TLI7205 - Twitter's Strategic Change Leadership with Digital Ages Assessment Answer

Executive Summary

This report has represented the case of strategic change leadership of the organization, Twitter, where strategic leadership management analysis of this organization has been done in the context of digital transformation and innovation. In addition, this report has described the recent issues that the leadership of this organization has faced, along with the organization’s strategic response to the challenges of digital transformation and innovation. Moreover, this report has critically analyzed how technology-driven disruption and innovation have shifted the paradigms of the leadership of this organization, along with an evaluation of the change management approach that the company uses to drive behavioral change.

Introduction

The process of leading and managing organizational change in a strategic and efficient way is referred to as strategic change leadership management. This entails determining the need for change, creating a concise vision and strategy, informing stakeholders, and implementing the change with the least amount of disturbance to the organization as possible (Samimi et al. 2022). A strategic change leader's responsibility is to lead the organization through the change process and make sure that it is in line with the organization's overarching strategic objectives. Strategic change leadership management acquires a new level of significance in the era of digital transformation and innovation in businesses (Purwanto 2021). Companies must manage the organizational changes brought on by their efforts to adopt new technology, use data analytics, and enhance their digital capabilities. A strategic change management approach that prioritizes matching the organization's objectives with its digital activities is necessary for digital transformation (Hanelt et al. 2021). This report aims at analyzing the strategic leadership management of the organization, Twitter in the context of digital transformation and innovation. The recent problems that Twitter's leadership had to deal with are discussed in the following paragraphs, along with the company's strategic reaction to the problems posed by digital transformation and innovation. Additionally, this research will evaluate the change management strategy that the corporation uses to promote behavioral change and critically analyze how technology-driven disruption and innovation have altered the paradigms of this organization's leadership.

Strategic Leadership Change Management in the Context of Digital Transformation and Innovation

Company Background: Twitter

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging platform available in the United States that enables users to post and engage with messages, known as "tweets," that are each only allowed to be 280 characters long (Twitter, 2023). Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams launched the business in March 2006; and its headquarters are in California. Currently, Twitter has more than 330 million monthly active users, making it one of the largest social media networks in the world (Twitter, 2023). The business operates on a global scale and depends on advertising revenue. Twitter has had a number of changes in terms of strategic leadership and management throughout the years. A mix of accomplishments and setbacks has characterized Twitter's strategic leadership and management as the business has navigated a rapidly evolving social media landscape while also coming under growing scrutiny for its content moderation rules and practices.

Recent challenges faced by the leadership of Twitter due to digital transformation and innovation

This section discusses the difficulties facing the company's leadership as a result of the enormous innovation and transformation that Twitter has undergone recently. The company's executives have had to deal with a user behavior landscape that is fast evolving, as well as advances in technology, altering regulations, and changing societal expectations.

Misinformation and Disinformation

The leadership of Twitter in terms of digital transformation and innovation is significantly challenged by misinformation and deception. Conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and fake news have become widely circulated as a result of how simple it is to spread false or misleading information on social media platforms, including Twitter (Hajli et al. 2022). These false reports can have serious real-world repercussions, including undermining public trust, stoking political tensions, and even inciting violence. The management of Twitter faces a lot of difficulties in battling false and misleading material on its site. The enormous amount of content that is shared on Twitter every day presents one of the largest obstacles, making it difficult to find and delete any instances of inaccurate or misleading information (Zhang and Ghorbani 2020). Additionally, it can be difficult to create and maintain efficient content moderation procedures because there is frequently a thin line between free expression and damaging misinformation.

User Safety and Harassment

Significant obstacles to digital transformation and innovation face Twitter's leadership in terms of user safety and abuse. A user's mental health and well-being may be significantly impacted by abusive behavior, hate speech, and other forms of harassment on social media platforms like Twitter because of their anonymity and wide user bases (Li et al. 2021). The management of Twitter faces many difficulties in managing user safety and harassment on its site. Finding a balance between safeguarding users from abuse and preserving their right to free speech is one of the major issues (Ozalp et al. 2020). Additionally, it is challenging to keep track of and eliminate all instances of abusive behavior due to the size of Twitter's user base.

Monetization and Revenue Growth

The leadership of Twitter faces a huge hurdle in terms of digital transformation and innovation: monetization and revenue growth. Despite having a sizable user base and substantial influence, Twitter has had trouble generating long-term revenue sources and turning a profit (Martínez-López et al. 2022). The fierce competition in the Internet advertising business is one of the major obstacles to Twitter's ability to monetize. Additionally, Twitter's ad targeting options and measurement tools are sometimes viewed as less sophisticated than those of its rivals, which can make it challenging for the business to draw in advertisers (Zhang et al. 2023).

Regulatory and Legal Challenges

Twitter's leadership in terms of digital transformation and innovation faces substantial regulatory and legal challenges. Twitter is governed by a complicated network of laws and regulations as a social media platform that covers everything from data privacy and user safety to free speech and content control (Preston 2022). Complying with a patchwork of international and national rules and regulations, whose breadth and enforcement can vary greatly, is one of Twitter's toughest hurdles. For Twitter's leadership, this may present substantial legal and practical difficulties, especially when new laws are passed and existing ones are revised to reflect the rapidly evolving digital environment.

Additionally, lawmakers, regulators, and advocacy organizations have increased their scrutiny of Twitter's content moderation policies and procedures. Twitter's leadership must negotiate this complex landscape while simultaneously adhering to regulatory requirements and meeting stakeholder expectations (Napoli 2019). Balancing free speech with the need to protect users from harmful or unlawful information is a tough balance.

A Strategic Response to the Challenges of Digital Transformation and Innovation

In terms of the above-discussed challenges of digital transformation and innovation, a strategic response of the company’s leadership is analyzed in terms of the below-discussed aspects.

A Strategic Response to the Challenge of Misinformation and Disinformation

Twitter's leadership has concentrated on investing in technology like machine learning and natural language processing to help detect and flag potentially harmful content in order to address the difficulty of misinformation and disinformation. As part of the new regulations and guidelines for content moderation, tweets that contain inaccurate or misleading information concerning elections, public health, or other crucial problems will be removed (Shu et al. 2020). To counteract the dissemination of false information and disinformation on Twitter and other social media platforms, there is still much work to be done. To remain ahead of the continuously developing strategies employed by people who aim to disseminate false or misleading material online, Twitter's leadership must continue to innovate and invest in new technology and rules.

A Strategic Response to the Challenge of User Safety and Harassment

The management of Twitter has made investments in technology like machine learning and artificial intelligence to help find and remove abusive content in order to address this issue (Suzor et al. 2019). Additionally, they have adopted new rules and regulations for content management, such as banning hate speech and deactivating abusive accounts. To secure user safety and stop harassment on Twitter and other social media platforms, however, there is still much work to be done. To protect users from abuse and guarantee that the platform continues to be a place for healthy, polite discourse, Twitter's leadership must continue to innovate and invest in new technology and regulations (Suzor et al. 2019). In order to create efficient solutions that advance user safety while safeguarding free speech, necessitates continual engagement with users, experts, and stakeholders.

A Strategic Response to the Challenge of Monetization and Revenue Growth

Twitter's executive team has made investments in new targeting tools and ad formats like promoted tweets, sponsored content, and programmatic advertising to solve this issue (Martínez-López et al. 2022). Additionally, they have concentrated on enhancing their data analytics skills to comprehend user behavior and preferences better, which can help increase the relevancy and efficiency of advertisements (Martínez-López et al. 2022). In order to promote growth, Twitter has also looked at new sources of income like subscriptions and e-commerce, as well as joint ventures and collaborations with other businesses. To guarantee Twitter's long-term revenue growth, there is still considerable work to be done. To attract and keep advertisers, Twitter's leadership must continue to invest in cutting-edge technologies and business models while also looking into alternative revenue sources. Finding new prospects and revenue streams that can support the company's long-term growth and profitability calls for continuous experimentation and engagement with partners and stakeholders (Martínez-López et al. 2022).

A Strategic Response to the Regulatory and Legal Challenges

The management of Twitter has made investments in legal and regulatory compliance programs, including the hiring of specialized legal and compliance teams, to address this issue (Napoli 2019). In order to influence the regulatory environment and make sure that Twitter's perspective is heard in current discussions regarding digital legislation, they have also attempted to interact with stakeholders and policymakers (Napoli 2019). There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the complex and ever-evolving regulatory and legal issues Twitter is facing. The leadership of Twitter must continue to track and adjust to shifting legal and regulatory obligations while juggling other priorities.

Linkages with the Change Management Thoeries

The difficulties that Twitter's leadership experienced in addressing the issues outlined above are related to a number of change management theories:

Lewin's Change Management Model

This model places a strong emphasis on the necessity of unfreezing the present state, implementing the change, and then refreezing the new state (Hamdo 2021). In the instance of Twitter, this entails unfreezing current procedures and guidelines on concerns like user protection or revenue generation, making the necessary adjustments to address the problems, and then refreezing fresh guidelines and procedures that support the intended effects.

ADKAR Model

This concept, known as the ADKAR framework, focuses on five essential components of change: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement (Hamdo 2021). The leadership of Twitter made use of this model to comprehend the various phases of change that customers, staff members, and other stakeholders might experience in reaction to policy or practice modifications.

Kotter Change Model

This model focuses on how crucial it is to instill a feeling of urgency, form a coalition, and articulate a clear vision for change (Harrison et al. 2021). The leadership of Twitter employs this technique to garner support for the adjustments required to handle issues like false information, harassment, or legal compliance.

Critical Analysis of how Technology-Driven Disruption and Innovation have Shifted the Paradigms of the Leadership of Twitter

The proliferation of mobile devices has been one of the biggest technological upheavals Twitter has experienced. The majority of people now access the internet using mobile phones and tablets, which has had a significant impact on how people use social media (Diefenbach 2022). As a result, Twitter had to revamp its platform to be more mobile-friendly, add features like the ability to submit photographs and videos and enhance the mobile user experience. Twitter unfroze its current approach to the platform and adjusted its focus to become more mobile-friendly, adjusting to the shifting social media landscape. This shift in attention toward mobile devices is analyzed using Lewin's Change Management Model, which is defined in the above section of this report (Hamdo 2021).

The development of artificial intelligence and machine learning is another big technical disruption that Twitter has seen. Twitter has been able to enhance its recommendation algorithms and personalize user experiences thanks to these technologies. Machine learning has also been utilized by Twitter to identify and eliminate spam, abuse, and bogus accounts (Obuba 2022). The eight steps of Kotter's change model, as previously defined, can be used to analyze this move toward AI and machine learning (Harrison et al. 2021). Twitter has developed a strong coalition of data scientists and engineers, produced a vision for how AI and machine learning can be used to improve the user experience, and created urgency around the need to improve its recommendation algorithms and detect and eliminate spam and abuse (Obuba 2022). In addition, Twitter has communicated its goals to its employees and encouraged them to take action, leading to short-term successes like better recommendation algorithms and spam detection (Obuba 2022). These achievements are currently being consolidated by Twitter by continuing to invest in AI and machine learning and anchoring these new approaches in its organizational culture.

Overall, in terms of strategic change management theories and frameworks, technology-driven disruption and innovation have changed Twitter's leadership paradigms. The business had to rebuild its platform, make it more mobile-friendly, and utilize AI and machine learning to enhance its recommendation algorithms and find and eliminate spam and abuse in order to respond to changes in the mobile market. Lewin's Change Management Model and Kotter's Eight-Step Change Model can be used to analyze how Twitter has responded to these changes. These models show how the company has unfrozen its current social media strategy, changed its focus to accommodate new technologies, and then consolidated these gains by enshrining new approaches in its organizational culture.

Evaluation of the change management approach that Twitter uses to drive behavioral change

Over the years, Twitter has used a number of change management techniques to encourage users and employees to adopt new behaviors.

In general, the leadership team's ability to implement a change management strategy well and how well it corresponds with the organization's strategic goals determine a change management approach's effectiveness (Jhaver et al. 2021). A strong vision, excellent communication, and active involvement of key stakeholders are all essential components of a successful change management strategy. According to publicly accessible information, Twitter has taken a number of actions to manage change and promote behavioral change (Jhaver et al. 2021). For instance, the business has started a number of initiatives to enhance user security and stop the propagation of false information on its platform. Changes to its regulations, the creation of new tools, and the use of machine learning algorithms for the detection and removal of hazardous information are some of these projects.

Moreover, a new CEO was appointed and a more flexible work environment was adopted, among other adjustments to Twitter's organizational structure and procedures. These adjustments have been made to boost innovation and the performance of the organization (Lee and Kotler 2019).

In general, Twitter's approach to change management seems to be in line with its strategic objectives of enhancing user security, eliminating false information, and fostering innovation. However, the leadership team's ability to effectively explain and implement the changes will ultimately determine whether these efforts are successful. Without access to internal data, it is challenging to assess how well Twitter's change management strategy is working to change behavior.

Conclusion

The strategic change management leadership report for Twitter Company concludes by highlighting the issues and tactical solutions encountered in the age of digital transformation and innovation. The research has identified a number of issues, including user safety and harassment, as well as regulatory and legal issues. Twitter has adopted a number of strategic efforts in response to these difficulties. Additionally, the business has put in place a leadership approach that emphasizes encouraging creativity, teamwork, and employee empowerment. Through this strategy, the company has been able to promote a culture of innovation and ongoing improvement, which has been crucial to the success of its strategic change management projects. Overall, Twitter has been very successful in its strategic responses to the problems presented by the digital transformation and innovation era.

References

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