Understanding and Leading Change: Sainsbury's Case Study Report

This report examines organizational change leadership, focusing on Sainsbury's as a case study. It begins by comparing organizations and assessing drivers of change, both internal and external, including human resources, customers, technology, and competitors. The report then evaluates these drivers, using SWOT and PESTLE analyses to understand the external environment. It explores internal drivers such as technological capacity and organizational culture. Furthermore, the report delves into barriers to change, leadership approaches like Kotter's eight-step model, and the application of force field analysis. Finally, it critically evaluates the effectiveness of different leadership models and provides conclusions with recommendations for effective change management within an organizational context.

Understanding
and leading
change

Contents
TASK 1..........................................................................................................................................................3
P1: Comparison of organizations.............................................................................................................3
M1: Assessment of drivers of change......................................................................................................5
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................................5
P2: Evaluation of internal and external drivers of change.......................................................................5
P3: Evaluation of measures that can minimize negative impact of change.............................................7
M2: Application of appropriate theories and models to evaluate organisational response to change. 10
D1: Conclusions with recommendations...............................................................................................10
TASK 3........................................................................................................................................................10
P4: Explanation of different barriers for change....................................................................................10
M3: Force field analysis to analyze the driving and resisting force and their influence on decision
making...................................................................................................................................................12
D2: Critically evaluate the use of force field in organizational context.................................................12
P5: Application of leadership approaches.............................................................................................12
Kotter’s eight step model-.....................................................................................................................13
M4: Leadership approaches can deliver organizational change effectively applying appropriate models
...............................................................................................................................................................14
D3 Critically evaluate the effectiveness of leadership approaches and models of change management 14
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Organizational change refers to a process in which the strategies, processes, procedures
and technology of an organization changes (Bohman, 2019). Every enterprise has to go through
this transition phase. If they go through it successfully then they can easily sustain the increasing
level of competition. In a dynamic and ever-changing business environment it is important for
firms to change themselves or they will perish out of the market. This is due to changing needs
and requirements of customers and the new innovations that have arrived in the market. Thus it
becomes necessary to implement organizational change in the functioning of the company to
allow for a smooth transition. In this report, Sainsbury’s has been selected which is the second-
largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. In this project, specific analysis will be made
on comparison of ways in which change impacts organizations, evaluation of drivers of change,
determination of barriers to change. Also, application of a range of approaches of leadership will
be discussed.
TASK 1
P1: Comparison of organizations
There are various factors which influence change in the organizations which have been
explained in detail as follows-
Drivers of change- The drivers of change are referred as the factors which can influence
change in the firm by any medium (Boyatzis and Cavanagh, 2018). These can be internal as well
as external in nature. It is important for Sainsbury’s to quickly identify them as they can
influence its decision-making and strategy for the long-term.
Impact of drivers of change- The drivers of change create a big impact on the
operations and functioning of the organization. Sainsbury’s business model can be affected by
them as it may be required that it does a complete overhaul of its existing system to deal with the
change.
Case studies-
Sainsbury’s- Sainsbury’s is the second-largest chain of supermarkets operating in the
United Kingdom. Due to the changing the global business environment it faces a challenge in the
form of various factors which can affect its business and can create an impact on its profitability
level.
Tesco- Tesco is a British multinational groceries dealer which is the third-largest retailer
in the world. It also faces challenges from the change in global business environment and must
adapt to changes to maintain its sustainability in the market.
Drivers of change in an organization-

 Human resources- Human resources are drivers of change as the changing needs and
demands of employees bring an overhaul in the organization (Chappell and et.al., 2016).
Sainsbury’s and Tesco are impacted by it as they need to adhere to the new changes
demanded by their workers. They can do so by identifying the needs and requirements of
their workers and fulfilling these needs and requirements so that the work can go on
effectively. Due to increasing pressure from employees, both Sainsbury’s and Tesco have
decided to amend their employee policy and are now giving more leaves to their workers
in a year.
 Customers- Customers drive change with their changing needs and requirements which
facilitates creativity and innovation. Sainsbury’s and Tesco are impacted by it as they
need to adhere to them so as to sustain in the market.
 Change in laws- The change made by government in the laws, rules and regulations of
country can impact firms like Sainsbury’s and Tesco. This is so because either their
profits can increase or decrease due to it.
 Technology- Technology brings with it different types of changes (Christou and et.al.,
2020). For staying in the market and also to reduce the cost of production Sainsbury’s
and Tesco need to implement these changes so that work can be done effectively and
profits can be maximized.
 Competitors- Competitors are change influencers as a business needs to follow them so
that it does not stay behind them. With increasing level of competition both Sainsbury’s
and Tesco have to bring a change in their business strategies so as to stay ahead of the
competition.
 Globalization- Globalization refers to integration of various economies of the world into
one. It has opened new doors for different enterprises and thus Sainsbury’s and Tesco
need to amend their approach and change themselves to adapt to the global environment.
Comparison between Sainsbury’s and Tesco
Basis Sainsbury’s Tesco
Human resources Sainsbury’s has amended its
strategies regarding its
employees.
Tesco has made changes to
in its existing wage
structures.
Customers Sainsbury’s has announced
incentives for its employees
for their innovative ideas.
Tesco is going to increase
its investment in R&D to
implement change.
Change in laws Sainsbury’s has decided to
comply with the new rules
by overhauling its system.
Tesco has decided to bring
a change in its products and
services according to the
new provisions.
Technology Sainsbury’s has made
provisions in its budget to
accommodate new
technology.
Tesco is going to increase
its investment in new
technology.
Competitors Sainsbury’s has decided to Tesco is closely analyzing

amend its strategies
according to competitors.
the strategies of competitors
and will develop its own
methods to limit their
influence.
Globalization Sainsbury’s is looking to
increase its exports to
benefit from globalization.
Tesco is going to expand its
operations in different
countries worldwide to
benefit from globalization.
M1: Assessment of drivers of change
The different drivers of change namely human resources, customers, change in laws,
technology, competitors and globalization create a significant impact on a business’s operations.
These drivers can be internal as well as external in nature. Internal drivers of change are present
within the enterprise and external drivers are present outside an enterprise. This can help in
facilitating a strategic and operational change. This is so because a company’s management
needs to amend its strategy and has to effectively manage operational change also to smoothly
integrate change within an organization. Thus they have to be dealt very carefully. Sainsbury’s
has made a strategy for each of them to successfully adapt to the change in the business
environment which is dynamic in nature. Thus these drivers influence the working pattern as
well as financial position of the enterprise and management has to take decisions to adapt
according to them so that changes take place effectively in the context of an organization.
TASK 2
P2: Evaluation of internal and external drivers of change
The evaluation of various internal and external drivers of change in the context of
Sainsbury’s is as follows-
Evaluation of internal drivers of change-
 Technological capacity- The technological capacity is an internal driver of change
which affects an organization’s strategy (Eddy and Amey, 2018). In Sainsbury’s it can
impact leadership and individual and team behavior as there may be resistance by labor in
implementation of new technology.
 Organizational culture- The organizational change is impactful for an enterprise
because it can influence the behavior and decision-making in an organization.
Sainsbury’s is also influenced by this internal driver of change as it can influence its
prospects of implementing change.
 Financial management- Finance is an important factor affecting the prospects of any
organization. Thus it is important for Sainsbury’s as it can create an impact on behavior
and decision-making because funds are required to implement change.

 Employee morale- Employee morale is an important factor which can influence the
behavior as well as decision-making in organization (Edwards-Groves and et.al., 2019).
Sainsbury’s can be influenced by it because employees may offer resistance to the
process of implementation of change.
 High wastage- High wastage is an internal driver of change affecting organizations.
Sainsbury’s can be impacted by it as high wastage may lead to increase in costs and
reduction of profits.
Evaluation of external drivers of change-
 Economy- Economy influences change in organizations as behaviors and decision-
making can be impacted (Espedal, 2017). In Sainsbury’s it can create an impact as
behaviors and leadership can be influenced by it as they have to change their approach.
 Political influence- Political influence leads to change in organizations as leaders of a
company need to amend their strategies for facing it. Also behaviors will be impacted
when it is used. In Sainsbury’s, they are impacted as an overall change is brought in the
enterprise.
 New competitors- New competitors can influence change in the organization and also
impact the behaviors and leaders because the way of managing a firm has to be changed
to face new competition. Sainsbury’s also has to change its management which creates an
impact on leadership and behaviors.
 Technology- Technology is an important influence of change (Fernando, 2018). In
Sainsbury’s, it can impact behaviors and leadership because the process of implementing
it involves meeting a lot of resistance within the organization.
 Customer satisfaction- Customer satisfaction influences change in the organization. In
Sainsbury’s, behaviors and leadership can be impacted by it because the processes have
to be changed in the organization to enhance customer satisfaction.
SWOT analysis of Sainsbury’s
Strengths Weaknesses
 Large customer base is strength of
Sainsbury’s because of its brand
image.
 Sainsbury’s provides quality
product and services to its
customers which is its strength as it
creates goodwill in the market.
 Sainsbury’s faces problems related
to inefficiency of its staff as
sometimes there have been
complaints regarding bad behavior
with customers.
 Sainsbury’s digital marketing
strategies are behind that of its
competitors.
Opportunities Threats
 Expansion in new international
markets offers Sainsbury’s an
opportunity to maximize its profits.
 Using new technology, Sainsbury’s
can reduce its costs and can also get
ahead of its competitors.
 The new taxation policy affects
Sainsbury’s as it can significantly
reduce its profits.
 Increasing level of competition
threatens to impact the business of
Sainsbury’s as its customer base

can shift to competitors.
PESTLE analysis of Sainsbury’s-
 Political factors- These factors are government policy, political stability etc. Sainsbury’s
is influenced by them as they can affect its operations and functioning. They influence
the drivers of change as the firm can be influenced by a change in political factors which
can impact its operations either positively or negatively. For example- If there is a change
in government policy and it favors Sainsbury’s then its business will see a positive
growth.
 Economic factors- These factors are economic growth, exchange rates, interest rates etc.
Sainsbury’s is influenced by them as they can affect its level of profits (Glass and Cook,
2016). They can influence the drivers of change as a change in economy will directly
impact the profitability level of the firms. For example- Change has been brought to
businesses due to the onset of Brexit which has changed various things for them.
 Social factors- These are population, age distribution, social and cultural barriers etc.
These factors affect Sainsbury’s as its operations and functioning is impacted by them.
These factors can influence drivers of change as change in society directly inflicts change
in businesses. For example- Changing lifestyle attitudes of customers can bring a change
in a firm’s operations.
 Technological factors- These are new technology, level of innovation, activities related
with research and development etc. Sainsbury’s management has to take care of these
factors as they can impact its strategies. They can impact drivers of change because a
firm has to adopt new technology for sustaining within the market. For example- A firm
needs to adopt the new technology quickly so that it can bring changes in its operations.
 Legal factors- These are discrimination laws, consumer laws and other rules and
regulations framed from time to time by the government. Sainsbury’s can be affected by
the influence put by them as it can impact its products and services. They can influence
drivers of change because change in legal rules and regulations can either put a positive
or negative influence on operations of a company. For example- Strict government rules
can lead towards reduction in profits of the company.
 Environment factors- These are weather, climate, environmental policies etc. They
create an impact on Sainsbury’s as its mode of functioning can be changed due to them
(Head and et.al., 2018). They influence drivers of change because environment has to be
given supreme importance in order to win over the customers. For example- Firms need
to make sure that their products are friendly towards the environment so that they can win
over customers.
P3: Evaluation of measures that can minimize negative impact of change
Whenever there is a dynamic change in the environment there are both positive as well as
negative impacts created due to it. It is therefore important on the part of management to

minimize the negative impact changes can create in the organization. Sainsbury’s management
uses Systems theory and Burke-Litwin change model in order to ease the transition process and
minimize the negative impacts of change.
Negative influences- Negative influences are generated when the change process in
introduced within a particular organization. When Sainsbury’s managers introduce the dynamic
changes this can lead towards creation of these influences as there will be a certain section of
people in the company who will resist the implementation of change.
The examples are-
Not allowing the change process to take place- This is a negative influence which is
generated by the staff of Sainsbury’s when they do not allow the change process to take place
within the organization.
Resistance- This can be unity of the employees against the change process within the
organization. Therefore Sainsbury’s needs to identify this particular resistance so that it can be
reduced for introducing change.
Systems theory-
Systems theory focuses on arrangement of various parts in order to collect them as a
whole in an organization (Systems theory, 2018). It explains how the system of a business
interacts with the environment. Its application in the context of Sainsbury’s is explained as
follows-
Components of this theory-
 Sub-system- These are small parts which make an entire organization (Heinz and
Fleming, 2019). In Sainsbury’ which is a big company they are very important to make
the whole company. These parts can help in minimizing the negative impact of change by
display of efficiency and effectiveness.

 Synergy- It defines relationship which exists between different parts of an organization.
For minimizing the negative impact of change in a big organization like Sainsbury’s it is
absolutely essential that the components of system interact with each other and
cooperation and coordination exists between them.
 Open and closed systems- An open system is the one which freely interacts with the
environment while a closed system does not interacts freely with the environment. It is
necessary for Sainsbury’s that its system must be an open one so that it can interact with
the dynamic factors of ever-changing business environment so that negative impacts of
change can be minimized.
 System boundary- Every system has a boundary which separates it from the
environment (Leibovich, Hildreth and Columbus, 2017). If it is flexible then it benefits
the organization. If it is rigid then problems can be created for the enterprise. Thus it is
essential that the boundaries are flexible enough in Sainsbury’s so that negative impacts
of change can be minimized.
 Flow- It means the process of movement of inputs and their processing into outputs. In
Sainsbury’s, this flow has to be maintained despite the changes so that their negative
impact can be minimized.
 Feedback- Feedback mechanism helps in knowing whether the output created has been
accepted by the environment or not. If it has been accepted then it is good for the
organization and if it has not been accepted then improvements should be made.
Sainsbury’s should try to have a positive feedback to minimize the negative impact of
changes.
Burke-Litwin change model-
The Burke-Litwin change model is a framework in management which organizations can
use to identify the impact changes create in an organization. In the context of Sainsbury’s
the application of this model is as follows-
Elements of this model-
 External environment- According to this model, it is the external changes which are
necessary to be taken care of while managing changes in the organization. Thus
Sainsbury’s management needs to take necessary steps to minimize their negative impact.
 Mission and strategy- This is used to describe the goals, mission and strategy of the
organization. Sainsbury’s managers should set their objectives on priority to minimize the
negative impact of changes.
 Leadership- It involves positions of responsibility within an organization. Sainsbury’s
leaders need to display effective leadership so that the negative impacts of changes can be
minimized.
 Organizational culture- The organizational culture should be able to minimize the
negative impact created by changes (Mackey and et.al., 2018). Sainsbury’s should
develop an accommodating culture so that this can be done.

 Structure- The structure of an organization plays a major role in implementation of
changes (Mazanec and et.al., 2018). Sainsbury’s needs to simplify its organizational
structure so that negative impact of changes can be reduced.
 Systems- The systems of the organization have to be completely overhauled so that
negative impacts of changes can be minimized. Sainsbury’s needs to bring the necessary
changes in its systems so that efficiency and effectiveness can be maintained.
 Management practice- The management practices needs to be changed so that negative
impact of changes in Sainsbury’s can be minimized.
 Working climate- The working climate of Sainsbury’s has to be improved so that
changes can be implemented smoothly and their negative impacts can be minimized.
 Tasks and skills- The tasks and skills of employees of Sainsbury’s needs to be managed
so as to ease them into transformation process thereby minimizing the negative impact of
changes.
 Motivational level- The motivational level of staff of Sainsbury’s has to be maintained s
o that they are not affected by the changes which will thereby help in minimizing the
negative impact of changes.
 Individual and general performance- This dimension has to be considered so that a
concrete plan is made for implementing the required changes in Sainsbury’s. This will
therefore help in minimizing the impact created by them. Also the transition process in
the organization will be smoothened which will lead efficiency and effectiveness. Thus
the company can thereby realize its long-term objective of maximization of profits and
overall returns. It can also enhance its growth rate in the future by adopting right
strategies.

Kubler-Ross Model-
This model identifies the different stages people go through when there is change
initiated in an organization. Thus this model can be used by the managers of Sainsbury’s so that
they can implement the change in the company.
The stages in this model are as follows-
 Denial & Isloation- This is the first stage of this model. Here, a person is completely in
denial mode about the change which has occurred and there is resistance towards its
implementation. Thus here the managers of Sainsbury’s are required to make the
individuals in the organization come out of the denial mode.
 Anger- This is the second stage of the model. Here, the people in the organization are
angry at the change being initaited in the organization. Therefore, here the managers of
Sainsbury’s are required to make sure that they are able to reduce the anger of the people
because of the change being initiated.
 Bargaining- This is the third stage of the model. Here, the individuals look forward
towards bargaining to make sure that they can reduce the impact of the change in the
organizational processes. Here, the managers of Sainsbury’s are required to make sure
that they can convince the individuals in the company so that the change can be
implemented.
 Depression- This is the fourth stage of the model. Here, the individuals who do not want
change to be implemented can get depressed on its implementation in the organization.
Here, the managers of Sainsbury’s are required to prepare these individuals for the
change in the company.
 Acceptance- This is the fifth stage of the model. Here, the individuals finally accept the
change process which is being initiated in the organization. The managers of Sainsbury’s
are required to make sure that the individuals in the company accept the change process
and thus organization can work in a smooth manner.
M2: Application of appropriate theories and models to evaluate organisational
response to change
Theories and models like Systems theory and Burke-Litwin change model can be applied
effectively in a big organization like Sainsbury’s. This will help the company in effectively
developing several strategies to minimize the negative impact changes can create for it. Both of
them are very useful for management in ensuring strategic decision-making and optimum usage
of resources which enables an organization to go smoothly through the tranistion phase and
successfully implement the dynamic changes occuring in the business environment.
D1: Conclusions with recommendations
The conclusion with above discussion is that both Sainsbury’s and Tesco which are large-
scale organizations are adapting to the process of bringing change in their operations. They are

doing it gradually to ease the transition process. The recommendation for Sainsbury’s is to bring
more effectiveness in implementation of its strategies to deal with competition. The
recommendation for Tesco is to draw a proper plan before expanding its operations in other
countries of the world to take benefit of globalization. This will help in proper execution of
strategies and achievement of goals and objectives.
TASK 3
P4: Explanation of different barriers for change
There are several barriers which are faced when the mangement of a company tries to
introduce changes according to dynamic business environment (Mihaljević, 2019). Some of
these barriers have been explained in the context of Sainsbury’s as follows-
Individual change resistance- There may be resistance faced through individuals of an
organization when it tries to implement changes. In Sainsbury’s, there are certain individuals
who do not want to change according to the business environment which creates problems.
Lack of communication- Lack of communication can create many problems in
organizational context which includes implementation of change as well. In Sainsbury’s, there is
lack of communication between some departments which creates a barrier for implementation of
change.
Lack of strategic direction- When there is no proper strategy framed by the
management for implementing changes then it can create problems. Sainsbury’s faces this
problem which creates difficulties for implementation of changes.
Lack of consistency- This means that consistency is lacking in the organiztional
processes or its functioning. In Sainsbury’s, there is lack of consistency in operations which
makes it difficult to implement dynamic changes.
Cultural barriers- In an organization, there may be cultural barriers which resist the
changes management wants to bring in it. Sainsbury’s also faces this issue of cultural barriers
which therefore creates issues for it in implementing changes.
Lack of leadership buy-in- When the leadership of an organization is not intrested in the
process of implementing changes to comply with changing dynamic requirements of business
environment then this creates a barrier. In Sainsbury’s, certain leaders are resisting the process of
change which is creating problems for it.
Force-Field Analysis-