Change Management: Strategy, Operations, and Leadership at Arcadia

This report provides a detailed analysis of change management within Arcadia Group Ltd., a British multinational retailing company. It explores the impact of organizational change on the company's strategy and operations, considering both internal and external drivers such as political and economic factors, available resources, and technological advancements. The report also examines how these drivers affect leadership, team, and individual behaviors, and proposes measures to minimize negative impacts. Furthermore, it discusses various barriers to change and their influence on leadership decision-making, employing force field analysis to evaluate driving and resisting forces. The report also uses Lewin's change management model to evaluate organizational response to change. Finally, it assesses different leadership approaches to effectively deliver organizational change, providing conclusions and recommendations for effective planning. Desklib is a platform where students can find past papers and solved assignments.

Understanding and Leading
Change

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Organisational examples where there has been an impact of change on an organisation’s
strategy and operations...........................................................................................................3
M1 Drivers for change in an organisation and the types of organisational change they have
affected...................................................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P2 Ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership, team and
individual behaviours ............................................................................................................6
P3 Measures that can be taken to minimise negative impacts of change on organisational
behaviour................................................................................................................................7
M2 Theories and models to evaluate organisational response to change...............................8
D1 Conclusions and recommendations with valid justifications for planning effectively.....8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P4 Different barriers for change and how they influence leadership decision-making.........9
M3 Force field analysis to analyse the driving and resisting forces and how they influence
decision-making...................................................................................................................10
D2 Evaluation of use of force field analysis in the context of meeting organisational
objectives..............................................................................................................................10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
P5 Leadership approaches to deal with change....................................................................11
M4 Which leadership approaches can deliver organisational change effectively................12
D3 Effectiveness of leadership approaches and models of change management. ..............12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Change is a procedure in which the management changes its functional methods,
applications, organisational framework or tactics to decrease the employee actions and the cost
of business while simultaneously increasing the effectiveness of the change effort. Factors such
as globalization of markets are dynamically evolving technical forces of businesses to respond in
respect to survive. This project report is made in context of Arcadia Group Ltd. which is a
British multinational retailing company which was established in the year 2002 and is
headquartered in London, UK. It maintain fashion retail shops and outlets. The management
provide wider term of clothing and supportive goods for men and women as worldwide. The
report gives detailed discussion on the internal and external drivers that lead to change and the
impact of such change on the company. Barriers of change are also discussed which influence
leadership decision-making and the approaches of dealing with such changes (Albrecht and et.
al., 2015).
TASK 1
P1 Organisational examples where there has been an impact of change on an organisation’s
strategy and operations.
The managerial tactics is the sum of activities of the business that incline to take to
accomplish it's longer term of the targets. It is a dynamical long-term plan that maps the route
towards the understanding of the managerial targets and objectives. A correct organisational
strategy if adopted gives monetary and competitive advantage to the company. To gain high
profitability Arcadia Group Ltd. needs to implement changes in the changing environment so as
to provide its customers with products that are in demand. To understand the impact of change
on an organisation’s strategy and operations following comparison is done between Arcadia
Group Ltd. and it's competitor ASOS PLC which is UK's largest online fashion retailer :
Basis Arcadia Group Ltd. ASOS PLC
Political
changes
Impact : After Brexit, the political
situations in UK have affected the retail
market. The slowing economy has lead
Impact : The online retail business in UK
depends greatly on European market. After
Brexit, the company is experiencing steady

to reduced consumer spending, products
sourced from EU have become more
expensive, risk of significant currency
fluctuations has impacted company's
performance for which following
strategic changes are made :
Strategic changes : Brexit has lead to
increase in prices in every sector. The
company in order to remain successive
can change it's strategy from premium
pricing in which it charged high premium
prices from customers to economic
pricing so as to make it's products
available to a large customer base by
reducing it's prices. More customers
buying at lower prices will maintain the
company's overall profitability.
Operational change : The company can
sell its products on online portal by
building an application to minimize the
affect of political barriers and deal with
the issue of expensive labour after
Brexit.
slowdown in terms of sales and revenue.
To reduce the impact of Brexit, ASOS plc
has brought following strategic changes to
improve the company's performance :
Strategic changes : The company has
changed its strategy by expanding it's target
market to 16-34 year old men and women
by combining on-trend fashion and
advanced distribution with low prices and
also introducing its own branded products
across full line of clothing types (Yahaya
and Ebrahim, 2016).
Operational change : The company has
become more demand driven and provide
greater services through introduction of
easy payment methods for online
transactions.
Social
changes
Impact : Social factors such as family,
community, socio-economic status,
religion etc. that affect and define
lifestyle influences Arcadia Group Ltd.
in business decisions of what stock to
keep in the stores to attract the kind of
customers it want to focus. The slowing
economy after Brexit has decreased the
Impact : The online retail market of ASOS
plc gets affected by the change in
consumer preferences as the fashion
between the age group of 16-34 year old
changes very frequently which affects the
stock management of the company because
it has to be changed every time the fashion

willingness of people to spend more.
Strategic changes : Including customer
experience management in CRM of the
company can maintain loyalty of the
customers and give Arcadia Group Ltd.
A competitive advantage (Saleem, 2015).
Operational change : A concrete refund
and return policies can be adopted so that
the customers are encouraged to buy
products from the retail stores and the
social changes can be handled more
efficiently.
changes.
Strategic changes : The company can
promote it's online retail branding in more
marketplaces so as to attract customers on
a wider scale and deal with management of
its stock that keeps on becoming obsolete
with changing fashion.
Operational change : The company
should hold the stocks based on the needs
of the customers and try to offer more
discounts for getting rid of the older stock
this can help in efficient stock management
and reduce stock holding costs due to
frequently changing fashion.
M1 Drivers for change in an organisation and the types of organisational change they have
affected
An organisation is affected by both internal and external drivers that lead to
organisational change to take place so that the organisation can successfully survive the
competitive environment. The internal drivers of change are resources available in the
organisation, capabilities of management to form policies and rules, type of employees,
organisational culture etc. The external drivers of change are competitors, government laws,
changing technology, fluctuating consumer needs etc.
Types of organisational changes
Transformational changes : Arcadia Group Ltd. can adopt these changes so as to
constantly examine it's organisational strategies and change them with the changing environment
so as have a competitive advantage over the rivalry firms. This includes knowing cultural trends,
understanding social climate and remaining updated on technological advances (Barbara and et.
al., 2017).
Remedial changes : Arcadia Group Ltd. can adopt these changes if the performance of
the company decreases. Performance levels tend to decrease when suffering from financial

distress. These changes are made to correct the strategies that were previously profitable but are
now detrimental to the company.
TASK 2
P2 Ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership, team and individual
behaviours
The internal and external drivers will lead to managerial change in Arcadia Group Ltd.,
that will have an impact on leadership, team and individual behaviours that are as follows -
Internal Drivers of change :
 Resources available : If the resources such as funds, employees, technologies etc. that are
required for the smooth running of the business are sufficiently available then it helps the
leaders to efficiently lead the workforce to utilize the available resources in the most cost
effective manner. Sufficient resources in Arcadia Group Ltd. encourages the behaviour of
individuals and teams in taking responsibility of utilizing the resources in the best way
possible and reduce wastage.
 Financial Management : Finances available in the company helps the leaders of the firms
to use their skills in efficiently utilising the finances of resources to run the business
successfully. The available finances in Arcadia Group Ltd. affects behaviours of
individual and team as it gives them the confidence of the company being economically
stable. Sufficient funds will help the company in running its business operations
smoothly (Emmrich and et. al., 2015).
 Employees : Employees working in Arcadia Group Ltd. determines the type of leadership
that needs to be followed so as to use their skills in business functions to generate highest
profits. The strength of the workforce defines sustainability of the business.
 Organisational culture : The impact of human behaviour in working situation will identify
its impact on job structure, presentation, communication, condition, leading activities etc.
The leaders are able to create positive outcomes by managing workers when their goals
do not align with corporate culture.
External Drivers of change :
 Political : Political factors affect businesses and changes have to be made so as to abide
by the legal and political framework of the country in which they work. Arcadia Group

Ltd. has to follow the rules and regulations of the government because if they are not
followed it may lead to heavy tax duties.
 Economic : The economic factors include inflation rates, interest rates, purchasing power
of customers etc. The economic conditions affects the level of motivation in the
employees of as the sales depends on the economic conditions and if the sales are high
then workers are motivated in providing best services and the leaders are also motivated
in managing the staff (Hayes, 2018).
 Social : The social factors include the demography, socio-economic conditions, culture,
religion etc. These influence the loyalty of the employees and their readiness to accept
policies and laws of organisation. It affects the leadership as they have to deal with
employees from different social backgrounds and integrating them to work together in an
efficient manner.
 Technological : The kind of technology used helps in simplifying job functions,
strengthening performance and improving job satisfaction. It is easier to motivate
satisfied employees and integrating them to achieve goals and objectives of Arcadia
Group Ltd.
P3 Measures that can be taken to minimise negative impacts of change on organisational
behaviour
To minimize the impact of change in Arcadia Group Ltd. on organisational behaviour are
as follows :
Involving employees in decision-making process - If the opinions of employees related to certain
changes in decision-making are considered then they feel motivated to use their skills and be
more cooperative and adaptive to the changes that are adopted in the organisation. This makes
the management and employees coordinate well and work together to give high profits to the
organisation (Zand, 2015).
Effective communication – Building proper communication channel can help employees remain
updated on all the changes that are taking place in the organisation. This also helps the
management to collect feedback from the affected employees and help in eliminating problems
and efficiently managing staff to achieve goals and objectives of the company (Hornstein, 2015).

M2 Theories and models to evaluate organisational response to change
Organisational change is required to increase the chances of business to survive within
the budget and realize profits in competitive and fast paced world through adopting to new
techniques and method to satisfy consumer demand. Arcadia Group Ltd. can adopt Lewin's
change management model to evaluate organisational response to change. This model covers of
three stages such as Unfreeze, change, refreeze. Unfreeze includes preparing people for change
and making them understand the need for such change for staying profitable over long term.
Change includes bringing the desired change in the organisation and communicating
continuously to the people about the progress of such change. Refreeze means that the changes
are accepted, embraced and executed by individuals and the business to start going back to
normal pace and regular again. This way the organisational response to change can be evaluated
(Král and Králová, 2016).
D1 Conclusions and recommendations with valid justifications for planning effectively
From the above discussions it can be concluded that there are internal and drives that lead
to organisational change which are required to maintain sustainability of the organisation.
Internal drivers can be controlled and managed while the managers have to make changes
according to the external drivers. Effectively implementing change in firm's internal organisation
of work and improvements in technology can help Arcadia Group Ltd. in having competitive
advantage over its competitors. Following are the recommendations for planning effectively for
change :
 Identifying the problem that need to be changed.
 Communication of desired change to all the stakeholders.
 Monitor and manage resistance, dependencies and budgeting risks of implementing such
change.
 Present a solid business plan so as to show the positive impact that change will bring in
the organisation by evaluating the available data and information.
 Engagement of candidates in the procedure of decision-making while implementing such
change.

TASK 3
P4 Different barriers for change and how they influence leadership decision-making
While implementing a change in an organisation different barriers are faced by the
management which needs to be dealt with so that the changes can be effectively implemented
and can benefit the organisation in the best way possible. Following are some most common
barriers :
 Lack of employee involvement : It is important to involve employees while introducing
change so that the lack of desire to embrace a new culture from them could be reduced.
Listening to their opinions, including them in decision-making process and assuring them
that the change is good for all in the organisation (Lines and et. al., 2015).
 Lack of effective communication strategy : The need for change and the impact of such
change on the employees need to be communicated to them so that they are able to adapt
well to the changes.
 A bad culture shift planning : Not considering the feelings and intuitions of employees
while introducing change in the organisation. This creates great resistance from the
employees to adapt to any change.
 Unknown current state : Before introducing a change it is important to conduct an
assessment and understanding of the current state of the organisation to analyte the extent
to which a change needs to be brought.
 Organisation complexity : The complexities involves complex processes, goods and
scheme that are tough for the members of organisation to got it. This barrier can be
broken by managing persevering, qualitative and highly efficient task and change-
management.

M3 Force field analysis to analyse the driving and resisting forces and how they influence
decision-making
Illustration 1: Force Field Analysis - Kurt Lewin
Force field analysis offers a summary of the change issues that require to be handle by the
person, splitting sections into forces for and against change. In this section, there are various
forces of the driving change and forces that are suppressing it. Where there is situation among
the two division of forces, then there will be no change. In respect for the change driving force it
require to extend the suppressing forces. This model will help managers of Arcadia Group Ltd.
in determining the driving and resisting forces in the organisation and reducing the resisting
forces so that changes can be introduced to reach to a desired level. The identification of these
forces will make decision-making process clear and easy as the areas of focus are known.
Appropriate actions will be taken to increase the driving forces so that the employees can be
convinced that the change will affect the organisation as a whole in a positive manner.
D2 Evaluation of use of force field analysis in the context of meeting organisational objectives
Force field analysis provides a visual summary of various forces for and against a
particular change that the managers are thinking about implementing to meet organisational
objectives. This helps in identifying obstacles that lie ahead while taking actions to reduce them

with strengthening the forces that support the decision of change. It helps in simplifying
communication among the staff and breaking communication barriers. This also helps in
involving employee's opinions while decision-making which develop a common understanding
of the subject and integrating efforts of the staff so that objectives of the organisation can be
achieved (Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans, 2016).
TASK 4
P5 Leadership approaches to deal with change
It is very important for the managers of Arcadia Group Ltd. To adopt an appropriate
leadership approach so as to implement a change in the organisation effectively and motivate the
employees to adopt the changes by assuring them that the desired change will be beneficial to the
organisation as a whole. Directing the workforce towards achieving the desired changes
following leadership styles can be adopted :
 Democratic Leadership – It is the most effective leadership style which allows lower-
level employees to be a part of decision-making. Open discussions of opinions of each
employee are done and their suggestions are considered in decision making. This is an
effective tool of engaging the employees and making them loyal towards the
organisation as their views are also given importance. This helps in integration of
management and individuals so that a collective effort is made in achieving the goals
and objectives of the organisation (What Is Democratic Leadership?. 2019).
 Transformational leadership : This type of leadership is mean to be transforming and
enhancing upon the business's practices. The leader constantly pushes the employees
outside of their comfort zone by giving them deadlines on completing the projects and
giving more and more challenging goals as the employee grow with the company. This
is a highly encouraged form of leadership which motivates the employees to achieve
higher goals (Moncrief, Marshall and Rudd, 2015).
 Coach-style leadership : The leader concentrates on determining and raising the
individual strengths of each person of their group and concentrates on strategies that
will allow them to work as effectively. The leader supports the employees in enhancing
their strengths and guides them and gives them formative reply.

Arcadia Group Ltd. Must adopt democratic style of leadership so as to increase the involvement
of employees in decision-making which will be essential to implement a change in the
organisation so that they can be work together towards achieving the objectives of introducing
such change. This will also encourage them to accept change easily and decrease the internal
resistance towards bringing change.
M4 Which leadership approaches can deliver organisational change effectively
Effective leadership is an important contributor to overall organisational performance and
change. The leaders use their skills and knowledge gained through experience to effectively and
efficiently manage the workforce of an organisation. Democratic leadership also known as
participative leadership involves the members of a team in decision-making. It leads to better
outcomes, better contributions from group members and amplified group members. For effecting
a change, Arcadia Group Ltd. can use this leadership because a change affects the employees
and they might resist such change if their opinions are not involved in decision-making.
Involvement builds trust among the team members and they adapt to changes easily (Raziq and
Maulabakhsh, 2015).
D3 Effectiveness of leadership approaches and models of change management.
From the above discussion it can be analysed that democratic leadership approach is the
way to effect change in Arcadia Group Ltd. This not only increases employee participation but
also contributes towards building a healthy and friendly environment at the workplace. This also
increases the contribution of each team member in implementing a change effectively and
efficiently. It also reduces conflicts and issues faced by the employees while the process of
implementing change in strategy or operations in the organisation.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that an organisation is affected by various
factors that lead to change in its strategy and operations so that sustainability of the business can
be maintained. The internal and external drivers lead to change when they become more than
restraining forces. The negative impact of change can be reduced by involving employees in
decision making. The organisations need to analyse and evaluate the need of introducing a
change and the extent to which it can be implemented with studying the impact such change will
have on the stakeholders and overall performance of the organisation.

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