Organisational Change and Consultancy Skills Assignment Abstract

Abstract

The purpose of this assignment is to analyse the change intervention that occurred at Little Chef Popham restaurant between the period of March 2008 and May 2009 involving the process reengineering and redesign of the menu and the restaurant design and refurbishment. It will seek to explore the impact of the external change agent, acclaimed gastronomic genius Heston Blumenthal, upon the effective management of the change process through his approach to addressing the client brief and its inherent challenges; amongst which were the resistance to change from staff and senior management; the organisational culture and the external pressure of maintaining his reputation as a culinary superstar. The argument being presented is that, despite the obvious achievements of Blumenthal and his team, there could have been a smoother execution of the client brief and the transition if the client/consultant relationship had been more trusting, open and honest from the outset; the timescale for implementing change had been more realistic; and the staff has been more open to accepting the expertise of the change agent and less entrenched in their attitudes and views towards change. Reviewing these example factors with respect to the current understanding in the literature of the role of these factors within the change process, this analysis will provide additional insight and perspective on the intervention and its outcome. The initial research suggests the following conclusions are to be expected (although more may be gained through further study): i. The organisational culture of Little Chef, in particular the entrenchment of its working practices, has developed the organisation in such a manner that implementation of a wholesale change program, i.e. full role out of Blumenthal's menu as proposed, is highly improbable. ii. Little Chef brand does have a future in catering for the UK travelling public albeit in a smaller capacity and with a modified core product. It needs to respond to environmental change to survive and the owners need to invest resources in the business to achieve this outcome.
Adrian R. Flude 18023132 1