Understanding and Leading Change: A Case Study of Marks and Spencer

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UNDERSTANDING AND LEADING CHANGE
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Comparison of different organisational examples which has an impact of change on an
organisational strategy and operations.........................................................................................3
M1 The different drivers for change in each of the given examples and type of organisational
change they have affected............................................................................................................4
LO2..................................................................................................................................................5
P2 The ways in which the external and internal drivers of change affect team leadership and
individual behaviours...................................................................................................................5
P3 The measures that can be taken for minimising negative impacts of change on
organisational behaviour..............................................................................................................7
M2 The appropriate theories and models for Organisational response to change.......................8
LO3................................................................................................................................................10
P4 Different barriers to change and their influence on leadership decision in the given
organisational context................................................................................................................10
M3 The force field analysis to analyse the driving and resisting forces and their influence in
decision making.........................................................................................................................11
LO4................................................................................................................................................13
P5 The different leadership approaches two leading the dealing with change in the range of
organisational contexts..............................................................................................................13
M4 The extent of leadership approaches can deliver organisational change effectively
applying appropriate framework and model..............................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................16
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Introduction
Periodical change is beneficial for increasing the opportunity for an organisation. The change
management system is known as a systematic approach which helps the organisation in
achieving the objectives and goals by dealing with transition and transformation. The effect of
change management implementation can be both positive and negative depending on the
leadership and decision making approaches to the organization. There are also drivers and
barriers of Change management system which are known for their influence on this activity. In
this assignment, the UK based organisation Marks and Spencer is selected for understanding the
Change management system and its effect on the organisation.
LO1
P1 Comparison of different organisational examples which has an impact of change on an
organisational strategy and operations
In this age of globalization, understanding the business concept is a very crucial. A business is a
commercial venture to secure the maximum possible profit. There are events, things, and
situations occur specifically when a business operates and these affect the operations of the
business either negatively or positively. The change in the process of business of the Marks and
Spencer is the transformation of its state from small to large business. It includes the billing
process of Marks and Spencer. It is one of the biggest retail chains in the UK and all over the
world. It has adopted the leadership and strategic changes. The changing business environment
are influencing the businesses to adapt the change models. Some of the drivers that influence the
changes in organization are competition, customer demands and technological advancements.
Adoption of E-business models by M&S and Amazon are one of the examples that has been
influenced by technological advancements and customer demand towards approaching e-
commerce trends for shopping. Adopting the change has enhanced the revenue of M&S to grown
over 15 % till 2017 (marksandspencers.com, 2019).
The ongoing changes at the Marks and Spencer can be called as the strategic changes. On the
other hand, other leading organisations of UK, such as Google is another example, which has
changed its leadership style and implemented the technological advancements in its products due
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to the changing drivers of customer demands towards innovation. Changes include system,
culture, process and structure (Meyer et al. 2016). Although the success rate of strategic changes
in an organization is comparatively low (Mittal and Adhar, 2015). Many of the organization
simply don't get the idea properly and fails to understand the process. In case of a strategic
change, the objectives become reality. So accordingly the behavior of the employees needed to
be changed (Cameron and Green, 2015).
M1 The different drivers for change in each of the given examples and type of
organisational change they have affected
Changes affect the operations of business either negatively or positively. They are called the
driving forces of business. For example, the internal driving forces which are situations, things
and events that occur inside the business process which are mostly under control of the
organization. Different internal driving forces are described below.
Human resource:
Marks and Spencers restructured the human resources department in the areas such as
administration. This is an initiative to bring strategic changes into effect. This driver proved to
bring improvement in the overall activity inside the organization. Also the introduction of the
people planning improved the employees to a great extent.
Technological Capacity
New innovation makes the older ones disappear by time. Organizations should keep up with the
changes in technology. It is a crucial aspect that is needed the most attention for the survival of
the organization in the long run. Innovations are giving way to transform the entire business
operation technologically (Ceulemans, Lozano and Alonso-Almeida, 2015).
Organizational Culture
Organizational behaviour or culture is the study of the individual's behaviour inside an
organization. Successful organizations always listen to their employees and the customers and
take them into consideration when making a decision. These organizations are forward-looking
who is capable of taking risks for the business. Organizational culture is an essential part of any
company. Those who maintain well-organized culture inside the organization always stay ahead
in the competition.
Financial Management
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Finance is the base of any organization. Without it, no organization can survive in this race.
Without the money, there is no question of business. In a typical company, the finance
department decides about the distribution of fund inside the operation. Effective financial
management is key to the success of a typical organization. They are the most powerful internal
driving force of a company (Demerdash et al. 2017).
Employee Morale
The morality of the employees in the organization plays a crucial part in the success of any
business ventures by the organization. A well confident worker always delivers skillful work. If
an employee has low morality or has no commitment to the work then the organization is in a
bad shape. And it is on the verge of going out business. When an employee is satisfied with his
job and the company only then it creates positive energy inside the organization.
Poor Delivery
Poor delivery of product and services are a big problem which risks an organization's revenue
generation and growth, customers always expect good service and product they buy. If they
found it the other way then it's a serious issue to the survival of that company in this competitive
age. For example, Corus steel UK had an issue in timely delivering products to its customers
which lead to irreversible damage to the company's reputation along with heavy loss incurring.
Customers: They are the most important driving factor for Marks and Spencer (Donnelly and
Kirk, 2015). They always try to adopt the changes which can improve the approaches of the
organisation to the customers.
LO2
P2 The ways in which the external and internal drivers of change affect team leadership
and individual behaviours
Marks and Spencer have encountered different changes both externally and internally to reach
success.
PEST analysis
Political Factors
All companies in UK has to abide by the regulation set by the government. Failing to do so the
companies in the UK are liable for a penalty even they can face lawsuits. The companies have to
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identify the potential hazards, risk assessment and control properly and submit the
documentation to UK regulatory authority. These regulations are followed strictly in the UK.
Marks and Spencer's failed to follow the health and safety regulations once as a door fell on an
employee at their warehouse. They ignored the repair request raised by the department. The case
has been drawn to the court and still, there is no outcome of this trial (Doppelt, 2017).
Economic Factors
In the current market scenario, the economic outlook is not that much certain. As a result, it is
going to affect retail sales. People lost the power to spend cash on the luxury items to some
extent like food and clothing. It also hit the Marks and Spencer and they were forced to shut
down a number of stores around the world. They did the job cut and their employee strength
came down close to 70,000. Heavy discounts are offered by this organization to keep up with the
competition. They change a lot to survive the recession and steer ahead with profitability.
Sociological factors
Stuart Rose the chief executive of Marks and Spencer's wanted to stretch the brands of the
company like selling their food item online. This was a part of a plan to match the modern
society needs and be a multi-channel seller. It influenced to a great extent to the sales figure of
Marks and Spencer (Harrington, 2016). Currently, the cheap clothing industry is prevailing.
Marks and Spencer has also introduced the cheap fashionable clothing along with the high-end
garment section. They always keep their stores with up to date fashion items which are trending
currently. Consumers purchasing choice are influenced by a lot of factors like cultural,
psychological personal. All these factors are not in control of Marks and Spencer. What they did
is that they take this factor into account before selling.
Technological Factors
Technology is the most crucial part of a business in today's digital world. Brand positioning
should be communicated to the customer and for this reason technology steps in. Major players
in this field always spend a huge amount on advertising to increase the awareness of their brands.
Marks and Spencer always takes this very seriously. They always contact their customer for the
feedback and their suggestions about how the service can be improved. All these are done easily
by the help of effective technological advancements which Marks and Spencer adopted (Hayes,
2018).
SWOT analysis:
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Strength- Marks and Spencer are well known for their quality of products and brand loyalty.
They maintained this effectively which have attracted the consumers buying attention. Also, the
company is trying hard to bring in technological changes to keep up the pace in competition.
Weakness- Unfortunately some of the Marks and Spencer’s products are out fashioned and they
are also gone from the trend. Manual labor has increased the cost of operation. Somehow, for
this reason, the company is losing its popularity among its customer.
Opportunities- This Company can increase globally. Also, they have a presence in a number of
countries. They can offer customer specific products to increase their revenue.
Threat- Growing completion and new player’s entrance in the market with innovative ideas is a
grave threat to Marks and Spencer. Managing the risk properly and increasing the number of
stores would be the perfect solution to this (Hornstein, 2015).
P3 The measures that can be taken for minimising negative impacts of change on
organisational behaviour
The most effective way to deal with the resistance of a change is, involve the possible resisting
people in the process to decide how the changes should be made. But on several occasion, it
leads to more controversy as different people have a different view over what possible changes
should be made.
The solution to the resistance of a change in the organization is to realize and analyze the true
reason for the resistance. Resistance occurs mostly to the social changes but not the technical.
Resistance is usually created because of certain blind spots and attitudes which staff specialists
have as a result of their preoccupation with the technical aspects of new ideas.
Blind spots are the reason for which most of the resistance occurs. If the employees are educated
properly about the outcomes of a change then there is a possibility of minimizing the resistance.
In a typical resistance to the changing scenario, the management can take part to mitigate this
issue effectively. The steps will be to convince the new regulations and rules to the employees.
They need to encourage the employees about the new changes will bring benefits to them also.
They should convince the employees to think in different ways and accept the new changes
(Lines et al. 2015).
Top officials and the decision makers also need to take part in the convincing of the employees
about the new changes. They should include the employees to take part in the analysis of the new
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changes. By this way, there are possibilities to minimize the resistance that may occur due to the
changes in the system or the organization.
M2 The appropriate theories and models for Organisational response to change
There are different appropriate theories and models which can be used by Marks and Spencer for
Organisational response to change. The Lewin's Change management model and McKinsey 7s
model will be appropriate for Marks and Spencer for responding to change.
Lewis Change management model- The organisational change refers to the change of structural
and management change depending on the requirement for the organisation. Keeping that in
mind, then the author has focus is on the method or procedure, which can be adopted by Marks
and Spencer for implementing the identified change. Three different stages are identified in the
model for maintenance of corresponding towards change (Morin et al. 2016).
Figure 1: Lewis Change management model
(Source: Morin et al. 2016)
Unfreeze- This is considered as the first step where the organisation has to prepare the land for
implementing the change for the crucial needs. In the stage then the organisation has to break its
current situation and take the next step towards the change which will be more profitable for the
organisation. Looking forward to the change or re-examining it are part of this unfreeze status.
Change- This is the transition stage where the organisation has to prepare its staffs for adopting
the change. Embracing new developments changes and happenings are part of this process where
effective leadership is highly required. The terms of communication also need to increase for
developing a better relationship with the employees.
Refreeze- Refreeze is considered the next step after the acceptance and implementation of
change (Altamony et al. 2016). In the stage, the organisation has to focus on becoming stable
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again. The employees need to provide training and constant interaction with the leaders to
understand the implemented change.
The use of this theory on the model of Change management will provide Marks and Spencer
with a better way to achieve the objective. The employees will become comfortable and
confident enough after Change management.
McKinsey 7s model- McKinsey 7s model can be applied on changing the organisation Marks
and Spencer by introducing 7 different managing stages or steps.
Figure 2: McKinsey 7s model
(Source: Cameron and Green, 2015)
Strategy- the organisational strategy refers to the planning which needs to be changed according
to the 7s framework. Step by step future planning needs to be prepared by the organisation as an
organisational strategy for creating competitive advantage (Cameron and Green, 2015).
System- There are various systems which are identified under the day to day activities of Marks
and Spencer. In different functional areas, changes need to be done properly for improving the
organizational performance.
Structure- The organisational structure has a high attribute in the process of change. The
implementation of change directly influences the organisational division and how it works.
Shared values- Like every other organisation, Marks and Spencer have some core values. The
internal culture of this organisation is dependent on these shared values.
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Staff- The contribution of the staff or employees of Marks and Spencer in the process of Change
management is equally important. Their working capabilities need to be changed by providing
proper training and coaching for adopting the change (Ceulemans, Lozano and Alonso-Almeida,
2015).
Style- The leadership style is one of the major parts of the Change management process which
needs to be properly chosen for this Change management process.
Skills- for accepting the changes and embracing it the leaders and employees working in Marks
and Spencer has to adopt new skills and knowledge as part of their competencies.
Both are theories and models explain in about can be used by this organisation for responding to
change and achieving the objective of the target to increase productivity and profitability.
LO3
P4 Different barriers to change and their influence on leadership decision in the given
organisational context
Marks and Spencer need to understand the various aspects of its organisation to improve its
business function. Developing customized management solution can mitigate the issues and the
hurdle which will improve the operation inside the organisation. The different areas where the
change can effect are as follows.
• Poor communication problem at each level of the organisation.
• Lack of support to change from the management and also lack of commitment.
• Previous failure experiences.
•Limited knowledge of the impact (Demerdash et al. 2017).
• The negative attitude of employees. It is one of the important factors of driving changes:
• Involving employees in the change process who has no or less knowledge.
• Inadequate budget and resources.
The various barriers effects:
Financial losses:
In 2014 Marks and Spencer incurred a huge loss which affected their efficiency and turnover. So
they are keeping a serious check on the changes so that a further loss incur doesn’t happen.
Productivity and performance:
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Change in the overall organisation can hugely impact productivity and performance even at the
individual level. This will increase the communication complexity in a specific organisation.
Employee turnover: The changes that are taking place in the organisation and the barriers can
hamper the employee careers. This will increase the employee turnover rate and will lose
potential employees from the organisation.
When a radical change occurs an organisation can hamper the employee's career. This can
increase the turnover rate which is not good for any organisation (Donnelly and Kirk, 2015).
Marks and Spencer must be cautious about their product quality. Failing to do so can increase
customer dissatisfaction. Quality of the products which are catered by Marks and Spencer should
be up to mark to retain the loyalty of the customers. They also have to keep an eye over the
procurement of the resources. This can effectively bring down the cost of the product.
M3 The force field analysis to analyse the driving and resisting forces and their influence in
decision making
Lewin's force field model: The Change management process explained by Lewin is differentiated
into three different stages. But there are different forces and variously identified by him as well.
If the organisation Marks and Spencer once to use the force field analysis process for
implementing the change, then understanding this resisting forces and driving forces which are
influencing the decision makers to need to be known. From the beginning of the unfreezing
stage, the leaders and employees of the organisation need to focus is on the driving and resisting
forces for the change.
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