Explore our expertly crafted Leadership People and Change Assignment Sample to understand effective change management strategies. Provided by Rapid Assignment Help, we deliver fast, accurate, and affordable academic assistance for all leadership and HRM assignments.
Leadership & change management are valuable and inseparable forces in the process of navigating the organizational transitions. An efficient leadership establishes the direction, guides and inspires organization. On the other side, change management furnishes the framework for effectively applying and sustaining the new business practices. The present study will base on Next Plc, a fashion retail British multinational organization that offers clothing, accessories, merchandise, beauty and home ware products. The company was founded in 1864 and has 700 stores in which approximately 500 are in the United Kingdom and 200 in Europe, Asia as well as Middle East. In digitalization era, the use of technology increase within the fashion industry, each organization use different kind of technology such as artificial intelligence, automation, virtual reality to get a competitive advantage in significant manner.
Currently, Next Plc not focused on using emerging technology, it leads to make company outdated and unable to grab attention of wide range of customer therefore the proposed change for the Next Plc is utilization of AR and VR technology to enhance customer experience and competitive edge within the industry. The present study will include environmental analysis to identify strategic change, provide strategy to deliver change effectively. In addition, outline the impact of change on organizational culture, recruitment and way to overcome organizational resistance. It also highlight requirement of leadership capabilities to deliver the change.
This section explores the core concepts of leadership people and change, examining how leaders guide organisational transitions and manage the human side of transformation. It analyses strategic change, cultural impact, HRM implications, and effective change models within a corporate context. For students needing deeper clarity or academic support on these topics, Our Help with Assignments Online can provide accessible guidance and expert assistance.
Organizational change means an action in which the organization change a major elements of its company such as culture, underlying technologies, infrastructure, processes and so more (Hanelt et al, 2021). These changes are essential for organization success and grow. There are several kind of changes such as:
Transformational change: It is an organizational change that reshapes organization completely. This includes renovate system, process and culture of organization.
Strategic change: It includes changes that align the company with its long-term goals. It consist modifying company`s goals, vision, mission to adapt the industry changes.
The fashion retail industry includes numbers of drivers of change that assist the organization to focus on its resources, develop a strategic plan for the purpose of transition. The main drivers of change are technology, changing customer preference3, regulation, competition, environment social trends.
External analysis: Evaluating external analysis help the business to identify business environment that influence the business. For the purpose of macro analysis, PESTLE analysis use:
The micro analysis to identify opportunities and threats of Next plc is as under:
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Internal analysis: It refers to examination of internal elements of company that can be done by VRIO. It is as under:
Strength and Weakness are as under:
From the environmental and SWOT analysis, it is identified that company requires bringing technological change to enhance the customer satisfaction at online and offline platform by implementing VR technology. It helps the business to get competitive edge. In order to being change, Next plc requires to change its leadership style to transformational to successfully bring change, develop employees skills accordingly to efficiently support the business growth.
Application of transformational leadership enables the Next Plc to provide sufficient training session to employees to enhance technological skills of the employees (Rolls, 2024). When employees learn new skills it motivates them to adopt change without any hesitation and fear. In addition, transformational leader use open communication to involve the employees into decision-making, it provide feeling of valued and respect to employees result in smooth adoption of transition.
Lewin’s Change model: To bring the technological change, leader use Kurt`s Lewin model`s three stages.
Unfreeze: At the stage, the leader build vision and change strategy to implement VR technological change and communicate about it to the employees. Also, leader address concern of employees with honesty.
Change: The stage include actual implementation of change while providing workshops and training session to employees.
Refreeze: To stabilize change, leader reward early adopters of change and collect feedback of employees in regards to change for improvements (Memon, 2021).
Change is complex process and it is not easy for the company to make change immediately. When a Next Plc will apply the change in the workplace, many organisational factors would be influenced. It involves organisational culture, business goals, leadership and employees.
Organisational culture: Although, adoption of VR and AR technology will help the Next Plc to attract more customers but it would impact the culture. Proposed change will bring the shift in values, assumptions and beliefs. The company will need to adjust the culture to effectively apply change.
Business goals: The planned change will surely impact the business goals and objectives (AlNuaimi et al, 2022). To execute the change, first of all, Next Plc will require to make goals related to change otherwise they cannot proceed the change process.
Leadership: Leadership is another factor that will influence by change. Leaders of the organisation have to change own strategies and styles to get success in upcoming changes. If leaders avoid it, they will not successfully make change by old style and approaches.
Employees: Employees are the crucial factor of the organisation and technological change will impact them in high manner. Strategic change can lead to resistance, communication failure and loss of productivity. However, an employee who like new and innovative things will embrace the change and take it as growth opportunity.
Change in the businesses has become necessary to stand out in this competitive business environment. But, planned change such as; adoption of AR and VR can heavily impact the culture, CSR, stakeholders and governance. Next Plc could not implement change with their current organisational culture. The company will require to build the culture which is flexible, innovative and adaptable. It is crucial for the company to address needed cultural shift (Lu and Wang, 2021). The firm will need to change existing corporate social responsibility (CSR) related strategies to improve the company’s resilience while making changes. Because it will be a technical change, Next Plc should focus on data privacy.
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By introducing technology, the company will benefit the customers. But employees may resist to change because it is not possible for them to change their old working ways. Investors will take interest and invest in project. The change will also influence the governance or authority in the organisation. The organisation needs to make robust policies and rules to control the change process. Next Plc will make rules and standards so that they can carry out the activities in ethically. The company will comply with all rules set by the government to maintain the CSR. The firm will also invest in data security system to protect the digital information of the customers.
Lewin’s change management model will help Next Plc in effective execution of technological change. It includes three stages such as; unfreeze, change and refreeze.
Unfreeze: The first stage unfreeze is related to decisions of the company to make changes which impact everyday duties of workers. Next Plc will outline the planned change and concentrate on approach to introduce change in the workplace. The change leader will also consult with the upper management to receive feedback. The company will also create presentation materials to announce the change and it will also keep employees up to date.
Change: In next step, next Plc will provide regular guidance and direction to facilitate the team to adapt to new changes. The managers will focus on open communication so that employees who have queries regarding change will ask questions (Harrison et al, 2021). The organisation will also conduct survey to get feedback of employees. It will help to know how many employees liked the AR and VR technology.
Refreeze: Next Plc will use different ways such as; rewards and incentives to motivate workers to adopt change. The firm will also organise training sessions in the workplace to improve the knowledge of team regarding AR and VR technology. Once employees will feel comfortable with change, the company will also provide optimistic feedback to employees which will increase their engagement in work.
Corporate level strategies: Nowadays, most fashion retail companies have invested in technology like AR and VR technology. So, Next Plc will aim to achieve growth in the business through investing in advance technology and make business innovative and creative. The company will offer the new service to the customers. The corporate strategy will help to improve performance. The firm wants to gain new customers at both local and international level. By applying this strategy, the organisation will increase market share and gain strong position in the market.
Business level strategies: Next Plc will adopt and apply the AR and VR technology to make customer’s shopping experience smooth. By this technology, the company will make large base of customers and increase sales and market share (Manninen and Huiskonen, 2022). The company will make campaigns and advertisements that will inform customers about change. Effective execution of marketing strategy can generate higher revenue.
Strategic pathways/methods: Next Plc will conduct skills gap analysis to know the strengths and weaknesses of employees. The firm will design personalise learning pathways to prepare team members for transitioning to advance technology. In next stage, early adopters will be selected by the firm. The company will also pay attention on feedback and make essential adjustment to change process if employees face problems. Next Plc will implement change by utilising available resources.
Harvard Model of HRM: This model concentrates on human resources instead of outcomes. It implies that consistently looking for best ways to use employees will lead to profitability. By applying its stages such as; stakeholder interests, situational factors, HRM policies, HRM outcomes and long-term effects, Next Plc can accomplish goals by understanding stakeholder’s interests.
Ulrich Model: It includes four major roles which are administrative expert, employee champion, change agent and strategic partner. Ulrich model will facilitate the company through changing old administrative role to strategic one (Collins, 2022). It will allow human resource managers to be more aligned with change strategy.
Resource-Based View (RBV): This model examines how managers utilises company resources and abilities to develop product or service which serve consumers better. RBV model will be utilised by Next Plc to determine strategic resources to gain competitive advantage.
There is close link among employee engagement, their performance and employee management. Engaged workers are likely to perform at high level, accomplish objectives and perform activities with less stress. The converse is also true, performance management put lot of efforts to increase the employee’s engagement and reduce stress if they have. Performance management is crucial part of the human resource management (HRM) that provide regular feedback to workers regarding their performance that helps to develop sense of purpose (Memon et al, 2021). Performance management also motivates participation of employees in process of goal-setting related to change. This approach makes sure that employees have sense of ownership over their job. The management also offers growth opportunities like training and mentoring in order to facilitate workers to feel respected and invested in their work.
Managers can apply different strategies to enhance the employee engagement. The managers can involve the workers in decision-making process and encourage them to give creative ideas. Open communication with each employee can be also useful strategy to enhance their engagement. By open communication, employees will feel free to express their views and issues (Stein et al, 2021). Furthermore, the human resource managers can organise team-building activities where all employees work with each other. This approach will absolutely boost worker’s engagement.
There are several factors that support the engagement of employee. It involves leadership, regular feedback, organisational culture, recognition, empowerment and management practices. All these factors play a valuable role in employee’s engagement. Further, Next Plc empowers their employees to take responsibility. Because of getting autonomy, employees take more interest in their work. Growth opportunity is another factor related to employee engagement.
Leaders and human resource managers are instrumental in building organisational culture. Leaders use their motivation skills to encourage workers, organisational culture tends to be more people-oriented as well as supportive. A leaders make performance-centered and competitive corporate culture by offering rewards on performance. Reward systems play a most crucial role in making positive culture. By receiving rewards for hard work, employee feel satisfied with their job (Rasool et al, 2021). Next Plc culture is interlinked with every aspect of firm’s strategy so that each aspect supports and emphasises the other to make sure alignment. In addition, leaders require creating culture which go beyond surface-level benefits as it helps to make strong culture. Through investing in diversity and inclusion, the company make the culture that value employee with different background and culture. A leader can make good culture through establishing excellent recruitment and on boarding procedure.
Readiness is explained as state of preparedness to react to stimulus. When Next Plc will introduce the upcoming changes, there will be many employees who will support the change. Readiness to change within the company is considered a multi-faceted and multi-layered construct (Alolabi, Ayupp and Dwaikat, 2021). Employees who want to learn something new while working and achieve will show the eagerness to change. This kind of employees will support the technological change implemented by the organisation. In some cases, previous experiences with changes also impact the readiness of staff members of an organisation to adopt change.
It is not easy for the company to make changes quickly. Some employees may resist to change, especially when change is related to technology. Employees do not want to leave their comfort zone and learn about new technologies. Resistance to change can also occur when employee feel fear of failure while performing activities by using new ways. It can reduce the morale of other employees which can in result lead to employee hiring and retention problems. Resistance to change can divert the mind of employees from their everyday tasks that will reduce operational efficiency.
It is most crucial for the Next Plc to address the issue of resistance. There are few recommendations to reduce resistance:
Role of leadership in shaping organisational vision and values
In terms of change, leadership holds a most valuable role in executing the change. Vision of the Next Plc behind the technological change is to bring innovation in the company and to provide customers seamless shopping experience. Leaders are the person who set goals and objectives regarding change and make sure that all managers, subordinates and employees align with the goals (Cong and Thu, 2021). After conducting market research and understanding the AR and VR technology, Next Plc leaders will set the clear vision as well as values. It will offer firm executives with a source for long-term planning along with decision-making. Leaders will make sure staff members understand the purpose behind change and how their individual responsibilities contribute to success of the proposed change.
The leaders will articulate a change related vision which is ambitious, easily comprehensible as well as realistic to team members at all levels. Through doing so, leader will encourage the workers, foster engagement and develop a sense of direction which drives the organisation forward. In addition, leaders will use their skills and abilities to drive innovation, creativity and adaptability in the company. Through encouraging an innovative culture, leaders will motivate staff members to think beyond and support change.
Application of leadership theory to organisation
It is most crucial for the leaders of Next Plc to adopt and apply the relevant leadership theory to execute the strategic change efficiently. Transformational leadership theory will be highly beneficial for the organisation in their upcoming change. Transformational leadership: It is a leadership theory where leader focuses on motivating and inspiring their staff members to develop in a way which benefits their career as well as future of the company (Ladkin and Patrick, 2022). A leader who adopt this leadership theory led by example. Leaders typically integrate compassion, support and stimulation into their leadership style.
Next Plc leader can adopt transformational theory and change their ways that benefit strategic change. By adopting the theory, the leaders will be able to challenge the situation, boost creativity and identify new methods of performing things. With the help of the theory, leaders will more efficiently communicate with each and every employee and will know the individual needs and issues in relation with change. Leader can also become role model for team members if they will apply the theory appropriately. It will ultimately facilitate in carrying out the change in the workplace effectively.
Leadership-followership relationship and ways to attract and retain employees
Leaders and followers are closely linked with each other and have same set of characteristics. Both leaders and followers (employees) embrace a group of assets which reflect the requirements of business and collaboration. In line with the leader-member exchange theory (LMX), leaders and employees engage with each other to achieve common goals (QIC-WD, 2022). With the help of this theory, leaders try to understand what their employees want as well as their goals. It also helps in team development as team members acquire different skills and knowledge by working with leaders. Full engagement, objectivity, initiative and courage are the abilities which unite leaders with followers and both work as a team for common purpose.
There are different ways that can be used by the company to attract and retain employees. A company should offer flexible work options to attract employees in the contemporary workplace. By making work culture where employees get freedom can be also helpful to convince the potential candidates to apply in particular organisation. An effective work-life balance provides employees a higher level of job satisfaction. It facilitate the firm to retain top talent. Further, growth opportunity is another way to retain skilled employees. In the modern world, employees usually prefer company for working that help them to learn new skills.
Changes will beneficial for the company when the leaders will use excellent skills and competencies. If a leader has lack of required skills and competencies then it can adversely affect the strategic change. The required skills and competencies are:
Communication skills: A leader should possess strong communication skills. It will help them to communicate about the change confidently to employees. The skill will also help to explain the reasons behind change.
Time management: Management of time is necessary for leaders to make sure that planned change will execute and complete on time (Kwiotkowska et al, 2021). The skill will help to divide and prioritise activities throughout the process.
Critical thinking skills: Leader should possesses critical thinking skills to carry out change. The skill will help the leader to solve complex problems and make informed decisions throughout the project.
Emotional intelligence: Change process is difficult which can influence the though process of the leader. Throughout the procedure, a leader needs to manage own and other’s emotions to get success.
Technical knowledge: To have knowledge about advance technology is crucial for the leaders. It will enable the leader to apply technology effectively and convince the employees to support change related to technology.
Making changes in the workplace is complex and can be challenging for the Next Plc. A leader can face various challenges while leading teams through change. The challenges involves:
Resistance to change: It is most common problem faced by the leader when they lead team throughout change. Employees often prefer to work by using traditional ways. They also feel difficulties to learn new process which create resistance to change issue.
Miscommunication: Poor communication throughout change can lead to mistakes and misunderstandings (Ackerman 2023). Sometimes, employees also feel difficulties to communicate with leaders sue to poor communication strategies.
Fear of failure: If change leader does not effectively introduce change and use ineffective strategies then it can reduce the trust of employees towards leader. They could not support the change because of fear of failure.
Struggling to handle conflict: Conflict is common when company announce the change in the workplace. Sometimes, it becomes difficult to manage conflict because different people have different perspectives and they could not agree with decisions.
As per above report, it is concluded that change within the organisations is necessary in today’s business environment. A company that makes changes frequently according to market trends and demands is more likely to achieve success in the market. By using PESTEL analysis, it is suggested for the Next Plc to adopt the advance technology such as; AR and VR to achieve growth and increase customers. This report has identified that strategic change would be beneficial for the company but could impact the different organisational factors such as; culture, leadership, business goals, employees, CSR, stakeholders along with governance. Further, in this strategic change, Lewin’s change model will benefit the company and help Next Plc to execute change successfully. When the company will introduce change, it will also affect the recruitment process of the organisation. Strategic models related to human resource management and resource-based view would be helpful in change. The HRM of the company will organise training programs and build communication channels to reduce the resistance. The report has also identified suitable leadership style such as transformational leadership theory will help to deliver change effectively.
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