Leading Change: A Critical Review

This assignment requires a critical review of leadership concepts and their application to driving change across various contexts. Students are expected to analyze different leadership styles, theories, and models relevant to leading successful change initiatives. The analysis should encompass case studies drawn from diverse fields like business, healthcare, education, and non-profit organizations. Students need to evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches and discuss their implications for effective change management.

UNDERSTANDING
AND
LEADING CHANGE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................3
P1 Comparing two companies with impact of change on strategy and operation .................3
P2 Evaluation of ways through which internal and external drivers of change impacts upon
leadership, team and individual behaviour ............................................................................6
P3 Evaluate measures to minimize the negative impact of changes on Organization Behaviour
................................................................................................................................................8
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................9
P4 Different barriers of change and the influence on leadership decision making................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................11
P5. Application of different leadership approaches for dealing with changes in organization11
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
Books and Journals........................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Understanding and leading change can be defined as management of changes from the
very beginning of planning, executing and evaluating. It is necessary to control changes because
they impacts positively as well as negatively. To reduce the possibility of loss, this is essential to
observe and analyse the effects of change to evaluate for controlling them. The modifications
will become successful when employees, leaders ad managers are ready to accept changes and
want to work on that willingly to fulfil desired goals or objectives(Lee and Byun, 2012). This
assignment consider impacts of changes on strategies and operational activities comparatively
between two organisations that is Cosmos Tours and Thomas cook. Both of these companies are
in operational aspects running a successful business in United Kingdom. They have principal
objectives or goals to provide supply superior service. This report includes evaluating through
internal and external drivers of change upon leadership, team and individual behaviour. It
considers to identify barriers steps to minimise negative impacts of modifications and mention
several kind of approaches of leadership which deals with change.
TASK 1
P1 Comparing two companies with impact of change on strategy and operation
Every business have to implement changes in organisation regarding its riles, regulations,
policies, strategies, technologies, methods etc., to enhance performance of workers as well as
make strong position of brand in competition of market at local or global level. It is necessary f
or leaders and mangers to apply modifications and evaluate its impacts to control then. By this
they can earn better profit and get rid off from future problems such loss of company(Nowell and
Harrison, 2010). Now, a days, everything should be replaced by new things according to trends
then firms have to implement trendy evolution to its strategies or policies to provide unique and
innovative products. This is important to maintain the position of brand strong in market
amongst several competitors. It helps in to develop goods or services ans sometimes
modifications facilitates market development. When something will introduced with exactly new
concept then it is known as market development.

Changes can become successful only when the manpower of an organisation is ready to
accept challenges and opportunities which comes along with them. Because the reason is that
they have to grab opportunities properly and control challenges or issues to make modifications
more beneficial by avoiding threats and problems(Salmela, Eriksson and Fagerström, 2012).
Factors which leading change and facilitates them towards success have to evaluate by leaders
and mangers because both them have a role or responsibility to directs correct efforts for making
modifications more beneficial. The organisations have to prepare an effective plan before
implementing any kind of changes. Here, it is targeted to do comparative evaluation of impacts
of changes in two companies. That is, Thomas cook which was founded in 1881 product render
by them is global leaves, passport, insurance and visa services. And Cosmos tour was founded in
1961 having its head office in Bromley in United Kingdom provides vacation packages.
Comparison between both organisations are given below:
Basic Thomas Cook Cosmos Tour
Emerging technologies This company is a large scale
business which is very famous
for its mixture of services and
they can maintain their
standards of products by
applying new and unique
technologies or strategies. By
this they can boost up their
services and gain client
satisfaction.
This is small scale firm which
needs limited changes in
techniques and policies
according to its bearing
capacity. This is because
modifications requires more
capital for investment to
implement changes. They have
to apply changes in short time
period to gain profits.
Modifications in external
factors
Sometimes, the rules and
policies of external factors
such as government,
competitors, local authorities
etc., will change and have
negative impact on
External factors have quite less
effect on large scale firms
because they have limited
productivity area. If it is
essential to implement
modifications then they have

business(Thomas and et. al.,
2013). It is necessary to solve
all these aspects to maintain
equilibrium between
investment, productivity and
profitability to enhance
position of organisation in
market.
to put a little efforts in
company with small amount of
money.
Structural changes These kind of changes are
applied on demand of
employees and trends both. It
is necessary to restructure the
organisation to enhance
working efficiency of overall
firm because it helps in
competing with other
competitors in market. Thomas
Cook is always to try to
implement such modifications
for improvement and
development.
Structural modifications are
needed in small scale firms
because they have small
operational system so that
limited changes can be done.
Cosmo Tour is required to
applied some structural
changes to expand productivity
and profitability. It impacts
positively to attract new clients
as well as provide an
opportunity to employees for
improve their skills or abilities
to work more effectively and
efficiently.
All the changes or modifications which are mention in above table are necessary to
implement in both organisation so that they can improve their brand position in market. It is also
mandatory to maintain goodwill of organisation in domestic as well as global market.
Operation: The changes are needed to applied in operational activities and procedures
to reduce working time and improve productivity of overall organisation(Shirey, 2011). It is
beneficial to get better output more effectively and efficiently.

Strategy: The modifications of strategies or policies have both opportunities and
challenges to utilise in proper manner to achieve better profits. Implementation of new
technologies which make working easy and efficient will motivate human resource to accept
changes and work on them more willingly.
P2 Evaluation of ways through which internal and external drivers of change impacts upon
leadership, team and individual behaviour
Changes are important to implement for maintenance of productivity and profitability of
organisation by applying new innovative techniques and methods to improve working efficiency
of employees. This will facilitate better output on daily basis to fulfil demand of clients. They
can modify their products or services by improve features or characteristics to gain customer
satisfaction as well. Modifications have direct impact on staff members, leaders and managers of
the firm because they have to plan for utilising opportunities and avoid the challenges to attain
better profits(Bin Taher, Krotov and Silva, 2015). If they will deny to accept changes then it will
not possible to apply any kind of modifications in organisation. Besides of all this, changes have
some negative effects also which are needed to handle by individual managers or team leaders
with suitable steps to reduce risk and uncertainty of threats. There are several kind of impacts of
external changes which are as follows:
 Competitors-led Drivers: Sometimes, it is essential to apply certain changes due
to competitor firm's strategies or policies to compete them. Hence, Thomas cook
and cosmos tour have to maintain its position by applying necessary
modifications to enhance their goodwill in global market.
 Government-led Drivers: The organisations have to take care of changing rules
and regulations of government authorities so that they have to run their business
successfully without any negative interference of the same(Johnson, 2016). Both
of above mentioned companies have to implement changes in their policies
according to government rules to become legally eligible to do business.
 Investors-led Drivers: They are important factors who contribute to capital
funds and it impacts strongly while reducing and improving numbers of investors
because it affects the overall organisation as well.

 Customer-led Drivers: The client plays an essential role to boost up qualities or
features of goods and services to raise its demand in market which facilitate
strong image of brand amongst competitors(Bingham and Main, 2010). Thomas
cook is famous brand and it have to maintain its image in market but Cosmos
tour is small firm then it is needed to enhance its brand value amongst customers.
 Technology led Drivers: The organisations have to adopt latest and better
technologies to make working efficiency improved and they will able to provide
good quality service to clients.
Now, talking about internal factors in which it is important to conduct SWOT analysis
and identify them respectively which is given below:
Strength: This factor is mandatory to identify by the organisations because it can be
utilised properly to get better results. It is necessary to know right time to grab and use strengths
of firm besides of focussing on trends(Castonguay and et. al., 2010). This will helps in
introducing new concepts in market. Thomas cook have good market share and it can launch a
new thought with its services to grab more benefits or profits.
Weakness: Cosmos tour is small scale enterprise which have to work on modifications
regularly to increase its market share then it can expand its business more effectively and
efficiently.
Opportunities: There are several opportunities which can grab by organisations at
correct time period to expand brand image as well as profitability. Thomas cook and Cosmos
tour have to focus on this factor and boost up productivity to gain better profits.
Threats: This is the fact that. It is mandatory to observe and analyse issues or problems
of operational and strategic perspective to solve them effectively. These aspects are essential to
solve to reduced of firm so that utilisation of limited resources should be done to achieve goals.
P3 Evaluate measures to minimize the negative impact of changes on Organization Behaviour
Changes are there in every organization which impact individual behaviour and culture of
the firm. There are various seminars and workshops which help in reducing the negative impact
of changes in company(Doppelt, 2017). It is important to increase efficiency of workers so that
they can perform better. Different measures are taken by Cosmos Tours and Thomas Cook which
minimizes the negative affect of changes are -

 Involve Employees in changing process - There is time gap between planning of various
changes and their implementation. Employees do not wait for various changes and
sometimes resist them. So both companies need to communicate the benefits of adopting
them so that they can easily adopt them. Staff members have fear of loosing their
positions due to changes so managers of both firms tell that they do not loose their jobs.
In this way employees are ready to adopt changes. Thus changes are easily implemented
in the companies. Interview employees regarding the feelings - Managers and supervisors of both
organizations tries to interview employees. This helps both firms to recognize the issues
of staff members and they needs to be addressed properly. Thus workers feel happy and
satisfied as their problem gets solved. They easily adopt these changes. Thus organization
can easily implement them in their plans and policies(Emira, 2010). So managers can
perform their activities and tasks in a proper manner .It results in increasing the
efficiency and effectiveness to perform better. This increases the productivity of firms. Concentrate on effective Delegation – Managers and supervisors of both organizations
lay emphasis on delegation. They sometimes make all plans and policies and do not focus
on important activities. So they give responsibility to their employees. This reduces the
burden and pressure of managers and they can put more concentration on crucial tasks.
This helps in creation of effective plans. It also increases the efficiency of staff members
top perform better. Thus employees can achieve their objectives. It leads to growth and
success of the firms. Keep a positive attitude – Supervisor has to maintain a positive attitude in adopting the
changes. Changes can cause irritation in the organization. So managers and supervisor
can think positive and motivate the employees to increase their enthusiasm. This helps in
increasing the energy level and efficiency to perform better(Fullan, 2014). Company can
give compensation to workers for extra effort. This helps staff members to perform with
their full potential. So thus workers give good results in minimum time. It leads to
increasing the productivity of organization. Praise the employees – Both organizations tries to give rewards to employees for good
performance. Seminars and workshops are organized to recognize the staff members for
their good work. Managers can take feedback and suggestions of employees. Then their

views can be applied in making changes in the firms(Lawrence, 2015) . This helps
increasing the motivation and satisfaction level of workers to perform better. Thus
enhance workers potential and they give good results. They can achieve their objectives
and targets. It results in improving the performance of the organization.
 Train and prepare - Training is provided to all employees of the firms so that their skills
and knowledge can be increased. This helps in taking various opportunities and they can
perform their roles efficiently and effectively. Thus they give good outcomes.
TASK 2
P4 Different barriers of change and the influence on leadership decision making
Leadership goals and decision are important for effective management and operations.
Leaders can take decisions for increasing profits and productivity. Below are the different
barriers faced by Thomas cook which affect leadership decisions - Lack of communication - Organization fails to communicate regarding any change
such as merger to the various employees. Due to this workers have rumours and fear in
adopting the changes. So changes cannot be implemented easily in the company. So
leaders needs to properly communicate about the transformations so that workers do not
resist them. Through this the work of organization cannot be hampered. Through this
employees can perform efficiently and effectively(Hallinger and Bryant, 2013). This
increase the productivity of the company. Thus company can easily achieve their
objectives and targets. Lack of Consensus – Thomas Cook needs to take consensus from all staff members on
board. Sometimes members of top members do not agree with a particular decision. It
leads confusion ion the company(Yoder-Wise, 2014). So leaders tries that decision of top
management can be agreed by all management level staff. Thus workers can easily adopt
the changes. Organization can work efficiently and effectively through new policies and
plans. Thus activities and tasks run successfully. This leads to increasing the productivity
of staff members. It leads to organization growth and success. Employee resistance - Sometimes employees resist the changes in the organization. Due
to this organization cannot implement them. So leaders take decision that managers can
communicate the employees about the benefits of adopting changes. They needs to be

explained that workers do not loose their positions and jobs with new plans and
procedures. Supervisors motivate and train the workers to increase the energy level of
employees to perform better(Harding, 2012). Through this staff m,embers can work with
the full potential zeal. Thus they can easily adopt the changes and performs better. This
leads to increasing the productivity of company. Planning – Poor planning leads to ineffective management of operations and tasks in the
company. Thus changes cannot be easily implemented and firm cannot perform better. So
leaders take decision that managers can make effective plans and policies for the
organization. They needs to match the new information and procedures with the old
system and policies. They make plans to apply new methods in organization. Duties and
responsibilities are given to all employees(Hintz and Bahia, 2013). So staff m,embers can
easily know their role and can perform efficiently and effectively. Thus they give good
results. Lack of leadership – Sometimes leaders do not motivate the employees properly. So staff
members cannot perform well. So leaders tries to motivate the employees in each
direction. This helps in increasing the energy level and enthusiasm of staff members to
perform better in the organization (Doppelt, 2017). Thus they can move forward and
perform their activities efficiently and effectively. They can achieve their objectives and
targets in minimum time. So thus it increases the organization productivity. It also leads
to effective functioning of each departments. Thus results in growth and success of the
firm.
 No clear vision – There are no clear vision and mission of the Thomas Cook. Managers
do properly communicates to employees about the goals and objectives. So the staff
members do not know the direction to accomplish their targets. Thus leaders can take
decision that managers create clear objectives and goals. They needs to properly explain
them to all staff members so that employees can find methods and ways to achieve their
objectives. Thus staff members work with full potential and zeal. Thus increases the
productivity of the organization.

TASK 3
P5. Application of different leadership approaches for dealing with changes in organization
Leadership approaches are followed in every organization. It is done to effective manage
the activities and tasks in firm(Hrebiniak, 2013). Thomas Cook uses various approaches for
achieving objectives and goals. Through this workers can also perform efficiently and
effectively. So various leadership approaches to deal with changes are followed by Thomas Cook
are -
(Source : 'Definitions of leadership styles', 2017)
 Laissez leadership approach – In this approach leader do not supervise all employees
and do not take feedback and suggestions. Educated employees need less supervision
as they can work efficiently and effectively with less guidance(Definitions of
leadership styles., 2017). So remaining staff members do not get control from
managers. So remaining employees create their own innovative plans and policies for
the firm. Through this activities and tasks can run successfully. It leads to effective
functioning of each departments. Thus increases the productivity in the firm. This
results in growth and success of the company in the long run.
Illustration 1: Definitions of leadership styles

 Autocratic Leadership – In this leadership approach manager take all decisions and
do not take input from all employees (Fullan, 2014 . So thus managers have full
authority and give order to staff members. It benefits to the new employees as they
do not know the methods and procedure of performing tasks. Through instructions
and guidance of manager they can know various techniques and process for
performing various activities. So thus staff workers can perform efficiently and
effectively. Thus employees can achieve their targets and goals easily. So all
operations run successfully and Thomas cook can maintain a unique position in the
industry.
 Participative Leadership – In the leadership style leader takes all decisions with
agreement of all the employees in the organization. All Staff members can give their
ideas and suggestions regarding any method and procedure. They can make plans and
policies to achieve the objectives and goals(Johnson, 2016). This helps in increasing
the efficiency of workers to perform better in the firm. When there are any changes
employees do not resist them as they are involved in decision making process. So
manager can easily implement the changes in the organization. Through this there is
increase in performance of the firm.
 Transactional leadership – In this leadership style leader put more emphasis on the
employee performance. Leader give rewards to workers on their good performance
and punish them if they cannot achieve their targets. They set goals for staff
members. Thus members are motivated and energetic to perform better. Employees
have a feeling of competition to achieve targets so they give more efforts. Staff
members can perform efficiently and effectively Thus workers give good results and
it results in increasing the productivity. Thus it helps in improving the performance of
the organization.
 Transformational Leadership – In this leadership style leaders make new objectives
and targets. They delegate the responsibility to all staff members. Leaders motivate
workers so that they can perform better. Thus it helps in increasing the energy level ,
enthusiasm of workers and they can accomplish their goals(Kotb and Roberts, 2011).
This results in increasing the productivity. Thus it helps in improving the
performance of the firm and can maintain unique position in the industry.

CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned report it is concluded that employees, leaders and managers
have an important role to facilitate modifications more successfully by making performance
effective and efficient for attaining better output on daily basis. Changes are possible in any
organisation when staff members of an enterprise are willing to accept changes because they
have to work on these aspects for gaining success. Companies have to take appropriate actions or
steps to reduce negative effects of changes because modifications welcomes not only
opportunities but also bears challenges at the same time. Hence, external and internal factors are
responsible for introducing changes within the organisations. They have an effect on leadership,
team and individuals which results in delayed as well as confusing decision making in company.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bin Taher, N. A., Krotov, V. and Silva, L., 2015. A framework for leading change in the UAE
public sector. International Journal of Organizational Analysis. 23(3). pp.348-363.
Bingham, D. and Main, E. K., 2010. Effective implementation strategies and tactics for leading
change on maternity units. The Journal of perinatal & neonatal nursing. 24(1). pp.32-
42.
Castonguay, L. G. and et. al., 2010. Bringing psychotherapy research to life: Understanding
change through the work of leading clinical researchers. American Psychological
Association.
Doppelt, B., 2017. Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for
business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Emira, M., 2010. Leading to decide or deciding to lead? Understanding the relationship between
teacher leadership and decision making. Educational management administration &
leadership. 38(5). pp.591-612.
Fullan, M., 2014. Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. John
Wiley & Sons.
Hallinger, P. and Bryant, D. A., 2013. Synthesis of findings from 15 years of educational reform
in Thailand: Lessons on leading educational change in East Asia. International Journal
of Leadership in Education. 16(4). pp.399-418.
Harding, H., 2012. Teach for America: Leading for Change. Educational Leadership. 69(8).
pp.58-61.
Hintz, C. and Bahia, H., 2013. Understanding mechanisms leading to asphalt binder fatigue in
the dynamic shear rheomeLee, and Byun,2012. Nowelland
Harrison,2010.Salmela,Erikssonand Fagerström,2012Shirey 2011.Thomas,and et. al.,
2013ter. Road Materials and Lee, and Byun,2012. Nowelland
Harrison,2010.Salmela,Erikssonand Fagerström,2012Shirey 2011.Thomas,and et. al.,
2013Pavement Design. 14(sup2). pp.231-251.

Hrebiniak, L. G., 2013. Making strategy work: Leading effective execution and change. FT
Press.
Johnson, G., 2016. Exploring strategy: text and cases. Pearson Education.
Kotb, A. and Roberts, C., 2011. The Impact of E‐Business on the Audit Process: An
Investigation of the Factors Leading to Change. International Journal of Auditing.
15(2). pp.150-175
Lee, G. and Byun, T., 2012. An explanation for the difficulty of leading conceptual change using
a counterintuitive demonstration: The relationship between cognitive conflict and
responses Research in Science Education. 42(5). pp.943-965.
Nowell, B. and Harrison, L. M., 2010. Leading change through collaborative partnerships: A
profile of leadership and capacity among local public health leaders. Journal of
Prevention & Intervention in the Community. 39(1). pp.19-34.
Salmela, S., Eriksson, K. and Fagerström, L., 2012. Leading change: a three‐dimensional model
of nurse leaders’ main tasks and roles during a change process. Journal of Advanced
Nursing. 68(2). pp.423-433.
Shirey, M. R., 2011. Establishing a sense of urgency for leading transformational change.
Journal of Nursing Administration. 41(4). pp.145-148.
Thomas, T. and et. al., 2013. Leading change and innovation in teacher preparation: A blueprint
for developing TPACK ready teacher candidates. TechTrends. 57(5). pp.55-63.
Doppelt, B., 2017. Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for
business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Fullan, M., 2014. Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. John
Wiley & Sons.
Johnson, G., 2016. Exploring strategy: text and cases. Pearson Education.
Lawrence, P., 2015. Leading change–Insights into how leaders actually approach the challenge
of complexity. Journal of Change Management. 15(3). pp.231-252.
Yoder-Wise, P.S., 2014. Leading and Managing in Nursing-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Online
Definitions of leadership styles. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://redshoemovement.com/leadership-style-quiz/>