Understanding and Leading Change: Vodafone's Strategic Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Vodafone's approach to change management. It begins by comparing the impact of change on Vodafone and AT&T, focusing on technology and organizational structure. The report then evaluates the internal and external drivers of change, using SWOT and PEST analyses to identify key factors influencing leadership, individual, and team behavior. It explores strategies for minimizing the negative impacts of change, including the application of the PDCA model. Finally, the report examines different leadership approaches in dealing with change, offering insights into how Vodafone can adapt to industry shifts and foster positive outcomes within the organization. The analysis covers various aspects of change, including technological advancements, organizational restructuring, and the effects of political and economic factors on the company's operations and employee morale. The report highlights the importance of strategic planning, employee engagement, and effective leadership to navigate change successfully.

UNDERSTANDING
AND LEADING
CHANGE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Comparison of ways in which change has impacted organisations' strategies and
operations....................................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P2. Evaluation of ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership,
team and individual behaviour....................................................................................................3
P3. Evaluation of measures that could be taken to minimise negative impact of change...........6
PART 2............................................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P4. Explanation of different barriers for change and how they influence leadership decision-
making.........................................................................................................................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
P5. Application of different leadership approaches in dealing with change...............................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Change refers to effective transition of operations or functions of organisations from its
existing to a new state. It is an inevitable practice which must be appropriately be performed by
companies to adapt themselves appropriately with external or internal conditions having an
impact on the firm (Espedal, 2017). The following report is based on Vodafone, which is one of
the biggest telecommunications organisation in the UK and in the world. It is divided into two
parts. Part 1 includes comparison of ways in which organisations' strategies and operations are
impacted through change and evaluation of influence that drivers of change have on
organisational behaviour. Part 2 covers how barriers of change influence leadership and decision
making and application of range of leadership approaches to a change initiative.
PART 1
TASK 1
P1. Comparison of ways in which change has impacted organisations' strategies and operations
Change is an inevitable element which has a wide impact on an organisations functions
and operations. In addition to this, change within an organisation also has its effects on strategies
adopted by an organisation. However, the context to change, it is not necessary that it has similar
impacts on companies. There are different ways in which similar changes could impact different
organisations. For this aspect, AT&T is chosen along with Vodafone to determine the impact of
change in an effective manner. Comparison of the same is discussed below:
 Technology:
The first and foremost element whose change has impacted strategies and operations of
both the companies is technology. The telecommunication industry has undergone severe
transformations as well as advancements in terms of technology, which is being modified
constantly to satisfy needs of customers has recently impacted both the companies (Iveroth and
Hallencreutz, 2015).
In relation to Vodafone, the firm is using modification and innovation as a key to sustain
technological changes. With rise in digitalisation, there are several technologies within mobile
phones and internet connectivity which are directly associated with provision of quality services
to people have quite an impact on the strategies and operations of the firm. As for former, the
firm is implementing innovation as an effective approach to withstand the change. The company
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is using Artificial Intelligence and Automation within their services as a strategy to cope up with
changes in technology. As for operations, the firm has changed its operations to accommodate AI
within their strategies through introducing new ways of working and procedures within the firm,
such as using automated equipments to work with. With such high competition, this change
enabled the firm to expand its customer base and better management of its operation overseas
(Komives and Wagner, 2016).
As for AT&T, the firm is willing to incorporate various strategies such as rationalising
their applications, integrated cloud computing, etc. Furthermore, as for operations, these changes
also have an impact on the same and to appropriately cope up with the same, the organisation is
building effective future platforms and is indulging in different organisation of workforce within
the company. The impact of this change within the company has been quite positive as it allows
the firm to compete within the market and ensure its long-term sustainability.
Organisational Structure:
This element also has an impact on strategies and operations of both the companies
mentioned above. Quite recently, both Vodafone and AT&T have undergone structural changes
which moulded the operations and strategies of both the organisations according to the demand
of changes.
For Vodafone, the firm has restructured its European Management team. There are
several prominent individuals which are leaving the firm as part of the strategies and new
individuals are taking up their place. Such heavy changes required their organisation to
effectively manage and modify their business operations. Thus, new strategies such as
acquisition and integration have been adopted by the firm. Furthermore, to enhance adaptability
with the change, the organisation has started providing effective training to their employees and
has introduced new performance measuring techniques to ensure effectiveness in the new
leadership. This restructuring allowed the firm to implement effective long term planning to
incur better profitability.
In context with AT&T, the firm has also undergone severe structural changes recently
where the firm acquired Time Warner Inc. for $85.4 Billion (AT&T Is Said to Plan Major
Organizational Changes After Deal. 2019). This required the company to develop appropriate
strategic changes within the company along with operations. To attain this, the company built in
strategies such as transforming each department in ways which could help the overall
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telecommunication business to grow. Moreover, for such transformation, external audits were
opted as operations along with introduction of educational programs to ensure smooth working
of the company. This impacts the firm in a favourable manner as the firm now has higher
productivity and better performance of their staff members.
TASK 2
P2. Evaluation of ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership, team
and individual behaviour
Drivers of change refers to pressure which is exerted on organisations which either
encourage or force a company to introduce change within their organisational strategies and
operations. Moreover, these are the factors which have a wide impact on the firm's functionality
and which induces transition in its operations.
In case of Vodafone, in 2015, the firm changed its European Leadership Structure in
order to simplify the organisational processes and for better decision making (VODAFONE
EUROPEAN LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE CHANGES, 2018). This was perhaps one of the
biggest decision related to organisational change which was taken by the company,
There are two types of drivers which affect Vodafone, i.e., internal and external drivers.
The former drivers are related to all the internal forces within the company which induce change
within the organisation. The latter are the ones which are external to the organisation and yet,
have a strong influence on change within the organisation.
For Internal Drivers, however, SWOT Analysis is being used which is a framework used
for determining internal strength, weakness, opportunity as well as threat within an organisation.
Further, this framework could also help the firm in determining its internal drivers of change.
This framework is mentioned below:
Strength:
 Innovation: The biggest strength of the firm is its innovation capability. Vodafone has
been quite consistent in innovating its services and products to suit the real time and
potentially future demands within the market. For instance, the firm has been quite
effective in working project like Gigabit Society, which is an initiative by the company to
ensure effective access of individuals to gigabit networks by 2030.
Weakness:
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 Organisational Culture: Vodafone has been criticised continuously in the past due to
having a weak organisational culture. The firm did not have appropriate unity, which
resulted in weak performance of the firm. This, became a quite effective driver for
change for the firm as it wanted to sustain in the market appropriately and for a longer
term.
Opportunity:
 New Financial Resources: Vodafone has tie-ups with different multinational financial
organisations which has allowed the firm to consistently carry out its operations and
invest in other prominent opportunities. However, new and innovative ways of handling
finance became a consistent change driver which encouraged the company to change its
operations in accordance with these resources.
Threat:
 Morale of Employees: One of the constant threats which this company faces is the
reduced morale of employees working within the company. This could happen in many
ways, like limited pay scale, ineffective opportunities, etc. Thus, this factor, too has been
a driver for change for Vodafone as it is very important for the firm to modify its
operations to satisfy its workforce.
As for external drivers, PEST Analysis is being used which is a framework determining
external pointers influencing the change within an organisation. This model is discussed below: Political Factor: These factors undertake the political conditions within a country which
affects its functionality and performance. In context with Vodafone, the firm is currently
suffering from the aftermaths of Brexit, which has been quite an effective driver of
change, as it forced the firm to change its operations accordingly. Economical Factor: These factors reflect economic performance of a nation. Post-Brexit,
the whole country suffered reduction in value of pound. Such factor became driver for
change for Vodafone as it influenced the firm in providing its services at a lower price. Social Factor: These factors undertake all the social factors prevailing in the market.
Social trends within the market have been effective drivers of change, which required the
firm to shift its operations as per demands of the people, who required quality services at
lower prices.
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 Technological Factor: There are ongoing advancements in technologies, which requires
the firm to consistently change their services and include latest and top quality
technology to keep up with the technological change (Yardley and. et. al., 2016) .
However, all these internal and external factors have an impact on the firm's Leadership.
Individual and Team Behaviour. This impact is mentioned below:
FACTORS LEADERSHIP INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOUR
TEAM
BEHAVIOUR
Internal Factors
Internal factors like
morale of employees
and organisational
culture affect
leadership in a
negative manner.
Vodafone thus have to
change its Leadership
Style to Democratic,
which would help the
firm in improving its
culture and morale of
employees (van der
Voet and. et. al.,
2015).
Internal factors have a
major impact on this
behaviour as
innovation allows
individuals to
showcase their
creativity effectively,
thus, ensuring
positivity.
New financial
resources would
enhance the skills of
employees which
would positively effect
team behaviour. This
is because they would
be enhancing their
skills which would
ensure better
management of the
same.
External Factors External Factors
require the firm to
shift onto
Transformational
Leadership as all the
factors require some
sort of change to be
introduced within the
On individuals,
external factors would
have a very negative
impact as these factors
couldn't be controlled
by these people.
Furthermore, they
would be changing
Some of the factors
might cause resistance
in teams with respect
to change. This is
because these factors
require them to modify
their functionality,
which as a team they
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company. their working patterns
with respect to these
factors which would
again have a negative
impact on the
company.
might not admit to.
P3. Evaluation of measures that could be taken to minimise negative impact of change
As per the above discussion, it was quite evident, that while some changes had a positive
impact on the company, there were some which had negative impacts as well. Thus, it is very
important for Vodafone to effectively change their business operations in such a manner which
ensures prosperity and positivity within the company.
Vodafone is required to take appropriate measures which minimises negative impacts of
change. Further, these measures would also help the firm in processing change in an effective
manner. For this, the firm must adopt PDCA Model, which would assist the company in
implementing and process change effectively. This model is described as under: Plan: The first and foremost step of this model is to plan the overall change. The prime
requirement of this step is to appropriately recognise opportunity within the market.
Vodafone must define the problem which is required to be addressed. Furthermore, the
company must collect all the appropriate and relevant information related to the problem
and ascertain root cause of the same. Do: This step requires Vodafone to test its proposed solution. However, while doing the
same, the firm must keep it certain that this model works upon introducing incremental
and smaller changes which ensures minimal disruption. The firm is required to test the
solution in a closed environment on a targeted audience. Check: This step requires the company to effectively test their results of their evaluations
and proposed solution. Once the firm tests the same, it would make those aspects evident
with the firm which could use some work or modification for improving the overall
process.
 Act: The last stage of this model requires Vodafone to implement these changes. For the
same, the company must identify what resources would it take for the firm to effectively
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implement the same. Moreover, the organisation must also adopt methods to measure its
performance and ensure that their change help Vodafone in accomplishing the overall
opportunities (Rogers and Marres, 2016).
PART 2
TASK 3
P4. Explanation of different barriers for change and how they influence leadership decision-
making
There are several barriers of change which resist an organisation in implementing change
in an appropriate manner. Moreover, these also cause resistance within the organisation in
adopting the change and implementing the same within the company (Rodd, 2015). Some of
these potential barriers in respect to changes in leadership structure in Vodafone is mentioned
below:
 Inappropriate Leadership:
One of the biggest barriers of change is inappropriate leadership. This is because it is
very crucial for employees to embrace changes taking place within the company. Leaders are
required to play a crucial role in the same, as they are required to motivate them effectively in
relation to the change. However, in case of inappropriate leadership, employees would not be
dynamic and accepting enough to ensure the change within the company, thus, enhancing the
resistance of employees. This has a negative impact on decision-making as in such a case,
chances are that company undertake ineffective decision which might lead to worsening of the
condition.
 Ineffective Communication:
Another barrier of change is ineffective communication. It is very important for
organisation to communicate change, its reason and potential outcomes to the subordinates who
will be responsible for appropriately implementing the same within the company. However, in
case of ineffective communication, each stakeholder might not get proper and appropriate
information related to the change, which could cause ambiguity within the information, that
might lead to a different outcome from the stakeholders than what was expected. Thus, in case
this link gets broken due to ineffective communication, this might lead to rise in burden and
hurdles for Vodafone in implementing the change (NHS England, 2016). Leadership in such a
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case is quite affected as without stakeholders' proper approval, leaders might not appropriately
direct the firm in an appropriate direction. As for decision making, ambiguous decisions would
be taken by the company if there would be a lack of communication related to change.
However, to better and more appropriately understanding the same, the firm must
effectively use Force Fields Analysis, which would allow the firm to identify forces which are
both for and against the change to implement the same in a more effective manner (Lawrence,
2015). Moreover, to achieve change within the company, this model requires the firm to upset
the equilibrium by using the model, either by effectively adding elements which encourage
change or by reduction of resisting forces.
Illustration 1: Lewin's Force Field Model (Change Management)
(Source: Lewin's Force Field Model (Change Management), 2019)
Following are the steps which are required to be adopted by Vodafone to ensure proper
application of this model. These steps are as follows: Defining Change: The first stage is related to defining change. In context of Vodafone,
this change is the structural change in terms of leadership (Doppelt, 2017). Analysing Driving Forces: This step requires Vodafone to analyse driving forces which
could lead to this change. In context with Vodafone, there are several driving forces
which are discussed below:
▪ Improvement in Speed: One of the biggest driving force with respect to the
change is that the firm has always required more speed in its functions and
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productivity. Having implemented the structural change would have allowed the
company to bring in speed in its operations.
▪ Ineffective Organisational Culture: Another driving force for this change is the
ineffective organisational structure which was essential to be restructured to
enhance productivity and effectiveness within operations. Analysing Resisting Forces: Further, this stage needs the firm in analysing resisting
forces within the company which work against the changes. These forces with respect to
Vodafone is mentioned below:
▪ Cost: The first and foremost resisting force for any change is cost. Bringing in
structural leadership change requires the firm to hire a whole new set of
individuals who would be leading the organisation forth. However, this aspect is
quite costly and requires the firm to invest ample amount in the same which is the
biggest cause of resistance with respect to change (Coghlan and Shani, 2015).
▪ Time: Another aspect which causes resistance to change is time which is required
by the firm to achieve status quo again. While bringing in such a big change
requires adequate amount of time and patience for leaders to get up to their full
functionality and adaptability of employees related to this change. However, with
daily functioning, this factor might lead to resistance of change, seeing such a
competitive market which requires consistency in operations to succeed.
 Evaluation: By the above analysis, it was found out that while cost and time have
significant impact on the change, the firm required to improve its organisational culture
and ensure speed within its operations and thus, this change is necessary for the firm to
bear long term opportunities and benefits.
TASK 4
P5. Application of different leadership approaches in dealing with change
It is very crucial for an organisation to apply effective approaches to manage the change,
as well as lead the organisation towards success (Anderson, 2016). In context of Vodafone, the
firm could apply Kotter's 8-Step Model in relation to effectively manage the change within the
firm. This model is discussed in detail below:
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Illustration 2: Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
(Source: Kotter's 8-Step Change Model, 2018) Creation of Urgency: The first and foremost step is related to creating an urgency of
change within subordinates. For this, Vodafone must create urgency related to the
structural change it is trying to implement. Building Guiding Coalition: Through effective leadership, the next step requires the firm
to appropriately convince individuals that this change is necessary. Formation of Vision: Leaders at Vodafone must appropriately form a vision, which
aligns with the personal agendas of subordinates for minimising their resistance. Enlisting Individuals Through Communication: This step needs the organisation to
communicate this vision to the employees of the firm, to ensure appropriate and effective
volunteering of individuals with respect to the change (Alvesson and Sveningsson,
2015).
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