Sustainability in Business: ADKAR and Change Curve Analysis Report

This report examines change management and sustainability in business, focusing on a case study of Nike. The analysis begins with an application of the ADKAR change management model, discussing how each component (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) can assist in implementing and sustaining a new sustainability management system within the company. The report further explores the advantages of using the ADKAR model, emphasizing its focus on outcomes and its ability to measure and facilitate change effectively. Additionally, the study investigates how the Change Curve model should be addressed to manage staff responses to the introduction of a new sustainability management system, addressing stages such as Shock and Denial, Anger, Negotiations, and Depression, providing strategic insights for navigating these emotional responses. The report also includes an overview of corporate governance and leadership aspects, relating these aspects to sustainability outcomes.

Running Head: SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS 1
Change Management & Sustainability, Corporate Governance/Leadership & Sustainability
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1.1: discuss how each component of the ADKAR change management model will assist
in the implementation and ongoing success of a new sustainability management system
Awareness of the Need for Change
In Nike employees, key stakeholders and even their consumers in various parts
of the world are informed in the changes, particularly in management just like the
appointment of new directors and new president of the company back in 2005. In
Addition as it is illustrated the company’s market share in the United States has been
declining constantly over the last 5 years and this trend is expected to continue if
new changes are not implemented in the foreseeable future. New sustainable
management system would reflect the important tendency that the company has to
increase its portfolio and increase its product categories in an effort to minimise the
dependence of the business in one faction of footwear. Therefore, Proper knowledge of
the motives behind change is a fundamental factor in any effective change procedure.
Understanding the fundamental reasons for the necessity of change is important .Nike needs
to plan for full disclosure and planned communication. Knowing why the change was
essential may not have been communicated in a way that could be understood (Varkey, &
Antonio, 2010). Employee awareness would give them a voice which assists in influencing
legislation at the company levels. An integrated communication framework would be very
helpful in such a volatile and dynamic market, where conditions are changing very often and
Nike has to be responsive all times (Smith, et al., 2014).
Desire to Participate In and Support the Change
There are two fundamental measures that Nike can use to ensure that they
have the desire and awareness . First Nike has to paint the picture of what might happen
if the necessary changes are not made. There is need for the realisation that , although it

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wouldn’t be immediately obvious , the company has been on a “burning platform” and
thus it has to act. Moreover , everyone want to understand how the change is going to
affect every employee personally . They have to address the notion of “what is in for me”
among other issues. The management needs to clearly articulate the compelling reason in
order to make a smooth transition. Nike believes that business outcomes rely upon the desire
of their employees to achieve excellence. Nike truly recognises the importance of the
employee to the business , and understand that constantly bring better results , The
company’s employees around the world ought to believe in change intrinsically , and thus the
employee engagement is being emphasised in all the countries that the organisation operate in
(Goehl, & Harrington, 2016). This would ensure that the company aligns thoroughly with the
needs of employees and thus generate the desire to want to contribute to the change process.
Knowledge on How to Change
Once the company understand the organisational needs as well as personal
benefits of making the transition to sustainable management system and personal
benefits of making the transition into solutions. Nike needs to be in a position that
would impart knowledge that seems to be necessary for them to begin a strong shift .
By developing awareness and desire first , the workforce should be part of the entire
procedure and what kind of knowledge they will need. By creating awareness and desire
first , the employees would have the requisite knowledge and guidance that they were
asking for .
By creating the awareness and desire first, the employees were creating the pull -- asking
This stage would involve constant training and education. By offering a range of techniques
to the end users, Nike can make sure that every individual understand what they require to do
in order to make the change process a success, and what they ought to do once a change has

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happened. Nike can introduce a new procedure that would foster knowledge of employees
and other end users to carry out operations. Training programs can be introduced by changing
the company’s mission and the enhancement of corporate culture. For all that, the most
fundamental this is to train all employees to provide them with the necessary skills that would
help in the transitioning process.
Ability to Implement Required Skills and Behaviour
Once the knowledge systems have been put in place , Nike then ought to focus
on establishing new skills that are necessary to align with the new sustainability
management systems. Some of these skills should include consultative selling ,
collaborative frameworks that would offer development and consumer segmentation .
This would ensure that the company established a more pull-oriented marketing program
with string message concerning consumer needs. This stage would involve practicing
skills and behaviours that would be essential to ensure that change occurs and is effective.
Nike ought to deliver the necessary support that would allow employees and other key
stakeholders are comfortable with the new procedures. Nike can introduce programs that
would change the company’s mission and corporate culture enhancement (Blomqvist, 2017).
For all this, Nike should train its key stakeholders on how they can implement the required
skills and conducts.
Reinforcement to Sustain the Change
Rolling out sustainability management system or initiative is the first salvo battle to
change the management system of the company. All the key initiatives ought to take
constant and unrelenting re-enforcement. Nike should adopt a number of tactics in
order to achieve this. First, it should align pay and incentives. Nike has realised that the
most effective lever it could pull to ensure that everyone is committed is to address

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the personal issues of every employee and change its management plans to better align
with the new management systems. In the end ,it can be stated that , this is the single
most critical action that they have to make in the establishment of new sustainability
management systems.
It is not important for the organisation to implement new changes if it does the necessary
procedures that would ensure that change has been sustained through positive feedback,
performance evaluation and recognition among others. Therefore, Nike needs to give positive
feedback and business-wide recognition for the employees. Nike should, further plan to align
its performance standards in accordance with its own corporate culture and strategies that
would assist in comprehensive change management (Hallencreutz, & Turner, 2011). Such
change ought to be implemented within the key operations of the business as well as the
management of the company
1.2 Discuss the advantages of applying the ADKAR change management model to the
implementation of a new sustainability management system.
Essentially , the workforce must support and embrace the change in management
systems of the process if to be successful. This is due to the fact that change can only
happen at the individual level. Therefore, for the company to change, the key stakeholders
within the organisation must also change. The new management systems should establish
sequential actions and their outcomes in order to ensure there is successful change m
and thus successful management change.
(Ayman, 2010). There are several advantages to applying the ADKAR model for sustainable
management including:

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• The model mainly focuses of results rather that the process. The change
management models often focuses of what needs to be done but the ADKAR mainly
emphasizes on achieving outcome.
• The model can be utilised in measuring how effective change is progressing. For
every step of the model, progress can be evaluated at the individual level. Any
identified gaps easily be rectified.
• Another advantage is that the model often recognises the idea that it is
important to have people that can facilitate the change and not necessarily the
process alone .
• It offers a clear checklist of things that require to be done in order to manage
change.
1.3. How each stage of the Change Curve needs to be addressed to effectively manage
staff individual responses to the introduction of a new sustainability management
system?
(1) Shock and Denial: This stage would require more time for the employees to adjust to
the changes, as they might deny they don’t need any. Here, Nike as a multinational
company will require to establish integrated communication frameworks that would
help employees understand why changes are happening and their importance. This is
a strategy that would require constant communication in order to ensure that the
workforce can have a better understanding and have the issues sorted. It is important
for the organisation to make it an important move to avoid overwhelming the
workforce with a lot of information by guiding them gradually. This would ensure
that they are able to digest the new developments and adapt to something new.

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(2) Anger: In 2005 the Nike directors who were monitoring the overall functions of the
company felt that the separate units of managing human resource related works and
employee sourcing services. So the directors, being the champions of change
requested the senior management to make changes on these process and establish an
integrated system of HR functions. However, this was received with anger by most of
the employees, as they viewed the process as retrenchment .This shows that the
workforce had been in the comfort zone without considering the losses that the
company incurred due to multiple departments. Therefore, this stage requires to be
managed reasonably by the executive as some of the employees might want to vent
the dissatisfaction too harshly. To avoid such chaos, it is important to make earlier
plans. Clear and integrated communication frameworks should be encouraged at this
stage as well. Nike must understand that such reactions are often natural and they
shall pass away and create new ways of acceptance.
(3) Negotiations: At this stage, those that might be faced by the trauma of change might
want to make negotiations regarding the conditions of change and establish a point of
compromise. Bargaining would assist the organisation to establish sustainable
solutions as well as bring relief to those who are moving closer to what they wish to
circumvent altogether. Nike Company might also consider seeking new HR changes
and involve the employees in the process. It is important to note that employee
productivity has a huge impact on the overall performance of an organisation.
Therefore, in order for Nike to enhance their job security, the employees would
negotiate such issues until they establish a compromise (Hayes, 2018).
(4) Depression: At the 2005 management changes that were conducted on Nike, the
company has now understood that this stage is often not easy for the employees.
Therefore they ensured that the team representatives are involved to assist other

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fellow employed through the new developments. Here, they applied positive
feedback in the process in an effort to train the workforce and reward
them .This shows that this stage requires proper planning and preparation. As
someone responsible for change , Nike company should prepare considering the
major impacts and objections that the employees might have. It is important to
ensure that the company addresses its issues with clear support and
communication . This would ensure that the necessary actions are taken to
mitigate the problems faced by the employees. Since the reaction to change is
often personal to most of the employees, and thus can be emotional at some
points , it is usually hard to pre-empt every single aspect . The company ought
to establish a new procedure that would ensure that any changes made ought to
consider the plight of all its employees around the world (Mathews, 2009). Moreover,
it is important for the management to understand that this phase is not easy for the
employees as well .Therefore , the most appropriate thing is to conducts training that
would ensure that the employees move ahead and provide the best results they can .
By now the employees would already realize that there is no way out of their
circumstances, which might prove to be a challenge to some of them to handle
(Wabash, 2009).
(5) Acceptance and integration: Every person reacts individually to any change that
might occur to them. Some people might spend a lot of their time accepting an
integrating themselves into the new management system, while others might be
accustomed to the new changes and integrate themselves much faster. Even
though Nike has acknowledged that moving through the stages is often hard ,
there are things that the company is yet to incorporate into its systems to
ensure more efficiency .

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This is the stage at which the managers would anticipate once they have introduced
new changes into an enterprise. Employees would even begin to accept the new
conditions and start developing new hopes and aspirations. At this point, they would
understand that significance of the new developments and align themselves towards it.
While some might align themselves due to lack of any other option, others might
consider the new developments in a positive way (Röglinger, Pöppelbuß, & Becker,
2012). Managers at this level would start seeing the benefits of their efforts towards
transformation. Therefore, the management ought to be vigilant and assess the overall
productivity in an effort to ensure that the employees have accepted the new
developments .The process might be challenging, but it requires time to change and
develop.
1.4 advantages of effectively addressing the Change Curve, for staff, as the organisation
implements a new sustainability management system
Change, management can never be separated from the Organisation. This is for the
reason that change is inevitable. However, some organisations don’t like to change itself.
They tend to focus more on the process used in making changes. Indeed Change brings good
governance, such as technological change, increase in market and building of new products.
Therefore management has to always prepare for change management in an effort to make
the most effective changes. A shoe manufacturing company, Nike would determine the most
appropriate resolutions to resolve various issues. Planning should be gradually implemented
and a series of meetings to be held in order to ensure that management is fully aware of the
necessary steps that ought to be taken. The change management model is developed to help
companies going through change to be effective (Kazmi, & Naarananoja, 2013,). When Nike
employs the Change curve models, the change would be more successful.

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1.5 How would you manage employees’ behaviours including negative attitudes of staff
to the introduction of the sustainability management system?
Aligning Individual and Corporate Standards
Most workers use certain behavioural activities to determine how they will please
their managers. In order to manage their attitude towards sustainability management system,
it is important to ensure that the personal values of each employee align with the corporate
values. In a corporate world that is subject to the intent of making more revenues, this kind of
initiatives leads most of the workers to conduct themselves in manners that their
organisations support but are counter to the values required of them to conduct the corporate
values. It is imperative to also capitalize on educating the workforce about sustainability as
well as creating new systems that make it easier for the workforce to incorporate the new
sustainability management systems that would facilitate the workforce improve business
decisions. Most of the specialised initiatives require specialised knowledge and expertise
such as discussions with the employees about sustainable sourcing or the use of eco-
efficiency frameworks for the evaluation of new products (Lewis, 2012).
2.1 Three reasons why the corporate governance/leadership of your chosen business is
important to implementation and ongoing success of a new sustainability management
system.
It Makes Every Worker a Sustainability Supporter
Every successful organisation share one shared aspect; strong corporate governance.
There is nowhere that this is more essential than when generating a sustainable environment
within an organisation. This is the single most important aspects and requires all employees
to be strong sustainable champions. Therefore, it is important to have a workforce that
believes in the new sustainability management system (Ayhan, 2010).

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Build Concrete Sustainable Practices with Personnel
Another fundamental value of corporate governance is embedding the new
sustainability systems in Nike Company is to involve the personnel in the development of
sustainability management systems. The best way that Nike can do this is through employee
initiatives. The Nike Executives can begin making it clear that financing for sustainability
programs is readily applicable when an employee develops a great idea of the entire system.
Encourages Healthy Competition among the Workers
The most effective way for Nike to embrace a new sustainability management system
is by fostering the spirit of “I can do it” through the entire company as this would create a
culture of healthy competition among the workers. Competition would encourage creativity
and skills that spur competition as well as the willingness to push for more success, trust each
other and collectively solve various problems (Petrini, & Pozzebon, 2009).
2.2 potential challenge/barrier, to the implementation of a new sustainability
management system,
Customers. Nike’s social responsibility often give high priority to its consumers as a
fundamental stakeholder group. The drastic population growth together with insatiable
consumption patterns are the biggest barriers to accomplishing sustainable management
frameworks in the world. Lack of significant change in consumer behavior, sustainability
would be in potential downfall (Rake, & Grayson, 2009).
Communities. The stakeholder groups of communities have a huge influence on the
company’s sustainability development. Various consumers often tend to purchase more
products that have a positive impact on their communities. The basic barrier is lack of any
specific target both locally and globally or any data that would track the progress of their
products.

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Employees. Nike Company recognises the importance of employees as one of its key
stakeholders that significantly influences the effectiveness of the organisation. For example,
the performance of employees directly translates to the performance of the business.
Institutional challenges due to lack of institutional experience to operate all the key
mechanisms of a democratic system have been a huge frustration to the development of
sustainable development in multiple ways (Nidumolu, Prahalad, & Rangaswami, 2009).
Therefore it important for the company to turn up deeper and assess the socio-economic
effects of their employees, rather than just their outcome alone.
Governments. As a fundamental part of its corporate social responsibility, Nike
Company often identifies the government as a stakeholder group .The stakeholders play a
fundamental role in how the company operates in terms of its legal frameworks in certain
markets, limits and permits among other factors (Worley, & Mohrman, 2014). However,
insufficient economic, social and environmental methods for policy development are often
major barriers in the implementation of sustainable development.
2.3Make Sustainability Visible within and outside the Corporation
A number of factors point to the significant part that visibility and salience play in
transforming the principles and attitude of various stakeholders towards new sustainability
management systems. Assessing and communicating regularly on the fundamental indicator
of sustainability always attracts the focus of key stakeholders. Therefore, it is important for
the Nike Company to create indicators and track the development of sustainability program
with both internal and external stakeholders of the company. Nike should have a twelve-
monthly review of Sustainability progress with its stakeholders across the world and develop
a sustainability scorecard that is regularly updated (Hallencreutz, 2012). Indeed the
organisation should move beyond simply analyzing progress to involving key stakeholders in

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an effort to create resolutions for the various issues faced by the organisation. To ensure that
visibility stays high and the idea of sustainability stays high, it is important for Nike
Company to always celebrate when each goal has been achieved. Employees need to feel
they have participated in accomplishing the goal through recognition (Cameron, & Green,
2015). Such actions often reinforce their resolve and further strengthen their identification
with the organisation.

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