Is Lakeland Wonders Case Study Answers


I know that you are frustrated about this case study. I have seen a lot of students in the exact same spot as you are in now. But don’t worry, I will help you as I helped them.

This assignment is based on the article titled “Welcome Aboard (But Don’t Change A Thing)” by Eric McNulty. It was published in 2002 in Harvard Business Review.

Let us see if this case study comes under “change management” or not. For that, I am going to explain to you what is change management and its related concepts.

Is Change Management Necessary?

Change is the only constant in this world. If you don’t change yourself with the trend, you will be thrown out of the competition like Nokia. If your boat has a hole, you either jump out of it or drown with it. This is exactly what change management is based on.

Over a fixed span of time, the organisations undergo a change and upgrade themselves. They change their ways, their culture, their environment, their technology, etc. This is done so that they can maximise their profit and minimise their loss.

Organisations do not like to be a part of such fails in the global market.

How To Begin Change Management Assignments?

The first thing you need to do is identify the type of change the organisation is undergoing. There are 3 broad compartments into which we can fit change management.

When the organisation is working on a project, there are a large number of changes that take place. These changes can be small or large. No matter the changing size, these changes create small ripples in the organisation that creates an effect extending to a long span. Thus, they need to be managed effectively.

The changes in an organisation can also take place due to an external event. These events are caused by the so-called “environment” of the organisation. The organisation has no or little control over the events and the changes caused by them. These changes include new policy by the government, a new strategy by a competing business, a shift in the economic parameters, etc. The changes caused by such external events can either be a jerk to the organisation disrupting its operations for a long time or can be reactive to the changes. Some organisations also prepare themselves for the upcoming change and display a proactive response. Regardless of the response type, the changes have to manage.

The management of change is also implemented in a planned and systematic manner. The advantage of this is that new methods and systems will be implemented effectively in an ongoing organisation. the changes are all internally lying and can be easily controlled by the organisation. The example of such changes includes downsizing of the staff, restructuring the hierarchy, etc.

What will happen if the organisation does not implement changes?

Very well, you might think that I don’t want to change my business. I like the way of operating and everything, why would you want to change it?

Here is the general life of an organisation –

See the space between establishing a brand and closing? That is where you need to implement change in your organisation if you don’t want this cycle to complete.

In this global competitiveness, the businesses need to evolve if they want to survive. For survival, it is necessary to make changes. To make changes effectively and peacefully, it is important to manage the changes. To make sure that changes are managed well, one needs to have change management models using which the success of changes can be predicted.

The following change management models are used.

Lewin’s Change Management Model

The top place is taken by Lewin’s Change Management Model because you can split any change process into three broad stages. This breaks any large shift into small pieces.

These 3 stages are –

  • Unfreeze
  • Make changes
  • Refreeze
  • McKinsey 7-S Model

    You identify the seven basic aspects of the business and how they are related to each other.

  • Strategy
  • Structure
  • Systems
  • Shared values
  • Style
  • Staff
  • Skills
  • Kotter’s Theory

    This model focuses more on the people than the change. It works by –

  • Creating a sense of urgency
  • Building core coalition
  • Forming strategic vision
  • Getting everyone on board
  • Removing barriers
  • Generating short-term goal wins
  • Sustaining acceleration
  • Setting changes permanently
  • Nudge Theory

    This theory says that it is easier to nudge a change along rather than enforcing it in an organisation using traditional methods. Instead of telling the employees that you have to xyz, inspire them to bring this change by themselves. All you have to do is nudge them.

    ADKAR Model

    It is a bottom-up method which also focuses on the people behind the change. The key factors are –

  • Awareness
  • Desire
  • Knowledge
  • Ability
  • Reinforcement
  • Are you guys getting bored? Because I am.

    Let us conclude the models for now. If you want to read more about them, follow this link.

    Coming to the Lakeland Wonder Case. Is the CEO pushing too much change too quickly?

    If we analyse this with respect to the models of change management, the decisions and strategies proposed by Cheryl are harsh. One might think that she is pushing too much change too quickly. The employees in an organisation are not readily susceptible to change, that too at such a pace.

    Change is always a slow process that needs to ease in into the organisation instead of imposing it on the employees. Such methods invite rebellion and strikes from employees.

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