Leading Change in Organizations: A Report on Debenhams

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Understanding and Leading Change
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1: Managing the impact of change..........................................................................................4
Part A Responding to Change......................................................................................................4
Part B The impact of change.......................................................................................................6
Task 2 Leadership Decision Making...............................................................................................8
Task 3 Leading Change.................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................20
References......................................................................................................................................21
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Introduction
The report will highlight the importance of the changes within the organizations and their impact
on businesses. It has become very essential for companies to adopt such changes and lea them in
an effective manner. The report is prepared regarding the changes within the Debenhams which
is the British multinational retailer operating in the UK and Ireland along with other franchise
stores in different countries. The company sells a wide range of products such as household
items, clothing as well as furniture. The report will provide examples of the changes identified in
different organizations and different analysis will also be made regarding the Debenhams
Company. The report will also include the PowerPoint presentation in which all different
approaches to managing the change will be discussed. The report will provide the details
regarding the impact of operational and strategically changes on the organization and how the
managers can deal with such changes effectively.
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Task 1: Managing the impact of change
Part A Responding to Change
Different drivers of change
There can be seen the changes in every organization with the time and these have a direct impact
on the overall operations of a company. It is very problematic for the employees within an
organization to adopt such changes so easily. It is required for the managers of the company to
identify the influence of these changes over the company and adopt the strategies which can
effectively overcome such challenges on the businesses. The managers after the evaluation can
use effective strategies and tactics to deal with such changes in an effective manner.
Every organization handles the changes in their manner. Some of the organizations generally
resist such kinds of changes by evaluating them on a priority basis, while the other organizations
try to resist them through making effective strategies for the business. There are different types
of varieties of the organizations in the market and the companies have their styles as well as the
ways to handle such changes (Belias and Koustelios, 2014).
The factors that are being used by the company to bring changes in an organization are the
drivers of the changes. There are several numbers of these drivers of the changes in companies
such as economic and political policies, technological changes, etc. These factors play a very
important role in affecting the operations of a company in both positive as well as negative
manner. There are two very famous supermarkets in UK such as ALDI and Tesco which are
operating in the market of UK in a very effective manner (Harwiki, 2016). These companies are
facing a lot of strategic and operational changes due to the increasing competition in the market.
The companies are facing the increasing competition in the market for which they are needed to
make the best possible strategies for their businesses to cope up with such challenges and should
take the effective modes to respond to such changes in the businesses:
Responses to the changes by ALDI
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 Finding the main cause: The managers of the company, first of all, try to identify the
main cause of the change within the organization. This is considered as the most effective
way to identify and evaluate the relevant change and to make further policies for handling
such changes. This method is effective as it helps in handling changes appropriately.
 Engaging the resistance managers: This is also an effective way to help the managers
of the company to deal with such changes within the organization. The resistance
managers can be appointed at such a place so that any kind of problem cannot hamper the
work of the employees within the organizations (Toves, et. al., 2016).
Response to the changes by TESCO
 Involving the employees of the company: The managers of such company try to
indulge the employees of the company in the decision-making strategies of the business.
With the help of the employees, the managers of the company can handle such changes
within the business in an effective manner. The employees of such company can present
their views on the management of the company to eliminate the negative impact of any
uncertainty on the business (Salas, et. al., 2015).
 Implementing the programs for training: The Company tries to introduce different
training and the development programs for the employees of the company so that they
can be able to entertain such challenges within the business in an effective manner.
Efficient managers can adopt such changes and accept them in an efficient manner (Ford
and Ford, 2012).
The strategies used by such businesses are very effective to respond to the changes in the
business in an effective manner. There is a similarity between these approaches that the main
reason behind using these approaches is to help the organization in achieving its objectives. The
companies are trying to respond to such changes in a positive manner rather than avoiding them.
There are also found dissimilarities in both the ways of the companies dealing with the changes.
In the case of ALDI, the major responsibility to handle such changes in the business is on the
managers of the company. On the other hand, in Tesco, the responsibility is further shared by the
employees to deal with such changes altogether. ALDI is gaining a competitive advantage in this
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highly competitive market tan Tesco because it is using the most effective ways to manage the
changes within the strategies and operations of the organization.
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Part B The impact of change
There are several numbers of the factors facilitating and forcing the changes within an
organization. These drivers of the changes can be internal or external. There are identified
different drivers of the changes such as the technological advancements, change in customer’s
behavior as well as the increasing competition in the market. These factors have equal influence
over the management and the growth of the organization. These major influences of such
changes on the organizations are handled by the leaders of such company. The leaders within an
organization have the responsibility of guiding their team members to adopt such changes
positively. Following are different internal and external forces of change that can have an impact
on the leadership strategies of the firm:
 Due to the continuous increasing competition in the market, the leaders will have the
requirement of using effective marketing strategies to facilitate the growth of the
organization.
 To encourage the employees at the workplace, there will be a need for using the
motivating strategies and incentive programs for the employees.
 To understand the concerns and point of views of customers, the leaders should ask for
feedback from customers (Lewis, 2012).
These are the main factors which are useful in understanding the impact of internal as well as the
external factors of the change on the company Debenhams. These changes also have a very
negative impact on the performance of the organizations. There are several numbers of the
change management models which can be used by the organizations to minimize the negative
impact of these changes on the organization:
Kotter’s Change Management Theory: This theory of change management is effective as it
helps the organization in the acceptance of changes rather than resisting those changes within
Debenhams Company. This theory is mostly used for focusing on the short terms objectives of
the organization.
Lewin’s Change Management Model: This model was introduced by Kurt Lewin to effectively
implement and accepts the changes within the organization (Blyton and Morris, 2017). The
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leaders develop their ability to understand and accept such changes in an effective manner with
the help of this model of change management. This model is also helpful in bringing stability
within the organization.
McKinsey 7s model: This model is used by the company Debenhams to analyze the
organizational design of the company. The model has included several elements of analyzing the
company structure which are system, style, structure, skills, shared values, staff as well as
strategy. These all are useful for the analysis of the organization (Chow, 2014).
Conclusions and Recommendations
The information described above helps understand the impact of the changes on the operations of
a business. It has also been identified that the changes are necessary for the development of a
company and the leaders are required to adopt and accept such changes in a positive manner.
Following are some of the recommendations that can be made in this reference:
 The leaders must use effective models of change management in their businesses.
 The leaders should make relevant changes in their leadership policies to respond to the
changes in the market.
 The changes must also be accepted and responded positively rather than avoiding them.
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Task 2 Leadership Decision Making
This force field analysis is the model provided by Kurt Lewin which helps develop the decision
making steps within the company to develop an effective leadership approach which can be
further used in making effective decisions. The force field analysis is helpful in the identification
of the key driving as well as the restraining forces for the change. To make the force field
analysis of the company, the following are identified the forces driving the change as well as the
forces restrict the change within the Debenhams company:
Driving Forces for the Changes Resisting forces for such changes
One of the main driving forces for the changes
in the increasing financial instability of the
organization.
The main reason behind the restriction of such
changes in the organization is the gap of
communication between the managers and the
employees of the company. This may leave the
very negative impact of the change on the
organization.
The other major driving force for the changes
in the continuously advancing technologies as
well as the strategies within the organization.
One of the restricting forces of the change can
be the resistance from the employees to accept
such changes within the organization. The
employees are generally not satisfied with the
new changes implemented within the
organization.
The increasing competition in the retail market
can also be the reason behind the requirement
of the changes in the Debenhams Company.
There are also being used the wrong leadership
approaches within the organization which can
cause the problems for the acceptance of
changes within the organization.
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The other main reason for bringing the changes
in the strategies of the organization is the gap
identified in the performance of the employees
from the expected performance from them.
The unfamiliar consequences of such changes
can also be the reason behind the restriction to
the acceptance of such changes within the
company.
Different barriers to the changes
There are several numbers of the barriers identified in the changes within the organizations.
Following are the barriers or the restrictions identified while adopting the changes within the
Debenhams Company:
 The negative tendency in the employees of the company while performing any task.
 The leaders have also adopted a poor decision-making strategy in the company.
 The other barrier is the unknown consequences of the changes to be introduced within the
organization that restricts such changes.
 The lack of effective communication among the managers and the employees of the
company can also be the reason behind the restriction to the changes.
These resisting forces influence the leadership of the organization because the leaders may not be
able to cope up with such challenges in an effective manner. The leaders are required to conduct
the force field analysis to identify the driving forces of changes and effective model of leadership
should be adopted to convince the employees to adopt such changes in the company
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Task 3 Leading Change
Slide 1: Title Slide
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Slide 2: Table of contents
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