Report: Analysis of Understanding and Leading Change, Unit 17

This report delves into the multifaceted aspects of organizational change, using Checkout.com as a case study. It begins by comparing the organizational structures, technology adoption, leadership styles, and cultural dynamics of Checkout.com and Giacom to illustrate the impact of change on organizational strategies and operations. The report then evaluates internal drivers like communication gaps and cultural differences, alongside external drivers such as political, competitive, technological, and legal factors that influence leadership, team, and individual behavior. Furthermore, it examines measures to mitigate the negative impacts of change, referencing Kotter's model for change management. The report also addresses barriers to change and their effects on decision-making, and explores various leadership approaches in different organizational contexts. Finally, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of how to effectively understand and lead change within organizations, providing valuable insights into change management practices.

UNDERSTANDING AND
LEADING CHANGE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
LO4.............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Comparison of different organization and their impact of change on an organization's
strategies and operations.............................................................................................................1
LO2..................................................................................................................................................3
P2 Evaluating internal and external drivers of change that affect Leadership, team and
Individual behaviour-..................................................................................................................3
P3 Measures that can be taken to minimise negative impacts of change on organisational
behaviour:....................................................................................................................................5
P4 Barriers of change and how they affect the decision-making................................................7
P5 Different kinds of leadership approaches dealing with change in range of organizational
context-........................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The changes made in the organisation due to change in technology, change in economic
policy or change in culture is called Organisational change. All the organisation changes
its rules and regulations with time. Checkout.com is an information technology company
formed in 2012. It is a leading international service provider of online payment. It is a
very trusted company with more than 300 employees all over. It has access to local as
well as international cards. It is currently working in more than 150 countries. The report
shows various impact of change in organisation's strategy in different companies. It also
shows various change in external and internal drivers that affect leadership, team and
individuals and measures which can be taken to minimise negative impacts of change on
organisation. Certain models are discussed which shows various change and how they
affect the decision making of an organisation.
MAIN BODY
LO1
P1 Comparison of different organization and their impact of change on an organization's
strategies and operations
BASIS Checkout.com Giacom
Organisational structure The organizational structure of
Checkout.com is pretty
flexible. The hierarchical level
is such that the employees at
lower level also have the
authority to take decisions but
these decisions are approved
by the top level management
At Giacom, the company has a
rigid organizational structure
and the employees are not
supposed to take decisions for
top level management but they
have the right to give
feedbacks. This in a way has
turned out to be positive for
the organization as the
employees have now become
specialised in their job.
Technology The use of technology is
massive because it is an IT
Giacom has always used
traditional technology in terms
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firm. Also, the company has
always believed in use of
modern and updated
technology so that it does not
lag behind.
of IT but the company has
changed its business model
recently and is planning to use
latest and modern technology
that will help them to achieve
economies of scale.
Leadership As stated above, the company
has a flexible work structure
and it follows both democratic
and Laissez-faire style of
leadership but it must realise
that too much freedom to its
employees can backfire the
company itself. Hence,
Checkout.com needs to have a
little bit of control and
authority over its employees.
Giacom has always been less
flexible and has restricted the
power in the hands of its
employees. This has allowed
employees to focus on their
work and as a result the
efficiency and productivity of
the company has improved.
The company follows
democratic leadership.
Cultural structure Checkout.com has a diverse
culture in its organisation.
Different employees from
different cultural background
works towards achievement of
a common goal.
Giacom limited used to have a
diverse working culture but it
hampered the efficiency of the
company because of
differences of opinion. As a
result, the company has
switched back to its traditional
technique where leaders and
managers provide directions
and guidance to their
employees.
Training At Checkout.com, not much
importance is given to the
The company has made a
separate cell for training and
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training and development of an
individual as the company
believes in the fact that
employees will learn as time
passes. In this way the
company saves the additional
cost of training and
development of employees.
But sometimes this can have
an adverse effect on the
company as this trial and error
method affects the productivity
of the company.
development of employees
where proper ten day training
is given to the employees and
after that their performance is
evaluated. If the Human
Resource department still fells
that there is a scope of
improvement then training
period is extended. Giacom
aims at overall development of
an individual because at the
end it will be beneficial for the
company only.(Al Barwani,
Flores and Imig, 2018)
Working hours The company follows the trend
of flexible working hours and
also provides facilities like
work from home. This
increases the morale of
employees and they feel
satisfied. Employee turnover
rate, absent ism rate reduces if
there are flexible working
hours.
Giacom limited follows rigid
working hours and the
company has the policy of 8
hours working. If an employee
fails to follow that then he has
to suffer the consequences but
again the company also
provides attractive incentives
and rewards to its employees
on completion of given task.
LO2
P2 Evaluating internal and external drivers of change that affect Leadership, team and Individual
behaviour-
Internal drivers:
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 Communication gap: Being an IT firm doesn't take away the fact that the company will
achieve growth without proper communication. Therefore, communication is important
because with proper communication the leaders and top level management will be able to
pass on goals and objectives of the company and the strategies to achieve them. Also,
employees can give proper feedback to their managers and leaders so that they can
contribute in problem solving. Therefore, both upward and downward communication is
important. As a matter of fact, at Checkout.com the management even follows horizontal
leadership. This leads to clear mindset of everyone in the organization and they can work
with accuracy.
 Cultural differences: The cultural differences can have both negative and positive
impact on the working of the organization because people from different background and
skills hold the ability to bring something new to the table every single time but at the
same moment, opinion differences between them disturb the working environment of the
organization.
 Organisational structure: It is imperative for every company to follow proper
organisational structure. Checkout.com follows flexible organizational structure where
employees feel responsible, comfortable and motivated and this directly benefits the
company. (Doppelt, 2017)
External drivers:
 Political factors: Checkout.com has been deeply affected by the political factors.
Taxation policy, subsidy, corruption level, tariffs anti-trust law, patents etc. Due to
BREXIT, IT companies have been affected immensely and has lost a lot of its European
clients.
 Competitors: This is the biggest external factor affecting the working of Checkout.com
because in today's world where virtual has become reality and reality has become virtual,
every second company formed is an IT one. Due to the increasing traffic it has become
difficult for Checkout.com to survive. The only way a middle sized company like
Checkout.com can survive is if they improve their permanence and complete the assigned
task at minimum cost with maximum efficiency. This will increase the growth prospects
of a company and they can have the opportunity to transform into large-scale company.
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 Technological factors: The rapid change of technology affects the organizational
structure of Checkout.com. Being ans IT company, Checkout.com is bound to use the
latest technology in its day to day operations. But the technology is changing faster than
ever and it has now become difficult to keep up with the pace of rapidly changing
technology. Therefore, the company needs to improve its performance and productivity
which can generate them quick profits so they can update into modern technology.
 Legal factors: Every company is bound to work within its legal framework and if it
violates the legal rules and regulations then the company may have to face consequences.
It is the fundamental duty of every IT company to follow the ethical code of conduct as
well and should not indulge in cyber crimes and illegal practices like data breaching,
hacking, phishing, disclosure of client's confidential information without their
permission, logic bombs etc. The government of every country has made cyber cells and
separate IT departments to monitor the performance of these companies. (Dudar, Scott.
and Scott, 2017)
P3 Measures that can be taken to minimise negative impacts of change on organisational
behaviour:
Rapid changes in the organisational structure can hinder the employees of the
Checkout.com. We can show the changes through a model called Kottler's model. It was
introduced by John Kottler in 1996. these are:
 Creating an Urgency: this means that the organization should be ready for all the
potential threats and problems that can occur in the future. There are different
opportunities which can be tapped but the only thing to be kept in mind is the proper
timing. The opportunities can be taken only when the company is ready to pursue it.
It is necessary that Checkout.com should always deliver right messages to the people
so that the company can gain trust of the people for long time. The stakeholders and
the owners should take part in the process of change as it creates a good image of the
company. (Espedal, 2017)
 Forming powerful guiding coalitions: the organization should follow all the changes
made by the leaders and the involvement of the whole committee should be there. At
the time of changes, the checkout.com should form a coalition team which should
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further work as a team in the organization. There is always some weakness in the
company and that weakness should be identified and corrected and the involvement
of powerful people should me made in this team so that this team become functional.
 Developing vision and a strategy: It is very important for a company to know its core
values and what it's vision and strategies are so that this can be convened to the
employees of the company. The vision of Checkout.com is to work with international
and big companies. It is currently working with Dealxtreme which is a company from
Hong Kong. The strategy followed by this company is simple but efficient and is
developed by its CEO. Checkout.com has started as a very small company and when
a Hong Kong company gave its first big project to them, that was the start of the
company. (Iles, 2017)
 Communicating the vision: the vision is a very important part of the company. The
vision when discussed with people should be done confidently and convincingly. The
vision of the company should be connected with all its achievements and all its
training that it gives to its employees. When sharing the vision, the company should
not make any false promise and should say all honest words. The vision of the
company should be known before starting the firm. It should be stable and should not
be changed again and again.
 Removing obstacles: The organizational structure and the process should be in correct
place and it should not be adjusted again and again depending on situations. There
should not be any barriers in the working of the company. People who resist change
should not be kept in the organization. Proper actions need to be taken against people
who deny changes made by the company. If actions are taken, then proper rewards
should also be given to people who approve changes. This motivates the employees to
work according to changes.
 Creating short-term wins: Wins of the company can be big as well as small. All the
small wins should be celebrated by the company as it increases the moral of the
employees and interest of the workers for the company. Checkout.com after getting
its first profit celebrated its winning with all the employees of the organization. It's
best to create many short targets which are easy and less expensive rather than
creating a very big targets that is difficult to achieve as well as costly. People who
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win should be rewarded for their contribution in the company and for meeting their
targets on time. (Rossi, 2019)
 Consolidating gains: Continuous achievements should be made and they all should be
analysed individually. Feedback should be done of each achievement and
improvement should be done in problems.
 Anchoring change in the corporate culture: The winnings of the company should be
celebrated in front of everyone. All the changes made should be taken and they
should become the essential part of the organization. The support of the existing
leaders and the new leaders should be thanked and should remain in the future also.
P4 Barriers of change and how they affect the decision-making
There are different barriers of change that affect the business organisation. No
organisation can work without making changes. Changes done in the organisation gives it
a competitive edge over other organisation. Some barrier are described by Lewin's force
field model. This model was described by Kurt Lewin. It gives an overview of the
problem which are divided into forces for and against. These are:
 internal forces: there is always a general feeling in the business and in minds of the
leaders and managers that business can do better if all the employees are work with
their full potential. But that's not always possible. This thinking brings changes in the
organization. Some other changes are “ (Thornton, Usinger and Sanchez, 2019)
 Desire to increase profitability: The person who invested funds in the company has
always a desire to earn more profits. Managers always try to increase the efficiency so
that goods can be produced at lower cost. This will increase the profits of the company. If
profits are increased than increment will be given to manager also. Leaders also motivate
workers to do more work with their full potential.
 Need to increase efficiency and effectiveness: if managers feels that organisation is
spending more and receiving less than he will take all the steps to increase efficiency.
Work nowadays need to be done in smart way. Work less but it should be effective.
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Efficient and effective work force can lead an organisation to high position. Leaders
always try to increase the efficiency of workers. (Wilkinson and et.al., 2017)
 Conflicts between department: Conflicts between different department can also lead to
changes in the organisation by the managers and leaders. There are various reasons for
conflicts in an organisation. Leaders and managers should always try to reduce conflicts
between the department.
 Need for more flexibility: Change can occur in an organisation if it is less flexible.
Flexibility in timings and working hour are important for an organisation to work
properly. The organisation should not be excess flexible but it should have some level of
flexibility for the employees. (Vieira and et.al., 2018)
2) External forces: Changes in an organisation can occur due to various external factors
as well. Increase in demand for high quality goods and good customer service can also
lead to changes in the organisation. Various external forces are:
 Change in economic condition: There are various economic conditions like recession,
inflation, boom etc. The business is very affected due to these conditions. At the time of
recession the buying capacity of the people is very much affected. They don't have the
money to buy goods and service. This affects the sale of goods and service of an
organisation.
 Increased competition: Changes can occur in the organisation due to increase in
competition as well. Competition means when there is a similar product in the market
with different name. The customers are divided in two and sales are reduced. Managers
should bring innovation in the product so that their product can be differentiated form
other products. (Wilson and Lai, 2019)
 Globalisation : Globalisation means that company can sell their goods and services in
different countries. They can start their ventures in different part of the world. Small
companies are very much affected by globalisation because large companies purchase in
bulk and sell the products at lower prices and small companies cannot afford to sell at
low prices so they are either acquired or are merged with other companies.
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 Changes in government policy: Policy change by government affects the organisation.
The changes can be in tax rate, tax on income etc. Due to changes in government policy
the profits of the company may be reduced or there may be other changes in the
company. (Wylie and et.al., 2017)
 Change in technology: Technology changes in the external environment also affect the
working of the organisation. Managers help the employees in working with the new
technology. It is not easy for a worker to accept changes easily as they are used to the old
one. It is time consuming and an expensive affair for a company to change its technology.
P5 Different kinds of leadership approaches dealing with change in range of organizational
context-
(Covered in PPT)
CONCLUSION
From the above study it can be concluded that the organisational changes in Checkout.com were
not very severe. There were some severe changes but all the changes were not severe. There are
different leadership styles used in an organisation. The report also discuss the negative impacts
of changes in organisation and how it affects leadership, company and individual behaviour of an
organisation. Leaders of Checkout.com are smart and know how to implement changes in the
organisation. The organisation can reduce the negative impact of change by building strong
relationship with its employees, providing effective training to the employees and more.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Al Barwani, T., Flores, M.A. and Imig, D. eds., 2018. Leading Change in Teacher Education:
Lessons from Countries and Education Leaders Around the Globe. Routledge.
Doppelt, B., 2017. Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for
business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Dudar, L., Scott, S. and Scott, D.E., 2017. Understanding the Theory of Change Processes',
Accelerating Change in Schools: Leading Rapid, Successful, and Complex Change
Initiatives (Advances in Educational Administration, Volume 27).
Espedal, B., 2017. Understanding how balancing autonomy and power might occur in leading
organizational change. European Management Journal.35(2). pp.155-163.
Iles, V., 2017. Leading and managing change. ABC of Clinical Leadership. 24(1).pp.49-87.
Nelson-Brantley, H.V. and et.al., 2018. Leading Change: A Case Study of the First Independent
Critical-Access Hospital to Achieve Magnet® Designation. JONA: The Journal of
Nursing Administration. 48(3). pp.141-148.
Rossi, P., 2019. Conflicts in Leading and Managing Change: Towards a Reflexive Practice.
Leading Change in a Complex World: Transdisciplinary Perspectives.
Thornton, B., Usinger, J. and Sanchez, J., 2019. Leading Effective Building Level Change.
Education. 139(3). pp.131-138.
Vieira, F. and et.al., 2018. Understanding and enhancing change in post-Bologna pre-service
teacher education. Leading Change in Teacher Education: Lessons from Countries and
Education Leaders around the Globe.
Wilkinson, J. and et.al., 2017. Leading Practices: Examining the Practice Conditions for
Educational Change in High Schools. AERA Online Paper Repository.
Wilson, A. and Lai, M.K., 2019. Leading Literacy Change Through Collaborative Analysis of
Practice. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy.62(4). pp.455-458.
Wylie, F. and et.al., 2017. P-275 Inspiring leadership leading self: leading with others in a
palliative care setting.
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Situational leadership. 2018 [ONLINE] Available through:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/define-situational-leadership-2976.html
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