Report on Change Management at Heinz Australia: A Case Study Analysis

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the change management process at Heinz Australia, a subsidiary of the Heinz group. The report examines a case study highlighting the transformation initiated by new management. It utilizes the cultural web analysis to identify changes implemented by Widdow, detailing factors influencing workplace shifts and challenges to change implementation. The report explores the paradigm, control systems, power structures, symbols, rituals, stories, and organizational structures within Heinz Australia, assessing forces for and against change. It also discusses the strengths of the new culture and offers recommendations for future monitoring and sustainability. The report concludes with an overview of the changes implemented under Widdow's leadership, emphasizing the focus on employee well-being and the enhancement of the corporate culture to achieve organizational objectives. The report is designed to provide valuable insights for students studying change management and leadership.

Running Head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT1
Change Management

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Executive Summary
Heinz Australia isa sub-division of Heinz group that was established in the year 1888.
Specifically, the company deals in the manufacturing and canning of food products on both
domestic and international level. The objective of this report is to analyze the given case study
on Heinz Australia. This case study includes the highlights the transformation and change
process which took place through the hiring of new manager.Change management is a significant
process for the future growth of company’s improvement. Considering this fact, Heinz Company
is implementing changes which assist the organization to develop a positive working
environment.This report includes the effective ways of applying changes which are used at Heinz
Organization. In this report, cultural web analysis is used to identify different elements where
changes are made by Widdow. Moreover, it defines the factors which contribute to changes in
workplace. Apart from this, there are some factors which are unfavorable for change application.
At the end, some areas of recommendations are provided which company needs to monitor in the
future.

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Table of Contents
ntroductionI ...................................................................................................................................................4
Cultural eb Analysis of einz AustraliaW H .....................................................................................................4
he aradigmT P ...........................................................................................................................................5
Control Systems.......................................................................................................................................5
ower StructuresP .....................................................................................................................................6
Symbols...................................................................................................................................................6
Rituals and Routines..................................................................................................................................6
Stories and Myths....................................................................................................................................7
rganization StructuresO .............................................................................................................................7
ey orce or and Against ChangeK F F ..............................................................................................................8
ey orces for the ChangeK F .......................................................................................................................8
ey orces against ChangeK F ......................................................................................................................8
ey Strengths of ew CultureK N ......................................................................................................................9
Aspects that need to be Monitored and Sustained Recommendations( )....................................................10
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
In today’s business world, being adaptable to change is an essential quality of any successful
organization.Modern organizations are considering change management process as a significant
factor. Mostly, this happens in the condition where an organization has to develop to a desirable
state which would allow it to attain its vision and objectives effectively. Changes are considered
to be essential in any firm because they allow it to stay competitive in the industry (Burke,
2017). The major objective of this report is to analyze the given case i.e. “Transforming the
Corporate Culture at Heinz Australia”to identify the problems which exist in the
organization.The case indicates that how Heinz Australia went through change and advantages of
the changes to the company and its employees. In this context, this report assesses this
organization by applying the change management theory i.e. cultural web. The major reason
behind applying this theory is that this company is making changes in its cultural environment.
In addition to this, there is the discussion about the key forces for and against change.Then, it
describes the key strengths of Heinz Australia which are defined in the given case study. At the
end, some specific aspects areexplained whichthis organization needs to be monitored and
sustained.
Cultural Web Analysis of Heinz Australia
Cultural Web is a change management tool which was introduced by Johnson & Scholes
(1988).This is a significant change tool that identifies a number of elements which can be used to
define or affect the organizational culture (Piercy, 2016). This framework of change includes 6
key elements which are interlinked to create a paradigm that is the core of this web. It provides
the management with the cultural audit of organization so that both strengths and weaknesses can
be analysed. In this way, the opportunity is given for the people managing the change process to
go deeper to bring the hidden norms along with values and beliefs which can be recognized more
willingly (Innovation For Growth, 2014). Implementation of this theory assists the managers to
prioritize their s change objectives and apply the most appropriate process for change
management.Considering the significance of culture and its components, Heinz needs to place
powerful organizational culture as a strong source to gain competitive edge because it cannot be
imitated by others.

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(Source: Morris, 2017)
In context of Heinz Australia, different elements of cultural web are discussed below:
The Paradigm
The core of organizational culture is showed by the paradigm that lies at the centre of cultural
web framework.This includes the aspects of organizational life which are hidden and invincible.
This aspect indicates the mission and values of an organization. At Heinz,the main problem is
that the dominant attitudes andbehaviours had resulted in delay along with the fear. Additionally,
the changes will be insignificant in the company till these assumptions are challenged and
brought to surface (Morris, 2017).
By analysing the case, it can be stated that paradigm at Heinz Australiawas negative prior the
implementation of Widdow’s change. The organizational culture was punitive with lower risks.
At Heinz, the emphasis was much inward whereeverythinglooked like very complex and
included various efforts. In the organization, Widdow has brought the feeling of positivity and
transparency that assisted in instilling the morale and confidence its employees.
Control Systems
Control systems are the processes which are placed to monitor the things which are going on in
an organization. This aspect is nothing but it is the measurement of reward system. Al the people
who had contributed to with their ideas and opinions were innovative. These people were

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rewarded by top managers and Widdows as well. At Heinz, it worked as a significant motivating
factorfor others. This action has motivated the people who have contributed their opinions and
ideas for the benefits of organization. It is a continuous process where each and every person
working in routine activities can make a decision to perform in better way and give the
recommendations to the senior managers (Hogan and Coote, 2014). At Heinz, the conditions
were different from what this was prior because employees were scared of thinking and speaking
loudly.The changes implemented in the culture and attitudes of company assisted all the
organizational people to become more positive, confident and open.
Power Structures
In the cultural web, power structures are the people who make important decisions of company.
In this organization, power structure was its top managers. They have role in implementing and
managing the changes at workplace. As an effective leader, Widdow had taken the charges of
change process. In the process, Widdow put focus on eliminating the power structure and it had
showed to the staff that company really care for them.Heinz had taken many initiatives like work
life balance, flexible working week, elimination of staff supervision etc. Additionally, employees
can take off on Fridayto balance their social life.These effortsassisted the company to develop
sharedtrust between employees and employer (Kuipers, et al, 2014).
Symbols
Symbols are the designs and logos of organization but it also includes other symbols like
working place and structure.At Heinz Australia, behaviour of staff showed the symbolic
expression relevantto great working place.The employees were alwaysready to contribute and
give creative ideas for the betterment of firm.It was very difficult task to do but still Widdow
could attain that by continuously communicating the same to staff. In this context, the company
has made the changesin the working manner of employees (Heinz Marketing, 2016). In
restructuring process, Heinz has shifted to Southbank Melbourne. It has not mademore changes
in this aspect.
Rituals and Routines
Rituals and Routines are other aspects which may become more usual and habitual to the
company than necessary. About Heinz, Widdow defined a mantra that it is a “Great place to
work”.It can be showed in the everyday rituals and routines in the organization. They were

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showing respect to each other and taking the opinions of every person (Heinz, 2018).Thus, the
changes in company promoted the positive and caring culture. Top managers were supposed to
frame good behaviour to employees. In addition to this, the company and its top management
made more focus on the well-being of employees.
Stories and Myths
Under cultural web model, this component is formed about the events and people and give the
message about thatwhat is valuable in the company. Throughout the company, the top
management spread the stories indicating the “Walk the Talk”techniquein the behaviour of every
employee. Widdow had led the organization with the thought that people should behave with
others in the way as they expect the behaviour from others.The organization has made more
focus on dealing with thepunishments. It was not rewarding the employees if they had not
attained something good and profitable. Apart from this, Widdow served the organization as a
role model for all the employees (Jones and Van de Ven, 2014).
Organization Structures
Organization structure includes hierarchies, reporting authorities and the ways through which the
work flows in an organization. In change implementation process, the organization structure was
altered at Heinz Australia. The major changes are made in this dimension by decreasing the
salaried employees by 25% and reorganizing the board by bringing the new members from
middle level management (Heinz, 2018).It makes clear that company is taking ideas from both
middle and lower levels of management.The previous organizational structure was very complex
at Heinz that was made easier in change process. Moreover, the company has taken various
initiatives to enhance communication among different management levels. The new
organizational structure has made the process and operations easier (Bolman and Deal, 2017).
Thus, the case states that company has made various changes in its different components. Under
the leadership and management of Widdow, Heinz has implemented various changes. The
company has made more emphasis on the wellness and wellbeing of employees. The company
had taken varioussteps and projects to implement change. The change process assisted the
company to enhance its corporate culture and attain its overall objectives. In this way, the
leadership of Widdow was focused to overcome the negativityamong employees about the
organizational culture (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2015).

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Key Force For and Against Change
Cultural web analysis indicates that the company had taken various cultural elements into
consideration when implementing the changes. The above analysis of Heinz Australia indicates
thatthere are some forces for and against change at organization.These forces are stated below:
Key Forces for the Change
On the basis of organizational structure component of cultural web, it is obvious that company
has reframed its structure by including the employees from middle level management and
boosted their inputs.This factor will work in the favor of change to be applied in the company
because people will be more responsive and receptive to new changes (Pugh, 2016). Moreover,
symbol aspect describes that there were changes in the behavior and attitude of middle managers.
This has become morefriendly and approachable to new and innovative ideas.It showcases the
belief in company’s vision and employees are expected to show the same behavior with their
juniors. This positive working environment had played a significant role in applying changes
which were recommended by Widdow. By developing good working environment, the company
was able to increase the employee morale and decrease the employee turnover rate at Heinz.In
addition to this, Heinz adopted a great mantra i.e. “great place to work” that was supportive in
the formulation and implementation of change process. This assisted the company to build a
friendly and positive environment for employees (Carnall, 2018).
Key Forces against Change
In addition to above favorableforces, there are some factors which can oppose the process of
change implementation.At Heinz Australia, the major forces against the change were recognized
in the analysis of rituals and routine aspect. It indicated depressing and adverse working
environment, lack of trust and confidence from top management that made the employees
feelthat each job is very difficult (Appelbaum, et al, 2015). This forced the employees to go
against the change implementation process. It takes the faith and optimism out of the workplace
and it has become an inward focus.Additionally, the power structure aspect recommended that
board did not comprise ofone of the middle managers therefore there was very much
independenceat higher level.The company’s senior management needs to consider that it is very
important to become more innovative otherwise company cannot survive.In the case of Heinz

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Australia, innovation was note there before the joining of Widdow. Furthermore, punitive culture
in the organization could be a major force against the changed implemented by Widdow.
For Heinz, it is essential to consider both the above factors so that the changes can be
implemented effectively.
Key Strengths of New Culture
The case study indicates that Heinz Australia has confronted various challenges. In order to
overcome these challenges, the organization’s leader has implemented various changes in the
processes (Kraft Heinz, 2017). The changes in the organization can lead the organization towards
the attainment of its overall objectives. Key strengths of company’snew culture are given below:
Behavior and Attitude of Employees
It is one of the biggest strengths of its new culture i.e. changes in the behavior and attitude of
employees.After implementation of changes in the culture, employees treat one another with the
respect and listen to each and every person. It makes sure thatno body at the workplace is
considered for granted.The major belief of this firm that was prior inward focused which was
now moved to the great place to work where experimentation and creativity are promoted. It was
clear from the senior managers that they want to make changes, exist and grow with the
assistance of operational effectiveness and employee engagement.
Positive working environment
This is also abig strength ofHeinz’s new culture as before these changes there was too much
adversity in its working culture. To overcome this issue, the company has made various changes
in the employee behavior and Widdow’s leadership approach. It has made efforts to create
changing attitude of workforce at workplace. It assisted the top managers to develop confidence
and trust among people. This strength is very important to develop loyalty among employees
towards their employer (Cameron and Green, 2015).
Commitment and Loyalty
At Heinz Australia, other key strength of its new culture is that its staff has created loyalty
towards the firm which can be seen by its reduced attrition rate. In this culture, level of

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communication with the seniors is very high. It makes sure that new knowledge and learning
remains at workplace. It is beneficial for the growth of organization in the future.It is possible as
the staff has replied the question why this company provides a great place to work.
These are the key strengths of company’s new culture which can support the organization for its
continuous improvement and future growth.
Aspects that need to be Monitored and Sustained(Recommendations)
However, Heinz Australia had implemented effective change processes and Widdow had taken
various steps to apply changes successfully. Still, there are various areas which need to be
monitored and sustained to ensure that it does not slide back into the old ways of working and
thinking.Here are some recommendations which are given below:
One of the major aspects that organization needs to monitor is that after being successful and
profitable, company’s management should not be more complacent.The fundamental behavior of
common trust and respect has to succeed for company to take a hike. As the firm becomes more
mature and productivity becomes a routine, Heinz tends to be stagnant and satisfied.The case
organization needs to make sure that there is a culture of innovation and creativity. Moreover,
there should be continuous communication about the vision of management. Moreover, the
company needs to focus that environment of company is constantly changing due to changes in
external and internal factors (Hon, Bloom and Crant, 2014).
To sustain this positive working environment, the company needs to monitor and supervise the
processes in a regular time intervals. The leaders at the Heinz require thinking aboutthe change
plan and its impact on organizational culture.It has to sustain its working mantra i.e. Great place
to work. It needs to make sure that employees have higher morale and they are engaged in their
tasks and responsibilities. At Heinz, Widdow has taken various steps to implement the changes.
He worked as a perfect leader for the organization so his story of selfless and heroism actions
should be recorded as the story aspect of cultural web model. By focusing on above
recommendations, the company will be able to gain more competitive advantage in the future.

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Conclusion
Thus, it is hereby concluded that Heinz Australia had become the company that had implemented
the changes effectively and successfully. The above report includes different elements of cultural
web which need to be considered by the company in change implementation process. Under the
leadership of Widdow, the company is going under the changes. There are various forces which
can support or oppose the change implementation. Before making changes, there was low risk,
negative environment present that had negative impact employees’ perception. Change
management was an effective process to make improvement in its processes andretain the
employees for a longer time.

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