Assume you are the Sales and Marketing Director for Sea Treasures, a small group

Question

Assume you are the Sales and Marketing Director for Sea Treasures, a small group of well-known retail stores specializing in exotic sea life and high-end accessories for aquariums. The company has been in business for over 50 years, but the customer base is shrinking, sales are slow, and you are faced with reducing staff and closing stores. Sea Treasures will be out of business within a year if innovative and creative changes are not made quickly. After many months, you have finally been able to convince the owner that the only way to sustain the business and increase revenue is to create an Internet Website to sell the large inventory of aquarium decorator items (currently gathering dust in a costly warehouse) . This will be a short-term, small scale change. Six months later, you will expand the Website to sell live sea creatures such as tropical fish and small sea turtles online, which is a long-term, large-scale change. You face many challenges in this transformational change initiative, beginning with strong employee resistance, new technology, and shipping methods. Many small businesses have been faced with these same issues, and have made the transition successfully. Consider the humble beginnings of Amazon, and look where they are today. Selecting the best change model for this business, and implementing it step by step provides the foundation for creating an exciting new company. In 3 - 5 pages, explain which change model you would follow for the short-term change and which you would follow for the long-term change. Provide rationale for your decision and discuss the effects that these changes would have on the employees, managers, and executives within the organization. Include at least three references and follow standard APA formatting for your paper.

Explanation / Answer

Kotter’s 8 steps Model of Change can be implemented. For short term change

Kotter’s change model consists of 8 steps, which explains how an organisation can plan for the change.

1.Establish a sense of urgency

To make the change successful the first step is need to develop the urgency of change among the employees. The employees will not be motivated for the change until and unless they are not communicated the instant need of the change.

2. Create the guiding coalition

Before deciding the actual change, the managers need to assemble people for the suggestion related with the kind of change to be implemented.

3. Develop a vision and strategy                     

Kotter states that to make a successful change one need to have a clear vision and strategy to reach that vision. Vision is the statement telling organisational future objectives.

4. Communicate the change vision

Before implementing any decisions to reach the vision, the very first step is needed to communicate the employees about the new changed vision of the organisation.

5. Empower employees for broad based action

Managers should ensure the employees and the organisation must have skills, tools and compatible system aligned with the new change.

6. Generate short term wins

To keep the employees motivated and engaged, there is need to develop short term wins.

7. Consolidate gains and produce more change

The process should be repeated until the required change is reached .So managers should continuously motivate the employees.

8. Anchor new approaches into the culture

Once the managers along with the employees implement the change successfully, they should adapt this change as organisational culture.

For long-term change -Lewin’s Change Management Model

This model was created in the 1950s by psychologist Kurt Lewin. Lewin identified the three stages of change.

1.Unfreeze – Most of the people tends to resist change. So the Lewin first step of change model focuses on motivating the employees for the change, and developing the drive of need of change.

2. Changing –This changing step, is also referred to as 'transitioning’ step, and the implementation of change is marked in this step. During this process people start learning new behaviour and way of thinking. So in this step managers need to educate, communicate and support the employees for the critical change.

3. Refreeze – Once the employees successfully implement and accept the change, the managers need to refreeze the new change in the organisation under the new working guidelines.

These changes will affect the employees, managers and the executive as whole. On one hand where the employees and executive will resist the change and will find themselves uncomfortable with the new change, on second hand the role and responsibility of managers will increase. The managers will be more needed as motivators to influence and guide the employees for new change. The managers and employees and executive both have to play an important role on their part to bring the change successfully.

Role of Managers:

Role of employees and executives

References:

www.training.co.uk

www.study.com

www.prosci.com

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