Understanding & Leading Change – Assignment Sample

UNDERSTANDING
AND LEADING
CHANGE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
P1 Impact of change on different organizations' strategy and operations with examples......1
P2 External and Internal drivers of change affecting behaviour in the organisation.............4
P3. Measures taken to minimize negative impacts of change in organizational behavior.....7
P4 different barriers for change and influence in leadership and their influence in decision
making....................................................................................................................................9
P5 various leadership approach foe dealing with changes...................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Change is the only constant. The statement holds true for itself because in this dynamic
world if a company doesn't adopt change it will fail sooner or later. The main reason for
adopting change is competition. If a company wants to achieve competitive edge then it is
imperative for them to change. Change can be done only by identifying customer needs and
wants, their problems and ultimately solving them by idea generation. Changes can be in the
form of technological change, change in leadership style, change in production method, cultural
changes etc. Organisational change is concerned with changes in technology, operational
methods or in the organizational structure. The change is generally influenced by internal or
external factors,
Report will lay emphasis on two organizations which is Tesco and British Airways.
Tesco plc trading as Tesco, is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer
with headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. It is the
world largest grocery store by revenue. British Airways is one of the most famous airline in UK.
It is the second largest airline which is established in United Kingdom. The airline is based near
London Heathrow Airport. The key people of the British Airways is Stephen William and
Lawrence Gunning. They have hubs like Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport. It was
Founded on 31 March, year 1974. The report includes topic like Understanding and leading
change and it will also cover the impact of change in achieving organization's goals and
objectives. It will include assessing different drivers of change, barriers to change and how to
overcome them effectively and efficiently. (Aitkenhead and McCann, 2017.)
MAIN BODY
P1 Impact of change on different organizations' strategy and operations with examples
Tesco company first started its operations in London's East end in the year 1919. As of
2019, the company is one of the largest retailers in the United Kingdom and it employs around
530000 people over the globe. On the other hand, British Airways is also the second largest
airline in the entire United Kingdom. The airline company flies to more than 180 countries and it
is the subsidiary of International Airlines group. Change management means preparing and
managing the members of the organization to adopt and realize the modification as per the latest
driving and restraining factors that can help the organization in achieving its goals and objectives
effectively and efficiently. Change management is not an easy task to do but the top level
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management can help the employees and workforce in adopting them smoothly by guiding and
motivating them. Motivation can be monetary or non-monetary depending on the level of
change. Incentives, rewards, promotion and appraisal are some factors responsible for employee
motivation. Each company follows different strategy and operations and it is obvious that it will
vary. Here is a comparison of Tesco and British Airways. (Al Barwani, Flores and Imig, 2018.)
Basis Tesco British Airways
Organizational structure Since, Tesco is a grocery store
they follow flat organizational
structure that means that all the
employees are involves in
decision making and there is
an absence of middle level
management which has helped
them in cost reduction.
British Airways functional
organizational structure which
leads to proper flow of
communication and also
forms uniformity within the
organization.
Technology Tesco has started using
updated and latest technology
methods for meeting consumer
requirements related to
grocery. This has increased
company's productivity and
given them various cost
benefits
British Airways also make use
of updated technology so that
the passengers can easily book
their tickets. This is the perfect
example of importance of
change management.
Leadership Tesco has adopted Laissez-
faire leadership style for
several years. This has led to
equal decision making at all
levels. Although it increases
employee motivation but at the
same time can have negative
impact on the organisation.
British Airways focuses on
democratic leadership. This
style of leadership allows
employees to give feedback,
suggestion to the top level
management but whether to
implement them is the choice
of top level management.
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Culture Tesco has employees of same
culture and family working
towards achievement of
organisational goals. This
gives them the benefit of
communication as they can
understand and process each
other’s thoughts very easily.
British Airways has employees
of different culture and
background working towards
achievement of single goal.
This leads to diversity in the
organisation and thus different
people can give different
opinion and suggestions.
Training and Development Tesco has shifted from use of
traditional training method to
use of modern training
method. This has allowed the
company to develop overall
skill of employees more
efficiently and effectively.
Modern training also saves
future costs for the company as
employees realize the
importance of achieving cost
benefits.
British Airways is still stuck
on traditional and old ways of
training and development and
as a result the company's
profits are going down,
employees have lost their
efficiency and now their
training is of no use.
Working hours Tesco focuses on flexible
working hours of working and
this increases the efficiency
and effectiveness of
employees. The Brewery is
opened for 24 hours, which
allows the employees to
choose their shifts as per their
choice.
British Airways is still using
the old method where
employees still have to arrive
at a particular time and leave
again at a fixed time. This
reduces efficiency of
employees as they become
bound to work for a fixed
number of hours.
Communication Communication and Communication is done
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interaction between employees
is done at both horizontal and
vertical levels. This ensures
clear and smooth flow of
information.
vertically from top to bottom.
The company follows proper
flow of information which
helps them in achievement of
goals and objectives. (Doppelt,
2017)
Recently Tesco Company changed its leadership and recruitment style. The company
changed its leadership style from democratic to Laissez-faire in the year 2014. It also recruited
more employees to serve and guide their customers, reduced the prices of products and also the
company reduced its range of products in order to avoid duplication.
British company went through ownership changes from private company to a public
limited company. Public limited benefited the British Airways as now the company has more
funds to expand and diversify its operations.
P2 External and Internal drivers of change affecting behaviour in the organisation
An organization is affected by both external and internal factors. Both of these factors are
equally important and cannot be ignored but the internal factors of change can be modified while
external factors cannot be identified in advance. Although they can be estimated by using some
tools and techniques.
Internal factors of change:
Communication problem: Tesco recently analysed that the company does not suffer from
communication gap but instead it suffers from communication chaos. The brewery company
lacks proper communication flow which has resulted in too much confusion within all the
employees. Tesco needs to adopt proper vertical flow of communication which can be beneficial
for both employers and employees.
Cultural differences: Cultural difference is a common problem faced by every company. The
main problem cultural difference persists is difference in opinion, interaction issues, problem in
understanding etc. Sometimes cultural differences can give birth to Distrust, dishonesty and
theft. Hence, these problems can be avoided by complete evaluation and background check of
the employees before hiring them.
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Organisation structure: Improper organisational structure can have an adverse effect on the
smooth working of the organization. Lack of proper authority and responsibility are the major
reasons for failure of an organisation.
Customers: Customer is the king of the market. The statement is absolutely true because it is
the duty of Tesco to identify the needs and wants of their target customers and develop a product
accordingly. The customer base keep on changing and it is necessary to identify their
requirements. This is not only necessary for survival but also for the growth of company.
Competitors: Competitors are the people selling similar product to the customers in the market.
It is necessary to keep an eye on competitors' strategy and their products. This can help the
company in preparing counter strategies to achieve competitive advantage. Tesco keeps an eye
on other breweries in the same market so that they can prepare strategies for achieving
competitive advantage.
Suppliers: Suppliers are very important as they provide the companies with necessary raw
material. Tesco's success is dependent on its suppliers because if good quality raw materials are
not received then it can have a direct effect on the profits of the company.
Employees: Employees are the life blood of an organization. It is necessary for an organization
to motivate and encourage them. Also, the organization should allow its employees to participate
in decision making and also give valuable feedback. This will not only bring good ideas to the
table but also increase their motivation and confidence.
These are some internal factors of change that affect organizations' and individual behaviour.
Customer complaints – Tesco was facing many complaints about the improper responses to the
customers or was complained about the bad words of mouth. For improving the response process
it laid down the call recording process to take actions against the employees.
Performance Gap – Performance gap are faced by the company as the motive was shifting from
maintaining quality to making profits. To attain the objective of quality, it will have to
implement new controlling and monitoring procedures so that the qualitative standards of the
company are maintained.
External factors of change:
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Political factors: Political factors are those factors that are beyond the scope of change for an
organisation. These factors affect an organisation both nationally and internationally. Brexit can
have an adverse effect on Tesco and the company can also face a shift in its consumer base.
Political factors cannot be changed but their effect can be controlled or minimized by analysing
them in advance.
Economic factors: There are various economic factors like fiscal policy, labour rate, inflation
rate which can impact the working of Tesco. Like for example if labour rate increases then it can
decrease the profitability aspect of company. It can affect the operational activities of Tesco. It
affects the accessibility of finance. It is important to mention that although the business is
growing internationally, the company is still quite dependent on the UK market where it has a
market share of around 30%.
Social factors: There are various social factors which like beliefs, attitude, values and customs
which needs to be considered by Tesco. Like for example they must engage in selling products
which do not harm belief, sentiments and thoughts of consumers. If this happen then it can
hamper the goodwill aspect of firm. It can also increase their loss and operational cost.
Technological factors: Tesco has realized that all their competitors have been using the updated
technology. This can be done by them improving and updating their technology. This not only
helped the large scale company to survive in large competition but also technology up gradation
increased their profits subsequently. Eg. In order to be cost efficient, the company started using
latest and modern technology. This helped them to grow further.
Legal factors: Every company is governed and restricted by some legal factors. It is the
fundamental duty of Tesco to follow legal rules and regulations and abide by them. If the
company does not follow them then it may have to face penalty and consequences.
Environmental factors: It is the moral obligation of every company to protect and preserve the
environment. Tesco has stopped the use of steam engine to prevent environment pollution.
(Espedal, 2017)
Organisation to keep up with latest technology:
An organization need to take various steps to stay in the market. Competition has increased very
much and every company want to earn the maximum profit. If the company does no change its
technology on time then it will not be able to cope up with the changing environment. Tesco is
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opening its Retail stores in every state and it is giving various services like home delivery of
goods, online shopping of groceries and many more.
(Dudar, Scott and Scott, 2017)
What will lead the change: The main factor for change is competition. Increasing competition
has been a problem for Tesco and if the company doesn't change then it would lag behind.
Therefore, it is imperative to change for them.
Create a vision: The company's vision is to accept the change successfully and become market
leaders in the near future.
Values: The company will provide good quality products, improve its after sales service and
value the feedback of its employees and customers.
The company must use proper feedback channel that will help the company to identify the needs
and wants of the customers in a better way.
P3. Measures taken to minimize negative impacts of change in organizational behavior
Positive impact of change on an Organization:
Changes have made Tesco stronger. The company has learnt the style of adopting new skills and
technology effectively and efficiently. It has incubated team spirit within the employees and they
work together with maximum productivity.
Negative impact of change:
Continuous changes in an organization can shake their confidence. It may also divide the team
because every person can have a different opinion on how to adopt and implement changes,
Division of employees can ultimately lead to downfall of an organization.
Changes in leadership create problem of employee resistance hence to minimize this
problem Tesco should give motivation in the form of incentives, promotions to their workers.
Otherwise continuous changes would soon lead to employees leaving the organization and this
would increase employee turnover as well as employee absent ism rate.
Negative impacts of change in organizational behavior can be reduced by using John K otter's 8
step change model.
Creating urgency: It is important to create the environment of change in the organization. This
can be created by making all the employees aware about the situation of change. Kotter suggests
that at least 75% of company's employees need to be behind the change in order to be it
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successful. Making employees aware about the situation will create the feeling of responsibility
within them.
Powerful coalition: It is practically impossible for an employee to lead the entire change
process on their own and therefore it is imperative to create a coalition who can direct the
employees on their behalf. The coalition must be skilled and well trained and should
communicate the change properly. Coalition promotes the environment of collaboration and
coordination within the employees so that the change can be implemented successfully.
Vision for change: The top level management should have a vision for change. Without any
vision change would be of no use and can have adverse effect on the working of the
organization. The vision for change needs to be shared with everyone especially with the
employees at lower level in the organizational hierarchy.
Communicating the vision: It is essential for top level management to communicate their
vision to the employees. This builds a clear image in their mind regarding the future objectives
and goals of the organization and they can work with more productivity. An improved
productivity will lead to faster implementation of change and will be beneficial for the
organization in the long run. (Glass and Cook, 2016)
Removing obstacles: The path of change will not be easy. At times it can be very hard mainly
because of certain obstacles. The obstacles can be physical, traditional, socio-cultural or
political. The organization needs to find these threats as fast as possible and take preventive
actions.
Create short term goals: Changes often take time to show results. This can make employees
impatient and they may feel that their efforts have been wasted. As a result, they lose their
confidence and feel demotivated. In order to cheer them up, the top level management sets up
short goals and objectives, achievement of these goals boosts their confidence and as a result
they feel more energized and motivated which reflects in their work.
Build on the change: Kotter has suggested that the companies should not let go the change
towards the final stage of implementation. Sustaining and cementing change for long can help
the organization in perfect execution. Also, they must develop short term goals and objectives so
that they can continuously monitor and evaluate change. Building on the change plays a key role
for the success of organization and unfortunately many organizations miss on this part and then
fail subsequently.
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Adopting the changes in corporate culture: The anchoring of change in organization cannot
be done by just changing the habits and behavior of employees. Instead, changes must be made
as an integral part of the organization to have a long lasting effect. Encouraging employees to
change and later on rewarding them for successful implementation can help the organization in
timely achievement of its goals and objectives.
Kotter has always emphasized on the fact that change is not simple and fast process. It is a
difficult job to do. It requires concentration, patience and lots of efforts. Adopting these 7 steps
effectively definitely minimize the negative impacts of change in organizational behavior. (Iles,
2017)
Even a large-scale firm like Tesco needs to adopt change because they operate in a
dynamic business environment. The company used steam engine to operate machines that brew
beer but few years back they realized that no matter how traditional and cultural it looked, they
have to give up traditional technique and finally switch on to modern and latest technology. This
not only led to survival but also increased the profit of the firm. (Rossi, 2019)
The most effective communication strategy can be using face to face communication
which means that employees and top level management should interact with each other face to
face. This would help them to get clear vision about the goals and objectives of the organization.
Also, it helps in reducing confusion and conflicts.
P4 different barriers for change and influence in leadership and their influence in decision
making.
change is a undergo a modification of something.
Lewins change model is a process where perception that modification is desirable after
that moving towards the new as well desired level of behaviour and at last solidifying that the
new behaviour considers as the norm. unfreeze phase of this model explains that people are not
ready to accept change, as they are unaware with the requirement of changes and their task,
hence leaders have to make them understand so that they can understand their duties. In
changing phase leader has to implement changes and have to monitor their performance closely.
In unfreezing phase leader has to ensure that they all are working without much guidance. In this
manner changes in Tesco can be implemented effectively.
driven forces for change of Tesco are include the internal forces ,external forces and
habit as well as restraining forces that makes changes harder.
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Barriers of changes
II Employee resistance is considered as major barrier because workers do not accpet new
things easily due to fear of losing their position.
III Poor planning is another barrier due to which Tesco might get failed to implement
changes effectively at workplace
IIIIPoor leadership create distance with employees, in such condition leaders fail to make
employees understand with necessity of these changes which become barrier for changes.
Edgar schein organisation culture model
According to this model organisation cannot adopt the culture within a single day, rather
it can form due to the course of time(Doppelt, 2017). When the employees going through
different changes. they also adopt external environment and solve all the problems. The new
employees also adjust themselves in the new culture and enjoys the stress free life.
There at different barrier of change and influence leadership decision making. Three levels in
this model
Artifacts
Characteristics of the company which can easily noticed buy the visitor or an outsider
are come under this for example dress code of the employees, architecture interior arrangement,
office design, language, also communication of the employees with each other, trophies on
certain occasions also mentioned here(Dudar, Scott and Scott, 2017).
values
Value plays a crucial role win deciding the role in an organisation culture such as
thinking and attitude of the staff members put a deep influence in an organisation. it depends on
the individual working. Mindset of the staff members related to a particular organisation effects
on the culture of the company.
basic assumptions
There are certain beliefs that can be hidden but can affect the cultural organisation the
inner characteristic of the humans. Such as female workers are not comfortable working at the
late night shift but male members do not haver any problems for late night shift, such practices
which are not tangible or not discussed but understood by own same under this level(Iles,
2017).
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objective analysis -through training employees get motivated that makes them able to adopt
changes effectively and perform well in the Tesco.
Tesco can follow this model
SELF Efficiency- is come under social cognitive theory. it is part crucial part which is related
to the level of the confidence in the skills ,abilities and knowledge ,in addition to do this also
assigned with leading others(Thornton, Usinger and Sanchez, 2019). it refers to the ability to
leading a group successfully. It is a belief of one's capacity to organise as well as the execution
of the actions to managing the specified situation. It is an essential aspect of the human
behaviour and the action which can affect one's life. it is measured by three basic scales.
Self efficacy magnitude--considers as the difficult level, where individual feels about the
performance of the task which is assigned to them. eg- difficulty feels in homework.
Self efficacy strength- it refers to the amount of the judgement of an individual about the
performing successfully at various levels of the difficult.
With the help of this Tesco company can identified by the individual performance which is
crucial for the productivity of the company.
Forces of the organisational change.
externals forces
Political forces-the interference of the government increased tremendously in most of the
nations. Tesco can follow a lot of rules and regulations. Company do not have any control over
the political as well legal factors(Iles, 2017). These factors affect the business of the company
such as various penalties on distribution and also advertise of product. Which directly affects the
business of the company.
Technological forces- Tesco company develops the technology of the refine distribution
channels. Company also develop the technology to speed up the processes of the distribution, as
it can limit the beer produced within the company.
internal factors
Organisation structure- it can affect the decision making process of the organization. it
includes composition of directors, share holding pattern. Here efficient working of a company
requires should be more prone to quick decisions making and also achieving the overall goal and
its objectives(Wilkinson and et.al., 2017).
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Corporate culture-it is determined the internal environment of the company here the decisions
are taken by the top level mangers (Glass and Cook, 2016).while there is no coordination in
middle level and work level managers. This create a lack of interest of trust and confidence in
subordinate in the company, as a consequence there is no belonging to the organisation.
In an open culture decisions are taken by the lower levels of the management and creates
a high level of trust and confidence among the subordinate .there is free level of the
communication among all the top level as well as lower level within the organisation. so top
managers gives the orders without any consultation with lower level management. Tesco
company can follow the open culture includes the open communication, this benefits the
company as there are new ideas came from the communication of different level of the
employees.
Benefits of change:
It is imperative for employees at Tesco to adopt change incessantly because they operate in a
dynamic environment. Successfully adopting changes may lead to improved morale of
employees, increased confidence and better communication. Also, it brings a feeling of
togetherness within the employees which helps the organisation in the long run.
P5 various leadership approach foe dealing with changes
Leadership means influencing and guiding employees for achievement of organizational goals
and objectives. A leader not only guides his employees but also motivates them so that th
employees can work effectively and efficiently. (Rossi, P., 2019).
Leadership is an approach which can provide the direction as well as motivation
techniques to the employees of a company.
Situational leadership defines that there is no single leadership style is best, it depends all
the situation of the leadership .which type of the leadership styles are best as per the requirement
of the situation. According to this the most effective leaders can adapt their style as per the
requirement of the situation. Tesco company can have used this type of leadership for improving
the efficiency of the employee so that they can handle any situational and give productive
outcome to the company. it contains following phase
directing(S1)
This is a phase where new employees, team member needs some direction, where guide
the people what they have to do and how to do it completely in this phase includes what, how,
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where, when and why. Here leaders pay attention to tasks .it requires the good instruction as well
as monitoring. Here not only the final object is clear out but also the steps that have taken along
the whole process. The leaders are the one who takes the final decision (Rossi, 2019).
coaching(S2)
At this level employees wants to work independently but because of insufficient skills
and lack of knowledge they are not capable to do the task independently. They still need to
focus on the task which requires sufficient time and patience .sometimes situation might be
happen that staff members feel insecure, so it is the role of the leader who motivate them and
guided them, in addition to this they convince them that they are able to do the job .here
communication are at level of equals(Espedal, 2017). Here leaders maker the decisions but they
ask the questions and also know the purpose of the task ,and when staff members shows the
progress ,leaders feel confident.
supporting participating(S3)
At this level employees are temporary capable as they are now qualified. This makes
them insecure and reluctant. to remove this insecure leaders help the employees in the decision
making process and work independently .it is possible that the mistakes has been made by the
staff members blames himself, and leaders to lose confidence. That is the reason support of the
leader is important(Espedal, 2017).
Democratic styles of leadership-this style is known as the participative leadership or the shared
leadership style. Here members of the team are more involved in the decision making
process .this can be applied it schools, private business and also in the government organisation.
Researcher of the Tesco company concludes that this type of leadership is the most effective
leadership as leads to the higher productivity and have the better coordination of group
members.
II Some primary characteristics of the leadership include
III Creativity is promoted and rewarded.
IIIIStaff members feel more involved in the project.
IVIStaff members are encouraged to share ides and opinions ,even leaders can give the final
decision(Iles, 2017).
benefits of democratic leadership
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As here group members are encouraged to share their ideas and views that can leads to the better
as well as innovative solutions to the problems. Here group member also feel more involved and
committed to the projects which are assigned to them and this leads to increase the productivity
of the company.
Benefits of change:
CONCLUSION
In my opinion, it can be concluded that change has helped Tesco company in growing.
Various modifications have supported the firm in gaining competitive advantage. There are
various methods and strategy which has been used by company to reduce the negative impact of
change. The behaviour of organization is affected by factors like internal and external. Both
have had adverse effects on organization's working, therefore it became important to evaluate
and control these factors. They also made use of open communication so that employees
understand the change effectively. This has also helped company in improvising the relationship
between employee and employer. Firm has also provided support to their employees while
initiating change. This has helped workers in understanding change easily and effectively. To
properly implement the change firm has also made use of various theories like situational
leadership. The leaders have switched to modification according to situation. This has supported
firm in growing. It has also helped company in gaining competitive advantage. Overall it can be
said that Tesco adopted change at right time and the change proved to be worthwhile for the
company.
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Rossi, P., 2019. Conflicts in Leading and Managing Change: Towards a Reflexive Practice.
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