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Managing And Leading Change

Managing And Leading Change (University of Sunderland)

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Managing and Leading Change 1

MANAGING AND LEADING CHANGE

Student’s Name

Course

Professor

University

City and State

Date

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Managing and Leading Change 2

Managing and Leading Change

Table of Contents
Managing and Leading Change...........................................................................................3
Strengths and Weakness within the Business School..........................................................3
Overall Weaknesses.............................................................................................................3
Economics Department........................................................................................................4
Accounting and Finance......................................................................................................5
Management Studies............................................................................................................5
Need for Change..................................................................................................................6
Model: Kotter’s Change Model...........................................................................................8
Change Readiness..............................................................................................................11
Justification of the Model..................................................................................................12
Action Plan........................................................................................................................13
Recommendations..............................................................................................................14
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................15
Bibliography......................................................................................................................17

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Managing and Leading Change 3

Managing and Leading Change

In modern organisations, managing change has increasingly become a fundamental

aspect of successfully managing strategy, culture, people, and process. It is particularly important

in the modern world characterised by globalisation, technological innovations, and demographic

trends. Organisations can maintain their competitive advantage by introducing relevant changes

and managing them well. Change is continuous, and even as it is becoming increasingly

prevalent, some people in organisation consider it as dis-equilibrating and disruptive; hence they

resist it (Liebhart, and Garcia-Lorenzo, 2010, p.216). While change can be the basis of

competitive advantage, to be effective, a plan for managing change should be implemented to

help bridge the gap between technical project teams, people affected by change and executives’

aspirations, address the needs of everyone in the organisation, and identify areas of potential

conflict. This paper examines and assesses the application of contemporary practices in change

management and its relevance to the Business School Case Study. It also provides an action plan

with recommendations of how the change management process should be approached.

Strengths and Weakness within the Business School

Overall Weaknesses

 Financial Deficit

o The business school had a financial deficit when it was established, and it has

continued to increase over the past three years. Presently, it has approximately

€200k of the overall annual deficit, while the economics department has an annual

deficit of €750k.

 The three departments have not been innovating in developing cost-effective approaches

to providing high-quality learning experiences for students.

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Managing and Leading Change 4

 The existing support staff lacks the motivation and competence required to perform

administrative activities.

 Little integration across the three departments in the business school

 Different subcultures within the business school

Economics Department

Strengths

 Offers both undergraduate degree program and a master’s program in econometrics

 The economics department was once regarded as one of the best in the Netherlands.

 Has some members of staff who have retained an international reputation in their field.

 Has two staff members with a strong record of publishing in top rank journals

 Highly paid staff at the university

Weaknesses

 Members of the economics department have an unrealistically high opinion of

themselves. Most of the distinguished scholars in the department have retired. Six of the

long-serving members (average age 58) are not as productive as they used to be.

 The economics department is the source of the growing deficit in the business school

 Failure to manage quality assurance through formal structures and documented

procedures which contributed to the overall poor performance in the business school

 Numbers of enrollment have dropped from 15 five years ago to 9 last year to 8 in the

present session.

 The three older members have not published any article in the last four years. Five others

are research active but not highly regarded by other economists.

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Accounting and Finance

Strengths

 The growing number of staff from 9 to 12 to 14

 High morale and colleagues within the department relate well with each other.

 It has an influential research culture with a well-developed research mentoring system.

Holds departmental research meetings three times a year, where the staff members share

and discuss their current research and plans for future work.

 Eight out of its 14 staff members have an international reputation in their field. A further

three have a high standard performance, and among them, at least one may have

published enough papers in top-ranked international journals to be recognised as a

scholar of international standing.

 An encouraging head of department. He encourages the new appointees to focus on

publishing their doctoral research results in top-ranking journals instead of seeking early

publications in less prestigious outlets.

Weaknesses

 Staff has a little touch with staff in other parts of the business school.

Management Studies

Strengths

 Increased number of staff from 13 to 16

 Increased number of students from 265 to 318 on the undergraduate degree programs and

from 0 to 37 on the master’s program

 The department has been successful

 Excellent teaching quality.

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 The department offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs that attract large

numbers of well-qualified applicants, and the number can increase to 8 or 10.

 Have 6 out of the 16 staff members who have an international reputation as leading

scholars in their field.

Weaknesses

 Staff feels like the rest of the business school is exploiting them since the income

generated is used to fund new appointments in accounting and finance and manage the

deficit generated by the economics department.

 Insufficient time for some staff members to focus on research work

 Two of the best researchers have been approached with promotional offers from other

institutions. It would be difficult to replace them due to the shortage of qualified people

to teach in their subject areas.

Need for Change

Change is needed in the Business School to adapt to the changing academic and business

environment and boost its competitive advantage. Presently, the school is facing drastic

financial, technological, demographic, and cultural shifts. With the changing landscape, the

status quo is not a viable option. The school needs to strive for greater accountability,

sustainability, diversity, and accessibility. It is vital to adopt a strategic approach to change

management to help identify the ways to eliminate the fiscal deficit in the business school and

improve its research performance.

The business school has four major management areas that need to change management,

including:

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Academic management entails research and teaching (Mainardes, Alves, and Raposo,

2011, 128). The different subcultures within the departments in the business school have resulted

in varied performance in the departments. For instance, the economic departments are mostly

underperforming in both academics and research. With no publication from the department in the

past four years and the increasingly reducing number of enrollment, this department

unequivocally needs change management. The accounting departments seem to have their

business in order, but the same needs to be replicated in the other departments. The management

studies department has also been successful, especially in teaching, and with attempts to poach

some of its top staff members and the staff members feeling exploited, change management is

key.

Education service management entails the admission and maintenance of learners and

their academic records (Mainardes, Alves, and Raposo, 2011, 128). Change management is vital

in this aspect of the business school because the existing staff lacks the motivation and

competence to perform administrative activities.

Business management entails activities such as support service management,

procurement, accountancy, finance, maintenance of the school’s installation, and operations

(Mainardes, Alves, and Raposo, 2011, 128). Change management in this regard is critical

because the business school is currently operating at a financial deficit, which has been ongoing

for the past three years, and it is yet to break even. It presently has approximately €200k of the

overall annual deficit, while the economics department has an annual deficit of €750k. Since the

previous dean was formally the head of the economics department, she might have favored the

department in terms of remuneration since they are one of the highest-paid in the university, yet

their performance is not commensurate with their performance both in research and teaching.

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Public relations entails the institutional associations with government entities,

companies, former students, the media, and other stakeholders (Mainardes, Alves, and Raposo,

2011, 128). Public relations is vital, mainly because the primary reasons for the restructuring and

the merger was to help improve the university’s overall ranking.

Model: Kotter’s Change Model

Established by John Kotter, a professor at Harvard Business School, Kotter’s Change

Model is an eight-step change process, and popular change management frameworks (Kang et

al., 2020, p. 2). Change management is a laborious and continuous process, and everyone in the

team should be well-prepared for the change to facilitate the successful implementation of the

plan. Kotter’s change model underscores areas where key change management benefits can be

seen (AlManei, Salonitis, and Tsinopoulosm 2018, p. 1162). The eight steps include:

1. Creating a Sense of Urgency

It entails starting an honest and open conversation with everyone in the business school

about the urgent need to change. When people get informed about the urgency of the change,

they start buying into it and preparing for the change (Kang et al., 2020, p. 3). At this stage,

individuals should get inspired to move. The objective of the change should be relevant and real.

We will look at the potential future scenarios and discuss the present competitive realties in

academia and the business world for the team to feel the need for change.

2. Creating a Guiding Coalition

Proper implementation of the first step will get people geared up for change since they

will have the requisite authority, skills, and knowledge. For change management to be

successful, it is key to identify the right people to join the team, including effective leaders

(Kang et al., 2020, p.4). It is important to garner leadership and visible support from influential

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people who can rally more stakeholders. At this stage, we will look for individuals with the right

mix of levels and skills as well as emotional commitment. This should believe in the change

management vision and mobilise more people to support it.

3. Creating a vision for change

Just like the first two, this stage still creates a climate for change (AlManei, Salonitis, and

Tsinopoulos, 2018, p. 1162). A clear vision will entail ensuring that individuals have a good

understanding of the purpose of change and the desired results for the change. At this stage, we

will establish practical, feasible, and appropriate strategies for attaining the desired outcomes.

The team needs to understand that the business school has a high potential for performing better

than it is doing now. We will work with the team to come up with the strategies, and we will

focus on the creative and emotional aspects necessary to drive efficiency and service.

4. Communication the Vision

In this case, the vision for the business school is better performance, both financially and

in research. The change that we are aiming at is significant, and we will need people to buy-in

and support it (Kang et al., 2020, p.2) Therefore it is vital to utilize every opportunity to

communicate the vision and align it with the team, school and the university at large. The idea is

to ensure more people are involved, and all essentials are communicated, including how the

change will satisfy the people’s needs. The team should understand the importance of leveraging

its resources during change-management towards the achievement of goals. The communication

should be consistent to ensure that the vision stays on top of the people’s minds. Kotter’s

recommendation is communicating the change for a minimum of ten times the number expected

to make communication. Different approaches will be employed to communicate the strategies,

vision, and expected behavioural changes.

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5. Eliminating Change Barriers

Possible barriers to change must be recognised and eliminated before the complete

change takes effect (Kang et al., 2020, p.2). The possible barriers can include silos, procedures,

or policies, which need to be removed before the change efforts move forward. This stage will

also entail using some constructive feedback and support from leaders. Progress and

achievements will also be recognised.

6. Creating short-time wins

Celebrating small victories in the change management process goes a long way since it

functions as an emotional reward and establishes the success momentum (Kang et al., 2020, p.

2). It also combats fatigue that characterised the change management. It is the final stage of the

three stages where the organisation is engaged and enabled (AlManei, Salonitis, and

Tsinopoulos, 2018, p. 1162). The idea is to set small chunks of goals to be attained with

accompanying initiative. After attaining the set objectives, a new initiative can be launched.

7. Building on the Change

Once there is a satisfactory amount of momentum established, and the initial triumphs

can be seen, the rest of the change should keep going until the entire vision is realised (Kang et

al., 2020, p. 2). The idea is to amalgamate advances and stimulate more change. Ideally, the team

loses its sense of urgency as change occurs. They also get tired, and people easily go back into

their previous routines. However, for the change to be sustainable, every member of the team

must stay involved (Kang et al., 2020, p. 2). At this point, it is strategic to keep encouraging

persistence and determination, encourage continuous reporting of the progress, and underscore

the milestones attained and want should be attained in the future.

8. Anchoring the Change

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Change is regarded as successful after it is institutionalised and adopted as part of the

team’s routine, and the attitudes, skills, and knowledge have been disseminated (Kang et al.,

2020, 2). The association between organisational success and the new behaviors should be well-

articulated until they are solid enough to substitute the old routines. The idea is to ensure that the

change sticks. There will be the reinforcement of successful change through new change leaders,

promotions, and recruitment.

Change Readiness

Change readiness is key for successful change management. Change readiness is widely

known as a tool for reducing resistance to change. In Kurt Lewin’s three-step change

management model, the unfreezing step incorporates the establishment of readiness to change

(Riddell and Roisland, 2017, p.3). Change readiness is how intentions, beliefs, and attitudes of an

organisation’s members identify the need for change and the capability of the organisation to

attain these changes.

To ensure change readiness, an organisation should exercise normative pressure that can

make the employee to feel the obligation to go along with the change that the organisation is

committed to and support it fully. Studies have demonstrated that the normative and affective

commitment of workers toward change is positively associated with their support for change

programs (Fatima et al., 2020, p. 342). Affective commitment is premised on how the workers

are emotionally attached to the organisation while normative commitment is premised on the

workers’ desire to stay in the institution because it is obligatory (Suwaryo, Daryanto, and

Maulana, 2016, p. 70). Furthermore, for the employees to support the organisational change, the

management ought to develop trust relationships with its employees.

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The idea is to start having honest conversations with the employees about the imminent

change and establish good relationships created by aligning the organisations and employee’s

mutual interest based on particular desires, needs, and expectations (Shah, Irani, and Sharif,

2016, 9). The employees; attitude will depend on what the institution will offer them and how it

will influence their readiness to change. Higher salaries, promotions, and favorable treatment are

key issues for the workers, which promote psychological attachment to the organisation.

Therefore, when having the buy-in conversations, apart from the benefits of the change to the

institution, it is key for the employees to be reminded about how the change will benefit them to

support the desired employee behavior. Khan and Hashim (2014, p.3) identify that in case of any

resistance to change (which is highly inevitable), it is key to identify the root cause through

complaint audits, project team issues, supervisor input, or employee feedback and address sit

Justification of the Model

In higher education, Kotter’s change model has increasingly been used to account for or

guide change. For instance, it was used for the change management of replacing a teaching

evaluation system (Kang et al., 2020, 2). This indicates that the Kotter’s change model fits in the

learning institutions’ context. It is key to include the faculty members as part of the guiding team

to gain faculty buy-in and fit within the shared governance model. During the vision

communication, the faculty members will be reminded how the changes have advantages in the

form of promotion and tenure processes. There should be proper communication and

transparency when using this model to facilitate faculty by in (3). Climate assessment can help

create a sense of urgency, and shared governance is also key.

Action Plan

Academic Fall Spring Summer

Planning stage

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Year
2020/2021 Creation of urgency Changes approved. Applied for funding and
Creation of a guiding team grants for research.
Creation of a vision for change
Communication of the vision to
the faculty, advisory board, and
support staff
2021/2022 Creation of urgency Funds Planning:
Creation of a guiding team received. Faculty professional
Creation of a vision for change Used for development.
Communication of the vision to research and Changes in the
the faculty, advisory board, and also to help departments.
support staff breakeven. Pay cuts
Addition of programs
provided.

2022/2023 Implementation of the initial key
changes.
Hold faculty workshops.
Conduct surveys among learners
to establish the impact of the
implementation of the changes.
Interview
workers/faculty about change
Refined and planned new changes,
including intensive research, marketing, and
administrative activities.
Present the evaluation of its impact on the
business school’s financial and research
activities as well as on the learners.

2023/2024 Implementing the refined and
novel changes, including
intensive research, marketing,
and administrative activities.
Conduct surveys among learners
to establish the impact of the
implementation of the changes.
Interview
workers/faculty about change
Emergent Implementation
Refined changes in research and financial
activities
Presenting the analysis of the impacts of the
changes on the learners.
Conducting analysis of the changes in
faculty, financial activities, research, and
support staff.

Recommendations

For the business school, I will incorporate both ideas of Theory O (change premised on

organisation ability) and Theory E (change premised on economic value) (Beer and Nohria,

2000, p. 134)

1. Pay Cuts Within The Economics Department

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While the faculty members in the economics department are among the highest paid in

the university, it is commensurate with the amount of money that they make for the business

school as well as their research activities. A pay cut is necessary to assist the business school pay

overall annual deficit is now almost €200k and the €750k from the business department.

2. Incorporate Monthly Meeting With All Faculty Members from the Various

Departments to Encourage Integration

The three departments have different subcultures, which prevents them from learning

from them. For instance, the accounting department has solid strategies that it has been using to

enhance research within its department. This information can be used to enhance research in

other departments, especially the economics department. An organisation cultures characterised

by open and honest conversations should be encouraged where the faculty members can

effectively communicate with each other both vertically and horizontally.

3. Adopt a Well-Developed Research Mentoring System

This will be an expansion of what has been working for the accounting department into

the other departments. This program caters to both the institutions’ financial and research goals.

The funding received from research grants helps the university break even; hence, the faculty

should be encouraged to intensify their research activities.

4. Promotional Offers or Better Working Terms for The Leading Faculty Members

This will especially work for those in the management studies departments who are

being approached by other institutions, yet they are a significant asset to the institutions. It is

critical to come up with better terms to retain top talent.

5. Introduction of Highly Attractive Programs

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The business school will meet its business goal by increasing its enrollment, and the

introduction of attractive programs will increase the number of students enrolling in the school.

6. Professional Development Workshops for Faculty Members and Administration

Staff

There is much complacency, especially among administrative staff and faculty members

from the economics departments. The professional development workshops will remind them of

their primary responsibilities in the organisation.

7. Establishing a Creative And Innovation Hub

In the present world, innovation should be at the center of any organisation’s business

strategy. For the business school, innovation will help develop cost-effective approaches to

providing high-quality learning experiences for students

Conclusion

Overall, change in the business school is inevitable, especially with its present financial

and research struggles. Therefore, effective change management is recommended, which will

adopt the Kotter’s eight-step model of change. Kotter’s model of change will be used because it

is thorough, and it has successfully been used several times in higher learning institutions to

manage change. Open and honest conversations with the faculty and non-faculty staff members,

as well as formal and informal feedback systems, will be used to gauge readiness for change. The

action plan will entail planning, early implementation, and emergent implementation whereby

the recommended strategies will be adopted and implemented into the institution’s routine.

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Bibliography

AlManei, M., Salonitis, K., and Tsinopoulos, C., 2018. A conceptual lean implementation

framework based on change management theory. Procedia CIRP, 72, pp.1160-1165.

Beer, M., and Nohria, N., 2000. Cracking the code of change. HBR’s ten must reads on change,

78(3), pp.133-141.

Fatima, M., Riaz, A., Mahmood, H. Z., & Usman, M. (2020). Linking employees change-related

self-efficacy, change readiness, and commitment to change. Pakistan Journal of

Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 14(1), 334-367.

Mainardes, E.W., Alves, H., and Raposo, M., 2011. The Process of Change in University

Management: From the” Ivory Tower” to Entreprunialism. Transylvanian Review of

Administrative Sciences, 7(33), pp.124-149.

Kang, S. P., Chen, Y., Svihla, V., Gallup, A., Ferris, K., & Datye, A. K. (2020). Guiding change

in higher education: an emergent, iterative application of Kotter’s change model. Studies

in Higher Education, 1-20.

Khan, M.A., and Hashim, M., 2014. Organisational Change: Case Study of General Motors. In

ASSE 2014 Zone I Conference, pp.1-5.

Liebhart, M., and Garcia-Lorenzo, L., 2010. Between planned and emergent change: decision

maker’s perceptions of managing change in organisations. International journal of

knowledge, culture, and change management, 10(5), pp.214-225.

Riddell, R.V., and Røisland, M.T., 2017. Change Readiness Factors influencing employees’

readiness for change within an organisation: A systematic review (Master’s thesis,

Universitetet I Agder; University of Agder).

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Suwaryo, J., Daryanto, H.K., and Maulana, A., 2016. Organisational culture change and its effect

on change readiness through organisational commitment. Bisnis & Birokrasi Journal,

22(1), pp.68-78.

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