K/615/2724 Effective Change Models for Company Growth (Managing Change) Assignment Sample

Unit K/615/2724 Managing Change Level 6 ATHE Assignment Sample

The report discusses about the change management approaches that can be adopted by the company to expand its operation effectively. The report includes the discussion of movement of some employees from consumer facing roles in the stores of online sales management roles at company’s head office. The head office operations expansion is considered in the report to manage the expansion of the online presence of the company.

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Introduction Of Report On Change Management Methods

From adjusting to the latest technology, to responding to the logistical and economic issues presented by COVID-19 the requirement for businesses to adapt and implement changes in their organization is never more pressing. Effective successful business change requires the correct change management methods, tools, as well as theories which are briefly discussed in this report. The report's key features are divided into 3 tasks and in this task 1 focuses on the suitable framework which is recommended for the case company. Task 2 emphases the stakeholders and the demands made by them with the evaluation of resistance and management of change. The 3rd task highlights measures and systems to monitor the progress and effectiveness of the change strategy.

Task 1 – Models or frameworks for change

The factors that have brought about the strategic change in the organization and the implications of not responding to these with justification for the need for change

The organizations operate in a vast environment. The environment surrounding organizations comprises the government, customers, policies, and laws as well as social norms, economics, technology, competition, etc. The majority of these are in the outside world of an organization that does not have any control more than them. In adding to control, supervision and manager also have a lesser understanding and understanding of exterior influences. These external influences also cause organizational change. The external causes that affect organizational changes are challenging to control because they are less predictable than the internal ones (Stouten, et. al. 2018).

Here are a few of the main external factors that influence organizational change.

• New Opportunities: The economic explosion opens up new opportunities for businesses. Companies expand when they find opportunities that are emerging in the marketplace.
• Competition: The competition gets tougher each day. Organizations are inventing new marketing tools and strategies, and they change the overall market (Hoffmann, et. al. 2018). It is such a significant fact that each player in the business must react to the changing market and come up with a plan to be successful and survive in the marketplace.
• New Technology: Technology is also an important element that influences changes. In the digital age, companies must upgrade technology in order to stay competitive in the market. For instance, it's imperative that every company has an online presence on marketing platforms, which was not the norm ten years ago.
• Government Regulation: Laws and regulations of the government, such as trade policy taxation, industry-specific regulations, and labor laws impact the way individual conduct business (Jayatilleke, and Lai, 2018). Companies must remain alert to changes in government policies and adjust to changing conditions.

Management and leadership have clarity of understanding and are quick to analyze the internal causes and how the organization can adapt to these factors and embark on the journey of implementing change.

• Vision: Some companies are vision-driven. These organizations constantly make adjustments to realize their vision. They also have a tendency to revisit and redefine their vision. This is the main reason for implementing and accepting modifications.
• Values: The core values of an organization are also a driving force behind the change. Examples of this are values such as gender equality as well as diversity in culture and ethics as well as other principles that are powerful that can lead to major transformations in organizational strategies and procedures.
• Organizational Culture: The culture of an organization has a significant influence on the future direction of the company (Paais, and Pattiruhu, 2020). If the workplace culture is dynamic and vibrant and leaders encourage creativity and innovation, it is more likely that the organization will accept and implements changes.
• Core Expertise: The company's core competencies can also influence the way in which an organization operates. If an organization has expertise in a specific area of expertise it can come up with innovative solutions and challenge the existing practices and the culture of the entire sector.
• Leadership: Sometimes, leadership changes are the cause of organizational change. Each new leader brings fresh ideas as well as new strategies, and fresh working practices to their company. This makes new leadership an important internal factor that can influence the pace of change.
• Performance: Perhaps this is the most important element that causes the change. Good leaders make strategic changes in their business approach when the performance of their organization is not satisfactory.

Evaluate a range of models of strategic change that could be used to support the organization through the changes

Change management models offer specific guidelines for organizations to guide them in the process of planning and implementing change more effectively (Cameron, and Green, 2019). Let's take a look at a tried and tested change management method that has been designed by experts and validated by other companies

Lewin's model for change management

Lewin's model for managing change is name after its founder, Kurt Lewin, who invented it in the 1950s (Hussain, et. al. 2018). It divides the process of change into three phases:

Figure 1: Lewin's model for change management

(Source: SlideModel, 2022)

• Unfreeze is the preparation phase: Examine how things are working now to understand what need to alter in order to achieve the desired results. In this phase, presenting argument to employees and explain the expected outcomes to ensure that everyone involved is informed.
• Change is the time to implement the change: Make the change a reality while communicating and support for everyone who is involved.
• Refreeze: In order to avoid falling back to the traditional way of doing things, create strategies to monitor and ensure that the new approach stays. Analyse how the new methods function and determine to achieve goals.

Continue to make changes following the initial project has been completed

The Nudge theory

The nudge theory is not an approach that follows a specific sequence of steps than employing certain mindsets to inspire changes (Jalili, 2019). Instead of making top-down changes demands from top executives and expecting everyone to follow into line, the nudged model involves finding out a convincing method to influence employees towards wanting to make the change for themselves. It is about considering the changes individual like to implement from the perspective of employees' perspectives making it clear the benefits it can bring to the employees, treating it more as a suggestion than a request, and observing any feedback that is received throughout the procedure.

Bridges model of transition

The model was developed by revolutionize consultant William Bridges, Bridges transition model focuses on the expressive change individuals experience during the process of undergoing and accepting changes (Shao, et. al. 2021). The model is based on three stages that company can help employees through:

Stopping, losing, and letting go- For many, the first response to change will be one of resistance that is noticeable by anxiety and distress.

The neutral zone

when the transform is just beginning to occur the people will be caught connecting moving away from the status quo of the past and accepting the new.

If properly handle, once the new paradigm is in place, the individuals will be in the phase of recognition and confidence in the new method of working.

Assess the uses and benefits to organizations of using models or frameworks to support them through change in organisation

When planning for organizational change it is essential to establish an organizational framework. The uses and benefits to organizations of using change models to support the change in organization are:

Nudge Theory

The technique guides or suggests to the leader of the company to adopt a change with no strict punishment or enforcement for the non-compliance. It is recommended to the case Company to make the decision as a possibility and eliminate as many hurdles to make it more likely that people follow the decision. The company should be able to acknowledge some employees from consumer facing roles in the stores of online sales management roles at company’s head office.

Bridges' Transition Change Management Model

The model is like the Satir model or Kubler-Ross Change Curve as it focuses on regulating employees' emotions during an organizational change. It also has the same flaw in that it doesn't actually offer a system to implement changes.

Uses of this model

The model discusses loss, giving employees the time to process their feelings could eventually help with the implementation of the changes.

Lewin's Change Management Model

The Lewin model of organizational change appears to be simple, but it follows just three steps. The company that is implementing the model must be wary of the temptation to speed through each stage. The process takes time and effort to design, carry out and then reinforce the change. It is suggested for companies to give sufficient time needed for staff to become familiar with the new procedures and give them the opportunity to share their feedback.

Uses of this model

This model is focused on empowering employees by encouraging them to adapt and regularly communicating with them through online technologies.

Task 2 – Gaining commitment from stakeholders

Stakeholders play a vital role in the change management performance of an organization (Boaz, et. al. 2018). Stakeholders are the manpower of the company that has an elevated potential to influence the success of the company in the future. If stakeholders clearly understand the reasons for the organization and management change then they support the change process of a company. Stakeholders are separated into two categories; one is internal stakeholders and the second is external stakeholders. An internal stakeholder refers to those persons who are engaged in the company's internal operations. All the employees, board of directors, and managers are an organization's internal stakeholders. An external stakeholder refers to an individual who affects the company's operations externally. The company's external stakeholders involve customers, suppliers, investors, government agencies, shareholders, and business clients.

Figure 2: Internal and external stakeholders

(Source: YourInfoBucket, 2020)

Assess the different approaches that could be used to involve stakeholders in the planned changes

Stakeholders only participate in the planned change management when the company provides them with a feeling of importance (de Oliveira, and Rabechini Jr, 2019). And the participation of the stakeholders is very crucial for the company in change management planning. So the company chooses different methods and approaches to motivate its stakeholders to actively include in the company's planned change. The company is using three main types of approaches to involve stakeholders in the planned change such methods are discussed below:

• Involve stakeholders frequently, honestly, and early- First, every company needs to clarify or even in advance inform its stakeholders that the company is planning to change management or organization. Transparency is very significant to smoothly or successfully run the business. For getting a high level of involvement or inclusion of stakeholders the company needs to make a high level of transparency or communication. If the company is planning or even thinking about changing its organization then it is essential to immediately ask its stakeholders to get their attention on them in planned change.

• Assign accountability and resources- It is very important for the successful planned change that the company should respect stakeholders and make them feel important to attract the great attention of the stakeholders in the change management. If people are not responsible to do anything in the company then they feel aside and will not make efforts to achieve the company's common goal. The company needs to make people accountable so that they work together to achieve the measurable, known, and common goal. If a person is delegated with some authority, accountability, and responsibility, it is crucial for that person to actively include their presence in the planned change (Shackleton, et. al. 2019). So, the managers need to empower the accountability and resources to its stakeholders, especially the internal stakeholders.

• Empower those affected by change- When the stakeholders are getting involved in the company's change management plan, the planned change becomes successful for the business. Once the company gives the right level of accountability and resources to its stakeholders, it must feel empowered by the stakeholders to determine or solve all the problems by themselves. To help accelerate the change management plan, the company ensures its leaders and managers ruthlessly determine or reduce the barriers which hinder change.

Assess the impact on the change process of the demands made by different internal and external stakeholders

A company can influence by both internal and external stakeholders when it planning to change management (Goldsby, et al 2018). The impact of changes on internal and external stakeholders can be both positive and negative. An internal stakeholder might experience the following factors which will affect their engagement level in the planned change or maybe their reaction creates a negative impact on the execution of the new system in the company.

• Confusion- Internal stakeholders may be confused that what is going on. They may confuse about the changes taking place which will potentially impact their job.
• Worry- All the stakeholders may worry about their investment and think about that, is the new plan of a company bring them profit or loss. Eventually, most of the stakeholders think about the greater loss if they are not involved in the new planning of the company.
• Indifference- It can be assumed that the stakeholders are interested in adopting a new plan in the company. But they are more concerned about what is the need of adopting a new plan in a company when the company is already run in a profitable manner. Some stakeholders may show interest while some are in an indifferent situation.
• Shock- The sudden change or planning for change may shock all the stakeholders. It is natural to shock when stakeholders come to know about the sudden change in the company's planning and goal. However, when stakeholders know the information about the change management plan in the future from the company side, they will react more politely to the new plan.
• Frustration- Sometimes it may be possible that stakeholders get frustrated when they know about the changes that occur in a company's planning. If the current company's planning gives sufficient profit to the stakeholders, then they get frustrated if a company informs late about the change planned.
• Appreciate- Stakeholders also appreciate the plan if they understand it and find a profitable situation in the upcoming years of the company. Stakeholders appreciate or give fruitful suggestions also about the way of implementing the plan.

An external stakeholder has different parameters of impact on the new system plan in an organization, such as follows:

• Financial impact- The external stakeholders like investors may impact the company financially if they did not like the change plan idea of the company. If the stockholders of investors find a negative impact on the company in the future, they start extracting their money from the company.
• Social impact- One of the stakeholders of a company is its customers, if customers find the company's product and services useless for them than the existing customer will also leave the company and find their substitute. The customers will impact positively if they find the products or services provided by the company’s are effective.
• Operations impact- The suppliers play a vital role as a stakeholder in the company to continue the business operations effectively. When suppliers find the change plan effective they continue to supply raw materials to the company which is dependent on their future profit estimation from the company.

Evaluate the causes of resistance to change that could affect the success of the change

When the company changes its management, it faces mainly five causes of resistance. These five most common causes for organizational change resistance are discussed below:

• Lack of confidence and mistrust- When staff do not trust and feel confident in the person who is making the change in management, then their resistance to it can be a big barrier.
• Emotional response- This is an inevitable and natural response. The Bridges Transition Model and Kubler-Ross Change Curve, both models identify that change can lead to feelings of grief and loss.
• Fear of failure- If individuals are uncertain about their capability to regulate to a change, they would not hold up it. People will resist change when they feel endangered by their flaws because they want to avoid failing.
• Poor communication- The basis for excellent change management communication is to make an active conversation. If the company's communication from its internal as well as external stakeholders is good then this criteria did not affect the resistance to change management of a company.
• Unrealistic timelines- The unrealistic timelines refers to a balance between creating a sense of urgency and agreeing on a time for the transition. If a team wants more time to recognize the change and would assist from further training then the company should make it happen to avoid resistance to change.

Analyse management techniques that can be used to manage the resistance to change

Managing resistance to change would not be merely a responsive tactic for the change management experts. Resistance avoidance allows the company to address or diminish resistance timely and should be united into the change management method for initiatives and projects.

There are three phases of process to address resistance management, and all three are discussed below:

Phase 1 – Prepare Approach

In this initial phase the planning of resistance prevention is delivered while developing change management strategy. Actions centre on primary expected and credentials points of resistance, or special policies for addressing them.

Phase 2 – Manage Change

In this phase resistance prevention actions and activities are included through ADKAR transitions. The resistance response activities for pervasive, persistent resistance are also developed.

Phase 3 -Sustain Outcomes

In phase 3, the performance is reviewed of sustain outcomes to understand the ADKAR outcomes, initiative progress, and status of the change management actions.

Properly addressing resistance safeguards that it is understood or dealt with during the lifecycle of a project. This moves handling resistance to change from merely the reactive instrument to the proactive or eventually more operative tool for assembling support or addressing oppositions.

Task 3 – Strategy for change

Use suitable models or frameworks

Use suitable models or frameworks

Change Management Theory is a method of shifting processes, people and resources to create more efficient results. Change management theory can help both organizations and individuals concentrate on the future, and make the right decisions to move to the desired goal. Change management encompasses many different fields, including social and behavioural sciences to business and IT processes. If case company use suitable models or framework to managing change it will help managers remain focused and organized when implementing changes. The two best framework of change are:

Kotter's theory of change management

Kotter's theory of organizational change is among the most well-known models of change management due to its excellent job of creating urgency and demonstrating the reasons for change. One area that it fails is its inability to receive feedback at all levels. This approach is great for Case Company who is in the process of adopting new software for enterprise. This model emphasizes "short-term wins" - specifically those departments that are the least resisting change in the first place and can encourage the internal acceptance of other departments.

The McKinsey 7-S Change Management Model

The strength of the 7-S model is helping companies understand the status quo, so that they can determine what they need to alter. The model can also help demonstrate how any organizational change will affect the seven components. The model is not as efficient in guiding businesses to make the changes. The McKinsey model may be best when paired with an actionable organization-wide change management strategies. This model is recommended as suitable framework for case company because the department employees and team member resist soft and hard change elements which can be influenced by the departments or managers who are responsible for these elements.

Evaluate measures and systems that could be used to monitor the progress and effectiveness of the change strategy

The company's change management can be monitored in different ways to evaluate the progress and effectiveness of the change strategy of the plan in which a company is implemented.

• Understand the theory behind the program- The change management's logic is to be deeply reviewed by the company to ensure a clear understanding of the theory behind the change plan.
• Attend program training- The Company should conduct a training program to know the feasible understanding level of its internal stakeholders about the change plan. Evaluators can learn more about the many program mechanism, have an improved perceptive of how each constituent should be provided, and develop into more familiar with the program possessions that are accessible to hold up performance by attendance program training.
• Align evaluation efforts to implementation guidelines- When possible, the company should align evaluation efforts to program implementation guidelines. The required important program quality and the amount to which each constituent should be implement are provided in element in the implementation guidelines.
• Use multiple measures- The Company will select or generate multiple measures to effectively assess and monitor several aspects of the change plan execution.
• Keep track of response rates and missing data- The change plan should be tracked regularly to prevent missing data (Rubin, and Little, 2019). As opposed to data sets with missing data points, complete data sets give assessors crucial and more reliable information on the implementation of change programs.

The role of the leader in creating and implementing a change strategy

Leaders in the company play different and vital role in creating the change management strategy for the company. There are some role described under which shows the function of the leaders of a company.

• Communicate the sense of urgency- It is work of the leaders to help people under them to make them understand about what is driving the requirement for the change.
• Creating a passion- It is the duty of the leaders to reemphasise the developed strategic and vision direction to the employees of the company to recall them a context driving of the change.
• Lead from the top- Leader is the link between top management and it’s under working employees, so it is required to delegate or abdicate the responsibilities of change management strategy.
• Brave, bold, and positive thinker- The leader should always present in a positive way in the dynamic reforms who accepts nothing less than to the revolutionary change in the company.

Conclusion

From the above-mentioned report, it is concluded that the change plan of an organization generates various difficulties for the company. But on the other hand, it will also enhance the company's profitability ratio in near future. The case company has various models to choose from while adopting a change plan. To effectively implement the new program the company have to pay attention to its both internal and external stakeholders. The company is highly affected by the stakeholders' involvement in the change plan management. New vision, mission, values, and goals are also pre-planned to direct the company's employees' efforts towards the common goal.

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