Leadership and Change Management Strategies for SweDigi Company Report

This report analyzes the case of SweDigi, a digital music industry subcontractor facing declining profits and a new CEO, Mr. Jan, tasked with turning the company around. It examines the challenges of introducing a new product range, including employee resistance and change fatigue. The report delves into change management theories, such as the McKinsey 7-S and ADKAR models, providing insights into how Mr. Jan can navigate these challenges. It outlines short and medium-term steps for launching the new product, emphasizing the importance of communication, employee involvement, and leadership styles. The report also suggests decisions and support needed at the board level to improve the situation, ultimately aiming to improve the company's profitability and employee satisfaction through effective leadership and change management strategies.

Running head: Strategic International Business Management
Strategic International Business Management

Strategic International Business Management 1
Executive Summary
Strategic International Business Management can be defined as the plans and actions which
guide various commercial transactions executed between entities across various cross cultures.
Most of the organizations deal with their international counter parts at some point of time in their
supply chains.
Due to the difference between the approaches of conducting business is dissimilar in different
countries, so there is a necessity of comprehending various barriers such as cultural, linguistic,
political and legal and the various complications of international trade.
There are various dimensions of Strategic International Business Management such as Asset
management, project or product management and strategic management. Asset management
refers to the administration of financial management, accounting, personnel management and
line management. It basically deals with maximizing the output of these assets and procuring or
divesting these assets.
Another aspect is project or product management .It deals with the accomplishment of objective
pertaining with customer satisfaction and service. The concept of Total Quality management is
also included in this dimension.
Strategic Management is the last and most important aspect of international business
management. It pertains to targeting the customers suitable for the type of activities, the business
is engaged in. It is a wide spectrum which also includes activities such as change management
and risk management which are ancillary activities for attracting the customers to the product
which the company is manufacturing. These activities form the background of the policies
adopted by the management in manufacturing the appropriate product for the targeted customers.
This report is about a company SweDigi, a subcontractor to the digital music industry in the
Sweden market. The company is appointing Mr. Jan as a new CEO who is expected to raise its
decreasing profits .He is planning to introduce a new product range amongst the present products
but is not supported by his staff and mangers. So, in this report, various techniques of leadership

Strategic International Business Management 2
and change management are to be mentioned which will assist Mr. Jan in improving the profits
of the company along with employee satisfaction.
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
People Management issues confronted by SweDigi....................................................................................4
What is Change Management?................................................................................................................4
Problems faced by the company in introducing the changes....................................................................4
Various theories of Change Management................................................................................................5
The ADKAR Model................................................................................................................................7
Steps taken by Mr. Jan in the short and medium term to get the new product launched..............................8
Leadership Styles adopted in the change management process and the reason for their implementation. .11
Decisions or support that might be needed at Board level to help improve the situation...........................12
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................15
References.................................................................................................................................................16

Strategic International Business Management 3
Introduction
Strategic International Business Management can be defined as the activities and plans which
assist the commercial transactions between two companies operating in different countries. Many
organizations deal with their international counterparts at some point in their value chain for
accomplishing their goals of expanding internationally and earning revenues in the foreign
currency. Since the methods of doing the business in different vary from each other, proper
understanding of the various aspects such as cultures, language, political and legal systems is
essential for commercial success (Buckley & Ghauri,2015).
There are various aspects of Strategic International Business Management. Change Management
is one of them. For carrying out successful commercial operations in the present scenario, change
management and transformation is necessary for the organizations to assimilate in their business
activities. The companies face a lot of problems in implementing the change such as change
fatigue .The personnel of the organization feel pressured in handling many changes at once
(Sweeney & McFarlin, 2014).
Due to the failure of the companies to sustain these changes, companies face problems in
handling the change initiatives. Cultural support is essential to cope up with the changes and
implementing successful change management in the company.
So, in this report, which is about the case study of a company, SweDigi, operating in the digital
music industry as a sub-contractor is facing severe downturns in its profits since the last 3 years.
A new CEO, Mr. Jan is appointed whose aims are to turn the company in 12 months. His
initiative is to introduce a new product range in the market. The management assumes that the
products can be manufactured by introducing small changes in the production procedures. The
staff and the managers of the company are reluctant to accept the changes and the risks faced by
the company to produce the newly designed products.
So, in this report, the theories of change management and leadership along with the methods to
be introduced to launch the new product will be stated .Also, various suggestions to improve the
situation will also be advised to MR. Jan.

Strategic International Business Management 4
People Management issues confronted by SweDigi
What is Change Management?
Change management can be defined as the methodologies adopted to prepare and assist the staff,
managers and the organization as a whole to introduce the organizational change. It is redirection
of the utilization of resources, business processes and other modes of operations which transform
an organization (Aljohani, 2016).
Change management can help the company in reducing the resistance to change and encouraging
the employees to involve them in the process of introducing change in the company. It also helps
them in improving their capabilities. The change if directed in a positive way can help in
reducing the cost of production of the company. It also helps in enhancing the innovation and
advancing the technologies of the company, thereby helping it to achieve its goals and
objectives. There are various types of changes viz. technological changes, strategic changes,
tactical and leadership changes (Promes, 2016).
Problems faced by the company in introducing the changes
In introducing the change management, SweDigi is facing three major problems. Firstly there is
a change fatigue amongst the personnel of the company. When the people are pressured to deal
with multiple changes simultaneously, they feel exhausted and are not ready to handle the
changes. They do not feel enthusiastic about the changes introduced by the company (Pieterse,
Caniëls & Homan, 2012).
Secondly the companies lack in skills to implement the changes .They lack in applying the
change principles and adapting the personnel deal with the changes. With unrealistic targets, the
companies are unable to comprehend and execute the change management process.
Thirdly, the changes are decided, planned and implemented by the higher management without
involving the lower and the middle management. It is the lower and middle management who
will execute the production process so their involvement is essential in the change management
process.

Strategic International Business Management 5
The other problems faced by the management in introducing the changes are resistance among
the employees for the new CEO. There is a disbelief and mistrust amongst them regarding the
policies and the plans introduced by him regarding the new product initiative. They feel that their
voice is not heard in the change management process and their leader fails to understand the
problems confronted by them in manufacturing and marketing the product (Njuguna &
Muathe ,2016).
Lack of communication is another problem which the management is facing to implement the
change initiative. It is the failure of top management to communicate to the lower and the middle
management about the occurrence of the changes. It results in change resistance and
disagreement amongst the employees.
Lack of training and proper information about the changes is amongst the other problems which
result in resistance to change amongst the employees. If the management initiates a new device
or plan to perform a certain task, it should be well known to the employees in advance. They
should be well accustomed with the new methods of performing the task (Luoma, 2015).
Various theories of Change Management
There are various theories of change management attributing to the introduction of change in
SweDigi. One of them is The McKinsey 7-S model. Through assessing the seven aspects of the
organization and their influence on each other, the management would be able to highlight the
required changes to be introduced in the company. These are as follows:

Strategic International Business Management 6
1. Strategy: The strategy should be appropriate to allow the management to accomplish the
goals and objectives of the organization. It should help the management to outperform the
competitors of the company and should have the flexibility to adapt the changes without
hampering the productivity of the personnel.
2. Structure: The structure should be appropriately designed so that changes can be well
implemented (Ravanfar ,2015).
3. Systems: The core components of the organization such as HR, finance, document and
team management and their utilization in the organization should be well analyzed to
implement the required changes.
4. Shared Values: The core values of the company should be assessed to know how their
strengthening would be of help in implementing the change.
5. Style: It is about assessing the management and leadership style followed by the
company. Whether the present leadership styles are favorable for implementing the change or not
is answered by this dimension of The McKinsey 7-S model.
6. Staff: Having a look at the staff list would help the management to answer question such
as if there are certain gaps to be filled for executing the change management process.
7. Skills: It answers to the question regarding the possession of appropriate skills by the
staff to perform their jobs as per the expectations of the management (Gökdeniz , Kartal &
Kömürcü , 2017).

Strategic International Business Management 7
The ADKAR Model
Introduced by Mr. Jeffery Hiatt, the ADKAR Change model focuses on the lower management
to implement the change. By focusing on accomplishment of the five goals , it can be used to
plan the appropriate changes on the personal and organizational level. These five goals are as
follows:
1. Awareness: It creates awareness amongst the employees that there is a need for
introducing change in the organization.
2. Desire: It enables to create a desire amongst the employees for implementing the change.
It is done by promoting the benefits of the change amongst them (Shepherd et al., 2014).
3. Knowledge: It ensures that each and every employee in the organization is aware of the
method adopted for implementing the change and their role in implementing it.
4. Ability: The capability of each employee should be checked and their need for gaining
extra experience to complete the task should be assessed at this level (ChePa, Jasin & Bakar,
2017).

Strategic International Business Management 8
Steps taken by Mr. Jan in the short and medium term to get the new product launched
To overcome the resistance to change so that the new product can be launched, the leader must
make the staff and employees understand about the reason for choosing a particular person for
the post of CEO. It is important as sometimes the top managerial personnel do not accept the
newly appointed individual as their leader and are reluctant to listen to and follow his views. As
in this case, Mr. Jan is appointed as the new CEO as he has 10 years of experience in managing
the affairs of his own company. If there is still dissatisfaction amongst the employees regarding
the acceptance of their new leader, Mr. Jan should individually speak to the dissatisfied
employees.
Secondly, communication gap should be bridged by establishing a good platform for
communicating the changes and giving the employees a chance to ask the questions (Sylva &
Amah, 2016).
Thirdly in order to implement the change management process smoothly and to launch the new
product in the market, the cooperation of the employees can be gained by explaining the reason
of introducing the new product process and a new plan of action.
Fourthly, involvement of the lower and middle management is necessary for implementing the
change management process. Sometimes, the managers in the upper management fail to inform
the employees about the changes thereby facing reluctance and anger from their side. They
should be well informed about the changes and their views should be taken by the higher
management so that they can make the change management process easier for the lower and
middle management (Siddiqui, 2017).
Fifthly, if the staff has no idea about the transformation of the production process, they would
not be able to accept the change. For implementing bigger changes in the company such as
transformations in the production process, the changes should be communicated on the stage so
that they accept the changes and involve in it gradually (Have et al., 2016).

Strategic International Business Management 9
Sixthly, training is an important element for introducing the change. The employees should be
trained and equipped with the necessary skills to enable them to cope up with the change
management process.
Seventhly, if the staff is responding to the transformations negatively, the management should
analyze the problems confronted by the employees in coping up with the change. If there are
defects in the model of change, then it should be modified immediately so that the change
implement process can be executed properly (Calder, 2013).
Eighty, the company should be clear about the idea of the implementation of the change
management process. The right way to implement the change is essential for the successful
execution of the teams and the company.
Ninthly, after the implementation of the change management process, the managers should
review the effects of the change continuously. An idea of change can be good on paper but it is
not necessary that it works perfectly in practical. For example, if a change fails to consider the
human element, then it cannot be successfully implemented in the company. The suggestions
from the staff should be considered and contrasted with the implemented change. If they are
facing problems regarding the change, then modifications should be done accordingly.
Finally, the change management approach requires transparency. The employees should be made
aware regarding the reasons for change. Their problems should be acknowledged. Their queries
should be resolved and explained the reasons for implementing the change.
Implementing the technologies can be a greatest problem for the workers as the management
requires them to quickly adapt to the newly implemented technologies (Kazmi & Naarananoja,
2013).
Appropriate documents should be updated to align the change management process. As the
documents are the central to the processes, they should be well managed and documented to
support the change management process.
Sometimes, managing multiple teams during the change management process can become a
hurdle for its successful implementation. Thus the management should train the respective

Strategic International Business Management 10
leaders regarding the changes implemented and skills and expertise required in the team
members. This will lower their resistance for change as they would be comfortable to cope up
with it. With the right solution, the management can easily identify which teams are affected by
change and they can be either aligned or separated from the change management process as
required (Briscoe,Schuler & Tarique,2012).
The challenge to manage multiple and varying change can be resolved through harmonized
process. Each and every controlled change should be traced, its impact should be analyzed and
the changes should be effectively implemented. A simple system should be applied and email
alerts should be kept to keep every employee on track to execute his or her part of the process
(Bejinariu et al., 2017).
A centralized system should be established for viewing the progress of change and which phase
of change the company is in. It can assist in making compliance driven decisions and minimize
the risk in the organization.
The management should always keep a contingency plan to keep itself prepared for unforeseen
events. The failures while implementing a new system, software or a modification of the process
can be overcome by executing the emergency plan.
Implementing an automated system which automatically routes the task with automated approval
with rules for overdue tasks and escalations can help to keep every employee on tack and
successfully implement the change (Bucciarelli, 2015).
Also, when SweDigi wants to implement a new project regarding the introduction of a new
product amongst the existing ones and the CEO have not received any recent update about the
progress of the new project. He should immediately establish regular reporting frameworks to
ensure that he is kept updated on the major activities, milestones to be achieved and the benefits
delivered and the amount of budget which have been spent up to date.
Lastly, when there is mistrust among the staff and there is lack of commitment in the team
members about the new project or the changes implemented, the management should conduct
one-on-one discussion with the team members and bring them together to build shared goals and

Strategic International Business Management 11
values. It should also change the team compositions and hold the team responsible for the
organizational values (Hao & Yazdanifard , 2015).
Leadership Styles adopted in the change management process and the reason for their
implementation
There are various theories of leadership which can be applied in the change management
process:
1. Trait Theory: This theory believes that people are born or inherited with leadership
qualities. The qualities of a good leader such as sense of accountability, intelligence, creativity
are some of the values required in a good leader and people inherited with these qualities are
eligible to be a leader.
2. Behavioral Theory: It focuses on the behavior of the leaders as contrary to their inherited
qualities. So, it concludes that any individual who carry the traits of the leadership qualities in his
personality can become a leader. Leaders are made not born (Halkias et al., 2017).
3. Contingency Theory: According to the contingency theory, there is no particular method
of leading people. Every leadership style is based on certain elements and there are certain
people who perform it at certain levels but they can perform at their minimum level of
performance when the situations will be adverse. So, there is a contingency or condition
associated with it that the leaders will more likely express their leadership when their followers
respond positively.
4. Autocratic Leadership: It is focused on the leader. He is accountable and responsible for
all activities and decisions .The leaders make decisions on their own without taking the
suggestions from his subordinates. This kind of leadership has little or no flexibility (Saleem,
2015).
5. Democratic Leadership: In this kind of leadership style, the suggestions of the
subordinates are considered in the decision making process. The leader holds the final
responsibility but he or she allocates the responsibility to the subordinates.
In this kind of leadership, communication is active in both the directions-upwards and
downwards.

Strategic International Business Management 12
6. Laissez-faire Leadership: In this kind of leadership, authority is given to the employees.
The departments or subordinates are allowed to work without or little interference.
7. Transformational Leadership: It is about introducing changes in the company and within
the teams. The leaders encourage the leaders to perform better by setting out more
expectations .They empower the followers , so they tend to have more committed and satisfied
followers.
8. Transactional Leadership: I this kind of leadership, in which the followers immediately
get rewards for following their leader’s orders. It maintains the status quo of the leaders
(Makaske, 2015).
The most effective form of leadership theory which can be implemented in SweDigi is
Democratic Leadership.
Democratic leadership also known as
participative or shared leadership is a kind
of leadership style in which members take a participative role in the decision making process.
Every member is given a chance to give their opinions and to participate in taking the decisions.
While this kind of leadership is focused on the free flow of ideas and group equality, the leaders
are there to offer their guidance and control over their teams. It will surely lead to better
contributions from the group members, higher productivity and increased group morale in
SweDigi (Wahaba et al., 2016).
Decisions or support that might be needed at Board level to help improve the situation
The sales, productivity and marketing of SweDigi can be improved by following Michael
Porter’s Value Chain. A Value Chain is a execution of activities which the organization carries
out to create value for its customers. So, by implementing this tool, the source of value can be
understood by the companies.

Strategic International Business Management 13

Strategic International Business Management 14
Porter explained a chain of activities which are divided into primary and support activities as
described below:
Primary activities pertain directly to the manufacturing, sale, maintenance and support of a
product or service. It consists of:
1. Inbound Logistics: These are activities related to procuring a product. It implies that the
management of SweDigi should create healthy relationships with the suppliers.
2. Operations: These activities transform the inputs into outputs which are the sold to
consumers. So, here the operational system of the company should be transformed to create
value for the company.
3. Outbound Logistics: These activities supply the product to the end consumers. They
include activities regarding collection, warehousing and distribution systems (Janithri, De Silva
& Fernando, 2015).
4. Marketing and sales: These activities are used to convince the target consumers to buy
the products of the company instead of its competitors. In SweDigi, this area must be
transformed into the most powerful resource to create value for the company.
5. Service: It relates to the after sales service which helps in creating goodwill for the
company (Alnawaiseh, Rawashdi & Alnawaiseh, 2014).
Support activities assist the primary activities. These are as follows:
1. Procurement: It includes searching for the appropriate vendors and negotiating prices
with them, in order to decrease the cost of production.

Strategic International Business Management 15
2. Human Resource Management: People are important source of value in the company.
The business can create a competitive advantage with efficient HR practices.
3. Technological development: It relates to managing and processing data as well as
safeguarding it from hacking and data loss. Thus, lowering the IT costs by adopting advance
technologies can create value for the company.
4. Infrastructure: Support systems such as accounting, legal, administrative and general
management are the infrastructures which the business can use to create value.
Thus the primary and support activities are the building blocks which SweDigi can use to create
valuable products or services (Acharyulu, Subbaiah & Rao, 2015).

Strategic International Business Management 16
Conclusion
Thus, to conclude, for the successful enactment of change management principles and create
value for its customers, the management of SweDigi should apply strategies such as efficient
team management and clarity of vision for its employees and managerial personnel.
The employees should be directed towards a particular goal and they should be well
communicated the vision. The leaders should understand the probable hurdles faced by their
team members and attempt to resolve them. The most important element in the change
management process is capturing a transition plan.
An efficient change management plan also considers the human elements of the organization.
Change always needs people .They are required for evolving the goals and objectives of the
company and for recognizing the need for change.
All the aspects of an effective change management plan needs the appropriate leadership style to
direct all the resources of the company for the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of the
company. So, if SweDigi wants to establish itself in the market, it has to implement the
appropriate change management principles under the guidance of effective leadership.

Strategic International Business Management 17
References
Acharyulu, S.G., Subbaiah, K.V. & Rao, K.N. (2015). Value Chain Model for Steel
Manufacturing Sector: A Case Study. International Journal of Managing Value and
Supply Chains, 6(4), 45-53.
Aljohani, M.R. (2016). Change Management. International Journal of Scientific & Technology
Research, 5(5), 319-323.
Alnawaiseh, M.A.L.I., Rawashdi, F.M.A. & Alnawaiseh, M. (2014). The Extent of Applying
Value Chain Analysis to Achieve and Sustain Competitive Advantage in Jordanian
Manufacturing. International Business Research, 7(8),179-188.
Bejinariu , A.C., Jitarel , A., Sarca , I. & Mocan , A.(2017). Organizational Change Management
– Concepts Definitions and Approaches Inventory. Retrieved March 29th, 2018 from
http://www.toknowpress.net/ISBN/978-961-6914-21-5/papers/ML17-061.pdf
Briscoe, D., Schuler, R. & Tarique, I.(2012).International Human Resource Management:
Policies and Practices for Multinational Enterprises. Taylor & Francis.
Bucciarelli, L. (2015).A Review of Innovation and Change Management: Stage Model and
Power Influences. Universal Journal of Management, 3(1), 36-42.
Buckley, P.J. & Ghauri, P.N. (2015). International Business Strategy: Theory and Practice.
Routledge.
Calder, A.M. (2013). Organizational Change: Models for Successfully Implementing Change.
Retrieved March 29th, 2018 from https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
referer=https://www.google.co.in/&httpsredir=1&article=1142&context=honors
ChePa, N., Jasin, N.M. & Bakar, N.A.A.(2017). How change management can prevent the
failure of information systems implementation among Malaysian government hospitals?
AIP Publishing.

Strategic International Business Management 18
Gökdeniz , I., Kartal , C. & Kömürcü , K.(2017).Strategic Assessment based on 7S McKinsey
Model for a Business by Using Analytic Network Process (ANP). International Journal
of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences , 7(6),342-353.
Halkias, D., Santora, J.C., Harkiolakis, N. & Thurman, P.W.(2017). Leadership and Change
Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Taylor & Francis.
Hao , M.J. & Yazdanifard , R.(2015). How Effective Leadership can Facilitate Change in
Organizations through Improvement and Innovation. Global Journal of Management and
Business Research: A Administration and Management, 15(9), 1-5.
Have, S.T., Have, W.T., Huijsmans, A.B. & Otto, M.(2016). Reconsidering Change
Management: Applying Evidence-Based Insights in Change Management Practice.
Routledge.
Janithri, W.L.Y., De Silva, D.A.M. & Fernando, G.(2015). Impact of Value Chain Management
on Firm Competitiveness. Retrieved March 29th, 2018 from
http://www.saitm.edu.lk/fac_of_eng/RSEA/SAITM_RSEA_2015/imagenesweb/
Theme_7/76.pdf
Kazmi , S.A.Z. & Naarananoja, M.(2013).Collection of Change Management Models – An
Opportunity to Make the Best Choice from the Various Organizational Transformational
Techniques. GSTF Journal on Business Review, 2(4),44-57.
Luoma, J.J.M. (2015). Understanding Change Management through the Psychological
Ownership Framework .Jyväskylä: Jyväskylä University Printing House.
Makaske , I.(2015).The effect of leadership behavior on work climate and team effectiveness.
The Netherlands: University of Twente.
Njuguna, E.N.G.A.A. & Muathe ,S.M.A(2016).Critical Review of Literature on Change
Management on Employees Performance. International Journal of Research In Social
Sciences. 6(3), 9-22.

Strategic International Business Management 19
Pieterse , J.H., Caniëls, M.C.J. & Homan, T.(2012). Professional discourses and resistance to
change. Journal of Organizational Change Management Emerald Article: Professional
discourses and resistance to change,25(6),798-818.
Promes, M. (2016). Change Management and Organizational Learning in a New Working
Environment: A longitudinal and mixed methods research design. Herbert Utz Verlag.
Ravanfar , M.M.(2015). Analyzing Organizational Structure Based on 7s Model of Mckinsey.
Global Journal of Management and Business Research: A Administration and
Management, 15(10), 7-12.
Saleem, H. (2015). The impact of leadership styles on job satisfaction and mediating role of
perceived organizational politics. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences ,172(2015),
563 – 569.
Shepherd, M.L., Harris, M.L., Chung, H. & Himes, E.M.( 2014).Using the Awareness, Desire,
Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement Model to build a shared governance culture. Journal
of Nursing Education and Practice,4(6),90-104.
Siddiqui, S.T. (2017). A critical review of change management strategies and models.
International Journal of Advance Research, 5(4), 670-676.
Sweeney, P.D. & McFarlin, D.B.( 2014). International Management: Strategic Opportunities
and Cultural Challenges. Routledge.
Sylva, W. & Amah, E. (2016).Managing Change in a Democracy: A Managerial Perspective.
Journal of Administrative Sciences and Policy Studies, 4(1), 37-59.
Wahaba, S.,Rahmat, A., Yusofc ,M.S., Mohamedd, B.(2016). Organization Performance and
Leadership Style: Issues in Education Service. Procedia - Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 224(2016),593-598.