Definition and discussion of Organizational Change

Organizational change can be stated to be a process whereby an organization undergoes an extensive change with respect to the structure of the firm, the methods in which the operations are carried out, the different technologies used or the particular culture of the firm at large (Aladwani, 2001). These changes which are generally made in a firm possess the power to impact the overall working of the organization which often tends to lead to a sense of resistance from the employees. According to Todnem (2005), Organizational change is an important procedure which all the companies go through at one point of time and it thereby becomes important for the firm to ensure that their change either takes place continuously or at distinct time periods.  However, the organizational change in an organization cannot be absurd in nature and is expected to be quite processed and aligned which can be done with the help of different models. The organizational models can be rightfully stated to be the guiding paths which assist the organization in achieving overall success for the firm. Cummings, Bridgman and Brown (2016) state that although there are a large number of models available which a firm can successfully make use of like the Kotter`s model, ADKAR, Bridges transition model, Lewin`s Change models and others. It is recommended by the authors that in order to find success at the workplace, the company needs to adopt one model using which it can become successful.

Recently, the organization Walmart has been facing a large number of problems with respect to the customer service issues. The customer satisfaction index of the firm has dropped considerably and with respect to this, the departmental store`s rank has gone down considerably which means that the American consumers are greatly disappointed with the different departmental stores of Walmart (Forbes.com. ,2018). The customer satisfaction can be considered to be of utmost importance and if Walmart fails to perform that function well then it means that the organization is performing in a poor manner. Hence, it is for this reason that the organization has been chosen for analysis. The change management will take place in the manner the customers are served and the way in which the different employees treat the different organizational members at large (Forbes.com. , 2018). The employee training will be provided along with ensuring that an innovative practice is bought around when the employees treat and greet the different customers at large. In this manner, the customer service at Walmart would improve considerably and this would also assist the firm in fairing up in the index and be able to successfully the organizations other goals as well like the revenue goals, employee satisfaction goals, market share and others (Businessinsider.in. , 2018).

As stated earlier, the management of change is not an easy task and in order to ensure success in the long run it is important for a firm to adopt a good change model. For the purpose of the given report, two models have been identified which can be effectively used by Walmart in order to go through the particular change transition. The first model which has been chosen is the Kurt Lewin Model whereby the change procedure can be understood successfully and the organization can move towards the new change in a good manner so that the new behavior becomes the norm of the firm at large. The model is widely used and often serves as the basis for the different change models at large (Aladwani, 2001). The Kurt Lewin`s model of change involves three different steps of unfreezing, changing and freezing.

Why this organization was chosen

The other change management model which is available at large is the Kotter’s 8 step change model. The 8 step change model has laid down 8 different processes through which change can be easily carried out in a firm. These are as follows:

• Creation of Urgency
• Forming a coalition
• Creation of a vision
• Communication of the vision
• Removing obstacles
• Creation of short term wins
• Build on the change

There are other change models which are also available like the ADKAR model. The ADKAR model can be described as a change management model which is largely focused on the organizational goals and seeks to bring about a change in the firm at large (Kuipers et al., 2014). The ADKAR model stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement. Moreover, there also exists a model named the Kubler Ross Five stage model whereby the change management guidance has been provided which states that there are five different steps to a change procedure named Denial, Anger, Depression, Bargaining and Acceptance.

Out of these given models, the two different models which have been chosen for implementation for Walmart have been discussed as follows:

Lewin`s Model of Change

The steps in reference to the Walmart have been described as follows:

Unfreezing: In this stage, the awareness about the change is required to be created and the older ways in which the organization functions need to be changed accordingly. Moreover, communication tends to play a key role in this aspect. Hence, in this step, Walmart can associate a large scale training with the employees whereby they need to be shown where they are going wrong and what measures can they adopt so as to improve the performance at large.

Changing: This is the change when the transition is done and the entire procedure of change is implemented for the organization at large. The firm needs to be considerably aware of the change which is to be taking place (Cameron & Green, 2015).  Hence, in this period, the new ways of customer service can be taught to them and their performance in real life situations can be measured accordingly. In this way, they can be taught how to treat the different customers in the right manner.

Refreezing: This is the final change whereby the new implementation has to be refreeze and the new norms are required to be solidified. This step is crucial in order to ensure that the older ways and processes are not repeated again. In this manner, their performance needs to be measured against the right indicator whereby it needs to be ensured that they take the right actions at the right time and fulfill customer demands.

Kotter’s 8-step change model

If the Kotter Model has to be applied, the steps would be required to be carried out in the following manner:

1. Creation of Urgency: The Walmart management would be required to create a certain level of urgency (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). 
2. Forming a coalition: This can be followed by the formation of a coalition, whereby the chief volunteers who will lead the change at Walmart would be required to be identified.
3. Creation of a vision: A vision for the improved customer service plan would be required to be created.
4. Communication of the vision: The vision would be required to be clearly communicated among the different members of the firm.
5. Removing obstacles: The different obstacles are required to be removed at large which may come in form of barriers.
6. Creation of short term wins: Lastly, short term wins and successful implementation should be celebrated by the firm (Hayes, 2018).
7. Build on the change: The pace of the change is required to be built upon by the management and the employees together.
8. Lastly, the change must be implemented by all and the results need to be witnessed.

The change management plan forms a crucial aspect of any firm whereby the company and in this case Walmart would require to ensure that they are successfully able to implement the change which has been planned. Hence, at first the change and its need must be clearly communicated to the employees and then the different aspects of both the models need to be followed (Carnall, 2018). After the change has been implemented, steps to monitor the performance need to be formed.

These steps may include steps like measuring through Key Performance Indicators, outcomes of the firm and other related monitoring measures. The KPIs of Customer satisfaction Index, Sales per square foot, Net sales and employee satisfaction index may be used. It is also recommended that Walmart implements the plan in a period of approximately 2-3 months.

References

Aladwani, A. M. (2001). Change management strategies for successful ERP implementation. Business Process management journal, 7(3), 266-275.

Businessinsider.in. (2018). Walmart employees dish on what its like to work at the retail giant .  [online] Available at:  https://www.businessinsider.in/Walmart-employees-dish-on-what-its-actually-like-to-work-at-the-retail-giant/articleshow/65246732.cms(Accessed on: 17 Nov. 2018).

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.

Carnall, C. (2018). Managing change. Routledge.

Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., & Brown, K. G. (2016). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. human relations, 69(1), 33-60.

Forbes.com. (2018). Walmart`s customer service problem.  [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2018/03/18/minimum-wage-hikes-wont-solve-walmarts-customer-service-problem/#5b6db9e11e09 (Accessed on: 17 Nov. 2018).

Forbes.com. (2018). Walmart`s outdated management style.  [online] Available at:  https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2016/01/30/walmarts-outdated-management-style-is-failing-customers/ (Accessed on: 17 Nov. 2018).

Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson.

Hayes, J. (2018). The theory and practice of change management. Pearson.

Kuipers, B. S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J., & Van der Voet, J. (2014). The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public administration, 92(1), 1-20.

Todnem By, R. (2005). Organisational change management: A critical review. Journal of change management, 5(4), 369-380.