Understanding and Leading Change: Retail Strategy and Operations

This report provides an analysis of change management strategies employed by Tesco, Mark & Spenser, and Unilever, focusing on how these strategies impact their operations and overall business performance. It includes a SWOT analysis for each company to identify key drivers of change. The report evaluates the influence of these changes on leadership, individual behavior, and team dynamics. Furthermore, it applies Lewin's force field analysis to understand the driving and resisting forces behind organizational change, and suggests methods for reducing barriers to change. Lastly, the report uses a change model to illustrate how intended changes are implemented and how they benefit the chosen organization, Tesco. This comprehensive analysis offers insights into the complexities of managing change within the UK retail sector.

Understanding and leading
change

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
Comparison of ways in which Tesco, Mark & Spenser and Unilever change management has
impacted its strategy and operations............................................................................................3
LO 2...............................................................................................................................................10
The evaluation of the ways in which change will impact leadership, individuals and team
behaviour...................................................................................................................................10
LO3................................................................................................................................................13
Brief discussion of the force field theory-.................................................................................13
Examples of real changes that are being introduced by the organisation-................................13
Explaining the resisting forces (barriers) and also the driving forces for the change and giving
numbers from 1-5 depending on the strengths of the forces.....................................................14
Discussing ways by which the company can reduce the resisting forces/barriers-...................14
Illustrating that organization can achieve their objectives as the barriers are reduced and
change is implemented-.............................................................................................................15
LO4................................................................................................................................................15
Discussing the intended change and drivers for the change and discussing how this change will
help the company.......................................................................................................................15
Performing the change model to understand how the change will implement and help the firm
...................................................................................................................................................17
CONCLUSION-............................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Change management is a systematic approach which have to be implemented by the
organization in order to deal with the transition or transformation of an organizational goals,
processes or technologies. The present report of understanding and leading change will be based
on different retailers of UK such as Tesco, Mark & Spenser and Sainsbury Plc. Tesco Plc is one
of the leading and second largest retailer of UK that offer general merchandised and grocery
products. Mark and Spenser is also a British multinational retailer with headquarter in London,
England. Unilever Plc is a British multinational consumer goods company that offer products
such as food, condiments, ice creams etc. The report will conduct the SWOT analysis of three
organizations in order to identify the key drivers of change within the company (Benzaghta and
et.al., 2021).
Further, the report will also assess the impact of changes over company’s strategy and
operations. The various internal and external drivers impact on the leadership behaviour,
department of the organizations will also be covered in this report. Lastly, the report will choose
one organization Tesco out of three to explain its real organizational change as well as drivers
along with its implementation using Lewin theory model.
LO 1
Comparison of ways in which Tesco, Mark & Spenser and Unilever change management has
impacted its strategy and operations
In order to identify the key drivers of change within Tesco, M&S and Unilever Plc, the
SWOT analysis is one of the best method or way. With the help of the SWOT model, the
comparison between the three organization strength, weakness, opportunity and threat are easily
possible. The SWOT analysis of Tesco Plc, M&S and Unilever Plc are as follows:
SWOT/
Company
Tesco Plc Mark and Spenser Unilever Plc
Strength  Tesco is one of the
biggest grocery
retailer in the UK
with revenue £57.8
billion in the year
 M&S company
has 1463 outlets
all over the
world. The well
experienced and
 Strong brand and
diversified range
of products are
the strength of

2021 (Djellabi and
et.al., 2021).
recognized brand
is also a strength
of M&S.
Unilever Plc.
Weakness  The Fraud trial and
accounting scandal
of Tesco in the
year 2017 has
become its major
weakness.
 Poor social media
marketing of
Tesco Plc is one of
the weakness that
has affected the
customer retention
of Tesco Plc.
 The sales of
M&S have
declined in the
year 2020 after
the situation of
Covid-19.
 The increase in
cost due to
manual
processes is also
one of the
weakness of
M&S
organization
(Djellabi and
et.al., 2021).
 The negative cash
flow and profit
after the
pandemic
situation is a
weakness for
Unilever Plc.
Opportunity  Cashless stores
and online
payment facility
are the
opportunities for
the Tesco which
help them in
succeeding in
competition.
 The remote
working is one of
the opportunity
 Global
expansion and
online store are
the opportunities
for the M&S Plc.
 Following
government rules
and regulation as
per stricter trade
reform is an
opportunity for
the company.
 Taking each and
every actions of
Covid-19
measures and
guidelines is also

that Tesco can
adopt after Covid-
19 to retain and
attract talented
workspace.
an opportunity for
Unilever.
Threat  The increased
import duties due
to Brexit has
increases the cost
of sales of its
products and
services.
 Poor leadership
management
within Tesco Plc is
also one of the
threat which are
impacting their
overall
performance.
 The biggest
threat for M&S
organization is
high level of
competition in
the UK retail
industry.
 The increased
rivalry and
growing
popularity of
other retail brands
is also one of the
major threat for
Unilever (Djellabi
and et.al., 2021).
After identifying the key strength, weakness, opportunities as well as threat of Tesco,
M&S and Unilever using the SWOT model, the following changes and key drivers of that
changes have been also assessed. The changes and its impact of company’s strategy and
operations are as follows:
Organization Changes Drivers of
changes
Impact on
strategy
Impact of
operations
Tesco Plc
1. Implementing
online payment
The key driver of
this change is
The impact of
these change
Their cost of
wastage of

and scan, pack
and pay facility
within Tesco
stores (Teoli
Sanvictores and
An, 2019).
continuous
technological
innovation and
changing
customer
preferences.
over Tesco is
that they
customer base
and retention rate
has increased.
resources has
reduced. This is
an impact on
operations.
2. Work from home
facility or policy
is also one of the
change
implemented
within Tesco.
The key driver of
this change or
policy is
increasing cost of
labour and
reducing talented
employee
turnover rate.
The impact of
work from
facility on Tesco
Plc strategy is
that their
employee
turnover rate has
reduced which
further beneficial
in improving the
overall
reputation of
business.
The cost of
recruitment has
reduced as well
as the production
volume of
company has
enhanced due to
this change
which is an
perfect example
of impact on
operations.
3. Real-time
feedback
leadership
management
policy
implementation.
The key drivers
of these change
within Tesco Plc
is clashes
between
employee and
management as
well as the
discouraged
employees.
This has
improved the
employee and
manager
relationship
which further
leads to
improving
employee
productivity
(Kraus and et.al.,
2021).
The real time
feedback impact
on Tesco
operation is that
their employees
are able to
complete their
targets on time as
well as reduced
level of wastage.

4. Product and
processes
promotion on
social media
platform.
The key driver of
these change is
also continuous
technological
involvement
within the
business
operation and
promotion
criteria.
The impact of
social media
marketing on
company
strategy is that it
will enhance the
overall
performance
Tesco Plc.
The impact of
these change on
company
operation is that
their customer
retention and
sales revenue
will enhanced.
Organization Changes Drivers of
changes
Impact on
strategy
Impact of
operations
Mark and
Spenser
1. Introducing
online stores is
one of the
change of M&S
company.
The key drivers
of introducing
online stores
within M&S
company is low
market share in
UK retail
industry (Park
and Armstrong,
2019).
The impact of
these change
over the
company
strategy is that
their number of
online stores has
enhanced.
Further, on the
operational level,
this strategy has
leads to
increased sales
revenue and
profitability from
both online as
well as offline
sales.
2. Incorporating
and following
Covid-19
guidelines after
the removal of
restriction or
The key driver of
these change is
Covid-19
pandemic and
death occur due
to this global
This change has
brought the
efficiency and
effectiveness in
employees work
and provide
This overall trust
of the employees
has enhanced
towards M&S
after these
change which

lock down. pandemic. safety to
employee.
has further
increased the
overall
performance of
company.
3. Implementation
of solar panel all
over the premises
and stores of
M&S.
This is also one
of the change
which has
implemented
within M&S
company. The
key drivers of
these change is
technological
advancement.
The cost of
production has
reduced because
of these strategic
change.
The reduced cost
of electricity
leads to reduced
cost of
production which
ultimately
increases
profitability.
4. Corporate social
responsibility
policy
incorporation
within the
company is a
change which is
implemented
after identifying
their weakness
and
opportunities.
The key driver of
CSR
implementation
is social and
environmental
protection.
This change has
leads to
fulfilment of
environmental
and social needs
as per political
expectations
(Park and
Armstrong,
2019).
The profitability
of M&S has
increased due to
these change.
Organization Changes Drivers of
changes
Impact on
strategy
Impact of
operations

Unilever Plc
1. Stricter trade
reform is also a
change which is
implemented by
Unilever after
Brexit.
The key drivers
of this change is
separation of UK
from EU member
or union.
The impact of
stricter trade
reforms is
increased brand
reputation on
client
This change has
impacted the
sales revenue of
Unilever. It
means their sales
has improved.
2. Accelerating
development of
Unilever
portfolio.
The key driver of
these change
within Unilever
is increased level
of competition in
UK retail
industry
(Román-Collado
and Colinet,
2018).
This has
impacted the
strategy of
Unilever in term
of higher share
market and
increased brand
value.
On the
operational level,
this change has
increases the
sales revenue as
well as
profitability of
the organization.
3. Health related
product
development is
also one of the
changes which is
implemented by
Unilever within
their
organization.
The key driver of
these change is
covering large
market area.
On the strategic
level, these
change has
brought new area
of sales revenue
within the
organization.
The overall
productivity as
well as customer
level of Unilever
has increased
after the
introduction of
this change.
4. Business
expansion is also
one of the key
change which is
incorporated by
The key driver of
business
expansion is
exploring new
market and
This has affected
the strategy of
Unilever in term
of increased
number of retail
On the
operational level,
these change has
brought new
source of

Unilever for
enhancing their
customer base
and brand
reputation.
gaining large
customer base.
stores all over
the world
(Román-Collado
and Colinet,
2018).
revenue and
profit to the
company.
LO 2
The evaluation of the ways in which change will impact leadership, individuals and team
behaviour.
Changing organization as per the changes that happen In the external environment brings
more productivity in the organization (Yrjölä and et.al., 2019). These changes affect the
functioning of the organization. Human resource is important part of the organization and their
behaviour are decided by the changes that occur in organization considering all external factors.
The below table will be describing how employees in organizations gets affected.
TESCO-
Changes Internal and
external
Impact on
organization
Impact on
individual
behaviour.
Impact upon
leadership.
Measures to
minimize
negative
impacts.
Tesco has
offered major
technological
method while
paying. The
method of
scan and pay
is referred as
Internal
change.
The impact of
such payment
system will
benefit
organization in
positive way
as easier
payment
The impact of
this change on
individual
behaviour can
be described
as the more
work load and
more
The leaders
also has
responsibility
to make such
team that
helps
consumer
while
The negative
impact can be
minim zed by
giving them
proper training
sessions
related to the
digital

the digital
transformation
.
system will
bring more
consumer in
the
organization.
responsibility, purchasing
and give
TESCO a
major benefit
for using such
technology
transformation
as well as
techniques to
handle large
section of
consumer.
Sainsbury-
Changes Internal and
external
Impact on
organization
Impact on
individual
behaviour.
Impact upon
leadership.
Measures to
minimize
negative
impacts.
Following all
the
environment
regulations
regulation of
the industry
given by the
government.
External factor
that will bring
changes in the
internal
functions of
the
organization.
The
organization
will make a
good
reputation in
market by
following such
rules and
regulation as
there is no
doubt that all
the negative
environmental
changes are
The individual
behaviour can
be moulded by
the Sainsbury
in order to
make them
concern and
responsible
towards the
environment.
The leaders
should focus
on following
those methods
that brings
good
responsible
behaviour of
the employees.
The leaders
should mould
itself into the
flexible
leaders that
Motivation
campaigns can
act as a good
programme for
ensuring
minimum
impacts.

big concern
for all the
countries.
brings
communicatio
n from both
the sides
(Cortellazzo
Bruni and
Zampieri,
2019).
Marks and Spencers-
Changes Internal and
external
Impact on
organization
Impact on
individual
behaviour.
Impact upon
leadership.
Measures to
minimize
negative
impacts.
Better
experience in
online
shopping to
attract
consumer
from all over
the world.
Internal
change.
Positive
impact upon
the sales of the
organization
as it will wider
the base of
consumer base
in the
organization.
The impact
upon
individual can
be seen with
more
responsibility
that is needed
to fulfilled by
the individual
in the M & S.
The leaders of
M&S changed
to make a
better
experience for
the consumers.
The impact
can be
minimized by
making online
store reliable
with security.
All the above points in each of the organization has directly impacted the sales of the
company. This is because all the changes have been done by keeping in mind issues that can be