Organizational Change Management: Case Studies of Unilever and L'Oréal

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UNDERSTANDING AND LEADING CHANGE

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
P1 COMPARE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONAL EXAMPLES WHERE THERE HAS
BEEN AN IMPACT OF CHANGE ON AN ORGANIZATION’S STRATEGY AND
OPERATIONS............................................................................................................................2
M1 ASSESS THE DIFFERENT DRIVERS FOR CHANGE IN EACH OF THE GIVEN
EXAMPLE AND THE TYPE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THEY HAVE
AFFECTED.................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P2 EVALUATE THE WAYS IN WHICH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DRIVERS OF
CHANGE AFFECT LEADERSHIP, TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOURS WITHIN
AN ORGANIZATION................................................................................................................6
P3 EVALUATE MEASURES THAT CAN BE TAKEN TO MINIMIZE NEGATIVE
IMPACTS OF CHANGE ON ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR......................................10
M3 APPLY APPROPRIATE THEORIES AND MODELS TO CRITICALLY EVALUATE
ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSE TO CHANGE...................................................................12
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................14
P4 EXPLAIN DIFFERENT BARRIERS FOR CHANGE AND DETERMINE HOW THEY
INFLUENCE LEADERSHIP DECISION MAKING OF UNILEVER...................................14
M3 USE FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS TO ANALYZE THE DRIVING AND RESISTING
FORCES AND SHOW HOW THEY INFLUENCE DECISION MAKING...........................15
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................17
P5 APPLY DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP APPROACHES TO DEAL WITH CHANGE IN A
RANGE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT.......................................................................17
M4 EVALUATE THE EXTENT TO WHICH LEADERSHIP APPROACHES CAN
DELIVER ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE EFFECTIVELY APPLYING APPROPRIATE

MODELS AND FRAMEWORK..............................................................................................18
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................20

INTRODUCTION
Changes are the major aspect of organizational life and to survive for a long it is
compulsory to do the changes in an organization according to the need and requirement
of the organization and the market (Cummings, and Worley, 2014). Changes occur in
an organization when a company want to reach its desired future state from its current
state. And it is very necessary for the management to manage the change in an
organization in such a way that maximizes the effectiveness of change and minimize
the employees’ defiance and cost to the organization. In today’s competitive world of the
business, environment companies need to do the changes constantly to remain in the
competition and to survive for a long. The advancement of the technology and the
globalization of the market are forcing the organization to think beyond and do the minor
and major changes like installing a new software program to increase the efficiency of
the company or refocusing on a marketing strategy or expanding and transforming the
company due to foreign competition.
Changes are the constant requirement of the company and it always brings positive
benefits as well as the negative consequences. And it is essential for the leaders to lead
the employees through the change process in a positive way. The change process
always affects the organizational strategy and the leaders and the managers need to
have the skills to mould the strategy and lead the organization towards the
accomplishment of the goals. In this assignment, the two multinational companies have
been taken i.e. Unilever and L'Oreal and the effect of change has been discussed. This
assignment would focus on systematic planning and delivering organizational change.
And will determine the appropriate interventions which are required to minimize the risk
of organizational change and maximize the benefits. It will also discuss the
understanding of leadership related to change initiative.

TASK 1
P1 COMPARE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONAL EXAMPLES WHERE THERE
HAS BEEN AN IMPACT OF CHANGE ON AN ORGANIZATION’S STRATEGY
AND OPERATIONS
WHAT IS CHANGE IN A BUSINESS CONTEXT?
Change is the act of moving the company towards the future where it wants to be from
where it is now (Botha, et al., 2014). The changes can be of any type small or big
according to the requirement of the company. It is a necessary and continuous process
of an organization in order to achieve the target goals and to remain competitive. There
are different kinds of changes like developmental, transitional and transformational
which the companies adopt according to the requirement.
IMPACT OF CHANGES ON AN ORGANIZATION’S STRATEGY AND OPERATIONS
The business owners cannot predict the future even by doing the best planning or
making the strategy cannot ensure the success and cannot predict the future perfectly.
The changes in the business can transform the business environment it can affect
positively or negatively both (Lewis, 2019). To survive for a long in the market it is
necessary to adopt the strategy according to the requirement of the change. The
Unilever and the L'Oreal have also adopted some changes in the growth and
development of the company. The changes bring the hassle and confusion in the
organization and while doing the changes in the organization it is also necessary to
refocus on the strategies of an organization. Sudden changes in an organization can
affect the operation of an organization, for example, the installation of the new software
program can affect the efficiency and effectiveness of the work as the employees are
not used to with the new technology. There are many types of changes which Unilever
and L’Oreal required for the long existence of the business. And it is very important to
identify the type of change which an organization required. The major types of change
are discussed below:

Organizational Structure Change
It is very important for companies like Unilever and L'Oreal to do the changes in the
strategy of the organization as per the requirement of the company. The company
needs to have control over its operational activities and the management of the
company. It improves the work efficiency of the company and brings growth and
development (Král, and Králová, 2016).
Developmental Change
Developmental change refers to the change which an organization do to improve the
current business procedure. To make further change in an organization developmental
change is the first step to do which helps to meet the demand of the current market. The
Unilever and the L'Oreal are also making changes in a systematic way in order to
develop the sales and production of the company.
Transitional Change
Transitional change refers to the change which an organization do to replace the
existing processes with the new processes (Amado, and Sharpe, 2018). The
implementation of the transitional change is more challenging and increases the
discomfort of the employees. The Unilever are also doing transitional change and
implementing the new technology, creating new products and services, mergers or
acquisition, etc.
Transformational Change
Transformational change refers to reshaping of business strategy and processes. It
involves both development and transitional change and it generally occurs because of
the unexpected or extreme market changes (Termeer, et al., 2017). The L'Oreal and
Unilever are also transforming themselves because of the strategic and cultural change,
change in operation order to meet the new demand and supply.

M1 ASSESS THE DIFFERENT DRIVERS FOR CHANGE IN EACH OF THE
GIVEN EXAMPLE AND THE TYPE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THEY
HAVE AFFECTED
Drivers of change are the factors which bring the change in the company. These factors
demand the changes in the action of the company and due to that, the changes took
place in the structure and process of the company (Rauter, et al., 2017). Drivers of
change originate mostly in the outer ring of macro and microenvironment. These
changes can affect the companies internally and externally which can bring a positive
and negative result. There are some specific changes which have occurred in Unilever
and L’Oreal are discussed below:
Globalization
The globalization and the advancement of technology have a great impact on the
business of L'Oreal and Unilever. The globalization made the company to expand its
business all over the world. And the company is aiming to do more innovation in the
production of the products. The fundamental changes which are happening today like
young demographic, digitization and the rise of e-commerce are demanding to do the
changes in the production planning and strategies of the company (Siemieniuch, and
Sinclair, 2015). These changes have made the company to do the market segmentation
and target the consumers of the company with a strong marketing strategy.
Increase in Competition
The globalization and the change in technology have increased the competition. Now
there are many companies who are giving the tough competition to Unilever and
L’Oreal. Change brings more competition and it is very important to adapt to the
changes and make the strategies and policies of the company according to the demand
of the customers and the market. And to be competitive it is necessary for the
organization to enhance the work process and strategies of the company.
Change in lifestyle

Change in the lifestyle of the people is also an important driver of change. Now the
people are more aware of the products and getting more health conscious. The
consumers now want the product which is good in quality and maintains their health.
The companies like Unilever and L'Oreal are now focusing more on the quality of the
products and maintaining the hygiene and coming up with the best quality products.
Marketing Innovation
As technology is changing very rapidly there are many new ways are emerging for the
marketing of the products. And the companies are adopting the many new marketing
strategies to remain in the competition. Marketers are now more aware of the latest
technology and doing innovation in the marketing of the company and applying many
new marketing methods like online marketing.
Technological Change
Today there is the rapid change in the technology and this advancement of technology
is increasing the competition day by day (Camisón, and Villar-López, 2014). Now the
company need to upgrade their technology and should provide better services to the
customers in order to be in the competition. This advancement of technology has
changed the working process of the company which is reducing the cost and increasing
the work efficiency.

TASK 2
P2 EVALUATE THE WAYS IN WHICH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL
DRIVERS OF CHANGE AFFECT LEADERSHIP, TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOURS WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION
Introduction of Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch Transnational consumer goods company which works
worldwide (Unilever, 2019). The advancement of technology and the change in
business environment made the company to do the changes in an organization in order
to meet the required demand of the market and for the development and growth of the
company. The company has set out to make a change to some big issues that matter to
the company and the world. These changes will affect the leadership, team and
behaviour of the employees of the company. The company is doing the transformational
change through the change in operation, brands, sourcing and innovation. And the
company is finding new ways to help in making these systematic changes in climate
change and promoting human development. All these internal and external factors will
impact the leadership, team and behaviour of the employees of Unilever and L’Oreal.
PESTLE ANALYSIS OF UNILEVER
Every firm has to face changes with the change in the world. The Internal and external
both factors affect the organization and it is very important for the organization to
identify these effects and make the changes accordingly. The PESTEL analysis will
identify the complication that the company is facing.
Political factors: The political factor refers to governmental factors. The British
government always tried to maintain healthy competition within the nation among all the
key players. The political stability of the nation in which the organization is working
brings the opportunity for the company. A company like Unilever who is having many
competitors should have a good intra-governmental relationship which could become
the source of opportunity for the global company like Unilever (Hasan, 2015). The

government policies related to the health of the population can be a threat to the
company and the company has to focus on the quality of the product.
Economic factors: To maintain stability and worth in the industry Unilever has always
focused on the area of product need which helps the company. The economic stability
of the state is directly get affected by the performance of the company like Unilever in
which it is working (Eisenberg, 2019). There are more paths for the opportunities of the
company in the region where countries are more developed. The slowdown of the
Chinese economy can become a threat to the company where it has been considered
as the greatest economy of the world.
Social factor: The social factor refers to the culture of the region and includes the
beliefs and lifestyle of the people. For example, the modern state people are more use
to live a life with good lifestyle and this culture is providing an opportunity for the
company like Unilever as the people found some luxury products of Unilever as their
basic needs. And the company need to make the changes in the production of the
products according to the needs and wants of the customers.
Technological factors: The advancement in the technology has always been a good
opportunity for the company as the increasing trend of automation in business strategy
and advancement of technology helps the company to expand in the global market. The
latest technology of the internet is using in the marketing required the change in the
marketing strategy of the company.
Legal factor: As a company related to consumer goods Unilever has to follow many
laws and legalities. The company has to focus on the policies related to the health of the
people and all other laws like copyright, product safety and laws related to health and
safety of employees. And many other legal aspects can affect the company and it
required to make the changes in the company.
Environmental factor: The environmental factor refers to the laws related to climate
change and the laws regulating environmental pollution, recycling and support for
renewable energy. As it is known that Unilever always focus on the environment and

there is an ecological change in the company. The company need to make a strategy
which must involve product innovation to reduce business environmental impact.
Introduction of LOREAL
LOREAL is a world’s largest cosmetic company of France which provides its products
and services all over the world. Since its establishment in 1909, it is one of the best
brands in the world of cosmetics (L’Oreal, 2019). The company is continuously making
efforts to be the best in the market. And for the continuous growth and development and
to be competitive the company needs to walk along with the world and do the changes
according to the requirement of the company and the market. There are three
fundamental changes are happening in the world today i.e. young demographic,
digitisation and social media, and the rise of e-commerce. The company needs to do
the changes in the strategy and operations of the company to meet these fundamental
changes in the business environment.
PESTLE ANALYSIS OF LOREAL
LOREAL is one of the leading company of cosmetics and beauty in the world. And to
meet the needs of the global fashion trend it is making many different varieties of
products. With the passage of time, there are many factors which are affecting the
company and demanding the change in the policy and strategies of the company. The
affecting factors are discussed below:
Political factor: The political factor refers to the factor relating to the rules and policies
of the government. As the L’Oreal is the manufacturing company of Paris the
governmental policies of France affects the company most (UKEssays, 2018). Apart
from this the import policies of the different countries play an important role in the
success of the company. And with the advent of the globalization, the company need to
do the changes according to the change in the policies of the countries in which it is
working.
Economic factor: The economic factor refers to the Interest rate, money supply,
inflation, competitors pricing, globalization, etc. The company needs to make the

strategies according to the economic condition of the country in which it is working. The
prices of the products may vary in a different region as per the economic condition of
the country. As the L'Oreal manufacture, the luxury products and its prices are also high
as compare to other local brands the company needs to target the customers in
developed states (UKEssays,2018).
Social factor: The social factor includes technical trends as modern societies are more
interested in the new fashion trends of the society. The society which is having the
knowledge of latest technology want the advancement in the products and services and
as the L’Oreal has the strong market in modern societies it needs to do the invention in
the product and provide the variety in the different range of the products.
Technological factor: Technology has a consequence in every sphere of life. And the
advancement in technology always inspires to do innovations. In a company like
L'Oreal, the development of technology plays a very important role in its success. And
with the development of the latest technology like the internet the company need to do
the change in the marketing strategy.
Legal factor: To be in the market for a long time it is essential to fulfilling all the
legalities of the country in which the company is working. The world is now becoming a
global village and the people are also becoming very careful about the legal aspects of
the products and the company. And these legal aspects require to focuses on all the
legit stuff.
Environmental factor: The environmental factor includes various laws related to the
safety of the environment. And the big brands are supporting the world in making the
pollution free environment. And the international brand like L’Oreal also focusing on
these factors while making the future policies of the company.