Understanding and Leading Change Assignment Sample

Understanding and Leading Change Assignment

Introduction of Understanding and Leading Change in Mark and Spencer

Changes in business situations and conditions can have direct effects on the sustainability of an organisation in its business markets. Various business analysts believe that organisations which fail to comply with the emerging changes in macro and microenvironment lose their charm along with time (Barbara and Swailes, 2010). Changes may allow an organisation to reconsider its strategies and develop new plans for acquiring sustainability in the markets.

Marks and Spencer is one of the most known organisations is the world, which is based in UK. The organisation is active in the retail industry and was founded in the year 1884 (Cameron and Green, 2015). Considering the numbers of employees working in Marks and Spencer, it is found that more than 84000 employees in the world work in the organisation. Some of the prominent products that are sold by the organisation include clothing and apparels, food stuff and many others.

This reported work is explaining the changes that are experienced by Marks and Spencer while managing business in its various markets. For this purpose, the report is exploring various case studies, which are exhibited on changes strategies of the organisation. The report includes information regarding the drivers of change and their impacts over Marks and Spencer. Not only this but, the reports also contain effects of changes on leadership in the organisation. Further, the effects of change on individuals and behaviours in the organisation are also described in the report. Along with this, information regarding reduction of impacts of change and associated models are also mentioned in the report.

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Task 1

P1 Compare different organisational examples where there has been an impact of change on an organisation’s strategy and operations.

Change drivers for Marks and Spencer

Change drivers can be understood as the situations or conditions which are accountable for bringing the changes in the normal functionality and working of an organisation. Various studies in organisational management are helpful in understanding that there can be different change drivers for different organisations. For this reason, Marks and Spencer may have many change drivers, which are explained in the following manner.

• Different political factors present in the UK can affect the business of Marks and Spencer allows the organisation to reconsider its approaches and business plans (Cawsey et al., 2011).
• Along with this, economic vulnerabilities of a country of state can be a driver of change for Marks and Spencer.
• Further, it can also be said that advancements in technology can also be the source behind the change for the organisation. There can be situations in which Marks and Spencer need to shed its former technology and head towards the acquisition of new technology or change.

This way, it can be analysed that there are many drivers of change for Marks and Spencer.

Impacts of change

Considering the impacts of change on Marks and Spencer, it can be said that change in business environment assignment help is accountable for impacting the organisation in the following way.

Changes in an organisation usually have immense effects onproductivityand profitability. Changes in the economic-political state of UK may allow Marks and Spencer and other organisation to reconsider their existing plans. Various studies in organisation management are helpful in understanding that changes may also have tremendous effects on the sustainability of the organisation (Daft and Marcic, 2010). If changes are found favourable for the business then, productivity, as well as profitability, can be enhanced. On the other hand, organisations are likely to be affected adversely if emerging changes are challenging to Marks and Spencer. Recent studies reveal that there are many areas of business that can be affected by the emerging changes. These areas may include marketing and sales of the products, performances of employees, employee structuring or hierarchical positioning and many others.

Change on organisational strategies

Some of the prominent changes in organisational strategies are explained in the following manner.

Emerging changes in an organisation are accountable for affecting the strategies in a drastic way. Various studies indicate that changing situations in organisations can allow them to develop new strategies and approaches (Deichmann and Stam, 2015). Considering the existing strategies of organisations, it can be said that emerging changes in business scenario raise the need for improvisation of the strategies. Such approaches are essential for Marks and Spencer to acclimatise with the new situations and regaining its productivity and profitability.

Changes are accountable for affecting the strategies in most of the departments in an organisation (Koontz and Weihrich, 2012). Strategic managers may require changing the organisational structuring, growth and development policies, modifications in teams and employee counts and many others.

This way, it can be said that emerging changes can greatly affect the strategies that are usually adopted by an organisation to target growth and sustainability in its business markets.

Overview of case studies of Marks and Spencer Understanding and Leading Change Assignment

There isnumber of case studies associated with the business of Marks and Spencer in UK. It is found that there are certain change drivers as well as impacts of changes on organisation. Major findings from these case studies are explained in the following manner.

Case study 1: M&S blames Brexit and poor weather as fashion sales spectacularly fall - Marketing Week

It is found that in the year 2016, UK underwent a referendum in which all the member countries of European Union participated. In the referendum, UK left its membership from EU and decided to emerge as sole economy on a global scale. This was one of the major decisions taken by the government in the UK, which resulted in terrible political and economic conditions in the country (Hobbs, 2016). The study reveals that political relations of UK were negatively affected by the other member countries of EU. Most of the countries considered tough attitude towards the business of UK based organisations in their markets. Along with this, it is also found that there was a state of economic crunch in the UK, which terribly affected the business of most of the organisations in the country.

It was observed that Marks and Spencer, which is considered as one of the most reputed organisations in UK suffered huge vulnerabilities due to changes in political and economic structure of the country. Crash of Pound in the financial market allowed the organisation to reduce the prices of its products in order to acquire the profitability and productivity in the business markets. Not only this, but the organisations also took several decisions regarding layoff of the employees, development of new financial and growth policies and many other strategies (Mann et al., 2016). This way, it can be said that BREXIT caused number of changes on the business of Marks and Spencer in European markets, which allowed the strategic managers to develop new plans and strategies to acquire sustainability in the markets. Know more about Finance assignment help.

Case study 2: The Global Economic & Financial Crisis: A Timeline

Similar to BREXIT referendum, other changing situations that was faced by Marks and Spencer in the business markets of UK was in year 2007. The case study reveals that the organisations lost much of its business due to mortgage bubble in the USA. It was observed that conditions similar to great depression emerged globally, which affected by the business of international organisations (Guillén, 2012). The study reveals that Marks and Spencer manage many outlets and stores in USA, which was severely affected by the economic crisis in year 2007 to 2009. During this time, the organisation was required to bring drastic changes in its strategies in order to sustain in the tough business markets.

Considering the effects of the economic crisis of 2007, it can be said that strategic managers in the organisation were required to shut down their stores temporarily for reducing the operational income. Not only this but, it was also found that Marks and Spencer also discarded a number of products sold by it in different business markets. Production lines in the company were rearranged to meet the emerging situations (Northouse, 2015). This was the time when the organisation was reported to develop strategies for reducing the employee count also. It was found that the organisation reduced its employee count to nearly two-third of earlier.

In order to manage the changes effectively, Marks and Spencer developed plans to include considering corporate social responsibilities also. The organisation promoted number of additional responsibilities that were being achieved in the business markets for the benefits of the people and its employees. This way, it can be analysed that changes in external business market allowed Marks and Spencer to face many situations and develop new strategies. One of the most strengthening factors for Marks and Spencer during the economic crisis of 2007 was prolonged operational history of the organisation. It was found social factors present in UK and USA, favoured the business of Marks and Spencer (Moran and Cohn, 2011). Along with this, strategic approaches such as corporate social responsibilities and many others allowed the organisation to manage its business effectively.Even in the year 2007, Marks and Spencer were one of the most expensive brands in the world. Prices of the products were critically high, which were accountable for declining the sales of the products. Not only this but, it was also observed that supply chain and employee management in Marks and Spencer were greatly affected by the economic crisis of 2007, which caused a number of vulnerabilities leading to need of change.

Analysis of each organisation on the impact of change

Analysis of the impact of change on Marks and Spencer due to BREXIT and economic crisis in the UK can be carried out with comparison of business strategies of other organisation. This comparison is depicted in the following manner.

This way, it can be analysed that BREXIT and economic crisis of 2007-09 brought a number of changes to the policies and strategies, which were being practised in other organisations also. John Lewis PLC, which is considered as one of the top competitors of Marks and Spencer; also experienced changes in political and economic markets that were levied by BREXIT referendum and many others.

From the above scenarios, one can see that both organisations have been affected by the economic crisis and BREXIT. However, the intensity was low for John Lewis in comparison to the Mark and Spencer. The latter has closed many stores while the other has opened some new stores. Both of them have asked their investors to hold the debts in order to remain sustainable. Hence, one can notice here that almost all organisations face problems due to economic turbulence. All depends on their ability to cope and preparedness.

P2: Evaluate the ways in which internal and external drivers of change affect leadership, team and individual behaviours within an organisation.

Effects of change on leadership in Marks and Spencer

There isa number of ways in which external and internal drivers of changes affect the leadership, team and individual behaviours Marks and Spencer. Some of these ways are explained in the following manner.

Effects on leadership:Change driver may allow the leaders in Marks and Spencer to consider new approaches for motivating the team members and acquired optimum performances (Erdogan et al., 2015). It can be said that during the times of change, leaders in the organisation might face tough resistance from their followers. Not only this, but there can also be the situations in which leadership in Marks and Spencer might be required to be switched from democratic to autocratic for forceful implementation of the change.

Effects on team behaviours:Change drivers can affect the behaviours of the teams in Marks and Spencer drastically. It can be said that team members may resist the changes that are required to be carried out in their functioning and productivity. For this reason, leaders and organisations might need to reconsider their approaches for changing the behaviours of the teams towards the emerging situations.

Effects on individual behaviours:Considering the effects of change drivers on individuals, it can be said that the employees and workers in the organisation might feel less motivated towards the change and develop negative attitude (Chance, 2013).

P3: Evaluate measures that can be taken to minimise negative impacts of change on organisational behaviour.

Reducing the impacts of change

There isa number of measures, which can be considered by Marks and Spencer to minimise the negative impacts of the emerging changes on organisational behaviours. These measures are explained in the following manner.

Effective leadership: it is one of the best practices through which the negative impacts of change on organisational behaviours can be reduced. The study reveals that leaders in Marks and Spencer are required to acquire the situational leadership for implementing the change plans effectively within the organisation (Sørensen et al., 2011). Not only are this, but leaders in the organisation also required to set exemplary performance by demonstrating the best practices, which can be followed by the employees or the team members. This way, leadership style is one of the essential factors that can reduce the impacts of changes.

Effective development of plans: Along with effective leadership, Marks and Spencer are also required to establish the plans and strategies through which employees can be motivated from acquiring new practices. Not only has this, but managers and leaders in an organisation needed to develop educational and training development programmes. This way, employees in Marks and Spencer will become familiar with the new practices and change, which will gradually reduce the resistance for implementation of the change.

Train and Prepare employees: Organisational change affects the people working in it and in order to reduce the negative impacts of any factor, organisation needs to train them and prepare them for it. Training will hone their existing skill set and improve their knowledge. Training can help them in adjusting to the role easily and look for work in every areas within an organisation.

In addition to this, they are many other techniques to manage the organisational change. For instance, competently laying out and envisioning the future state of organisation. This is all about picturing the ideal condition and conveying the vision to each and every employee.

M1: Assess the different drivers for change in each of the given examples and the types of organisational change they have affected.

Identification of drivers for case 1

From the above case study, it can be analysed that there isa number of drivers, which may allow the strategic managers in Marks and Spencer to undergo strategic change. These drivers may include economic policies set by the government in the UK and many others (Marsh and Miller, 2014). It is found that the political relationships of the country with other countries can affect the foreign supply chain in Marks and Spencer due to which the organisations might need to consider more effective strategies in domestic markets. Elevation of taxes and inflation is also a major driver for change in Marks and Spencer. Such approaches or scenarios may allow the organisation to reconsider its existing strategies and policies to survive in the markets.

Identification of drivers

It can be analysed from the above case study that drivers for change in Marks and Spencer during the year 2007 included tough economic conditions. Two biggest markets for the organisations for acquiring profitability are UK and USA, which were severely affected by the economic crisis (López, 2014). Decline in currency value on foreign exchange allowed the organisation to develop new fiscal policies and set new strategies through which productivity, profitability and sustainability in different business markets could be enhanced. This way, it can be said that there werenumber of drivers of change for Marks and Spencer in the case study of economic crisis 2007-09.

M2: Apply appropriate theories and models to critically evaluate organisational response to change.

According to the Kurt Lewin, organisational change is not always a complex process. He gave his famous three stage model to undergo change. The model is very easy, simple, and practical to understand. The process of change begins with the creation of a perception that an organisation requires change. Then, the company moves toward the new level of organisational behaviour. Finally, encouraging the new behaviour through norms.KurtLewin model of change implementation: Some of the prominent steps in the implementation of changes are:

Unfreezing: during this phase, leaders in Marks and Spencer describe the benefits that can be acquired by employees which change in practices (Marsh and Miller, 2014). Along with this, leaders are required to prepare the employees by providing information regarding upcoming changes to reduce the issues and conflicts.

Change: this the phase in which new practices are implemented and strategies for change are incorporated.

Refreezing: During this phase of change implementation, new practices are required to be considered in the normal functioning of the employees.

D1: Draw conclusions and recommendations with valid justifications for planning effectively for change and applying change impact analysis.

It can be concluded from the analysis of above examples or case studies of Marks and Spencer that the business of the organisation was terribly affected by BREXIT referendum as well as the economic crisis of 2007-09 (Humphrey, 2013). It was found that strategies and approaches that were being practised became worthless to the organisation due to which new strategies were required to be formed. Economic crunch faced by the organisation in both the example negatively affected profitability and revenue gains of Marks and Spencer.

There are various recommendations that can be given to the organisation to comply with the emerging changes during the economic crisis and BREXIT. Promotion of the products that are mostly liked by the people is one of the best strategies that should be developed in Marks and Spencer. Not only this, but the organisation should also consider using multidimensional employees for reducing the operational cost and acquiring more profitability. This way, emerging changes can be easily managed by Marks and Spencer in the business markets of UK.

Task 2

P4:Explain different barriers to change and determine how they influence leadership decision-making in a given organisational context.

Some of the prominent barriers that might be faced by Marks and Spencer while implementing the changes are described in the following manner.

The attitude of employees and teams: It can be said that change implementation is highly affected by the attitudes of the employees and workers in Marks and Spencer. Approaches of non-coordination among tasks and operations by the employees may require the leaders to understand the perspectives of the team members and improvise their decision making as per the attitudes of the employees and teams.

Compliance of the strategies: It is also a noticeable barrier that can be faced by Marks and Spencer while implementing the change. The study reveals that strategies and policies that are developed in an organisation are required to meet the expectation and skills sets of the employees, failing which there can be situations of non-collaboration and many others (Drucker and Buford, 2010). Such barriers can allow leaders to develop the plans as per the roles and skills of the available human workforce or hire new employees.

Differences in practices:Resistance from the employees towards change in Marks and Spencer highly depends upon the differences in practices. If employees are made to exhibit entirely new practices; then the leaders in Marks and Spencer may face extreme resistance. For this reason, leaders may also be required to develop strategies for training and development of the employees for implementing new practices.

M3:Use force field analysis to analyse the driving and resisting forces and show how they influence decision-making.

Force field analysis can be carried out for speculating the changes in Marks and Spencer and influences in decision making. This analysis is carried out the following way.

Driving forces: these are the forces, which allow an organisation to implement the changes easily at work place (Achua and Lussier, 2015). For Marks and Spencer, some of the driving changes are innovative approaches for product development, consideration of employees’ perspective in strategy formulation and many others. It can be analysed that such approaches considered by the organisation can allow it to change the practices with less hindrance from the employees’ end.

Restraining forces: These are certain forces, which make it difficult for organisations such as Marks and Spencer and many others to implement the changes at work place (Brandt, 2012). Attitudes of the employees towards the new practices, compliance of the practices with values and core principles and many others are some of the prominent restraining forces for Marks and Spencer.

This way, it can be analysed that there are certain restraining forces in Marks and Spencer which hamper with the implementation of changes. On the other hand, driving forces are accountable for favouring the implementation.

D2:Critically evaluate the use of force field analysis in the context of meeting organisational objectives.

It can be said that force field analysis can be used by Marks and Spencer for remarkably effective implementation of the changes and meeting the organisational objectives. Some of the facts justifying this statement are described in the following manner.

• Force field analysis can be used by the strategic managers in Marks and Spencer for evaluating the restraining forces or factors which are accountable for resisting the implementation of changes (Mann et al., 2016). For example, if strategic will have ideas about the issues faced by the employees in practising new approaches; then effective plans regarding training and development can be established. This way, strategic managers can increase the prospects of success by educating the employees with the required skills and approaches regarding emerging changes.
• Not only this but, it can also be said that strategic and leaders in Marks and Spencer can also speculate the driving forces or factors, which can facilitate the implementation of changes. This way, change leaders can target such factors and head towards more productivity.

This way, it can be said that use of force field analysis can improve the performance of Marks and Spencer and allow the organisation to meet its aims and objectives.

Task 3

P5:Apply different leadership approaches to dealing with change in a range of organisational contexts.

Some of the prominent approaches to leadership for dealing with the change in Marks and Spencer are explained in the following manner.

Motivation: it is one of the best approaches that can be considered by the leaders in Marks and Spencer. Leaders in the organisation are required to inspire and motivate the employees and workers for giving their best performance despite the tough and changing situations(Deichmann and Stam, 2015). Knowing the factors that motivate employees to carry out their operations in an effective way can be very useful for the employees. This can be helpful for the company to achieve their goals and carry out complex task with an ease. By providing motivation at work, the leader can also demonstrate a commitment to make employee happy. Such approaches if considered by leaders can astonishingly affect the psyche of the employees for accepting the changes.

Risk-taking:Leader in Marks and Spencer are also required to take certain risks and provoke the employees to do so. Leaders also need to describe what changes can also be the opportunities for employees and workers in the organisation to grow and develop.Leaders understand that every risk is associated with uncertainty, doubt, and unfavourable effects. However, not every risk is characterised as problem. A leader is accountable for the decisions and actions taken by followers. Leaders must explore and determine the skills of the employees and set goals that are aiming to achieve higher than the existing situation. This way, leaders can increase the participation of employees in new practices after implementation of the change.

Role assigning:it is one of the crucial approaches required to be performed by leaders in Marks and Spencer. The study reveals that leaders can analyse the areas of expertise of different employees and assign the duties and role as per their skills sets.One thing that leaders are very much particular while assigning the role is that employee must have enough resources and autonomy. Researchers have figured out leaders should provide enough autonomy and achievable goals to the employees.This way, interests of the employees can be enhanced resulting inthe effective implementation of change at the workplace.

M4: Evaluate the extent to which leadership approaches can deliver organisational change effectively applying appropriate models and frameworks.

Leadership approaches considered in Marks and Spencer can be greatly effective in the application of appropriate models and frameworks. Leadership approaches in the organisation can be helpful for the employees to understand why it is important to bring changes in the practices and how their performance can be affected in case of change negligence(Mann et al., 2016). This way, leadership approaches are likely implemented the models of change management in Marks and Spencer. Further, it can also be said that leadership approaches can be helpful in ensuring the change models are positively accepted by the employees. A leader who take risks for the organisation is derived by the interest to advance the organisation. Taking risks involves opulence of the business. Therefore, risk taking is all about gambling with the whole organisation. However, no business can grow without taking risk. A great leader inspire the followers to take risk and assess their impacts. It should be a well-calculated risk. In addition to this, a leader motivates and encourages them to move outside their comfort zone and explore their capabilities. This induces a willingness in them to take huge risk and innovate ideas.

D3: Critically evaluate the effectiveness of leadership approaches and models of change management.

Approaches of considering the change model is an efficient practice in Marks and Spencer as it will allow the organisation to implement the changes systematically (Erdogan et al., 2015). Not only this but, it can also be said that leadership approaches such as motivation, inspiration, risk-taking and many others are effective in changing the mindset of the employees.This way, employees can be prepared to accept the emerging changes. No doubt risk taking is good for the organisation but this may not work every time. Many a time leaders put the organisation into some huge jeopardies that cost organisation a fortune. No matter how strong the cohesion a team has, when it comes to take the onus of the failure, the leader is the one accountable for failures. This can damage the professional and personal reputation as well.

Conclusion

It can be concluded from the above report that change management is one of the crucial practices in Marks and Spencer for acquiring the profitability and sustainability in the tough business environment of UK. Leadership is a practice through which the organisation can easily implement the changes. Leadership approaches such as motivation and many others can be helpful in the effective implementation of change models and enhancing the prospects of success for Marks and Spencer in the tough political and economic situations of UK business environment. In the following report, it had been seen that how organisation manages its operation in different international market. Furthermore, it also elaborated the effects of various transformation on leadership in the Mark and Spencer. Further, these changes and their impact on individual and organisation had been described. In addition to this, actions and models to reduce the impact of the changes have been described in the report.

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