough and filling consecutively to get the end product in a shape, unlike the shape of the Indian “Samosas”. The triangular shape with conical edges of the Indian “Samosas” was of utmost importance for the Indian consumers, as the shape associated them with the favourite snack, the “Samosas”. Singh preferred the method of manual filling to maintain the shape and decided to focus on increasing the shelf life of the “Samosas” instead. He felt that an increased shelf life would better equip him to cater the increased market and seasonal demands. However, the question was that whether this was a feasible option to support his ambitious expansion plans (with only 30 per cent automation)? Was Singh’s thinking right with respect to the business operation? More importantly, whether WSFL venture would be able to make an attractive business proposition for investments from any future institutional/angel investor? Singh’s mood turned reflective as he pondered on the above questions.

The case is structured to discuss the structure of Indian QSR market and factors contributing to its growth, evaluate WSFL’s ability to leverage the Indian QSR market potential, its strengths and shortcomings, to highlight the steps of consumer decision making process in terms of selection of a QSR and discuss WSFL’s business model and its future sustainability.

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CSS 3: Entrepreneurship