Understanding and Leading Change

This report discusses the impact of change on organisational strategy and operations, the influence of drivers of change on organisational behaviour, measures to minimise negative impacts, and how barriers to change influence leadership decision-making in the organisation. The force-field theory is used to analyse the driving and restraining forces of change.

Understanding and
leading change

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Task 1 ..............................................................................................................................................1
Discuss and contrast different organisational examples and how change impacts on an
organisational strategy and operations...................................................................................1
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................5
Discuss the influence that the drivers of changes have on the organisational behaviour ......5
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................8
Discuss how barriers to change influence leadership decision-making in the organisation. .8
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................10
Determine a range of leadership approaches to a change initiative.....................................10
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................12
References .....................................................................................................................................13

Introduction
Change is defined as the process which leads to creating positive and negative
environment in the business. It can be considered as the challenges for the business which can
influence their functioning also. In order to grow and enhance themselves it becomes essential
for the organisation to effectively deal with changes and accept it. Analysing the change and
accepting it as per the requirement allow them to be competitive and enhance their performance
in the competitive environment (Ackah-Jnr and Fluckiger, 2021). For this report Tesco is taken
as the base company. Tesco is one of the well established retail company considered to be the the
market leader of groceries in the UK. The company was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen,
offering quality services to its customers having more than 100 retail stores around the globe.
This report highlights detailed analysis of the drivers and impact of change and how it influence
company's strategy also various internal and external factors of change influencing leadership,
team and individual behaviour. In addition to this steps that can be considered to overcome the
negative impact of changes along with the barriers of changes and how they influence the
leadership decision making is also highlighted. Also the various leadership approaches in order
top deal with the changes is also mentioned in this report.
Task 1
Discuss and contrast different organisational examples and how change impacts on an
organisational strategy and operations
Organisational change is defined as the process or action which leads the business
organisation to goes through major alteration in terms of their culture, advancement in
technology, infrastructure or any kind of changes in their internal process. Implementing any
kind of change in the organisation directly leads to influencing the strategies and operations of
the business as for smooth implementation of change the organisation has to modify their
strategies and carry out the operations accordingly (Amado and Ambrose, 2018). Tesco, one of
the top retailer of UK offering their services around the globe also offering quality services to
their customers in order to satisfy their needs and wants. Tesco has recently announced a few
changes as per the customers feedbacks in their retail stores in order to keep the things safe and
simple. The current Covid 19 pandemic has lead the organisation to implement the changes to
keep their customers safe and organisation and positively responded to these changes. The main
1

three changes includes opening of more checkouts to make the customers trip easier, making the
NHS entry as a priority and also making the priority shopping for the vulnerable consumers.
These changes has directly influenced the strategies and operations of the company. Similarly
there has been technological changes and operational changes in the Sainsbury which is also an
retail industry (Bratton, 2020). There is an implementation of change in both the organisation
which has directly influenced the their strategy and operations as highlighted below:
Organisation Changes Drivers of
change
Impact on
strategy
Impact on the
operations
Tesco In case of Tesco,
company has
declared big
changes to the
way the
customer's shop at
their stores with
the fear of second
lock-down in the
UK. In order to
overcome this the
company has
implemented
change of
opening more
checkouts in
order to reduce
the waiting time
of the customers
and make their
shopping more
easier and
convenient. This
The main driving
factors of change
in this case are
the external
factors as due to
the rise in the
current covid 19
cases the
company has to
open more
checkouts in the
city so that
consumers don't
have to travel
more and buy
from their nearest
outlet available.
This technology
change helped the
company to
ensure the safety
of the consumer's
through screening
The technology
change has
directly
influenced the
business strategy
of the Tesco as in
order to
implement the
new change of
installing the new
protective screens
at the new outlets
the proper
strategy to do so
has to been
implemented by
the company also.
The proper
strategy helped
the company to
successfully carry
out their work
Due to the current
change the
business
operation of the
Tesco has also
been affected, use
of the technology
allowed the
company to
effectively carry
out their activity
and provide better
experience to
their customers. It
is analysed that
the use of
technology also
allowed the
company to
enhance their
business
operations also.
2

will allows the
organisation to
attract large
number of
customers and
make their trip
more smooth and
easy. And in the
new outlets new
protective screens
has been installed
in order to ensure
the safety of the
consumers.
Another change
implemented by
the Tesco is
offering NHS the
priority entry and
the emergency
services also in
order to fulfill the
social
responsibility
towards them. In
order to offer the
emergency
services new and
advance
technology has
them at the
entrance
(Delgado and
Stefancic, 2019).
The current Covid
19 has forced the
business to
implement new
changes in order
to continue to
carry out their
activities. In this
case the main
driver of change
has been the
social factor
which lead to
technology
(Butler, 2019).
This change has
also lead to
directly
influencing the
business strategy
of the Tesco. As
the strategy of the
business has been
shifted towards
ensuring the
safety and
security of their
priority
customer's.
In order to offer
priority services
to the NHS
customers the
operations of the
business has also
changed, as the
employees has to
work towards
offering more
advance services
to their priority
customers
(DiClemente,
2018).
3

been adopted by
the company.
These technology
will help the
company to
ensure the safety
and security of
the priority
customers and
also offering them
online services as
per the
requirement.
changes and in
the company.
Emergency
services to the
NHS is a great
decision taken by
the company
specially at the
time like this.
And to do so
technology
change has been
implemented by
the company.
Business strategy
of the company
ensured that NHS
given the top
most priority and
offered quality
services (Fain,
J.A., 2020).
Sainsbury In case of
Sainsbury, it is
analysed that in
order to
effectively deal
with the current
covid 19
pandemic, the
company has
implemented new
changes in terms
of their
technology. The
company has
implemented new
technology in
order to offer
The main driving
factor of change
in this case has
been the external
factors which has
lead to change in
the technology
factor of the
company. Amid
the covid 19 the
technological
change allowed
the company to
effectively carry
out their activity.
This change
directly
influenced the
business strategy
of the company as
strategy has to be
modified in order
to effectively
carry out the
online services
(Gallos, J.V. and
Bolman, L.G.,
2021).
In case of
Sainsbury, due to
the change the
operations of the
business has been
directly
influenced. Use
of technology
allowed the
company to
effectively carry
out their online
services and
related
operations.
4

advance online
services to their
customer's
effectively and
enhance their
safety and
security and
maintain social
distancing.
Due to the
economic
slowdown due to
the current
pandemic the
another change
implemented by
the company
includes the
cutting around
more than 3500
jobs in their
Argos stores and
at different
counters.
The main driving
force in this case
is the economical
changes in the
environment due
to the Current
Pandemic. In
order to maintain
their economic
stability in the
marketplace, the
company decided
to cut-down 3500
jobs.
This change has
also directly
influenced the
strategy of
Sainsbury, as the
company has to
implement the
strategy to
analyse how to
overcome the
economic
instability
effectively.
The new change
has also
influenced the
operations of the
business as the
company has to
effectively
manage their
operation after the
economic
instability (Gupta,
2020).
5

Task 2
Discuss the influence that the drivers of changes have on the organisational behaviour
There are number of internal and external change that leads to directly influencing the
profitability and productivity of the business (Hartand Tummers, 2019). Change can be from an
internal factor or it can be from the external factor directly influencing the leadership, team and
individual behaviour. In case of Tesco, the various internal and external drivers of change
impacting the leadership, team and individual behaviour are highlighted below:
Change Internal/
External
Impact on
leadership
behaviour
Impact on
team
behaviour
Impact on
individual
behaviour
Measures to
minimise
negative
impacts
Technological
changes
Internal Any kind of
technology
changes in the
organisation
directly
influence the
behaviour of
the leaders, as
leaders ensure
that proper
required
training is
offered to the
employees so
that they easily
work on the
new
technologies
implemented.
Any kind of
change also
influence the
behaviour of
the team
members
also. Getting
adjusted to
the new
change is
never an easy
option for any
one (Hayes,
2018). Team
members
needs to
analyse the
changes and
with proper
As the
business starts
to offer online
services and
offering online
screen
protection
services to
their
customers, the
individual
employees
behaviour can
be influenced
as they have to
work towards
those change
and analyse
those changes.
In order
minimise the
negative
impact of the
technology
changes,
Tesco needs to
ensure that
required
training is
offered to
employees to
smoothly deal
with the new
change and
also there is
proper
communicatio
n from
6

Social change External
change
This change
will also
directly
influence the
behaviour of
the leaders. As
in order to
effectively
work towards
offering
priority
services to the
NHS, the
leaders needs to
trained their
employees
accordingly.
coordination
work needs to
be done to
work towards
those change.
In order to
implement
the change in
the business
organisation
team
members
needs to work
collaborativel
y. This can
directly
influence the
behaviour of
the team
members in
terms of
accepting the
new changes
and working
accordingly.
This change
will also lead
to influencing
the behaviour
of the
individual. As
individual
needs to
provide the
services to the
NHS on the
priority basis
effectively
(McIntyre and
Parkinson,
2020).
management
side. Making
employees
understand the
need for the
change and
how it will be
implemented
in the
organisation.
In order to
minimise the
social impact
of these
changes
proper strategy
needs to be
implemented
by the
management
also proper
analysis of the
change needs
to be done.
7

Measures that can be used to minimize negative impacts
There are number of methods that can be used by the business to minimise the negative
impact on the business operations. In context to Tesco the PDCA cycles is used as mentioned
below:
PDCA Cycle: It is one of the essential tool used by the business organisation to maintain regular
improvement in the business activity as well as in the product and services. It stands for plan, do,
check and act as mentioned below:
Plan: The first and foremost stage is the planning, under this Tesco needs to prepare
effective plan regarding the new change needs to be implemented in the organisation. Proper
planning regarding the implementation of their technology change needs to be done.
Do: Under this step, Tesco needs to develop a effective plan regarding the change that
will lead to enhancing the business and satisfying customers, these needs to be measured on the
continuous basis.
Check: This step allows the chosen company to review all the changes on the continues
basis, if there is any requirement for the improvement it is done accordingly.
Act: Finally in the last step, the change is implemented in the whole organisation for the
further enhancement and growth (Patton, 2021).
Task 3
Discuss how barriers to change influence leadership decision-making in the organisation
Force-field Theory: It is one of the essential analysis taken into consideration by the
business organisation which helps analysing forces that drives the changes and the forces that
resist the changes effectively. It mainly defines the two kind of forces namely driving forces
which leads to creating positive changes and the restraining forces which leads to creating
obstacles to changes. In case of Tesco various changes has been implemented by the company in
order enhance their performance and successful deal with the ongoing covid 19 pandemic
(Pianesi, 2019) The first change that has been implemented by the company is opening of new
checkouts and installing protective screens at the checkouts in order to ensure the safety and
security of the customers. Another changes implemented by the company includes the making
the priority entry for the NHS customers of the company. This is one of the most important
8

decision taken by company in order to ensure the safety and security of their priority customers.
Tesco has also implemented advance technology in order to offer quality services to their
customers. Various measures has been taken by the company in order to ensure the safety and
security of their customers and improve their performance. These changes also allowed company
to gain competitive advantage at the marketplace also (Sahota and Sahota, 2021).
Use of technology and ensuring their social responsibilities during the Covid 19 pandemic has
been the major change for the chosen company. This changes will allow the company to enhance
their performance even during the pandemic. The force which drive the changes and the forces
which resist these changes for the Tesco are mentioned below:
Driving forces
Competitive advantage: Use of technology in order to deal with the changes will allow
the Tesco to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace. This will help company to effective
and smoothly carry out their operations and ensure the safety and security of the customer,
leading to attract large number of customers. This will automatically lead to gaining competitive
advantage in the marketplace.
Enhancing brand image: Use of technology in order to offer protective screens at their
new checkout system which helps company to build customer's loyalty in the brand. This change
will lead to enhancing the brand image of the company. This will work as the driving force for
the company enhancing the brand image of the company as well as their profitability.
Barriers Forces
Time consuming: One of the factor that will lead to creating barriers in the change will
the time, implementing the technology is an time consuming process. Installing the protective
screens at all the checkout will be a time consuming process for the company.
Complexity: Another factors that can lead to creating barriers in the change can be the
complexity of the change. If the change that needs to be implemented is complex that it will lead
to creating barriers for the business. In case of Tesco, implementing the technology change in the
business is a complex process needs to implemented carefully and effectively (Sheaand
Solomon, 2020).
In order to reduce the obstacles to the change, Tesco needs to ensure that proper planning
is done before implementing the change also the proper strategies are developed in order to carry
out the work on time. The support of top management should also be ensured for smooth
9

implementation of the change in the business organisation. In order addition to this proper
training needs to be given to the employees so that they can handle the change more effectively.
The implementation of the technology such as protective screen at the checkouts and working
towards the NHS group will allow company to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace
and achieve their strategic objectives. Smooth implementation of change will allow the company
to enhance their growth and development (Smulowitz, 2020) .
Task 4
Determine a range of leadership approaches to a change initiative
Intended change in organisational
Tesco is one of the well established retail organisation, having more than 100 retail stores
around the globe. In order to continue to satisfy the needs of their target customers company has
implemented various technology changes such as implementation of online shopping, online
services to solve queries of their customers also e-commerce services. Recently with the current
Covid 19 pandemic the company has installed protective screens at their new checkouts
effectively. In addition to this the company also started new initiative of helping NHS offering
them priority services. These changes allowed the company to enhance their performance and
effectively carry out their activity. These changes also allowed company gain competitive
advantage in the marketplace (Wallensteen, 2018).
Reasons for change Higher profit margins: It is considered as one of the major reason of change which is
vital in order to survive at marketplace. In addition to this, it is analysed that bringing
change help Tesco to attract large number of customer and develop strong customer
loyalty which has positive impact on the revenue and profit margin of respective
company. Moreover, it also assist company to enhance its market share and growth in an
effective manner. Attain competitive advantage: It is important for an organisation to bring some unique
and innovative concept which is different from its competitors at marketplace. This help
company such as Tesco to attain competitive advantage at marketplace and fight with
their rivals in an appropriate manner. In addition to this, bringing changes mainly
associated to the shopping of vulnerable customers and emergency service for NHS is
10

different and a unique decision taken by the higher authorities of Tesco help in
developing positive mind-set of customers towards brand and also assist to attain
competitive edge over rivals.
 Fulfilment of customer requirements: Another reason to bring change is to deal and
fulfil the changing requirements of customers which is important in order to maintain
performance and retain in this competitive marketplace. Tesco has developed more
checkouts so that the waiting time of customers for billing will be less and their shopping
will be easy. This help in attracting large number of customers and gain their loyalty
which further has positive impact on the performance and profitability of Tesco.
Change lewin's model
This model states that individuals and organisation are influence through restraining
factors and driving forces which cause change to happen. It include three stages of change that is
mentioned below in context to Tesco: Stage 1- Unfreezing: It is consider as first and most important stage in the whole
procedure of change. It includes making employees aware about change and motivate
them to accept the change so that better results can be gained. In relation to Tesco, its
higher authorities give valid and effective reasons to employees for bringing change as it
help in motivating them to accept change and implement activities associated to it in a
proper manner (Weigend, 2018). Change: It is define as the stage of actual execution of change that include effective
communication, planning and encouragement to state that change is vital. It is analysed
that this stage involves high risk because of uncertainties or fear of employees to adopt
change procedure. With reference to Tesco, its managers ensure that all the roles and
responsibilities associated to change is properly communicated to employees so that no
discrepancies and barriers arise while implementing change. In addition to this, Tesco
motivate employees on continuous basis because of which they accept change and focus
on execution of activities related to change.
 Refreezing: It is the last stage of change model and herein employees move towards a
more stable level and working effectively on the change. With reference to Tesco, it
provide positive reinforcement and rewards to its staff members which help in effective
transformation of new methods of working. In addition to this, it also ensures that the
11

requirement of its employees is fulfilled properly as it help to make staff members put
full potential for attaining objectives within set time period.
How change will be implemented
Type of change Current impact on the
company
Desired impact
Technological changes The various technological
changes are implemented in
Tesco at different level such as
offering protective screens at
their new checkouts opened.
This will help the company to
make their new checkouts
more safe and secure during
current pandemic also offering
priority services to the NHS
helps company to fulfil their
social responsibilities and gain
competitive advantage in the
marketplace.
Effective implementation of
technological change will
allow company to enhance
their performance and gain
competitive advantage at the
long run also will allow them
to effectively carry out their
activity.
Conclusion
From the above report it has been analysed that organisational change is an essential
process which leads the business towards growth and success and also enhance their competitive
advantage in the marketplace. It is analysed that with the changing environment, analysing and
accepting the change becomes the success factor for the business organisation. From this report it
has been analysed that organisational change directly influence the organisation's strategy and
operations also to determine the various internal and external forces influencing the leadership,
team and individual behaviour the swot and pestel analysis is taken into consideration. Also the
force-field analysis is taken into consideration to analyse the various forces resist and support the
changes in the business organisation also allowing the organisation to reduce the barriers of
12

changes effectively. In addition to this, in order to effectively implement the necessary change in
the organisation the lewin's change model is also analysed in this report.
13

References
Books and Journals
Ackah-Jnr, F.R. and Fluckiger, B., 2021. Leading Inclusive Early Childhood Education: The
Architecture of Resources Necessary to Support Implementation and Change
Practice. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, pp.1-21.
Amado, G. and Ambrose, A. eds., 2018. The transitional approach to change. Routledge.
Bratton, J. ed., 2020. Organizational leadership. Sage.
Butler, A., 2019. ‘Inspiring change, leading in healthcare’: NHS Lanarks support worker
conference. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, 13(10), pp.510-513.
Delgado, R. and Stefancic, J., 2019. Understanding words that wound. Routledge.
DiClemente, C.C., 2018. Addiction and change: How addictions develop and addicted people
recover. Guilford Publications.
Fain, J.A., 2020. Reading, understanding, and applying nursing research. FA Davis.
Gallos, J.V. and Bolman, L.G., 2021. Reframing academic leadership. John wiley & sons.
Gupta, D.K., 2020. Understanding terrorism and political violence: The life cycle of birth,
growth, transformation, and demise. Routledge.
Hart, P.T. and Tummers, L., 2019. Understanding public leadership. Red Globe Press.
Hayes, J., 2018. The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave.
McIntyre, L.H. and Parkinson, T.J., 2020. Leading Significant Institutional Change in the
Context of an OIE-Endorsed Veterinary Twinning Project. Journal of Veterinary
Medical Education, 47(s1), pp.67-73.
Patton, W., 2021. The many faces of leadership: leading people and change in Australian higher
education. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 53(2), pp.121-131.
Pianesi, A., 2019. Design Thinking plus Adaptive Leadership: Leading Organizational Change
with the Change Canvas. Organization Development Journal, 37(3), pp.45-58.
Sahota, M. and Sahota, A.T., 2021. Leading Beyond Change: A Practical Guide to Evolving
Business Agility. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Shea, G.P. and Solomon, C.A., 2020. Leading Successful Change, Revised and Updated Edition:
8 Keys to Making Change Work. Wharton Digital Press.
Smulowitz, S., 2020. The Communication Solution: Leading Successful Change in Higher
Education. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Wallensteen, P., 2018. Understanding conflict resolution. Sage.
Weigend, A.S., 2018. Time series prediction: forecasting the future and understanding the past.
Routledge.
14