TABLE OF CONTENT: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1 TASK1 1.1...............................................................................................................................2 1.2...............................................................................................................................4 1.3...............................................................................................................................5 TASK 2 2.1..............................................................................................................................5 2.2..............................................................................................................................6 2.3..............................................................................................................................6 TASK3 3.1..............................................................................................................................8 3.2..............................................................................................................................9 3.3..............................................................................................................................

9 3.4.............................................................................................................................10 TASK4 4...............................................................................................................................12 REFERENCES.....................................................................................................13 STRATEGIC CHANGE MANAGEMENT. Introduction:

Marks and Spencer plc (also known as M&S) is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products.

All organisations are currently undergoing some type of change. Many of these change programmes arise from management fads such as culture change, business process engineering, empowerment and total quality. Other change initiatives are driven by the need for organisations to reposition themselves in the face of changing competitive conditions. A good example of this is the change process currently under way at Marks & Spencer. The term strategic change is usually reserved for such initiatives. These often involve radical

transitions within an organisation that encompass strategy, structure, systems, processes and culture.

TASK 1: 1.1 Models of Strategic change:

Strategic change management is the process of specifying an organization's objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating resources so as to implement the plans. It is the highest level of managerial activity, usually performed by the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and executive team.

MCKINSEY 7S MODEL: The 7S Model which they developed and presented became extensively used by mangers and consultants and is one of the cornerstones of organisational analysis. Essentially the model says that any organisation can be best described by the seven interrelated elements shown above: Strategy Plans for the allocation of a firm's scarce resources, over time, to reach identified goals. Environment, competition, customers.

Structure The way the organization's units relate to each other: centralized, functional divisions (topdown); decentralized (the trend in larger organizations); matrix, network, holding, etc. Systems The procedures, processes and routines that characterize how important work is to be done: financial systems; hiring, promotion and performance appraisal systems; information systems. Skills Distinctive capabilities of personnel or of the organization as a whole. Staff Numbers and types of personnel within the organization. Style Cultural style of the organization and how key managers behave in achieving the organizations goals. Shared Value The interconnecting centre of McKinsey's model is: Shared Values. What the organization stands for and what it believes in. Central beliefs and attitudes.

LEWINS CHANGE MODEL: Lewin's Change Management Model consists of three stages of change. The first stage is known as "Unfreeze," meaning to accept the change that is taking place and breaking down the current state. The second stage is known as "Change," where people are finally able to work with uncertainty and move to a new direction of doing things. The third stage is "Refreeze," where people are comfortable with the unfreeze and change that have taken place and start to embrace the new and (hopefully) improved way of doing things. This model is cyclical throughout business and the processes and procedures that are required to maintain an effective business and community.

 1.2 Relevance of models of strategic change to M&S: The Marks & Spencer business model has had to adapt to change and consumer trends over the years to maintain the company's position as one of the largest retailers in the world. Lewins model of strategic change involves three main steps: 1. Unfreezing: Unfreezing the most fundamental stage in this theory. It is about helping stakeholders , employees, administrators, government and boards understand that change is required. The effects of the driving and restraining forces come into play at this step. In this process , Marks and Spencer would create awareness among the employees , stakeholders etc and let them know about the change plan that they want to undertake. The need for change can be caused by the fear of failing to meet goals and standards. When this stage is implemented successfully, most members in each stakeholder group evaluate in what ways they are counterproductive to what should be done and they stop taking those actions. However the fear of change is one of the greatest restraining forces met by an individual facing the change process. 2. Moving: Moving to a new level or changing means exactly that is replacing the old actions with actions that are consistent with the goal. It is about not doing what one has always done that was counterproductive and replacing it with concrete new actions. To help maintain the motivation for change, working in groups or obtaining support is effective. Others help to relieve pressures, provide an environment where errors can be made and learned from, offer positive reinforcement, and coaching. The process of change is not only done physically, it requires mental alterations. Renaming the information or widening out definition helps one accept new meaning to the habit. When changing the definition, one creates new principles to evaluate standards. 3. Refreezing: This is the final stage in the 2-step model. When the changes are taking place and people have braced the new ways of working, the organization (Marks and

Spencer) is ready to refreeze. The outward signs of the refreeze are a stable organization chart, consistent job description, and so on. The refreeze stage also needs to help people and the organization internalize or institutionalize the changes. This means making sure the changes are used all the times; and that they are incorporated into everyday business. With a new sense of ability , the employees more confident and comfortable with the new ways of working.

1.3 Values of strategic intervention techniques: In the case of M&S, it can be seen that the company deliberately set out to change the basis on which it competed by reinventing itself as a service-based organisation. One of the standard perceptions for successful organizations is that they should know their own strengths and weaknesses, their customers' needs and the nature of the environment in which they operate. Hence, by introducing new business units M&S aimed to create them fully profit-accountable, putting more emphasis on the individual performance of the departments. This would enable M&S to effectively control their operations and show where the improvements need to be implemented. Hence, by this new approach to business practices, the company had to closely consider strategic issues of HRM. One of the reasons behind the proposed change is to modify the attitudes and behaviours of the staff. People are being required to reconsider their attitudes towards how work is performed and their attitudes to their counterparts externally. Whatever form it takes, if it is to be successful, there are three people-related activities that need to be undertaken: creating willingness to change; involving people, and sustaining the momentum. TASK 2: 2.1 Need for strategic change: Today's business environment is constantly in flux or upheaval so the normality that is strived for is illusive. Nothing remains constant and predictability uncertain. The rate of change is increasing faster than we are willing to admit due to the tremendous information flow that has been created by access to technology and increased communication availability. Market

growth and product life cycles are creating new consumer demands and distribution frenzy. Manufacturers are changing their inventory valuations and schedules from Just-In-Time (JIT) to Just-In-Case (JIC). The business practices of the past decade have changed which means M&S have to adjust and adapt today's business practices accordingly.

Sir Stuart Rose, the current chairman of Marks and Spencer, has said that M&S should become an umbrella brand selling goods and services in a way that supermarket Tesco does. M&S have got a mass market clothing retailer and have got a top end retail food business. A significant change may be on the way, and may be M&S can move into product areas such as telecom and cosmetics. The need for change can be analysed by the current market scenario existing and with its competitors such as Tesco doing much better, and also the opportunities existing currently. The need for strategic change can also from the facts and the criticisms that M&S has faced recently. It has been evident that M&S has failed to get a grip on the clothing industry as it used to have in the past because the youth feel that the clothing range are out of fashion. In this way, M&S is losing a lot of youth targets. 2.2 Factors influencing the strategic change: One of the main factors that is affecting the business of M&S is the recession which exists in the current market. M&S have been following the Differentiation strategy where in they try to keep their products different from its competitors and thereby the costs of M&S products are comparatively than its competitors. With the present situation in the market , where the buying power of the consumers has decreased and the consumers have become more costsavy, M&S needs to revise its strategy by following more of the focus and price strategies. With the development and existence of organizations such 99p stores and poundland, consumers are getting more options with cheaper prices as compared to M&S. Also with Tesco providing more variety and range of products and services, the loyal M&S customers are beginning to shift their loyalty to its competitors which is hampering the strategy of M&S.

2.3 Accessing the resource implications of M&S not responding to strategic change: Conventional organizational change, which typically encompasses training and development, and 'motivation', mostly fails.

Bosses and organizations still tend to think that people whom are managed and employed and paid to do a job should do what they're told to do. We are conditioned from an early age to believe that the way to teach and train, and to motivate people towards changing what they do, is to tell them, or persuade them. From our experiences at school we are conditioned to believe that skills, knowledge, and expectations are imposed on or 'put into' people by teachers, and later, by managers and bosses in the workplace. But just because the boss says so, doesn't make it so. People today have a different perspective. And when you think about it, they're bound to. Imposing new skills and change on people doesn't work because:

It assumes that people's personal aims and wishes and needs are completely aligned with those of the organization, or that there is no need for such alignment, and It assumes that people want, and can assimilate into their lives, given all their other priorities, the type of development or change that the organization deems appropriate for them.

Organizational change comes in three forms. Changes can be those affecting people, processes, or culture. Each of these categories of change needs to be managed separately. Projects can fail because any one of them is badly managed or under managed.

Changes Affecting People The most obvious effect that technical changes (innovation) might have on an organization is on its staff. Will the workforce be increased or decreased? Will there be layoffs or hiring? The effects may be subtle: will the skills needed to perform a job function change? Will the schedule of work change? Will there be health implications? Is a job going to be made more or less safe? The people side of organizational change involves looking at the direct effect on staff members.

Changes Affecting Processes Process changes are a "behind-the-scenes" aspect of organizational change. If a company is moving to online order management (from a paper based system) what will be the audit trail for account reconciliation? Who has authority to approve exceptional orders or to resolve conflicts? What is the paper trail for conflict resolution in an online world? These, and questions like them, relate to process changes. The more thoroughly these kinds of issues are analyzed in advance of implementing changes, the more smoothly an innovation will be adopted.

Changes Affecting Culture Changes to culture relate to how performance is measured and how staff members relate to one another and to customers. Changes affecting culture are rarer than those affecting people and processes, but they are surprisingly common.

TASK 3: 3.1 Developing systems to involve stakeholders: Stakeholder involvement in planning can open up issues invisible to management committees and bring them into the open where they can be recognised and dealt with constructively. Involving stakeholders in planning creates a genuine sense of ownership, openness and responsiveness, commitment and enthusiasm throughout the whole organisation and beyond it into the community it serves. Implications of involving stakeholders in planning The move to extend the planning process and listen to the views of stakeholders represents a fundamental change in the culture of organisations towards a more democratic and open way of operating. Establishing a planning process that includes all key players, not just management, has wider implications and benefits. These include identifying and establishing the core values of the organisation, as well as recognising the fact that the benefits of the organisation's activities go far beyond the traditional profit and loss accounting of the business plan and financial audit demanded by the annual report. Involving stakeholders in the planning process will demand a systematic way of:

Identifying which stakeholder groups to include, if not all. Choosing the most appropriate way to create a dialogue with them including the results of any dialogue in the finished plan.

To successfully widen the planning process to include these different views and voices, one will need to work out how one will address each of the above issues. One will also have to adapt the planning cycle and lengthen the time one devote to it to accommodate the process.

 3.2 Change management strategy with stakeholders:

When considering stakeholders, there are very few one-to-one relationships. Most stakeholders are, and have been, influenced by a range of relationships in and around the project, program and the organization , M&S. Stakeholder management is a key facet of organization management where stakeholder management is often aligned with marketing, branding, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Stakeholders vary in their capacity to accept change and their power to effect it.Within a group, individual behavioral and emotional responses to a given stimulus will typically follow the form of a bell curve. Responses to organizational change initiatives are no different. In the beginning stages of a change initiative, a small percentage of individuals will become early adopters eager to participate because they hail the change as a breakthrough that will lead to better conditions. The majority of people affected by a change initiative will be far less enthusiastic than the early adopters, but over time they will eventually accept the new condition and adapt to it. Finally, there will be a group of highly resistant individuals, many of whom will never adapt to the instituted change. This range of behaviors follows a normal distribution. This is a natural phenomenon intuitively grasped by most change managers. Unfortunately, although they may subconsciously understand the phenomenon, these managers often fail to employ that understanding to orchestrate more-effective change.

3.3 Systems used to involve stakeholder: The research shows common characteristics that unite organisations which have good relationships with their stakeholders. There are three elements that I feel are important building blocks to effective stakeholder relationships: leadership, communication and staff, as the diagram below shows:

M&S policy should be to promote from within and it is notable that a significant proportion of management and supervisory positions are held by employees who have started within the organisation at lower levels. To ensure staff are developed to their full potential, there is a performance management framework. All employees participate in the success of M&S through bonus schemes and M&S is proud that for the fifteenth consecutive year bonuses were paid to all staff in 2009. M&S is also committed to increasing the number of employees who holds shares in the Group, through invitations to participate in its SAYE Share Option Scheme. You may often need to promote your organisation to your stakeholders, such as: - The local authority: Maintain good relations with the local authorities. Funders- The funders must find the organization a good deal to invest in , and this can be achieved by proper business and strategic planning. -Commissioners - Partners - People and agencies that refer volunteers to you or to whom you refer volunteers Service users, their families and friends

-People who work for your agency, and - The wider community Employees should be encouraged to share their views and make suggestions to management in a number of ways including via a dedicated email address. Good ideas can then be captured and incorporated into ways of working going forward for the benefit of all.

3.4 Managing resistance to change: One thing you can do in managing resistance is work with your key employees to construct a Force Field analysis diagram using Kurt Lewins Force Field Analysis technique. This will give you a powerful indication of where you will need to devote your energies.

Example of a Force Field analysis diagram

Treating the forces against change is a more productive use of resources than simply reinforcing the forces for change. M&S should choose the most powerful of the restraining forces and devote time and energy to weakening these. M&S should think of how it could apply the drivers for change that has been identified in the analysis to either weakening or eliminating an opposing force. It should show the fiercest resisters whats in it for them. Appeal to them either in terms of personal gain (such as status, salary bonus, recognition, and so on) or loss avoided (such as financial loss or job outplacement prevented). M&S should get customers or suppliers to explain to change resisters face to face how the current situation disadvantages them in concrete terms. It should put resisters on teams that allow them to play some decision-making part in the change process, however small. M&S should defuse political power plays amongst managers and other employees by conducting broad-based meetings where goals and tactics are openly discussed and introduce processes that leave little room for individual discretion. M&S should also endeavour to look at the world through the eyes of the change resister. Listen openly and honestly to what they are trying to say. Examine own basic beliefs and assumptions. Through engaging resisters, M&S should be prepared to change itself.

TASK 4: As discussed previously in task 1 , M&S could adopt the Lewins 3-step model of change. In the Unfreezing stage, M&S will prepare itself for change after looking at the goals and objectives and how the change can help in attaining the goals and objectives of M&S. Unfreezing and getting motivated for the change is all about weighing up the 'pro's' and 'con's' and deciding if the 'pro's' outnumber the 'con's' before you take any action In the Moving stage, M&S is ready and moving towards the change which is being considered. People will learn about the change in this stage. In the Freezing stage, M&S would establish stability once the changes have been made.

 Monitoring Progress: Once the change has been initiated once M&S has adopted change , there should be certain measures to evaluate change and how the change is playing its part. The following measures should be taken to monitor change: -Adapt as necessary-M&S should adapt if necessary according to the needs and demands of the stakeholders. The changes must be recorded and monitored. The progress of the company must be measured against the targets. This will give an indication whether the change has been fruitful/ It should be considered whether the desired results have been achieved or not. A question must be asked whether change has been effecient It should be known as to how others affected by the change. It should be considered as to what might have been done differently. Sustain the change.- prevent any back sliding.

REFERENCES: http://www.businessstudiesonline.co.uk http://www.businessteacher.org.uk http://www.buzzle.com http://www.guardian.co.uk http://www.ipsos.com http://www.mindtools.com http://www.scribd.com www.managers.org.co.uk www.marksandspencer.com

Books and Study material: Grant RContemporary Strategy Analysis (Blackwell,2004) Johnson G and Scholes K-exploring corporate strategy(prentice hall edition 8,2008) Lynch R-Corporate Strategy(Prentice Hall edition,2002)