Part 1: Review of current best practices in leadership and change management
Change management and effective leadership are considered to be an effective part of any organization and without an effective presence of these two factors, any organization would not be able to find success (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). For this reason, it is very important for any organization to engage in the best practices with respect to these aspects. The aim of the given report is to highlight the best practices in the field of change management and leadership with special reference to the case study of the Woolworths supermarkets in Australia. The Woolworths supermarkets is one of the largest markets in Australia and thus for this reason, they ensure adapting to the changes in the external environment in order to ensure that they gain competitive edge (Carnall, 2018). The report discusses the best practices in the given field which is then followed by the change management at Woolworth’s organization case study. The comparison of their change has been made to that of Kotter’s model and recommendations based on the gap analysis have also been provided.
The business environment is highly unpredictable and the next new technology may pose a threat to the business directly or indirectly. For this reason, any business needs to ensure that it incorporates mobility into its domain in order to ensure that it is successfully able to incorporate in the dynamic business environment. For this purpose, change management and effective leadership plans are certain techniques using which any organization will be successfully able to function well in the business domain (Cameron & Green, 2015). A good leadership practice in an organization However, change management is not an easy procedure and there exists a presence of certain practices as well as procedures which can be used and applied so as to get ensured success. These procedures are known as the best practices which have been developed after taking into consideration various case studies of global organizations and multinational organizations. Hence, certain best practices in the field of change management and leadership has been given as follows:
Appointing the proper personnel: The personnel forms the background of the organization and for this purpose, it is very important that the personnel appointed play their roles carefully in the process of change management (Hayes, 2018). For this reason, it becomes increasingly important for the company to appoint certain capable staff members who will be able to successfully assist the company in carrying out the procedure of the change in the organization.
Part 2: Evaluation of the organization’s leadership and change management plan
Value creation: Any change which takes place in an organization needs to ensure that it involves certain creation of value. Without any value creation, a change management program in an organization will not be successfully in changing the procedures (Doppelt, 2017). Moreover, the leadership in the organization should be such that it contributes effectively towards the creation of change as well as ensuring that the change so made is benefitting the stakeholders.
Unfreezing the prior ways: The previous ways of carrying out the different operations and the processes need to be let go of and in the place of those newer operations and processes have to be adopted. This means that, if the organization is unable to let go of the previous ways, it will become quite difficult for them to adopt to the newer way of undertaking operations.
Acknowledging audience convenience: The change which is to be taken place also needs to ensure that the convenience of the audience is considered first (Wheelen et al., 2017). If the given change is not considering the convenience of the audiences then, undertaking that change is not viable for the organization. Convenience of the receiving audiences need to be of utmost importance.
Sustainability focus: In the present business environment, sustainability forms the key essence of success. Hence, if the organization plans to undergo any change and wants to impure its operations for the better it needs to see to it that the sustainable aspect is thoroughly reviewed.
Creating an understanding and supportive environment: Change is often considered to be a difficult procedure for the different managers to carry out (Kuipers et al., 2014). The same procedure is even more difficult to carry out for the employees who are often faced by uncertainty in the same domain. Hence, an understanding and supportive business environment needs to be created which shall assist the organization in the creation of harmony in the organization.
Encouraging the employees: The views of the employees need to be taken into consideration effectively as it shall contribute towards the understanding of the bottom line view. The employees often deal directly with the different consumers and for this reason, it becomes increasingly to take in their input in the procedure of change.
Support relationship building: Although competition between different teams is crucial to boost performance, it also becomes important to ensure that the relationship between different team members is very strong in nature and that in times of the change, they can work effectively among themselves and ensure the best for the organization (Lussier & Achua, 2016).
Application of the model
Talent mapping: Talent mapping is crucial for essential leadership and related change management and for this purpose, the organization and the management need to map the talent adequately so that the different domains of business can be handled by the best experts for the job (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). This contributes towards ensuring that the best talent is employed for the best job.
Employee engagement and retention: Engaging the employees in the activities of the organization also tends to play a major role in determining the success of the company. In this manner, the company will be able to successfully ensure that employees stay with the firm for a longer period of time and assist them in achieving their goals and objectives.
About the Change
Back in 2015, the organization had rolled out a click and collect buying option. The organization had conducted a trial phase, followed by which it rolled out the concept in all the stores.
In the given change system, the organization offers the click and collect service for the groceries where the company could order online and pick it up in stores. However, the organization faced issues with respect to the management of the employees as well as staff who waited for their orders (Woolworths.com.au., 2018) The time was wasted in gaining feedback and helping the employees to manage for the customers, however, despite all the challenges, it partnered with a marketing consultancy and then beacons were used (Cameron, 2018). The application was connected with in store systems also that seamless communication took place. A notification system is used to notify both parties and match it with instore experience However, the change management procedure could have been more smooth and better
The Kotter’s Change model is a very popular change management and leadership model which has assisted various organizations as well as leaders to execute their strategic management plans and thereby assist them in the change management procedure (Van der Voet, 2014). Kotter had identified and extracted a combination of certain critical success factors which would assist an organization and they came to be known as the 8 step process for leading and managing the change which takes place.
- Create a sense of urgency
The given step forms the first step of the change model and it assists others to see to it that the need for change is identified in the form of an opportunity and that once the given opportunity has been identified successfully, the organization needs to start acting on it effectively (Pugh, 2016). The importance of the change procedure is required to be communicated to all the organizational members and for this purpose, it becomes crucial to identify at an early stage.
- Building a guiding coalition
The next step in an effective change management program involves forming a group or rather an army of effective people of various departments and ranks who would act as the change barrier of the organization. These members would guide change, coordinate for it and even communicate the activities of the organization successfully.
- Form a strategic vision and initiatives
The given step involved ensuring that the dynamics of the future are rightfully secured and that the change to be adopted is to be different from that of the past. Moreover, the change management objective along with the leadership guidance should be in accordance with the leadership as well as strategies of the firm. If the change to be implemented in the organization is not in accordance with the vision, the organization may suffer a loss.
- Enlisting a volunteer army
This step means that the organization needs to ensure that a maximum number of people are aligned with the objective of the change management and advertise the benefits of such a change. It is important to gather a massive rally of people with the common objectives as it assists in ensuring that the maximum people can be connected to the cause of the organization. This helps the organization by making them move in the same direction.
- Enable action by removing barriers
All the additional barriers as present in the organization that restrict the growth of the business and act as a hindrance to enable a firm to prosper should be removed and the organization should ensure that the members as present in the different hierarchies of the organization are given the freedom to take their own decisions and to ensure the success of the firm in the long run (Cameron & Green, 2015).
The procedure to ensure that the different organizational members remain motivated to the long term objectives and the entire procedure of change is that they must be celebrating the short wins. The progress which the organization is making with respect to the changes need to be collected as well as communicated to the designated volunteers as identified in the previous procedure.
- Sustaining acceleration
After the acceleration has been achieved at an initial stage and the small wins have been achieved, the leadership needs to ensure that more effort is put after the first success has been achieved. This can assist the organization in ensuring that the credibility of the organization increases and that the systems, structures and the policies are formed adequately (Cummings & Worley, 2014). The acceleration needs to be continued until the time the vision of the organization has been achieved adequately.
- Instituting change
The last step involves ensuring that the change which has finally begun to reflect in the behaviors of the employees and the organization is articulated and institutionalized so that they can continue performing better and achieving the designated target of the chosen organization.
The previous section, identified the Kotter Change model which can be used by the different organizations in their initiative to change (Benn, Edwards & Williams, 2014). Once this has been done, the given section will be successfully compare between the change management at Woolworths and the standardized process which needs to be followed ideally.
The background of the change management needs to be prepared adequately. In the given scenario, the organization needs to set the base for the new movement by identifying certain needs in the external environment of the organization (Thompson, 2017).
With respect to the given stage, although Woolworths identified the need of a click online system, however, it failed to create an urgency about it. The given change which had to be taken place was not adequately researched by Woolworths.
The coalition of the change management needs to be formed. This means that the organization is required to gather various employees who could support the organization in its quest to undertake the change management in the organization.
Although the organization had considered taking help from various employees who were the key points, they were not able to successfully choose a powerful coalition
The creation of vision is crucial as this helps in motivating the different employees and enables them to understand the primary motive of the organization. This assists in the long term goal achievement of the organization (Shirey, 2013).
Woolworths failed in the given step as it was unable to create a vision among the employees and hence, they were not successfully able to work for the welfare for the organization.
Enlisting an army
This ensures that the maximum number of people are aligned with the goals and objectives of the organization as this assists in gaining momentum for the achievement of the change.
For the success of the vision and initializing a successful change in the processes, all the employees should be involved. However, their change only involved making changes in the lower line of employees who lacked experience and training.
Enable action by removing barriers
There are various barriers to the achievement of goals and objectives of the organization and therefore for this purpose, the barriers need to be identified and then adequate planning has to be done so that these barriers can be removed effectively.
Woolworths has various barriers to remove in this procedure like the billing errors, correct delivery, item availability and others but they were unable to do so (Burke, 2017).
Ensuring short term wins
The path to achievement is not easy and hence, it has to be achieved in short milestones (Drucker, 2006). These milestones need to be celebrated.
The company did not reach to this stage as the change management was not clearly carried out. Better steps could have been initiated.
Sustaining acceleration
The momentum which has been built needs to be accelerated so that the growth towards the change can be achieved faster (van den Heuvel et al., 2013).
Once it found success in its trail phase, the organization, rolled out the concept in all stores.
Institutionalizing Change
Once the change which was envisioned has been achieved, the change needs to be made the regular part of the organization and incorporate within every aspect of the firm
It is a popular procedure now but effective monitoring needs to be ensured.
Revised leadership and change management plan
- Create a sense of urgency
Once the organization would have realized that there exists a need to change the scenario and to adapt the change, they should have created a sense of urgency and Woolworths was required to arrange and train for the change. The employees should have been given a systems map and adequate technological training for the success (Al-Haddad & Kotnour, 2015).
- Building a guiding coalition
The management was required to conduct regular meetings and thereby plan to build a coalition of the employees who would work effectively towards the success of the organization.
- Form a strategic vision and initiatives
The organization should have set specific targets with respect to ensuring that the employees at Woolworths would have understood their goas
- Enlisting a volunteer army
The store managers were required to be the flag bearer of the change process and should be ensuring that all employees are in the initiative (Northouse, 2018). .
- Enable action by removing barriers
Various operational and technical barriers should have been foreseen previously and the organization was required to take adequate actions in order to ensure that all the goals and requirements were achieved without any barriers (Covey, 2004)
- Generate short-term wins
Once the teams at the different stores were successful in carrying out the operations of the change, they should have been encouraged in order to build a momentum (Fairhurst, & Connaughton, 2014).
- Sustaining acceleration
Moreover, once the momentum was built, the company should have speed the click and purchase option in all its branches. This would then have helped them to successfully be able to ensure the success of change management.
- Instituting change
The change should have been institutionalized and regulated effectively
If Woolworths had been successfully able to follow the Kotter model and taken all steps seriously, then they could have been successful in their click and buy initiative. This would have given them the following benefits:
Achieving competitive advantage: The Company was required to successfully implement the click and pay system which would have assisted the organization to successfully achieve technological advantage. This would have provided greater convenience to the customers which would have led to the increase in the profits of the organization and led to increased revenues.
Reducing billing and store traffic: The store traffic at these supermarkets are generally very high in nature and number, for this reason, had the company been successful in executing the change management effectively and reflected the strong leadership, they would have been successful in reducing the traffic in the stores and reduced the number of lines in the billing as well (Marshall & Oliva, 2017).
Better customer service: The customer convenience would have increased considerably and they would been able to just order with the help of a click and then get the item picked up, This would have lifted the brand name of Woolworths and assisted them in ensuring long term success.
Reduced pressure on employees: The employees generally face certain levels of difficulty, which could have been avoided and hence, this could have contributed towards their wellbeing.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis it can be concluded that change is an inevitable part of any organization and that any organization who wants to gain a competitive edge in the dynamic business environment needs to take considerable steps to be able to successfully adapt to the requirements of the external environment and be able to successfully ensure that it can survive well. Leadership and change management are two vital components of any organization and for this reason, it needs to be ensured that leadership in an organization successfully reflects its vision and mission and that these employees must be successfully able to engage in various activities which support the firm’s vision. Secondly, change management in an organization needs to abide by well stated models and successful change management in a firm should be supported by proper leadership.
The given report aimed to analyze the change management and leadership program as followed by Woolworth’s stores in Australia and analyze its success. This was measured against the Kotter’s change model. Certain recommendations have been made, which would have made the change management at Woolworths more successful in nature.
References
Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234-262.
Ashkenas, R. (2013). Change management needs to change. Harvard Business Review, 16(April).
Benn, S., Edwards, M., & Williams, T. (2014). Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge.
Burke, W. W. (2017). Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications.
Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Cameron, N. (2018). Woolworths plans national beacons rollout to improve click-and-collect customer service. Retrieved from https://www.cmo.com.au/article/566073/woolworths-plans-national-beacons-rollout-improve-click-and-collect-customer-service/
Carnall, C. (2018). Managing change. Routledge.
Covey, S. R. (2004) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Free Press, England.
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage learning.
Doppelt, B. (2017). Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Drucker, P. F. (2006) The Practice of Management, Harper Business, England.
Fairhurst, G. T., & Connaughton, S. L. (2014). Leadership: A communicative perspective. Leadership, 10(1), 7-35.
Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Hayes, J. (2018). The theory and practice of change management.
Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., & Schilling, M. A. (2014). Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning.
Kuipers, B. S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J., & Van der Voet, J. (2014). The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public administration, 92(1), 1-20.
Lussier, R.N. & Achua, C. F. (2016) Leadership; Theory, Application, & Skill Development, 6th ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Marshall, C., & Oliva, M. (2017). Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education. Pearson.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
Pugh, L. (2016). Change management in information services. Routledge.
Shirey, M. R. (2013). Lewin’s theory of planned change as a strategic resource. Journal of Nursing Administration, 43(2), 69-72.
Thompson, J. D. (2017). Organizations in action: Social science bases of administrative theory. Routledge.
van den Heuvel, M., Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2013). Adapting to change: The value of change information and meaning-making. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(1), 11-21.
Van der Voet, J. (2014). The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational structure. European Management Journal, 32(3), 373-382.
Woolworths.com.au (2018). Shop Online. Retrieved from https://www.woolworths.com.au/
Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D., Hoffman, A. N., & Bamford, C. E. (2017). Strategic management and business policy. Pearson.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
