Analyzing Change Management Approaches: Lakeland Wonders Case Study

This assignment analyzes the Lakeland Wonders case study, focusing on the challenges of implementing change within an organization. The student explores the nature of organizational change, identifying the Van de Ven and Poole’s Framework as a relevant model and specifically the dialectic approach. The analysis critiques the appropriateness of the dialectical approach in the given scenario, highlighting its limitations in a large, established company with a diverse workforce. The student conducts an external and internal analysis, evaluating political, economic, social, and technological factors, as well as internal cultural dynamics. The assignment identifies gaps in the CEO's approach, particularly concerning employee participation and engagement. The McKinsey 7S model is applied to assess strategic alignment, structure, and systems within the organization. The analysis provides a comprehensive overview of change management principles and their application to the case study, offering valuable insights into leadership, strategy, and organizational dynamics.

Running head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT
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Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Response to Question 1 – Nature of Organisational Change
Organisational Change refers to the process which leads to the change in the structure,
policies, strategies, process, culture, technologies and methods within the organisation. The
increased competitiveness and dynamism demand flexible changes in short times. Managing
such change is a difficult task for which a number of skilled top administrative teams are
required and group efforts are needed (Elsbach&Stigliani, 2018).
The framework of change management is a combination of process, structure,
generating insights and change planning within the organisation. Irrespective of the type of
change- cultural, organisational or digital, making the right choice of framework is very
important. The systematic and proper approach to change management solves a number of
problems even before they start. A framework provides with more systematic approaches of
doing work and hence when change management frameworks are combined with other
change management tools then the chances of success become more positive. The top change
management frameworks are – ADKAR Model, McKinsey 7-S Model, Lewin Model, The
Kubler-Ross Model, Kotter’s Theory, Van de Ven and Poole’ s Framework and Nudge
Theory (Hayes, 2018).
The framework that can be applied to the given case study is the Van de Ven and
Poole’s Framework. The framework states that for effective change management within an
organisation, a proper understanding of such a change is very much necessary. It highlights
the interplay between the different perspective of changes and a comprehensive
understanding of the life of the organisation. It also focuses on employee participation and
employee engagement. The framework groups around 20 different change processes into four
schools of thoughts, which are – Life Cycle, Dialectics, Teleology and Evolution. The life
cycle theory is prescribed in nature and focuses on organic growth. The dialectics approach

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relates to discussions and conflict management that are logical in nature. There are two main
perspectives of the dialectical approach – The Hegelian perspective and The Bakhtinian
process. Any change and stability are explained by balancing power and opposing forces.
Teleological theory indicates those changes that are intentional and directed towards pre-
specified objectives(Dawson, 2019). Evolutionary theory, on the other hand, refers to the
changes that are made because of increased competition.
The changing framework as seen in the case is a dialectic approach. Although Cheryl
Hailstorm tried to take an evolutionary approach yet it ended up as a dialectic approach.
Cheryl tried to face the market competition and hence started making aggressive steps
without proper discussions with the other team members(HBR.org, 2019). Cheryl only states
a vision and does not listen to anybody else’s advice; instead she keeps on telling about her
vision and just commands others to perform what she wants. The dialectic approach of
change framework falls in the second quadrant and it has been selected by Cheryl in the given
case study (HBR.org, 2019).
Response to Question 2 - Is the dialectical approach appropriate?
The dialectical approach of change management is not appropriate in this changing
scenario. Cheryl’s vision states expansion of the business through outsourcing, new
recruitments and increasing the competitive edge over the others. These are certain changes
that will not only affect the processes, but will also change the work structure and the work
model. It is impossible to implement such a change in a short period of time without proper
planning. These changes require a lot of knowledge and skills and good teamwork. in the
given case study Cheryl is the CEO of Lakeland Wonders that is the manufacturer of wooden
toys of high qualities and had three plants in Minnesota. There are around 5000 employees
that work within the company(HBR.org, 2019). This indicates the vast diversity of the

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company. It is very hard to bring change in such a big organisation through aggressive
means. There will be a number of resistant factors to the change in such a big organisation
and these resistant forces cannot be merely ignored or controlled by aggressive means. It
takes a lot of skills, teamwork, motivation and manipulation to bring change in these type of
organisations. Mark and Wally are the two old employees of the organisation and they know
the organisation better than anyone. Wally communicated to Cheryl that the organisation is
an old company and he also stated that Mark never wants to anti-progress the place but has
very good knowledge about the place(HBR.org, 2019). By this Wally meant that it is very
difficult to bring a change all of a sudden in an aggressive manner inside such an old
organisation and he also meant that in order to get the success, in the long run, it is important
to cooperate with people who have got a better idea about the organisation than Cheryl. As
Wally rightly stated, that the dialectical approach that Cheryl was following is inappropriate
as she required to pull people at a slower pace for ensuring that she does not end up tearing
the place apart(HBR.org, 2019).
External Analysis-
Political – In order to do a business, all the business organization in the US has to
maintain certain laws and boundaries within which it can operate. In the given case study,
although no political outlines are mentioned, yet the expansion policies considered by Cheryl
might require permission from the government. Doing trade with China and Indonesia will
require permission from government and if done without permission can hamper the
business.
Economical - US is a country with one of the highest GDP. Labour is not cheap in
US as compared to China or other countries. The availability of cheap labours outside has
actually led to outsourcing many business activities around the world. There is a prevailing

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trade war between the US and China and hence sourcing of goods from China would be
difficult in reality, which Cheryl is not aware of in this case. Competition from other
companies is also huge as Kids and Company is already producing toys at cheaper cost
because they are sourcing materials from China and Indonesia.
Social – US has the best health facilities and education system across the world. The
country is diversified in nature and most of the population has a liberal mindset. However US
have the most aging population that contributes to the problem in labour. The mid market in
this case wants to avail quality products at cheap prices. The labour problem in US market
will not make it feasible for Cheryl to take the Bulls Eye offer if she does not outsource the
business offshore. The people in the society and the old employees in the organization in turn
can see this process as undermining the local capabilities and things can worsen. People in
US would see it as cutting jobs rather than considering it as adding business capacity.
Technological- Although US has been a market leader in the fields of innovation and
technology yet it is facing huge competition from China and India. In the given case study the
designs that were made were not up to the mark and Cheryl wanted Barry to consider the
designs of Sampsen, who was way advanced in technology because of outsourcing.
Internal Analysis –
The internal cultural analysis shows that the organization has weak organizational
culture. Since its history the organization had a strong culture but the dominance of Cheryl all
of a sudden disrupted the balance within the organization. The employees lacked focused
approach and Cheryl also lacked sufficient market knowledge. She only worried about
expansion but not the workforce as a whole. Managing change is only possible if the vision is
clear and acceptable by all. The top administration itself went against Cheryl’s vision and
hence the work culture lacked coordination, respect and enthusiasm.

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Response to Question 3 – Gaps
There are a number of companies that are made by teams and committees. It has
always been seen that group decision making has its own advantages over individual decision
making. The groups carry the potential for generating better ideas, proper evaluation of those
ideas and easier acceptance. Lakeland Wonders is a huge diversified company with 5000
employees working inside it. Cheryl has been seen holding a meeting with all the top
executives of the respective departments – marketing, sales and CFO. This states that Cheryl
ignored employee participation and did not even bother to take any feedback from them
regarding her vision. Even in the meeting rather than asking the officials about the vision, she
stated that she has given an overview of the vision and wants to launch Lakeland in the mid-
market by taking up the Bull’s-Eye contract. She just imposed her vision on everyone without
taking views from the others and asked the management on how to approach her
vision(HBR.org, 2019). Moreover, it has also been seen that she is ready to replace people
who are not ready to listen to her. This has already made Mark and Wally enter into conflict
with Cheryl. Thus this dialectic approach has its own criticisms because of which it is not a
suitable approach. It deals with contradictions and conflicts in a vague manner. This approach
neglects the Aristotelian logic that is based on reality. It is very sensitive to social issues,
linguistic issues as well as cultural issues. It focuses more on the inadequacy of the logic on
the end means. This approach does not consider employee participation and employee
engagement. The theory applies only in case of confrontations that are conflict generated.
The outcome also depends on the distribution of power between the competing entities or
individuals. The individual having more power generally can take undue advantages of their
power. In simple words the reason for the inappropriateness for this model are as follows:
i. This process results in interpersonal conflicts

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ii. The individual or groups having more power can dominate the others
thereafter reducing the employee motivation.
iii. Employees within the organisation are unable to share their views and ideas
under this approach.
iv. The process is very time-consuming as it involves a number of conflicts.
v. Group thinking and group activity do not take place in this approach and
hence employees lack motivation (HBR.org, 2019).
The other three approaches are not commanding in nature and believe in group
behaviour. However, the most suitable approach is the Evolutionary approach that deals with
variation, selection and retention. The basic mechanism of this theory is based upon the fact
that there is a prevalence of competition over scarce resources. This approach is very much
suitable for places where there is blind existence on variations and for competition based
environment. Lakeland is an old company and it will take a slow approach to the change
because of its huge employee base that has blind existence over variation. The organisation
also operates within a competitive environment and hence requires several levels of analysis
before any implementation of change plans.
Response to Question 4 –McKinsey 7S Model
The McKinsey 7S model was developed in the year 1970 by Tom Peters and Robert
Waterman. They identified seven different internal elements that are required to be aligned
properly while managing change. The model is suitable for determining how the various parts
of the organisation work together. The model groups the seven internal elements as Hard or
Soft elements. It states that in order to make changes there are certain elements that are easy
to identify and influence (Hard Elements)(Cox, Pinfield&Rutter, 2019). They are – Strategy,
Structure and Systems. For understanding the need for change in Lakelands Wonders, the

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understanding of the efficient strategy, structure and system is very crucial. The strategy of
the organization is well-stimulated and managed by the newly appointed CEO Cheryl, as the
case study demonstrated her determination in bringing changes and seeking growth
opportunities even if it seems impossible at the moment. Her aim was always focussed
towards developing the organization with the consideration of cost-benefit and generating
competitive advantages(HBR.org, 2019). The structure of the organization was also
appropriate and was not changed in the middle and lower level. Although, the division of
activities was suitable for the current objectives but the collaboration and integration of the
functional department in synch with Cheryl are very important and is lacking in the case
scenario(Ravanfar, 2015). The organization needs to be changed in its coordination
mechanism as the operations department, marketing department and the CEO was not well-
coordinated (Al-Haddad&Kotnour, 2015). The systems of Lakeland Wonders also reflects the
need for organizational change management as the procedures involving decision-making,
resource allocation and executing a vision with the collaboration of each stakeholder was
missing in the current case scenario of the company (Petrou, Demerouti&Schaufeli, 2018).
There are other elements as well that is not much tangible and is relatively hard to
describe (Soft Elements). They are – Shared Values, Skills, Style and Staff. With shared
value remaining at the centre of the strategy, the other six elements revolve around it.
Lakeland Wonders does not demonstrate shared values amongst the internal stakeholders,
after the appointment of Cheryl as the proposal of outsourcing services from China was not
discussed amongst the functional teams with the motive of framing a decision but was
communicated for executing the plan. The lack of understanding about the significance and
the ‘me’ approach of Cheryl did not involve other stakeholders as it was not considered as
their work for the employees or functional heads. Lakeland Wonders had everything it
needed to move forward as a great player, but on the other hand, it needed to upgrade its

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skills for sustaining in the changing external business environment, which also marks the
need for changing the business approach like outsourcing and changing product
positioning(HBR.org, 2019). The organization reflects sufficient skilled staff members for
facilitating a strategy collaboratively. The style or the key behaviour of the managers,
especially Mark and Cheryl demand change as the case demonstrated various opposing
views, restricting the motive of working collaboratively. Cheryl and Mark should have
collaborated like before for extracting potential solutions or alternative approach for the
expansion for Bull’s-Eye contract.
Response to Question 5 – Type of Culture
The shared beliefs and assumptions state the psychological and social environment of
an organisation. It includes expectations, values, philosophy and experiences that guide the
people in having a self-image, working interactions and expected behaviour. From the case
study, it is evident that Lakeland Wonders reflects a weak organizational culture as during the
employees or internal stakeholders and decision-makers do not demonstrate a shared idea of
value and vision, restricting the collaborative approach towards common goals
(Alvesson&Sveningsson, 2015). The significance, core values of the outsourcing project and
internalization strategies were not communicated with clarity by Cheryl as well as were not
accepted widely. The case of Lakeland Wonders does not have alignment amongst the
adopted values and the process of decision-making (Driskill, 2018). The case reflects poor
motivation, lack of required information regarding the importance and urgency of responding
to the opportunities, lack of focussed approach, and practice of ‘me’ approach rather than
‘we’. Although, Cheryl tried incorporating major support and attractive bonus plans for
building a positive culture but the urgency of incorporating certain changes for growth
opportunities affected her approach of handling the functional team and led to a restrictive
approach in regards with employee engagement(HBR.org, 2019).

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