Analyzing Organizational Change and Leadership at River Island

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of organizational change at River Island, a high-street fashion brand. It examines the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reduce costs and improve the shopping experience, focusing on the planning phase, drivers for change, and stakeholder involvement. The report evaluates the implementation process, highlighting the use of Kotter’s Change Management model and the challenges faced, such as the lack of AI specialists and the need for advanced processing capabilities. It also discusses the role of transformational leadership in facilitating the change, emphasizing the importance of effective communication and support for employees. The report concludes by assessing the overall effectiveness of the change initiative, considering both the successes and the areas for improvement. The report also addresses the importance of the transformational leadership style in providing inspiration to the employees that has helped in the integration of Artificial Intelligence in the company.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
Organizational Change in River Island
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
Introduction
Organizational change refers to the process with the help of which a company
changes the structure, technologies and the operating models for the long term benefits of a
company. The organizational change takes place on account of the internal along with the
external pressures (Cameron and Green 2015). The organizational change helps in the
modification of structure along with the process of business of a company. The commercial
enterprises takes recourse to the organizational change so that they can compete against the
competitors. River Island is a high street fashion brand of London that operates in various
markets across the world (Riverisland.com 2019). The company sells exclusive range of the
clothing for the men, women, girls and the boys that has made it a popular brand among the
people. The kind of change that was undertaken in River Island pertains to the use of
Artificial intelligence that has helped in reducing the costs and improve the shopping
experience for the people. The use of the technology has helped in offering various kinds of
applications for retail segment. The report discusses about whether the change was well
planned and the drivers that brought about the change in the company. The report elaborates
on the process of implementation of change and its effect on the business. The report also
elucidates on whether the change was communicated in an effective manner and the effect of
leadership on the process of change.
Planning
The organizational change of the implementation of Artificial Intelligence was well-
planned that helped in bringing about the change in a successful manner. The kind of change
can be stated to be innovative as it can help in addressing the future needs of the company. It
can help the company in the arena of predictive analytics that can help the company in
attaining the success. The use of the Artificial Intelligence in River Island can help the

2ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
company in gathering the customer data that can work for the benefit of the company in the
long run. The Leavitt Diamond model states that there are four components in relation to a
change- structure, task, technology and the people. The technology of a company has to be
developed so that the process of the company is more efficient that can rightly help in
addressing the needs of the people. The environmental scanning had taken place at the time
of planning that helped in ensuring that the change was required in the company. The multi-
category retailers in United Kingdom has made use of Artificial Intelligence that has helped
the companies in the area of the accurate stock management along with the pricing metrics
that has helped the companies in emerging to be successful (Tidd and Bessant 2018). It has
been found with the help of multiple reports that the use of the automated technologies in the
back office can help in yielding huge amount of profit for the firm. It has helped in improving
the day-to-day operations of the organizations that have helped in increasing the satisfaction
of the customers (Clegg and de Matos 2017).
The driver that brought about the change was the need of the personalized shopping
experience among the people that can help in the growth of the company. The use of the
Artificial Intelligence can help the companies in being changed into the repository of the
design that can work to the benefit of the users (Lewis, Cantore and Passmore 2016). The
consumer behaviour is an important aspect in the present age and Artificial Intelligence can
help the companies in gaining the deeper insight into the customer behaviour that can help in
developing a company. The optimisation of the product portfolio is of great importance in the
present age and it can help in the area of the retail experience delivery.
The main stakeholders of the change are the management, employees and the
customers of River Island would be able to benefit with the help of the organizational change.
The apparel retailer can be instrumental in the creation of virtual racks along with the trail
rooms that can work to the benefit of the customers. It can help the customers of the company

3ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
in saving the time that can act to the convenience of the people. The placing of the robots
along with the touch panels can help in the reduction of the manpower cost that can act like
an advantage for the management and that of employees who are working in the company.
River Island can provide continuous assistance to the people with the help of Artificial
Intelligence that can help in increasing the profitability of the company.
The culture prevailing in River Island was taken into account at the time of
implementation of the organizational change. The kind of culture that exists in River Island is
the Adhocracy Culture that is on the basis of the energy along with the creativity of the
employees. The employees in this kind of culture are encouraged for taking the risks that can
help them in surviving in the long run (Alvesson and Sveningsson 2015). River Island lays
emphasis on the elements of the individual ingenuity along with the freedom that can help the
organization. The transformational leadership style was adopted in the company that have
helped in bringing about the change in the company. This leadership style has helped in
providing motivation to the employees that has helped the company in attaining the goal.
Implementation
The approach that was adopted for the implementation of change in River Island is the
strategic approach. This approach has helped in introducing new methods of carrying out the
work that has helped in increasing the efficiency of work of employees within River Island.
There has been internalization of the new behaviours that has helped in providing the right
outcome for the company. The implementation of the Artificial Intelligence was carried out
in a structured manner that has helped the organization in meeting the objectives. The change
was brought about in River Island with the help of the Kotter’s Change Management model
(Neves and Schyns 2018). It helped in making the employees understand that the need for the
Artificial Intelligence in River Island that can help in understanding the engagement level of

4ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
the customers with that of the present store layout (Pollack and Pollack 2015). It has helped
in optimising the operations that can help the firm in getting the higher returns. The vision of
using the Artificial Intelligence that can help the organization in earning more amount of
revenue was communicated to the employees that can helped in gathering support for
implementation of new strategy in the company. The employees of River Island were
empowered by making them know about how the retail brands by making use of the
Artificial-powered chat bots can handle various kinds of queries (Makridakis 2017). The
employees were able to gain the confidence as they were told that the chat bots can help the
customers in getting the personalized attention that can help in enhancing the loyalty of the
brand. The workers of River Island were told that the change would be able to help the
company in making huge amount of profits that has helped in creating the change in the
company.
The implementation of the Artificial Intelligence made River Island face many
problems that had an effect on their business. The organization lacked the specialists having
deep understanding in relation to the AI technologies that created problems in the path of
River Island. The dearth pertaining to the skilled human resources was acting as a hindrance
in the path of the retail company. Artificial Intelligence requires a great amount of
calculations that has to be computed at the hypersonic speed (Brynjolfsson, Rock and
Syverson 2017). It requires the processors that can help in the area of the advanced
processing. The volume of the data continued to grow and the deeper learning has helped in
bringing the complex algorithms into the existence that was creating problems for River
Island. The training was provided to the employees of River Island that helped the employees
in gaining more knowledge about the smart analytics along with the natural language
processing technology that helped the workers in the implementation of the new change in

5ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
the company (Chui 2017). It helped the workers in gaining knowledge about the Behavioural
Analytics that has helped the workers in the area of the surveillance footage.
The style of the leadership had a great amount of effect that helped River Island in
adjusting to the organizational change. The transformational style have helped in providing
inspiration to the employees that has helped in the integration of Artificial Intelligence in the
company. The manager can maintain close contact with the employees of the company that
can adjust the company to the process of the organizational change. The transformational
leadership has been able to bring about the improvements in the company that has helped in
facilitating the process of expansion of the company (King 2019). The transformational
leader has helped in the incorporation of the new vision in relation to the new situation that
has proved to the benefit of the company. The leader has recognized the gaps or the problems
in process of the organizational change that has helped them in addressing the issues in a
right manner to the employees of the company.
Communication and Support
The change was communicated in an effective manner that helped in the successful
implementation of the change in River Island. The reasons for the change should be
communicated in an open and honest manner that can help the employees in understanding
the reason behind the change (Cowan and Hinton 2018). The straightforward approach can be
undertaken that can help the employees in understanding the significance of the Artificial
Intelligence in the retail company. The employees can hear regarding the complications along
with the implications of the change from the leaders that can work to the benefit of the
company.
The stakeholders were considered by that of the change leaders that has been able to
bring advantages for the company. The CEO of the company communicated the change

6ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
directly to the employees that has implemented the change in a proper manner in the
company. The team discussions were two-way with the directors along with the managers
that has helped in implementing the system of the Artificial Intelligence in the company
(Brougham and Haar 2018). The employees were made known about how they would be
personally and professionally affected by the change that has helped in communicating the
change initiative in the company. The employees should be provided the opportunity of the
two-way communication that can help the employees in asking the questions and getting the
answers.
The reactions to the change were managed in a successful manner that proved to the
benefit of the company. The employees were resistant to the change as they were sceptical
about the implementation of Artificial Intelligence in the company. The employees are
concerned about the digital transformation taking place in the company as they feel that the
changes would need the employees to learn more regarding smart analytics and it can pave
the path for the employees losing the jobs (Lui and Lamb 2018). The change was managed in
an ethical manner as the employees were clearly provided all kinds of information in relation
to the change that helped the employees in understanding the implications of the change.
Conclusion
The implementing of the Artificial Intelligence was innovative as it helped the
company in adjusting to the changes taking place in the environment. The right kind of
utilisation of the predictive analytics can be instrumental in helping a company in attaining
success. The people in the present age want the personalized shopping experience and
Artificial Intelligence can play an important role in catering to the needs of the people. The
predictive analytics can be used by a company that can help it in getting a prominent position
among the retail companies of United Kingdom. Adhocracy culture is prevalent in River

7ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
Island that helps in providing the opportunity to the employees of exercising their creativity.
Transformational style have inspired employees that have helped the employees in
understanding the importance of the organizational change. CEO of River Island
communicated in a direct manner to employees that has facilitated the process of
organizational change. Team Discussions that were undertaken with directors and that of
managers helped in implementing Artificial Intelligence in the company.

8ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
References
Alvesson, M. and Sveningsson, S., 2015. Changing organizational culture: Cultural change
work in progress. Routledge.
Brougham, D. and Haar, J., 2018. Smart technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and
algorithms (STARA): employees’ perceptions of our future workplace. Journal of
Management & Organization, 24(2), pp.239-257.
Brynjolfsson, E., Rock, D. and Syverson, C., 2017. Artificial intelligence and the modern
productivity paradox: A clash of expectations and statistics (No. w24001). National Bureau
of Economic Research.
Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide
to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Chui, M., 2017. Artificial intelligence the next digital frontier?. McKinsey and Company
Global Institute, 47.
Clegg, S. and de Matos, J.A. eds., 2017. Sustainability and organizational change
management. Routledge.
Cowan, P. and Hinton, J., 2018. Intellectual property and artificial intelligence: what does the
future hold?. Intellectual Asset Management Magazine, (88), pp.24-29.
King, K., 2019. Using Artificial Intelligence in Marketing: How to harness AI and maintain
the competitive edge. Kogan Page Publishers.
Lewis, S., Cantore, S. and Passmore, J., 2016. Appreciative inquiry for change management:
Using AI to facilitate organizational development. Kogan Page Publishers.

9ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND
Lui, A. and Lamb, G.W., 2018. Artificial intelligence and augmented intelligence
collaboration: regaining trust and confidence in the financial sector. Information &
Communications Technology Law, 27(3), pp.267-283.
Makridakis, S., 2017. The forthcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution: Its impact on
society and firms. Futures, 90, pp.46-60.
Neves, P. and Schyns, B., 2018. With the bad comes what change? The interplay between
destructive leadership and organizational change. Journal of Change Management, 18(2),
pp.91-95.
Pollack, J. and Pollack, R., 2015. Using Kotter’s eight stage process to manage an
organisational change program: Presentation and practice. Systemic Practice and Action
Research, 28(1), pp.51-66.
Riverisland.com (2019). River Island - Fashion Clothing for Women, Men, Boys and Girls.
[online] River Island. Available at: https://www.riverisland.com/ [Accessed 19 Aug. 2019].
Tidd, J. and Bessant, J.R., 2018. Managing innovation: integrating technological, market
and organizational change. John Wiley & Sons.

10ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE IN RIVER ISLAND