Managing Change | Strategic Change

Student Name
INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION(S)
MANAGING CHANGE

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Introduction
Strategic change is one way through which organizations succeed and can survive by
making necessary adjustments in strategic directions, acquiring resources and capabilities to
cope with a fast-paced environment. Therefore, to thrive, change agents need to understand
and make effective and fast business frameworks to address issues in changing business
environment. While going through the literature, I found that many researchers and business
scholars have begun exploring different phenomenon related to change within firms by
analyzing different change approach, starting from a discourse perspective until the results
achieved.
My course learning revealed to me that when several professional groups collaborate
within a change intervention, they give diversified meaning to change that further results in
resistance towards change. Here, I can say that the manner change agents develop and
implement change program has great implications for bringing effectiveness along with
issues that arise due to resistance shown towards change. This reflective journal will reflect
upon my capabilities through the study made on change management and how individual
contribution proves significant in teamwork. This journal will shed light on the ethical
impacts of change on stakeholders and share my past experiences while I worked in my
previous workplace that underwent major organizational change. This journal will conclude
after revealing my development plan to become a competent change leader.
Change agent capabilities
Earlier, my views about change agents were that they are internal managers or a group
of people who are appointed to monitor and manage the entire change process. But, now after
my course unit and additional research made on change management, I am aware that they

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are the most crucial factors in the change process. Change agents are the ones who take the
initiative, facilitates, integrates change strategies and support change processes from the start
till the results are accomplished. One example that I would like to share to here is about
change management in Shell company which had undergone a major change under its newly
hired chairman, Jeroen Van Der Veer in 2004. The change agent i.e. the chairman took an
initiative for bringing change in the company and named the intervention as Downstream-
One. The change in Shell management was all over the news at that time. I admire the
strategy undertaken by Jeroen regarding IT initiative to globalize the 80 Shell unites to
improvise its international strategies from common invoicing to the centralized distribution
system. Now we know Shell as a healthier company than it was when the transformation had
begun.
After my course unit, now I am aware that success or failure behind any change
highly depends on workability and capabilities of change agents. This I can say after
observing the change in Walmart going under the leadership of Doug McMillon. According
to the change leader of the company, Walmart required more speed than bureaucracy to stay
fast and therefore, new positions were created in the firm to satisfy industry demands. Even,
the collaborative teamwork seen within the company management reflects that the change
process implemented can provide Walmart with sustainable development in future.
While going through the literature, I found a very enlightening article where the
author revealed about organizations who implement successful change with the help of
change agent having three significant capabilities: following the change process and
procedures closely, giving suitable time for adjusting change in particular environment, and
measuring results in terms of efforts provided by every people involved in change. Even my
class unit reveals a similar understanding about change agents and so, I will consider
improving my change management capabilities to act competently and in accord with the

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present dynamic business world. For example, in Lewin's three-step change model, I learnt
that every organization cannot use this strategy, especially in larger firms since this strategy
may not be able to communicate change appropriately due to focussing directly upon
identified issue. I also learnt that the change process is usually driven by strategic
considerations which may include integrating the working environment or improving
business processes. Now I understand why global company change leaders have to face
various issues related to employee’s resistance to change.
The change in management failure in McDonald's is known to everyone. The
company mistakenly made a billion-dollar loss by neglecting giving significance to flexible
leadership. This made McDonald's change leaders face additional issues while implementing
change intervention and juggle to resolve uprising conflicts among its employees. After
analysing my course study and literature related to change agents, I can say that if
McDonald's would have given significant time while determining a change model after
considering the evaluation of cultural force within the company, it would have never
misjudged about change intervention necessities.
From my course module, one topic that excited me the most is resistance to change. I
relished every session especially when I came to know about why employees get resisted due
to miscommunication and due to the existing gap between change agent and employees. This
made me do additional research on the topic from the web where I found that change agent
must be aware of ways through which diversified workforce can be managed effectively with
the help of communicative skills. The next part of this reflective journal herewith will
describe how I performed in teamwork while I worked in my group assignment related to
change management in B&A Bank. The later part will discuss my views on resistance to
change and how I handled arising issues where the change was experienced by me.