Organisational Change Management Analysis

Running head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Response to Question 1 – Nature of Organisational Change
Organisational Change refers to the process which leads to the change in the structure,
policies, strategies, process, culture, technologies and methods within the organisation. The
increased competitiveness and dynamism demand flexible changes in short times. Managing
such change is a difficult task for which a number of skilled top administrative teams are
required and group efforts are needed (Elsbach&Stigliani, 2018).
The framework of change management is a combination of process, structure,
generating insights and change planning within the organisation. Irrespective of the type of
change- cultural, organisational or digital, making the right choice of framework is very
important. The systematic and proper approach to change management solves a number of
problems even before they start. A framework provides with more systematic approaches of
doing work and hence when change management frameworks are combined with other
change management tools then the chances of success become more positive. The top change
management frameworks are – ADKAR Model, McKinsey 7-S Model, Lewin Model, The
Kubler-Ross Model, Kotter’s Theory, Van de Ven and Poole’ s Framework and Nudge
Theory (Hayes, 2018).
The framework that can be applied to the given case study is the Van de Ven and
Poole’s Framework. The framework states that for effective change management within an
organisation, a proper understanding of such a change is very much necessary. It highlights
the interplay between the different perspective of changes and a comprehensive
understanding of the life of the organisation. It also focuses on employee participation and
employee engagement. The framework groups around 20 different change processes into four
schools of thoughts, which are – Life Cycle, Dialectics, Teleology and Evolution. The life
cycle theory is prescribed in nature and focuses on organic growth. The dialectics approach

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relates to discussions and conflict management that are logical in nature. There are two main
perspectives of the dialectical approach – The Hegelian perspective and The Bakhtinian
process. Any change and stability are explained by balancing power and opposing forces.
Teleological theory indicates those changes that are intentional and directed towards pre-
specified objectives(Dawson, 2019). Evolutionary theory, on the other hand, refers to the
changes that are made because of increased competition.
The changing framework as seen in the case is a dialectic approach. Although Cheryl
Hailstorm tried to take an evolutionary approach yet it ended up as a dialectic approach.
Cheryl tried to face the market competition and hence started making aggressive steps
without proper discussions with the other team members(HBR.org, 2019). Cheryl only states
a vision and does not listen to anybody else’s advice; instead she keeps on telling about her
vision and just commands others to perform what she wants. The dialectic approach of
change framework falls in the second quadrant and it has been selected by Cheryl in the given
case study (HBR.org, 2019).
Response to Question 2 - Is the dialectical approach appropriate?
The dialectical approach of change management is not appropriate in this changing
scenario. Cheryl’s vision states expansion of the business through outsourcing, new
recruitments and increasing the competitive edge over the others. These are certain changes
that will not only affect the processes, but will also change the work structure and the work
model. It is impossible to implement such a change in a short period of time without proper
planning. These changes require a lot of knowledge and skills and good teamwork. in the
given case study Cheryl is the CEO of Lakeland Wonders that is the manufacturer of wooden
toys of high qualities and had three plants in Minnesota. There are around 5000 employees
that work within the company(HBR.org, 2019). This indicates the vast diversity of the

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company. It is very hard to bring change in such a big organisation through aggressive
means. There will be a number of resistant factors to the change in such a big organisation
and these resistant forces cannot be merely ignored or controlled by aggressive means. It
takes a lot of skills, teamwork, motivation and manipulation to bring change in these type of
organisations. Mark and Wally are the two old employees of the organisation and they know
the organisation better than anyone. Wally communicated to Cheryl that the organisation is
an old company and he also stated that Mark never wants to anti-progress the place but has
very good knowledge about the place(HBR.org, 2019). By this Wally meant that it is very
difficult to bring a change all of a sudden in an aggressive manner inside such an old
organisation and he also meant that in order to get the success, in the long run, it is important
to cooperate with people who have got a better idea about the organisation than Cheryl. As
Wally rightly stated, that the dialectical approach that Cheryl was following is inappropriate
as she required to pull people at a slower pace for ensuring that she does not end up tearing
the place apart(HBR.org, 2019).
External Analysis-
Political – In order to do a business, all the business organization in the US has to
maintain certain laws and boundaries within which it can operate. In the given case study,
although no political outlines are mentioned, yet the expansion policies considered by Cheryl
might require permission from the government. Doing trade with China and Indonesia will
require permission from government and if done without permission can hamper the
business.
Economical - US is a country with one of the highest GDP. Labour is not cheap in
US as compared to China or other countries. The availability of cheap labours outside has
actually led to outsourcing many business activities around the world. There is a prevailing