LB5234- LEADING AND MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE

ASSIGNMENT-3
SUBMITTED BY – SHIVAM MISHRA

JCU ID- 13686820

INTRODUCTION

The subject deals with organizational change and transformation which have become
permanent features of the business organization. The business scenario is changing and with
changing time lot of new things have been incorporated in terms of new business practices.
Business landscape is not static, so there is important to adapt new changes and adopt best
practices for organizational change. The subject curriculum is designed in an effective
manner and gives hands on experience to apply theoretical knowledge of the subject by
means of role play. It teaches how to manage changes with number of management theory
and principles. The learning of the subject can be directly applied at workplace. I have held
leadership position for short time during my summer internship where I got chance to apply
my theoretical knowledge into practical scenario. In this reflective journal, I will be
discussing about my work experience and what I had learned in my personal experience in
terms of management and leadership skills.

Description of Scenario

I was working as a management intern in a manufacturing firm, where I was responsible for
the managing the supply chain. I was working as a team leader in the internship and three
interns was working under me. As it was my first intern and I was leading a team, which was
a challenging task. I have to work under managers who had outstanding managerial
experience and directly have to report them. The employees of the organization were mostly
in mid 40s and was not up to date in terms technology. There were many practices which was
outdated such as use of manual system for recording of inventory and no use of proper
software for tracking of goods. I tried to bring change in organization by introducing proper
software for tracking of goods and entry of inventory. The technological change in the
organization helped in saving time and cutting cost for the firm.

Teamwork plays an important role in an organization, but I realized that there was something
missing in my team. As all team members were new and were not familiar to each other,
therefor it was necessary to conduct team bonding activities. In order to familiarize the team
member with each other I conducted some activities with my team members such games,
team outings which helped the members to know about each other. By assigning task and
setting goals for every team member provide clarity and defines about the way to reach to the
specified goal. I was in direct contact with the team and regular meetings were held to
measure the team performance and to get suggestion from them.

Procurement of goods or services was an important part of supply chain. It was necessary that
company have to procure quality goods at best price. In order to achieve this target of our
team added more suppliers with company’s database in order to increase competition within
them and this initiative was successful. The offer submitted by the new suppliers was lower
than of company’s existing supplier. It benefited the company in terms of cost saving. It was
required that company needed add new suppliers in their database with existing one.
LEVELS OF CHANGE

Leadership is a process to influence people which maximizes the efforts of others, towards
achievement of a goal. It is not about the position in the hierarchy or job title. I can directly
relate the practical experience with my theoretical understanding. While managing a team
during my internship I got an opportunity to play a role and relate my theoretical
understanding with it. I acted as a supportive leader for my team and motivated them to
achieve work outcomes. Out of different leadership style the supportive leadership helped me
in understanding how to work effectively and lead team members work towards common
goal. The concept of performance management and SMART goals taught in the subject was
helpful. I can directly relate those theories it was used by me to motivate my team and set
goals. But not all part of SMART was covered, l was lacking in factors of specific,
measurable and attainable. I explained about the goals to my team but was unable to explain
about the benefit each team members would be getting out of it. Maybe I should provide
incentives to them in terms of monetary and non-monetary term.

The external change which was bought by me in the organization was in term of technology.
The implementation of new software for recording inventory and tracking of items was very
useful for the organization. It was cost effective was as well as time consuming process. The
change was bought due to technological change which was necessary for the company to
adapt. The PESTEL model acted as guiding principle for me to bring the necessary change.
The change was made on organizational level. The Lewin’s change model helped in
understanding about changes in the organization in three phases Unfreeze, Moving and
Refreeze. According to this model it creates the perception that a change is needed then
moving towards new and finally adopting new changes a norm (Sherri Hartzell, 2014). This
model helps me to bring changes in the organization in terms of implementation of ERP and
SAP. As some employees in the organisation was not unaware of such software and they
were resisting to the change. As an intern it was big task for me to convince higher
management to bring changes by explaining about its advantages. In the second phase after
the approval of upper management the changing step where necessary implementation for the
change was done. Employees who were unaware about the use of software were educated
about it by training them. After learning about its use and benefits employees adopted
themselves to the change and started working on it. The three stage of change which I bought
in the organisation can directly be related with three phases of Lewis Change model.

The subject helped me in understanding the importance of a discussion it helps to come up

with a fruitful solution. After role play, I was able to understand that confronting and
opposing views creates more possibilities and ideas. It further enhanced my problem-solving
skills. To conclude my learnings from the subject, I can say that it helped me in bridging the
gap in my leadership and management skill. The course curriculum made me ready for work
life to which I can refer while taking my organizational decision.
Bibliography

1. Kalm, M. (2019). Why Change is Important in Business - Business Partner Magazine. Retrieved 4
October 2019, from https://businesspartnermagazine.com/why-change-is-important-in-business/

2. Accepting Change Is Vital to Your Company's Growth. (2019). Retrieved 4 October 2019, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2017/11/13/accepting-change-is-vital-to-your-companys-
growth/#635285f82b00

3.Kurt Lewin’s Three Step Change Model. (2019). Retrieved 4 October 2019, from
https://www.accipio.com/eleadership/mod/wiki/view.php?id=1873