Leadership and Change Management: Mawson Pty. Ltd. Case Study Analysis

This essay examines a case study of Mawson Pty. Ltd., a family-owned business undergoing expansion, and identifies key workplace cultural issues such as poor communication, lack of trust, team orientation, leadership, and change management approaches. It then explores transformational leadership and change management strategies to address these problems, including improving communication, building trust, fostering team orientation, and adopting effective change management models like Lewin's model. Furthermore, the essay discusses the importance of negotiation in managing employee concerns during organizational changes, providing examples of how negotiation techniques were used to address issues related to office space, commute, training, and information flow. The essay emphasizes the significance of negotiation and persuasion in facilitating successful change implementation within an organization.

Running head: LEADING IN WORKPLACE
Name
Course
Lecturer
Date

1LEADING IN WORKPLACE
Part A
Assessment Task 1
This essay is based on the case study of Mawson Pty. Ltd., which is a third generation
organization owned by a family. The business organization is planning for the expansion of its
premises to another location. The company has been recently taken over by Malcolm from his
father Mawson who was with the company for the past 50 years. The major issue in the case
study is the discontentment among the employees related to the shifting of premises (Abrell-
Vogel & Rowold, 2014). This task includes the identification of five workplace cultural issues
that have been identified in the case study.
Workplace culture is mainly related to the different characteristics of the business
organizations and the work process of the employees as well. Culture consists of various
components that are visible and it includes the ways by which the employees dress up and the
overall work procedure followed in the organization. The culture of the organization is related to
the attitudes of the employees and the goals and objectives that are decided by the organization.
The owners or the managers of the organization set the pace of the creation, definition and the
refinement of the culture of the company. The workplace culture is mainly the reflection of the
management style that is followed in the organization (Camisón & Villar-López, 2014). The
values, vision and mission of the organization that are shared among the clients and employees
are also a major part of the organizational culture. The physical working environment of the
organization forms a major part of the culture and the ways by which the company operates. The
involvement of the employees in the processes of the organization helps in the development of
culture. Dress code followed in the organization is the most noticeable part of the workplace
culture. The dress code followed in an organization is mainly related to the image of the
company that is projected to the customers (Cândido & Santos, 2015).
The five major issues that have been identified in the Mawson Pty. Ltd. case study are as
follows,
1. Poor Communication – Poor levels of communication has been the major issue in
the organization which has caused the resistance to the change that was being
proposed. The managers were also not properly informed about the change of the

2LEADING IN WORKPLACE
site to a new state-of-the-art facility. The lack of communication between the
management of the company and the managers was the major cause of
discontentment among the employees. The employees formed the main part of the
entire change process of the organization and the lack of information has caused
issues in the company.
2. Lack of Trust – The information related to the change of office premises were
given to the employees by conducting a meeting with them and announcing the
change just before the office premises were about to shift. This caused a lack of
trust among the employees related to the decisions taken by the management. The
employees were not clear about the details of the office space and the facilities
that will be provided to them. This created lack of co-operation between the
employees and the management as they no longer trusted the management
regarding the decisions (Engelen et al., 2015). Employees were not advised before
management made some major decisions.
3. Lack of Team Orientation – Team Orientation between the employees and the
management was the major problem in the organization. The managers were also
not informed about the change of office premises and this was caused due to the
lack of teamorientation between the teams in the organization. The management
had just assumed that the employees would be happy and content for the new
premises that was being provided to them. The problems that could be caused to
the employees who lived far away from the new premises were not considered by
the management. Management did not really try to understand employee’s
personal and workplace situation.
4. Poor Leadership – The lack of proper leadership in the company was also a major
problem that was faced by the employees and the organization as a whole. The
first fault by the leaders or the management of the company was that they did not
inform the managers about the changes that were brought in the company before
these changes has already been decided. The management did not prepare the
employees for the change in the premises of the company. The sudden
announcement of the change was a shock for the managers and the employees
(Hadida, Tarvainen & Rose, 2015).

3LEADING IN WORKPLACE
5. Poor Approach to Change Management – The change management approach
taken by the organization was unsuitable for the employees. The employees were
not provided with proper training regarding the usage of new and modern
machinery for the production purposes. This caused huge discontentment among
the employees and the implementation of modern facilities did not seem to be
possible for the company. The production group of the company had become
anxious about the effect of the changes on their work process and productivity
(Hornstein, 2015).
Assessment Task 2
This task will be based on the explanation of the processes of transformational leadership
and change management. Five issues have been identified in the previous task related to the
given case study of Mawson Pty. Ltd. This task will use the concepts of transformational
leadership and change management to solve the five issues in the company.
Transformational Leadership – Transformational leadership can be defined as the type of
leadership where the leaders work together with the employees to identify the change that is
required, to create a vision regarding the achievement of change and further executing the
change. This style of leadership helps in the enhancement of the morale, motivation and job
performance of the employees. The four main elements of transformational leadership are,
idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and individualized
consideration (Mittal & Dhar, 2015).
Change Management – Change management is related to the process of the preparation
and support that is provided to the teams, individuals and the organizations to successfully make
organizational changes. Organizational change management is related to the entire organization
and the changes that are required. Globalization and the constant evolution of technology mainly
results to the changes in the global business environment. Change management plays an
important role in managing these changes effectively so that it can be profitable for the
organizations and the employees (Kuipers et al., 2014).

4LEADING IN WORKPLACE
Figure 1 – Source - (Mittal & Dhar, 2015)
1. Poor Communication – The problem related to the lack of communication can be
solved with the help of transformational leadership traits depicted by the leaders of
the company. The employees need to be involved in the decision-making process of
the organization. The manager needs to hold regular meetings to inform the
employees about the various steps related to the change.
2. Lack of Trust – Transformational leaders can also increase the trust levels among the
employees and the management. The employees will be provided with all the relevant
information regarding the changes that are brought in the organization. The trust
levels of the employees will increase and they will not oppose the change of the
office premises (Mittal & Dhar, 2015).
3. Lack of Team Orientation – Change management process can help in the
improvement of team orientation among the employees and the management. The
management needs to take sessions once in a week with the employees so that they
can be informed about the changes.
4. Poor Leadership – Transformational style of leadership is the most feasible solution
for the improvement of leadership in the organization. The involvement of the

5LEADING IN WORKPLACE
employees in the decisions of the management will increase their cooperation towards
the change that needs to be implemented (R. Jadhav, S. Mantha & B. Rane, 2014).
5. Poor Approach to Change Management – Management of change in the
organization is important for the employees as well as the managers. Proper training
needs to be provided to the employees regarding the usage of the modern machines
that are being used so that they can adapt to the new environment. Lewin’s change
management model can be applied to implement the changes in the organization. The
Lewin’s change management model consists of three steps including unfreeze, make
changes and refreeze. The first step of unfreezing will deal with the information
provided to the employees regarding the change. The second step of making changes
will deal with the implementation of changes that is changing the premises and giving
employees time to adapt. The third step of refreezing deals with the process of
checking that the changes are implemented successfully and the employees are
working in the new premises.
Part B
Negotiation can be defined as the method by which the individuals settle their differences
and compromise with each other on any particular subject. This is a process by which the two
parties make an agreement so that dispute and argument can be avoided. The individuals mainly
aim towards the best solution that is possible for the issue that has occurred. The main factors
that are related to a successful outcome are seeking of mutual benefit, principles related to
fairness and the maintenance of a relationship. Negotiation related techniques can be used in
many situations like, legal system, international affairs, industrial disputes, domestic
relationships and government issues. The various stages of negotiation include, preparation,
discussion, clarification of the goals, negotiate towards the win-win result, agreement,
implementation of the course of action (Tummers et al., 2015).
Persuasion in an organization is related to the thinking of the individuals which deals
with the implementation of new strategies and the acceptance levels of the strategies that are
implemented. Communication can play a major role in the process of persuasion and it involves
the ways by which the employees are provided with details related the strategies that are to be
implemented. The credibility of the managers who try to persuade the employees play an

6LEADING IN WORKPLACE
important role in the process. The person who is persuading an employee or his subordinate
needs to produce real-time information so that they agree with the decisions that are being taken
(Tyssen, Wald & Spieth, 2014).
Four instances where negotiation with the employees was required
1. The first instance where negotiation was required to attain agreement with the
employees was when the employees were not sure about the size of their offices, the
presence of lockers and lunch room. The employees were brought to an agreement by
providing them an opportunity to visit the new office premises and be convinced
about the facilities provided to them.
2. The second instance related to the case study where negotiation was required is the
distance that the employees needed to travel to reach the new office. The solution that
was provided to this problem was the facility of office buses to these employees
which would provide them with pick and drop (Walker, Chen & Aravind, 2015).
3. The third instance was related to the lack of training of the employees to use the new
machines. The solution that was provided to this problem was related to the trainers
assigned to the employees in the old premises who would educate them about the
usage of these machines.
4. The fourth instance taken from the case study is related to the lack of information for
the managers. The solution to this problem were regular meetings held between the
directors and the managers so that they are informed about the work progress. The
managers will further inform the employees about the work progress in the new site
and this help them in gaining cooperation from them. The employees who had
decided to go on a strike will also be convinced about the benefits of the changes to
their productivity (Wirtz et al., 2016).
Summary
Negotiation is an important part of the entire change management and implementation
process. This process helps in dealing with the employees and persuading them to accept the
changes. Influencing technique on the other hand will help the managers in convincing the
employees about the benefits of the change for them and the organization as a whole. This will

7LEADING IN WORKPLACE
further will be helpful in the successful implementation of the changes and the organization can
also achieve its goals.

8LEADING IN WORKPLACE
References
Abrell-Vogel, C., & Rowold, J. (2014). Leaders’ commitment to change and their effectiveness
in change–a multilevel investigation. Journal of organizational change
management, 27(6), 900-921.
Camisón, C., & Villar-López, A. (2014). Organizational innovation as an enabler of
technological innovation capabilities and firm performance. Journal of business
research, 67(1), 2891-2902.
Cândido, C. J., & Santos, S. P. (2015). Strategy implementation: What is the failure
rate?. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(2), 237-262.
Engelen, A., Gupta, V., Strenger, L., & Brettel, M. (2015). Entrepreneurial orientation, firm
performance, and the moderating role of transformational leadership behaviors. Journal
of Management, 41(4), 1069-1097.
Hadida, A. L., Tarvainen, W., & Rose, J. (2015). Organizational improvisation: A consolidating
review and framework. International Journal of Management Reviews, 17(4), 437-459.
Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change
management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2),
291-298.
Kuipers, B. S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J., & Van der Voet, J. (2014). The
management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public
administration, 92(1), 1-20.
Mittal, S., & Dhar, R. L. (2015). Transformational leadership and employee creativity: mediating
role of creative self-efficacy and moderating role of knowledge sharing. Management
Decision, 53(5), 894-910.
R. Jadhav, J., S. Mantha, S., & B. Rane, S. (2014). Exploring barriers in lean
implementation. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 5(2), 122-148.

9LEADING IN WORKPLACE
Tummers, L., Kruyen, P. M., Vijverberg, D. M., & Voesenek, T. J. (2015). Connecting HRM
and change management: the importance of proactivity and vitality. Journal of
Organizational Change Management, 28(4), 627-640.
Tyssen, A. K., Wald, A., & Spieth, P. (2014). The challenge of transactional and
transformational leadership in projects. International Journal of Project
Management, 32(3), 365-375.
Walker, R. M., Chen, J., & Aravind, D. (2015). Management innovation and firm performance:
An integration of research findings. European Management Journal, 33(5), 407-422.
Wirtz, B. W., Pistoia, A., Ullrich, S., & Göttel, V. (2016). Business models: Origin, development
and future research perspectives. Long Range Planning, 49(1), 36-54.