Cultural Transformation at Heinz Australia: A Change Management Case

This case study examines the cultural transformation of Heinz Australia following the appointment of Widdows as CEO. It analyzes the pre-existing negative culture characterized by punishment-based management, low morale, and high turnover. The report uses the cultural web framework to understand the initial state and the changes implemented. Widdows focused on restructuring, employee engagement, and creating a positive work environment. The analysis identifies factors that supported and hindered the change process, utilizing Lewin's change management model (unfreeze, transition, refreeze). Key strengths of the new culture include improved employee morale, reduced turnover, and a more positive work environment. The study concludes by highlighting aspects that need continuous monitoring to sustain the new culture and ensure long-term success, emphasizing the importance of employee-centric practices and leadership commitment. This document is available on Desklib, where students can access a wealth of study resources, including past papers and solved assignments.

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CHANGE MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY
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Executive Summary
The report is based on the analysis of case study that is related to the company named Heinz
Australia. The most important part of the analysis is related to cultural changes which have
taken place in the company after the appointment of Widdows. The different policies that
have been developed by him and the changes which have been made in the culture is an
important part of the analysis. The effect which the organizational structure had on the
changes and their implementation is also analysed in the report. The discussion has also
provided a clear picture of the ways by which implementation of different changes can be
monitored in an effective manner in order to maintain the culture.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................2
Discussion based on the cultural web and the ways by which changes occurred under
Widdows’ leadership..................................................................................................................3
Identification of the factors that are for or against the changes.....................................5
Key strengths of the new culture....................................................................................6
Aspects to be monitored in order to maintain the new culture......................................6
Conclusion......................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The case study is based on the cultural analysis of Heinz Australia. The issues which
were faced by the company due to the negative culture of punishments is considered to be an
important part of the case study. The company started its operations in Australia in the year
1880 when the products of Heinz were imported to the country from the United States for the
first time. The expansion based process of Heinz Australia had taken place with the help of
mergers and acquisitions from the year 1970 to 1990. The mergers had played a major role in
the expansion based operations and the profitability as well (Heinz.com.au., 2018). The
restructuring based process which had taken place in the organization had affected the culture
of Heinz Australia in a huge manner. The organization went through effective number of
changes after the appointment of Widdows as the CEO. Widdows thereby aimed at
improving the culture with the help of effective employee management and engagement
based techniques.
The report will be based on the analysis of the ways by which the internal
environment of Heinz Australia has been changes with the help of proper leadership based
activities of Widdows. The ways by which his leadership based activities had been able to
affect the working style is an important part of the analysis that will be made in the report.
Discussion based on the cultural web and the ways by which changes occurred under
Widdows’ leadership
According to Abrell-Vogel and Rowold (2014), the cultural web is considered to be a
process by which the culture of the organization is aligned with the strategy in an effective
manner. The culture which is followed in an organization is under the focus of the leaders
and the employees when changes are implemented within the organization. This is a process
which has many adverse effects on the different aspects of the organization which include,
the morale levels of the employees, the levels of absenteeism and the turnover rates of staff.
The corporate culture which is an important part of the cultural web has an important effect
on the output and the environment within the organization. The cultural web of the
organizations mainly consists of six major elements that are, the stories, the symbol, the
routines and the rituals, the control based systems, the power structure.

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Figure 1 – The Cultural Web
Source - (Abrell-Vogel and Rowold, 2014)
As discussed by Al-Haddad and Kotnour (2015), the culture which has been
developed in Heinz Australia is thereby needs to analysed in order to discuss the changes
which have taken place within the organization. A negative culture has been developed in the
company which is mainly based on the punishments that are provided to the employees rather
than the rewards which can be provided for their good work. The morale of the staff was
found to be low and the turnover was also high. The issues were thereby identified by the
leader and effective steps were further taken into to implement effective changes within the
organizational culture. The support the needs to be provided by the staff in organizational
processes was missing and this was considered to be an important issue which is able to
affect the organizational culture. The appointment of Widdows was made in a time when the
organization had faced some major issues based on the lack of efficient staff. The
organizational structure was also highly complex in nature which had caused major issues for
the staff (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2015).
The major changes that were thereby implemented by Widdows are based on the
ways by which the salaried staff of the company were reduced and the entire process was
further restructured in an effective manner. The leader also aimed at changing the attitudes

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and the behaviours of employees within the workplace. The levels of mutual respect among
the management and the employees were also managed in an effective manner by the changes
that have been made within the organization. The concept of a “great place to work” and its
understanding among the employees were tested in an effective way by leader (Andrew,
2017). This was able to provide a clear picture of the needs of the employees.
Identification of the factors that are for or against the changes
The Lewin’s change management model can be used for proper analysis of the factirs
that can act for or against the change. The three stages in this model include, unfreeze,
transition and refreeze. The resistance which is provided to the change is the first stage. In
this case, the factors that are a part of the first stage are as follows,
Unfreeze stage- The structure of the company was a major factor that was able to
cause hindrance to the ways by which the changes can be implemented in an effective
manner. The complexity in the structure is thereby considered to be an important factor
which can affect the implementation of changes. The coordination levels of the staff of the
organization are also quite low which is considered to be a major hindrance in the operating
processes. The trust levels of the employees on top management and leadership of the
organization were quite low (Belias and Koustelios, 2014). This had reduced the speed of
implementation of changes as the employees are considered to be the most important part of
the process. The reduction in head count had attracted many negative reactions from the staff
of the organization. This had reduced their involvement in the change process which had
been implemented by Widdows. The work based process of the employees have been able to
affect the involvement of employees in the change process in the organization. The lack of
contribution and involvement of the employees is thereby considered to be a major hindrance
to the process related to change in the organization (Burke, 2017).
Transition - The initiatives that had been implemented by the leader included, health
check-up based camps, memberships in the gym and many more. These steps were thereby
taken by the leader based on the health and wellbeing of the employees. The flexible timing
based operations of the company were also started by the leader in order to provide more
options to the employees. These changes had however received positive response from the
employees and the management of the company as well. The major idea based on the concept
of “a great place of work” was implemented in the organization in order to take care of the
needs of employees in an effective manner. The leader had implemented this concept in order
to reduce the rates of staff turnover in the organization (Cameron and Green, 2015).
The main aim was thereby based on the ways by which the highest levels of services
can be gained from the employees by providing them with the required benefits. This has
been able to play a major role in the ways by which the leader has aimed at gaining the trust
of employees or staff. The negative culture of the company can also be successfully changed
with the help of the changes that have been suggested by the leader. The initiatives related to
proper implementation of changes have been taken by the organization in order to reduce the
levels of turnover that had occurred earlier in Heinz Australia (Christin Jurisch et al., 2014).
Refreeze - The major factors that have been able to facilitate the changes are thereby
based on the fulfilment of the needs of employees. The fulfilment of needs has further led to
the ways by which Widdows had tried to provide them with effective levels of flexibility in
order to provide their services to the company in an effective manner. The need of an
effective leader in the organization and the process of solving the issues had thereby proved
to be a major factor that had led to proper implementation of changes within the work process

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of Heinz Australia. The reduction of excessive monitoring of the staff had also been able to
facilitate the ways by which changes are implemented within the company in an effective
way (Cummings and Worley, 2014).
Key strengths of the new culture
According to, Deserti and Rizzo (2014), the major aspects that have been depicted by
the new culture is based on the development of a cultural web which provides highest levels
of importance to the employees. The employees are thereby considered to be an important of
the organizational processes and the ways by which services and products are offered to the
customers. The employees need to take part in the organizational processes in order to
provide the best levels of services to customers. The new mind-set which has been developed
with the help of cultural changes will prove to be a major factor that can affect the position
which has been developed by Heinz Australia. The company will thereby be able to develop
an effective employee base in order to operate in the environment in a profitable manner.
The reduction of employee turnover is an important benefit that will be gained from
the proper implementation of changes that have been suggested by the leader. The challenges
that can be faced by the company in the food based industry will be faced easily with the help
of changes which need to be made in the organizational operations and the culture as well.
The proper reinforcement of cultural mind-set will be able to play a major role in increasing
the levels of profitability in an effective manner. The initiatives which have been
implemented by the leader have acted as a major driving force for its successful operations in
the industry (Fuchs and Prouska, 2014).
As discussed by Giussi et al. (2017), the changes have been able to play a major role
in the ways by which negative work based environment of the company has been reduced in
an effective manner. The changes in culture have been able to develop a position of the
company in such a way which has further played a major role in the ways by which Heinz
Australia has maintained position at the time of global financial crisis in the country. The
most important concept which has been implemented in the organization in a successful
manner with the help of the leader is based on the development of “a great place to work”.
This initiative has thereby become a global initiative of the company in developing employee
commitment in an effective manner.
Aspects to be monitored in order to maintain the new culture
According to Worley and Mohrman (2014), the different aspects which need to be
monitored in order to maintain the culture which has been developed in Heinz Australia is
based on the proper continuation of the benefits that are offered to the employees. The
constant levels of communication need to be maintained with the employees in order to
ensure that the employees are treated in an effective manner and the newly implemented
culture can be maintained effectively as well. The proper implementation of organizational
changes is based on the communication based levels that are maintained within the
organizations. The development of a productive work based environment is thereby important
in order to increase the profitability based levels of the company. Widdows has thereby
aimed at improving the levels of productivity of the employees with the help of proper
cultural health (Kuipers et al., 2014).
The cultural health of an organization is considered to be a complicated study which
is able to determine the ways and levels up to which the culture of an organization is able to
affect the work process of the employees. Widdows has thereby aimed at developing the
culture of the company with the help of proper implementation of the changes in employee

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work process. The employees have thereby been considered to be important parts of the
successful operations of the company. The levels of importance of the employees in the
company need to be maintained in order to affect their productivity based levels in an
effective manner (Maheshwari and Vohra, 2015).
The management thereby needs to maintain the trust levels with the employees so that
they are able to provide them with the importance levels that they deserve in the organization.
The maintenance of proper relationships with the employees is an important factor that will
help in monitoring the effective implementation of changes in the company (Matos Marques
Simoes and Esposito, 2014). The cultural web that has been developed in the company after
implementation of changes will be able to play a major role in the maintenance of profit
based levels of Heinz Australia. The changes which have been made in the organizational
processes by the new leader need to be maintained in order to maintain the profitability levels
of the employees in an effective manner (Van der Voet, Groeneveld and Kuipers, 2014).
Conclusion
The report is thereby concluded with the learning that the cultural factors had been
able to play a major role in the effective operations of the modern companies. The cultural
web which is developed with the organization can be considered as an important part of the
ways by which the revenues and profitability are maintained. The changes which had been
implemented by the leader had been able to play a major role in the effective operations of
the company.
Recommendations - The cultural changes had been an important part of the
improvement of the business process which has been implemented by the company.
However, the proper monitoring based process will also play a major role in the benefits that
are provided by the cultural changes in Heinz Australia. The organization needs to maintain
the importance that is provided to the employees in order to increase the revenues and the
profitability based levels.

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References
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