MGT5MOC - David Jones: Analysis of Change and Leadership Style

This assignment provides a detailed analysis of the organizational changes implemented at David Jones, focusing on the leadership style of the new CEO and the application of change management models. It identifies Kotter's 8-step change model as the most relevant framework describing the changes initiated by CEO Paul Zahra, including creating a sense of urgency, building a guiding coalition, and generating short-term wins. The analysis evaluates the effectiveness of the company's restructuring strategies, such as introducing smaller format stores, focusing on core competencies, and establishing an e-commerce presence. Furthermore, the assignment discusses the transformational leadership style of the CEO, highlighting its advantages and potential disadvantages in the context of David Jones' brand image and reputation. The document concludes with recommendations for further changes that the CEO should consider to enhance the company's performance and market position.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
Organizational Change and Development
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

1ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
1. Which model of planned change best describes the change process employed by
David Jones?
David Jones is a popular name in the Australian retail industry; the company has long tenure
of experience and also has established goodwill among the stakeholders. Until recently the
company was operating on a profit making platform, the first blow that the company had
received was the unhealthy culture of corporate arrogance within the business this was
followed by the sexual harassment case against the then CEO of the company Mark McInnes
this was during 2010. Furthermore, during that time the international business environment
had faced a major economic set back thus making the business in the industry not very
attractive. There is another issue that the company was facing during the 2010s, the physical
retail stores were facing tough competition from the online substitutes and because David
Jones did not have their online presence established the company was facing major cut back
from the profit due to the substitute.
Therefore when the new CEO joined the company with 29 years of experience, Paul Zahra,
he brought with him a range of changes in the organisation. He realized that the image of the
company had to be restored thus had taken several communication strategies to improve the
brand image. Apart from this he had introduced several other management changes which
would bring the company back at par with the competitors as well as gain certain advantage
as well. He understood the industry well and knew that the retail industry is dynamic and the
company has to keep up with the changes, as new does not remain new for a long period of
time (Osiyevskyy & Dewald, 2015).

2ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
The major change that was introduced by Zahra can be explained with the help of the
Kotter’s 8-step change model. The steps that are mentioned by Kotter in this model are
discussed below in terms of the changes in business operation that was introduced by Zahra:
Create sense of urgency: The urgency of the change was most required when Zahra took the
position of CEO of the company he knew that the company was not making profit and the
image of the brand was also falling. There was also problem in the organisation culture and
work culture among the employees therefore; strategic management decisions for change
were most urgent (Mickahail, 2015).
Build a guiding coalition: Zahra wanted to launch stores in new format and also focus on the
online sector of the business and thus he had to introduce new people to look after the change
in the company. E-commerce is a separate section of the business which was introduced by
the company which had a new team (Cameron & Green 2015).
Form strategic visions and initiatives: The Company with these changes wanted to initiate
strategic management policies and decisions, focusing on the strengths and opportunities to
overcome the weakness and threats.
Enlist volunteer army: The employees of the organisation, who are associated with the
company for a long time, provided their insights in the strategic management decisions.
Enable action by removing barriers: the company introduced several communication
strategies in order to eliminate the bad press that the company had faced because of the last
CEO.

3ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
Generate short term wins: In this strategy the company wanted to bring about changes in a
short time period. The changes were introduced in the operational process which would bring
about results in the particular financial year.
Sustain acceleration: in order to keep up with the changes sustained in the company, the
management decided to bring about changes in the culture of the organisation and build a
motivated and healthy place to work for the employees (Small, Gist, Souza, Dalton, Magny-
Normilus, David, 2016).
Institute change: The change that was imitated by the organization was informed to the
employees in order to get support and maintain transparency in the organisation (Hornstein,
2015).

4ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
2. Do you agree with the changes being made in this current restructure of David Jones? If
not, why? Can you suggest any other changes that the CEO should consider?
In order to understand the effectiveness of the restructure of David Jones it is important
to analyze the trends of the industry (E. Dobbs, 2014). The decisions that are taken by the
company are made based on the dynamics of the Industry as well as the resource of the company.
Strategy 1: installing six stores in smaller format and introducing bridal boutique
The reason that has been stated to imitate this change is because the company wanted to
accelerate profit and revenue as the company’s profit rate was continuously decreasing since
2010. This is a target approach in increasing the sales rapidly and improving the revenue by,
working with less store space and giving the customers exactly what the trend is and what they
are looking for. This is a good strategy as the company has resources to back up the plan with
internal environmental factors, apart from this one of the international retail store Zara also uses
this strategy and the company refreshes the stock frequently which ensures lean production and
higher sale. This strategy opened a new market for the company in specialized format, and also
to focuses the service in this category (Proctor, 2014). If the Ansoff matrix is considered the
company has the opportunity to venture in a new market with the same product with the smaller
stores which is product and service development strategy and on the other hand the boutique is
catering to a new market with a new line of product this is diversification strategy (Medarac
Vignali, Vignali, 2016). Both of these are useful as this will help in engaging the attention of the
customers as well as create intention to buy thus increasing the sales and revenue (Hussain,
Khattak, Rizwan, Latif, 2013).
Strategy 2: Focusing on the core competency of the business

5ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
The core competency of the company is to be the market leader in fashion retail store
industry which supports Australian designers. The commitment to the local designers will help in
elevating the image of the company and it also provided the company to get exclusive deals with
the designers ensuring exclusivity and uniqueness in the products (Oh Cho, Kim, 2015). A part
of this strategy includes a refurbishing some of the stores to provide a complete and premium
experience of shopping. Furthermore the company has used celebrities to endorse the brand,
which will improve the media coverage in a positive way. This is also a good strategy that the
company has established as it will help the company to support local designers as well as provide
the customers with trendy fashion as well as premium quality product and customized service.
The strategy will also help the company establish the fact that David Jones is a premier
department store (Holahan, Sullivan, Markham, 2014).
Strategy 3: establishing a fresh e-commerce presence
David Jones has been a company who is among the last to venture in this market the
company had shut down the last online store in 2003 and not until Zahra joined the group this
market remained untapped. In order to keep the sales and the popularity of the company
improving (Laseter & Rabinovich, 2016). Most of the physical retail stores chains in the industry
have made their online presence strong thus making it a trend in the industry. This made it a big
opportunity for the company to venture in a new market keeping the products same. This is a
market development strategy ensuring a wider range of customers and higher sales margin (Wu
& Wu 2015).

6ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
3. How would you describe the management style of the CEO? What are the potential
advantages and disadvantages of this style for the type of change being implemented at
David Jones?
The style of leadership that can be described in the company after the new CEO joined is
transformational in nature (Engelen, Gupta, Strenger, Brettel, 2015). This is because Zahra knew
the position of the business before he joined the company and he had a mind set of initiating
changes as soon as he had taken the position (Eisenbeiß & Boerner, 2013). The style of
leadership is transformational in nature as Zahra accepted the trends in the industry as well as
initiated change where the company had gaps (Carter, Armenakis, Feild, Mossholder, 2013).
Zahra is far-sighted with his approach of change ensuring that the strategies that the
management has taken bares results in the short run as well as in the long run (Noruzy, Dalfard,
Azhdari, Nazari-Shirkouhi, Rezazadeh, 2013). The transformational leadership style ensures that
the business is constantly innovating and improving the process of business in order to grow,
expand and develop in the future (Choudhary, Akhtar, Zaheer, 2013). Innovation plays an
important role in this leadership style as the CEO is observed to be not afraid of taking risks in
the management style (McCleskey, 2014).
The advantage of this style in the organisation is that the company in order to keep up
with the trends of the industry needs a continuous change structure (Avolio & Yammarino,
2013). With the help of a leader who encourages change and development it will be easier for the
company to incorporate change (Braun, Peus, Weisweiler, Frey, 2013).

7ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
The disadvantage of this style of leadership in the organization is that the company has a
tradition of its own which is a large part of the brand image and reputation with constant changes
in the process of business it may lead to loosing this identity (Tourish, 2013).

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