Leading and Managing Change: Strategies and Case Study Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leading and managing change within organizations, using the House of Fraser case as a primary example. The report begins with an introduction to change management and its importance, followed by an overview of the House of Fraser case study. It then delves into the internal and external drivers of change, such as political, economic, social, and technological factors, and their impact on organizational strategy, operations, and decision-making. A PEST analysis is conducted to compare House of Fraser with a similar fashion chain, highlighting the effects of change. The report examines the impact of change on leadership, individual and team behaviors, and explores strategies to minimize the negative consequences of change, including effective leadership styles and employee engagement. Furthermore, it covers the acquisition of House of Fraser and its implications on the organization's structure, culture, and employee dynamics. The report concludes with a summary of key findings and recommendations for successful change management. The report utilizes models like the Burke-Litwen model to provide a structured approach to change management.

Leading and Managing
Change

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
SCENARIO 1...................................................................................................................................3
1) overview of the case study................................................................................................3
2) Drivers of change and their impact on organisational strategy..........................................3
3 & 4) PEST analysis and comparison of two firms along with the impact of change on
company's operations and strategy.........................................................................................4
5) impact of change on leadership, individuals and team behaviours....................................5
6) How the impact of change can be minimized....................................................................6
SCENARIO 2...................................................................................................................................6
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Change is a process which help the organisations to reform and rebuild their strategies
and operations so that they can remain competitive in the market and can ensure their survival
over a long period of time. This help companies to reduce their costs and increase their
efficiency with which they perform in market (Alavi and Gill, 2017). This report is based on
House of Fraser which is a British department store group with its 54 stores located across the
UK and Ireland. The company has been bought by the retail group of The Sports Direct boss who
aims at dividing the the House of Fraser into two divisions of which Fraser stocking will deal
with more designer labels whereas House of Fraser will cater to the needs of mass market. This
will help the declining market of company to revive as it is loosing about £3m a week. This
report give details about internal and external drivers of change and their impact on the decision-
making of managers. Barriers of change are also discussed along with the leadership approaches
so that such changes can be successfully installed.
SCENARIO 1
1) overview of the case study
In the second case study it is discussed about House of Fraser's which is bought by the
retail group The Sports Direct boss which aims at changing the way in which the business is
conducted so that the losses suffered by company can be reduced. This will be done by
assimilating all the retail stores of the company into a new luxury mini-chain called as Frasers. It
will reduce the number of non-functional stores so that the cost of these stores can be reduced.
Also the company aims at dividing the stores into two divisions with one division dealing in
expensive designer products while the other one dealing with goods that focus on the mass
market (Al-Haddad and Kotnour, 2015).
2) Drivers of change and their impact on organisational strategy
Changes in organisation are brought due to internal or external drivers of change so that
the competitiveness of company can be maintained in marketplace. Internal drivers are the
resources available with organisation, capabilities of employees, organisational culture, policies
and strategies of the company etc. External drivers of change are changes in government policies
and laws, changing technology, varying customer demands etc. All these factors lead to changing
in company's structure, processes and the way its activities are carried out so that the

sustainability and survival of company in competitive environment can be maintained (Bloxham,
Ehrich and Iyer, 2015).
3 & 4) PEST analysis and comparison of two firms along with the impact of change on
company's operations and strategy
The operations and strategies of an organisation helps them to achieve their long-term
goals by mapping the route which needs to be followed by them so that they can achieve their
vision and mission. To understand the impact of change on organisation's strategy and operations
following comparison is done :
Basis House of Fraser Fashion chain select
Political The political situations of the UK are
stable which means that companies can
change their strategies easily. This
helps the company to easily open new
luxury mini-chains and close the
chains which are not profitable. The
impact on its operations is that the
company can operate through two
divisions with one aiming at high
income group of people and other
aiming at mass market (Dawson and
Andriopoulos, 2014).
As the political condition of UK is
stable it can help the company to enter
into agreement of acquisition easily.
The impact of this factor on its strategy
is that it can try to access all the
business options so as to be beneficial
to its stakeholders. The impact on its
operations is that it can easily get
acquired by any interested parties by
the consent of its board of directors.
Economic The company is facing high
competition in market and also the
consequences of economic prostration
of fiscal market in 2008. The strategic
impact on company is that it will
change its strategy so as to be available
to mass markets at lower prices while
the impact on operations is that it will
now operate through two divisions of
As the disposable income of people is
decreasing and the rents are becoming
high it has led the company to change
its strategies and operations like it has
entered into a company voluntary
agreement so as to negotiate rent cuts
of up-to 75%. Operational impact on
company is that it will reduce the
number of employees in its stores so as

its stores so that it can aim different
sections of the society.
to reduce costs.
Social People in UK are more involved in
spending their money on leisure
activities or spending more on
education than buying consumer
products for themselves which has
reduced company sales. The impact on
company's strategy is that it is now
closing down some non-functional
stores to reduce costs and impact on its
operations is that it will operate
through mini-chains so that more
customers can be attracted.
Customers nowadays more involved in
online shopping which has reduced
company's business and because of this
earning that can help in paying their
workers and the shop rent also is not
accumulated. The operational change
on company can be that it can start
dealing online so that more number of
customers can be reached while the
strategic change can b that it can
change its pricing policy from
economic pricing to penetration pricing
so that the company sales can be
increased.
Technological The company is facing competition
from the online shopping and also
from other competitors who are
operating through online apps. The
strategic change regarding this is that
the company can attract more
customers through its luxury mini-
chains while impact on its operations
can be to operate through online portal
so as to reach large number of
customers.
The company faces competition from
increasing online shopping which has
increased its losses. For this the
company has entered into CVA so that
the stores can continue to operate
without getting closed. It also has an
option of getting acquired so that it
does not close down (Fragouli and
Ibidapo, 2015).
The internal changes that occurred in the House of Fraser are that there were changes in
ownership which impacted the employees of company as they had to work in accordance with

the new rules and regulations formulated by the new owner i.e., Sports direct. Also as the
resources of company expanded the employees can now use them efficiently so that efficient
results can be achieved. Organisational culture and policies will also create an impact on the way
in which work is carried out in Sports Direct so that effective results can be achieved. Thus there
is various impacts on the changing internal situations of business which also affect the way in
which company goals are achieved. The similarities among the changes in two companies are of
the administration because the new company i.e., Sports Direct has taken various steps with
which they can improve the stores activities such as they have improved the billing processes.
Along with this they have changed the terms with the suppliers so that they can manage their
cost which will enable them to deal with huge cost that has been faced by both the companies.
5) impact of change on leadership, individuals and team behaviours Change in ownership : The acquisition by Sports Direct will have an impact on the
leadership, individuals and team behaviours of House of Frasers. The impact of change
on leadership will be that the leadership style will change according to the acquiring
company and Sports Direct boss might appoint a highly skilled leader to form teams in
House of Frasers. This will change the way in which job roles are assigned among team
members and the way in which team members will complete their task. The senior leader
might follow a different leadership style which will affect the behaviour of all the
employees and might create tension and pressure among them. Change in structure : As the stores will be divided into two divisions which will focus
on two separate groups of people there will be a change in leadership, individual and
team behaviour. The individuals and teams which will work in the division focusing on
mass market will aim at increasing their sales by offering their products at low prices and
the leaders will motivate them to increase sales. On the other hand in other division
where more designer and expensive clothes will be sold the main focus will be on
maintaining strong customers relations so as to retain customers. The teams and
individuals will emphasize on selling and leaders will focus on enhancing relations with
customers. As the structure of organisation will change there will also be some job losses
which will increase job insecurity among workers and will also mean that leaders will
have to change their leadership style so as to monitor resistance among workers.

 Impact on change on leadership, individuals and team behaviours: To manage the
change it is important for the leaders to adopt significant style of leadership so that they
can make their employees understand its need and its benefits for them as well as for the
organisation. For example: In case House of Frasers was acquired by Sports Direct the
management of the company changes and at that point of time the leader of the company
adopted strategic leadership with the help of which they can interact about the objectives
of the company long with the actions that can be taken by them to grab the growth
opportunities. Apart from this, such change will have impact on the behaviour of the
individual which can effectively be managed by the leadership with their moral support
and by making the employees understand the opportunities that they will have from the
acquisition of the shares by the Sports Direct. Such change will arise due to various
changes in the internal and external drivers which may prevail within the organisation for
example: Due to change in the task structure by the new management of House of Frasers
the roles and responsibilities of the employees will change and this has impact on the
performance of the individuals and team performance. All this can effectively be
amanged by the team leaders by adopting efficient style of leadership such as democratic
in which they can take their suggestions, strategic and many more.
Though both internal and external drivers of change will affect the behaviour of
individual, team and leaders, the impact of external factors will be more as there will be a change
in the way company operates and functions in market.
6) How the impact of change can be minimized
For minimising the impact of various changes it is important to formulate various
strategies which can implemented within the organisation. Various such strategies that can be
used by the management includes increased employee engagement, effective leadership style,
develop a better culture of learning and understanding and counselling of the employees. For
example Democratic leadership style must be involved along with effective communication so
that negative impact of change can be minimized as employees can be included in decision-
making which will encourage them to adopt the change instead of resisting the change. The
company can use the Burke-Litwen model so that change can be effectively applied and the
impact of change can be minimized. This model aims at enhancing the performance of the team
by linking their performance with the internal and external factors which affects their

performance and motivation level (Komives, 2016). Change in organisation can be due to
various internal and external factors which can be applied in company by using this model as it
helps in identifying the reasons of change in employee performance due to change and the ways
in which their performance and motivation can be enhanced. It is a human tendency to resist
change therefore it is important that communication is made effective so that change can be
efficiently implemented which will help in making employees understand about the reasons of
change and its benefits. The Bruke Litwin model can help Sports Direct in improving the
performance of its employees by linking their performance with changing conditions so that they
can perform their work in an appropriate manner. This will help the company in implementing
change effectively as the employees can be motivated to go along the change and also adapt to
the changing conditions of business so that efficient results are achieved. The cause and effect
relationship can be built so that the employees can work efficiently and accept changes in
company thereby making the change implementation successful in Sports Direct. By considering
all the 12 dimensions of the model an effective strategy can be formulated for managing the
organisational change but the importance of different dimensions varies with the nature of
change. For example: Sports direct has adopted transformational change in which they need to
consider the mission and strategy such as to reduces the losses of the House of Frasers by
improving the performance of the employees with significant changes in the structure, leadership
style and culture of organisation. The employees will be allowed to provide their suggestions
which will motivate them and thus it will enable them to efficiently adopt the changes.
SCENARIO 2
Covered in PPT
CONCLUSION
From this report it can be concluded that change is the basic requirement of the
organisation so as to survive in the competitive market which helps the company in bringing
strategic and operational changes so that the company can reduce its costs and increase the
efficiency of performance. This helps the company in gaining a competitive advantage in the
market and also its sustainability can be maintained. Also while implementing change in the
organisation the company needs to change its leadership so that the change management can be
efficiently done and the employees can be motivated to accommodate to the change.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alavi, S. B. and Gill, C., 2017. Leading change authentically: How authentic leaders influence
follower responses to complex change. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies.
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Al-Haddad, S. and Kotnour, T., 2015. Integrating the organizational change literature: a model
for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 28(2). pp.234-
262.
Bloxham, R., Ehrich, L. C. and Iyer, R., 2015. Leading or managing? Assistant regional
directors, school performance, in Queensland. Journal of Educational Administration.
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Dawson, P. and Andriopoulos, C., 2014. Managing change, creativity and innovation. Sage.
Fragouli, E. and Ibidapo, B., 2015. Leading in crisis: Leading organizational change & business
development. International Journal of Information, Business and Management. 7(3).
p.71.
Gupta, P., 2011. Leading innovation change-The Kotter way. International Journal of Innovation
Science. 3(3). pp.141-150
Komives, S. R., 2016. Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of
leadership development. John Wiley & Sons.
Lawrence, P., 2015. Leading change–Insights into how leaders actually approach the challenge
of complexity. Journal of Change Management. 15(3). pp.231-252.
MacKian, S. and Simons, J., 2013. Leading, managing, caring: understanding leadership and
management in health and social care. Routledge in association with The Open
University.
Painter, S. and Clark, C. M., 2015. Leading change: Faculty development through structured
collaboration. International Journal of Doctoral Studies. 10. pp.187-198.
Shore, D. A., 2014. Launching and leading change initiatives in health care organizations:
managing successful projects (Vol. 213). John Wiley & Sons.
Stanleigh, M., 2013. Leading change. The Journal for Quality and Participation. 36(2). p.39.
Wagner, W. E., 2016. Leadership for a better world: Understanding the social change model of
leadership development. John Wiley & Sons.
Online
Leadership Skills. 2019.[Online]. Available
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