Managing Strategic Change at the Hmv Group

Organisations today find themselves operating in an environment that is changing rapidly. The process of analysing the implications of these changes and modifying the way that the organisation reacts to them is known as business strategy.

Businesses are facing a dichotomy between wanting to chalk out an all-time structure and strategy for their organization, and recognizing that their world is in a constant state of flux [3]. For most of the 20th century they were largely focused on the static elements of this dichotomy. However, in the last decade changes have become more frequent and more dramatic, so much so that a whole branch of management is now devoted to the subject of change itself.

However, change can be a risky process that can have negative, instead of positive, consequences for the company’s future. In fact, it has been estimated that only about half of the large scale interventions succeed. With the above in mind Bruch, Gerber and Maier (2005) aimed at identifying the characteristics of a successful strategic change program by using the case of German aviation Group Deutsche Lufthansa. Lufthansa succeeded several times in successfully implementing change, as a response to the turbulent aviation market conditions between 1991 and 2004. Lufthansa’s last, and most successful, strategic change program was the D-Check. Part of what made D-Check so successful was the fact that Lufthansa’s management made a distinction between leading decisions and managing decisions. Leading decision deals with conceiving a clear goal – in other words, what would be right. Managing decision deals with finding the way to achieve the goal – in other words, how do we do it right. Therefore, before implementing change a company should clearly and conclusively resolve the issue of what change would be right and how can be done right. Key questions are the following:

Leading and managing change require a solid theoretical foundation. This assignment will research the theoretical elements of change and change management. Addressed will be the following: Organic Evolution of Change, Formulating Strategic Development Approaches, Leadership and Management Skills and Gathering and Analyze Data. As societies continue to evolve and changing demand creates the need for new products and services, businesses often are forced to make changes to stay competitive. The businesses that continue to survive and even thrive are usually the ones that most readily adapt to change. A variety of factors can cause a business to reevaluate its methods of operation. According to literature from the past two

The closing of HMV and its decrease in profits are due to the fact that people who used to be customers changed and is moving towards online streaming. HMV sold Blue-ray DVDs, animation merchandises, music CDs…etc. Having Netflix and illegal online streaming caused HMV to lose customers. Despite its new competitors, they have stayed longer than their once rivals, Blockbuster who went out of business a decade ago.

Changes are necessary for every organization in order to survive from strong competition, although changes always follow risks, organization must properly handle the existing institution, some employee’s resistance, or the uncertainty reduction. “Organizations pursue to enhance their competitive positions and their adaptability in volatile markets. At the same time, they seek the uncertainty reduction and inimitable resources that stability can provide” (Leana & Barry,

Firstly, change can cause employees to panic. It is natural for employees not to want change or find it is a way out of the organization. This is why when a change is in forced, a strategy needs to be in place. Much like having goals and back up goals. A business needs strategies and backup strategies in order to succeed in the transformation in which the organization is planning on taking. Strategies are also need when dealing with competitors. As the article explained, "Competition is nothing more than a group of people in another company who believe that they can offer something to customers that is superior to what you presently offer." This said, having a strategies in which allows you to give your customers what they want can be a great benefit. The article goes on to list many different types of strategies that can be put into place to help a business succeed and compete against their competitors. To help ensure a organization is approaching the changes correctly the article gives us five questions to ask:

Week 3, the lecture on Managing Change describes organizational changes that occur when a company makes a shift from its current state to some preferred future state. Managing organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in organizations in such a way as to decrease employee resistance and cost to the organization while concurrently expanding the effectiveness of the change effort. Today's business environment requires companies to undergo changes almost constantly if they are to remain competitive. Students of organizational change identify areas of change in order to analyze them. A manager trying to implement a change, no matter how small, should expect to encounter some resistance from within the organization.

The purpose of this book is to make us see that nearly all-operating prescriptions for creating large-scale corporate change are nothing but myths and that changes do not happen from one day to another by a miracle, the change from good to great is the result of a successful plan who

Change has become necessary for every organisation there is. World is moving rapidly towards better technologies, efficient systems, new techniques, compact profits, different friendlier environments and organisations are always in the race to reach new heights by thriving effectively in this competitive environment (Kotter, 1996).

Change management is relevant as though the research finds that change is taking place at an ever-increasing pace, the evidence suggests that most change initiatives fail. For example, recent CIPD research suggested that less than 60% of re-organisations met their stated objectives which are usually bottom line improvement. This is consistent with other published research.

The case deals with two major transformational organisational changes that take place within a span of 5 years in Marconi PLC. The first change process was under the leadership of Lord Simpson who took over this large diversified conglomerate in 1996 when the company was in a mature phase, already in decline. The company was under performing, had a rigid structure, lacked a clear vision and the employees had become change averse and complacent. To recharge the company Lord Simpson lead a change process with a clear vision with a growth oriented strategy, acquisition and a cultural change process for the employees. To motivate the employers to embrace the cultural change he introduced an attractive stock option plan.

Identify an episode of strategic change for an organisation of your own choice. How appropriate was the approach to strategic change given the issues faced by the organisation? Critically evaluate the effectiveness of the strategic leadership during the change process. Identify the impact of the change episode upon the key resources and core competencies of your organisation.

Today in the global business world we know that strategic changes are fundamental in order to

For any business in the rapidly evolving world of business, planning and implementing successful organizational change is indispensable. Essentially, organizational change refers to a process whereby an organization strives to optimize performance in order to achieve its ideal state characterized by high performance and profitability (Côté & Mayhew, 2014). Any business would be more likely to lose its competitive edge, as well as fail to meet the demands of its loyal consumers if it doesn’t plan and implement change. Weiss (2012) emphasizes that all organizations ought to embrace change, and it’s imperative to note that successful organizational change doesn’t involve simple process of adjustments; instead it requires appropriate change management capabilities.