Understanding and Leading Change Report

This report analyzes the impact of change on leadership and organizational behavior at Marks and Spencer. It discusses various drivers of change, barriers to implementation, and effective leadership approaches to manage change. The report utilizes models such as Kurt Lewin's Change Model and the Burke-Litwin model to evaluate organizational responses to change. It emphasizes the importance of understanding both internal and external factors that influence leadership and employee behavior during periods of change.

UNDERSTANDING AND
LEADING CHANGE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
P1. Different organisational examples where there has been an impact of change on strategy
and operations of M&S................................................................................................................1
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................3
P2. Evaluating the ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership,
team and individual behaviours within M&S..............................................................................3
P3. Evaluating measures that can be taken to minimise the negative impacts of change on
organisational behaviour..............................................................................................................7
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
P4. Different barriers for change and the way they influence leadership decision-making in
organisational context..................................................................................................................9
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................11
P5. Different leadership approaches to deal with change in a range of organizational contexts
...................................................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Kurt Lewin's Model..........................................................................................................6
Figure 2: Burke-Litwen model........................................................................................................7
Figure 3: Force Field Analysis......................................................................................................10
Figure 4: Kotter's Change Model...................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
In the present scenario, intense competition is there in every industry and firms are facing
the biggest issue of dealing with change as environment in which they are operating is highly
dynamic. Several problems are being faced by companies that come with initiating and
implementing change at workplace in which the most common is of leading people (Doppelt,
2017). Present report will discuss about different ways in which change impacts on an
organisation’s strategy and operations with evaluating the influence of drivers of change on
organisational behaviour. Apart from that, the way barriers to change influence leadership
decision making will be studied along with applying a range of leadership approaches to a
change initiative. All these concepts associated with understanding and leading change will be
discussed with reference to Marks and Spencer which is one of the leading retail firms based in
the UK that is bringing large scale changes in business.
LO 1
P1. Different organisational examples where there has been an impact of change on strategy and
operations of M&S
Impact of change on the strategy and operations of Marks and Spencer can be understood
through different examples of organisation which are given as below:
 New strategic directions – There can be number of positive effects on business when a
company bring some changes in the procedures. Similarly, at the time when M&S created
change in its working procedure, it helped the operations to run in smoother way and also
assisted strategy in terms of adapting with the alterations in legal environment as well as
in the markets where it is operating (Hillson and Murray-Webster, 2017). Cost effectiveness – With the help of implementing changes like using new methods and
techniques, company can make new strategies which will require less but smart efforts of
employees and lead them to perform more effectively and cost efficiently. Further, M&S
can make strategy to enter in a new market and segment to reclaim its former growth
rates.
 Internal employee resistance – However, it is not compulsory that always the impacts of
changes will prove to be positive for business as while bringing changes at workplace,
the most common issue being faced by firms is of employee resistance (Cornett,
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Knackstedt and Deshler, 2018). As Marks and Spencer needs to bring changes on
continuous basis to beat competition present in the UK market, it always has to face
resistance of few employees who are not convinced with the same. Because of this
reason; strategy made sometimes become unsuccessful and get failed as well as this
resistance leads to hamper the operations as well.
 Failure in new initiatives – Whenever Marks and Spencer implements some change at
the workplace, there is always possibility of getting failure in the new initiatives taken by
management that results in leaving a company in worse position in comparison to the
condition it was before executing changes in firm (Burke, 2017). This leads to negatively
affect the operations of firm in terms of decreased productivity and so, management again
becomes required to re-frame the strategy to cope up with the losses occurred.
Different drivers for change in the examples given
 Human resources – Main drivers for change in the examples given above are human
resources who are responsible for either making the change successful or unsuccessful.
 Technology development – Another driver is the techniques being used as if employees
will get friendly with same, the change will get easily implemented in M&S and vice-
versa.
 Competitors – One of the major drivers for change in the examples given above are
competitors as according to their strategies only, M&S will bring change at workplace
that will require change in the strategy as well as in operations (Sibbet and Wendling,
2018).
 Changes in legislation – If the government changes its policies in nations where M&S is
operating, company becomes liable to bring changes accordingly at any cost.
Types of organisational change they have affected
 Structural change – When M&S brings changes at workplace, it has to make some
changes in the organisational structure as well which includes management systems,
chain of command, organisation’s hierarchy, etc.
 Strategic change – Also, changes put direct impact on the organisational strategies which
require reformation with respect to overall goals, mission, strategy and purpose for which
company is running.
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 People change – Further, to bring some changes in the organisation like technological
advancements and process enhancements, there is always need to change some people
from existing positions and select some new that are more capable and efficient to work
(Feldman, Hart and Milosevic, 2017).
 Process change – Implementing changes like initiating new product lines by M&S leads
to change the process entirely for which effective training sessions are required by the
employees that are going to work on that process.
Conclusion and recommendations with valid justifications
There are many drivers for change that are leading M&S to implement the same being in
a highly competitive industry. In order to plan change effectively and for applying change impact
analysis in Marks and Spencer, there are a few strategies which firm can use like adopting
suitable leadership approach which will suit best with the current situation of firm like
contingency theory or can use human process interventions (Dorac-Kakabadse, 2017). Further, to
analyse the impact of change in organisation, the Bohner and Arnold Change model can be used
according to which potential consequences of a change can be identified with the help of three
IA (impact analysis) techniques i.e. trace, dependency and experiential. Further, with the help of
same, needs that are required to be modified for bringing change at workplace can be identified
easily.
LO 2
P2. Evaluating the ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership, team
and individual behaviours within M&S
Impact of internal and external drivers of change that affect leadership, team and
individual behaviours within M&S can be understood with the help of SWOT analysis which is
given as below:
SWOT analysis
Strengths
 Large number of stores and outlets – Firm is having a large range of its outlets and stores
across UK as for all men and women, separate stores are there which is making the
business wider as well as increasing sales which is leading firm to gain higher profits.
With having so many stores, leadership is getting highly influenced as they need to
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monitor the team on continuous basis so that operations will run effectually and
commodities at reasonable cost and with high quality will be available (Fletcher and
Nicholas, 2017). Thus, to maintain quality and quantity both, teams as well as
individual’s behaviour get affected as they need to make high efforts to maintain equal
level of performance in all stores.
 High recognition of the brand – The brand value of products of Marks and Spencer is
high and thus, it is known by everyone in the market. Major advantage that company
gives to its customers is that people when go to high street, they get everything as per
their need in a go. Thus, it can be said that to maintain the brand value of products,
leaders need to give due emphasis on the performance of workers and in case if any
deviations are found, corrective measures on time are required to be taken by the
management (Nelson and Luetz, 2018). Further, performance of teams and individuals
also get affected as they cannot take their work for granted and have to meet the set
standards of performance to maintain quality of output.
Weaknesses
 Increased costs – Earlier, one of the major drawbacks that Marks and Spencer had was
that of using old techniques rather adopting latest and advanced methods which was
leading to increased costs due to manual working of employees. This was affecting the
performance of team and individual’s behaviour as they were required to put extra efforts
but not getting the desired results which was demotivating them. However, this impacted
the leaders a lot and so, they recommended to use advanced methods which ultimately
resulted in increased productivity at low cost and efforts of employees (Erb and et.al.,
2017). It was just the matter of time and planning which with M&S dealt effectually.
 Bad publicity – Also, the stores of company are non-trendy which has created a
perception in the minds of customers that clothes available there are also non-fashionable
and thus, reducing the sales as well as profits of business. Therefore, with improving the
interior of stores as per current trends, all age limits can be attracted by the firm along
with their present followers (MEE-YAN and HOLBECHE, 2015). Leaders in M&S are
needed to develop a suitable strategy to overcome the negative perception of people for
which teams and individuals are to be trained in a manner that they can satisfy customers
and give great competition to other rivalry firms.
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Opportunities
 Increasing the global presence – Through increasing the presence in more countries
outside UK, company can create a strong position in market with gaining higher market
share and goodwill. However, effective leadership and support from teams and
individuals will be required.
 Market segmentation – By grouping the customers based on their interest, firm can easily
target them by increasing branches across world (STANFORD, 2013). It can be done
through opening more local stores with which higher profits can be earned with reduced
costs.
Threats
 Rise in competition – Retail industry of UK is highly competitive and due to presence of
so many firms in the same sector, M&S always has threat of reduced market share and
profits from Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury. Leadership and team performance play a
significant role here.
 Government policies – As government policies in each nation where company is
operating are different, so, non-compliance of same may lead firm to bear consequences
from the side of regulatory authorities of nation (Doppelt, 2017). Thus, leaders need to
frame strategies accordingly and make the team work based on same.
Appropriate theories and models to critically evaluate organisational response to change
Systems theory
As per this theory, organisation is considered as a system which is highly prominent
concept in management today. This theory focuses on the relations between the parts and rather
reducing the size of manpower from system, it emphasises on their proper arrangement to
improve their work. Thus, changes can be effectually implemented in Marks and Spencer with
the help of this theory as it determines the properties of system by assessing the way employees
interact with each other and all parts are arranged. This will help the organisation to grow with
adapting changes successfully by making people convinced to accept and implement the same
(Hillson and Murray-Webster, 2017). However, sometimes, it proves to be short sighted as well
as superficial to execute in organisation and not suitable for all kinds of situations.
Continuous improvement model (Kurt Lewin’s Model)
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This is one of the most successful models to deal with organisational response to change
in Marks and Spencer in which there are three steps i.e. Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze which
are given as below:
Figure 1: Kurt Lewin's Model
(Source: Kurt Lewin’s Three Step Change Model, 2018)
1. Unfreeze - In the first phase, organisation make the employees understand with the need
for change in terms of explaining that why it is necessary for business. After that,
employees get ready to move to their comfortable zones. Then again, firm makes
initiatives to motivate them with the help of providing either rewards or punishments
(Cornett, Knackstedt and Deshler, 2018). M&S is needed to be opened to employee’s
concerns in this phase and try to address them with respect to the need to change as it can
be critically assessed that if issues of workforce will not be understood properly then it
may result in bringing ineffective results at the end.
2. Change - Further, in next step, change is implemented with making employees aware
that it requires them to make it successful and for the same, M&S offers effective training
and coaching sessions to make employees capable enough to deal with changes. Here,
from the side of employees, mistakes are expected and support is given by the
management to correct them. However, in case if management will not correct their
mistakes at this phase, the end outcome will not be as per the set standards (Kurt Lewin’s
Three Step Change Model, 2018).
3. Refreeze - Last is the refreeze stage where stability at workplace is established and also,
people become comfortable with the changes and their routine in work.
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P3. Evaluating measures that can be taken to minimise the negative impacts of change on
organisational behaviour
For the purpose of minimising negative impacts of change on organisational behaviour in
Marks and Spencer, several measures are there that can be taken. One of the most effective one
that can be used in M&S to make the change process efficient and effective is Burke-Litwen
model which is explained as below:
Burke-Litwen model
There are 12 organisational dimensions around which the Burke-Litwen model revolves.
It shows that there are various drivers of change that as per their importance are provided with
ranks which are given as below:
Figure 2: Burke-Litwen model
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(Source: Burke-Litwin: The Performance and Change Model, 2018)
 External environment – It refers that processes of M&S get highly affected with the
forces that are external to firm like customer behaviour and competition. By focusing on
these forces and with continuous monitoring, consequences for organisation can be
minimised.
 Individual and organisational performance – This shows the overall output of business
i.e. overall productivity, turnover and customer satisfaction which if given with due
consideration will help in reducing the negative impacts of change in M&S (Burke,
2017).
 Leadership – If there is effective leadership in M&S, rest of the organisation will have
proper directions and so, work will be done in a systematic way and changes can be
adopted easily by the employees.
 Mission and strategy – The purpose of business and the way it will be achieved have to
be very clear to staff so as to minimise the chances of negative impact of change if
implemented in organisation.
 Organisation culture – As per this, employees should be made well aware with the
norms and values of M&S so that they can realise the importance of change that is to be
brought at the workplace (Burke-Litwin: The Performance and Change Model, 2018).
 Management practices – It says that these are the behaviours of managers and their
activities which when aligned with overall strategy of organisation, leads to create a
positive environment and reduces negative impacts of change.
 Structure – There should be very clear breakdown of the organisation in form of
hierarchy or departments in M&S so that while implementing change, it will be easy for
employees to understand whom they need to report and get instructions from.
 Systems (policies and procedures) – Through effectually managing systems like that of
rewards or legal systems, company can easily set mechanisms to support the employees
which will ease to accept the changes (Sibbet and Wendling, 2018).
 Work unit climate – It is crucial to maintain a healthy working environment in M&S so
that employees will become willing to accept the changes and perform their tasks
efficiently.
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 Motivation – With inspiring and directing employees effectually, they can be highly
motivated and so, negative impacts of changes on organisational behaviours can be
reduced.
 Task requirements and individual skill/abilities – Matching the requirements of tasks
with skills and abilities of employees help organisation to reduce chances of struggle
while working with new methods and techniques at the time of implementing changes
(Burke-Litwin: The Performance and Change Model, 2018).
 Individual needs and values – If M&S will fulfil the demands of employees of time in
terms of pay, responsibilities, authorities, etc., they can be made highly encouraged and
willingly accept the changes.
LO 3
P4. Different barriers for change and the way they influence leadership decision-making in
organisational context
In Marks and Spencer, there are different factors which serve as the barriers for change.
Some of these are given as below along with their influence on leadership decision making:
 Inefficient communication – When the communication in between employees and
employer is not effective, staff does not get ready to accept the changes as they are not
convinced with the same and so, sometimes it leads management to change their
decisions.
 Resistance to involve – From a team, there are always some members who do not involve
themselves in management decisions when these are related to bring any kind of changes
in existing processes. In this situation, leaders need to have different strategies to
influence these people to get ready for same (Feldman, Hart and Milosevic, 2017).
 Lack of management support – Sometimes, major barrier behind change is lack of
management support like if employees in M&S would not get enough support from the
management, to bring changes will become difficult for it and so, decisions are either to
be changed or dropped.
 Ineffective leadership – Further, if leaders are not friendly with their members, to
influence them to accept the changes is not easy as this is their leadership only on which
members trust and get ready for the challenges. Decision making in M&S gets influenced
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