Understanding and Leading Change: Lenovo and GE Case Study

Running head: UNDERSTANDING AND LEADING CHANGE
Understanding and Leading Change
[Lenovo and a Case Study Company ‘GE’]
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1UNDERSTANDING AND LEADING CHANGE
Table of Contents
Part 1................................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Major changes........................................................................................................................2
1.2 SWOT of each organization to identify the drivers for change.............................................3
1.3 Comparing and analyzing the impact of changes on strategy and operations of each firm. .5
2.1 Evaluating the impact of internal & external drivers of change in leadership, individuals
and team behavior........................................................................................................................8
2.2 Using the change management theories & models to identify how negative impacts of
change on the businesses were minimized................................................................................10
2.3 A critical evaluation of responses thereafter.......................................................................12
3. Recommendation and conclusion..........................................................................................12
Part 2..............................................................................................................................................13
4.1 Different barriers to change and how these impact the leadership's decision making........13
4.2 Applying Kurt Lewin’s force field analysis change model to determine opposition and
support for changes in GE.........................................................................................................14
4.3 A critical evaluation of how all these helped GE to fulfill its organizational objectives....14
5.1 Using change management and leadership theories and models to identify the advantages
and disadvantages of different leadership approaches dealing with change.............................15
5.2 Applying different leadership approaches to deal with the change in GE..........................16
5.3 Evaluating how leadership approaches did support the change and how successful was it 16
References......................................................................................................................................17

2UNDERSTANDING AND LEADING CHANGE
Part 1
1.1 Major changes
General Electric (GE)
The major change that took place in ‘GE’ was the transformation or remaking of GE to
an iconic and historic company. The change was made by the CEO of the company, Jeffrey R.
Immelt, during extremely challenging and volatile times. The change had faced all sorts of
circumstances such as recessions, geopolitical risk and bubbles. During the entire period of
change, new competitors kept on emerging and the fact had required considering a makeover of
business model every single time. CEO of modern ages is explored to a variety of challenges
where they are tested for their leadership skills in relation to decision making and the operation
management. The best part of the transformation in GE was its CEO’s decision to identify the
sectors to put into the change. The CEO did not include the entire portfolio in the transformation
process. The CEO rather separated out the low-tech and slower-growing sectors (Hbr.org 2018).
Additionally, the CEO had the clear vision to reinvent GE as the leading name in technological
solution. The technological advancement was tried for with the transformation process.
Lenovo
The biggest transformation in Lenovo has been its transition into a technological solution
which stepped into the place of IBM and successfully led the new responsibilities. The
transformation is one of the biggest in the last 10 years. IBM due to the average performance of
its PC unit had sold this to Lenovo in 2005 (Forbes.com 2018). The move was full of challenge
for Lenovo due to many things such as the cultural differences between Lenovo and IBM. There
are indeed huge cultural differences between a Chinese and an American company. The

3UNDERSTANDING AND LEADING CHANGE
transformation had required employees in the PC unit of IBM to move to the Chinese company
Lenovo. This was not an easy task especially due to the cultural differences. Top officials in
particular could have resisted form leaving their existing company and moving to a culturally
different company. However, the leadership in Lenovo had worked at this point in time. They
were able to convince employees that everything will remain the same. The feat had worked and
employees were convinced to move. There were few initial hiccups also like the one when the
US government had denied access to government contracts or data to a Chinese company.
Lenovo success can be credited to the leadership formed in the company due to the merging of
IBM and Lenovo. The success of the venture needs to be credited to the hard works of the
American and Chinese leaders. The two cultures have surprisingly worked together. The trust of
Chinese leaders in the American leadership is a point to wonder. The leaders at Lenovo did not
hesitate in working together with Steve Ward who worked as the architect of the deal from IBM
(Fortune 2018).
1.2 SWOT of each organization to identify the drivers for change
GE
Strengths: General Electric has a highly diversified portfolio ranging from energy
infrastructure, NBCU, consumer & industrial to technology infrastructure. It has a long history of
acquisition which helped it to attain a global presence. They have been able to perform even
during the recessions and economic downturns. Strong and inspiring leadership is one of the key
assets of GE. The culture in the company is fuelled with desires and skills to support the
innovation and technology (Hbr.org 2018).