Assignment Sample on Leading Strategic Change Through Creativity and Innovation

Introduction

A business's approach to strategic change management specifies how it will specifically deal
with issues like changes in different segments within a business, for example, to the supply
chain, inventory requirements, scheduling, or project scope. Making a written plan is intended to
guarantee that any negative effects of change are minimised. In order to understand how this
strategic change management plan is implemented within an organisation, the case study of
Highways England has been evaluated having analysed the interview transcription of Paul
Unwin, an employee of Highways England (also known as National Highways since 2021).
1. Critically evaluate the operating environment (Drivers of Change) of your
chosen case study company – Highways England
The primary causes of an organisational transformation are referred to as its drivers. Various
components of a change attempt will be determined by this, including: How the project should be
managed and carried out, its ideal solutions, the dangers, and any hurdles. STEEP research is
common in many industries and occasionally includes other variables including demography,
location, and legal ramifications. It is meant to be used as a tool for external analysis when
looking at particular drivers to factors that may have the power to influence a business strategy
(Boschetti et al. 2016). In the following section, this analysis is done to understand the driving
forces for change management within the case study of Highways England. According to the
Burke-Litwin model for organizational performance and change, there are two factors, which are
External environment factor and Individual and organisational performance (French et al.
2021). External factors include changes in political scenario, and government policies, and
economic factors mentioned below. The Individual and Organisational Performance
(turnover, productivity, customer satisfaction and others) also dependent on the below mentioned
internal environmental and technical factors.

1. External environment factors

a. Social Social drivers are factors that influence and temper environmental
impacts, such as societal structures and institutions, individual
decisions, behaviours, and capacity for change. For example, from
the interview transcript, is evaluated that in 2020, when Covid-19
happened, people became very conscious about health and safety.
As, a result Highways England. Decided to take people’s safety as
well as the employees’ safety very seriously. Safety remained to be
the first priority for both the personnel and customers who use the
roadways, even though we have found means to do it. In
collaboration with the Secretary of State for Transportation, the
company made sure that all employees had access to protective gear
such as masks, hard helmets, and gloves. The WHO's
recommendation of a two-meter physical separation was strictly
followed by all personnel (Refer to Case Study).

b. Economic The political and legal climate, the rate of inflation and
unemployment, and the government's monetary and fiscal policies
are macroeconomic factors that have a substantial impact on
enterprises and cause changes in the organisation. For example, due
to keeping compliance with the Secretary of State, and the
Department for Transport’s decision to reduce the number of road
accidents, the company also set a target of zero serious road injuries
and life-risks accidents by 2040-50 (Refer to Case Study).

c. Political In the current period, organisations are quite political. In fact, a
sizeable portion of the goal-related work produced by an
organisation is directly influenced by political processes. The
intensity of political behaviour, however, varies depending on a
wide range of factors. Managers were asked to rank different
organisational decisions in one study based on how much politics

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were involved. It has been found that the most politically
contentious actions (in that order) involved promotions and
transfers, delegating authority, and decisions involving
interdepartmental coordination. In such cases, leadership and
organisational culture play important roles. For example, in
Highways England, the leadership approach is inclusive and
everyone works collaboratively making the difficult decision-
making process even easier (Refer to Case Study).

2. The Individual and Organisational Performance Factors

d. Technological: Keeping up with the constantly changing external market
environment requires significant technological advancement. A
product's or a process's potential for efficiency improvement that
boosts output without increasing input is called technical change.
For example, the interviewee, Mr Paul informed that in the last 5-10
years the transport industry has changed a lot and even in the
coming 5-10 years also it will change rapidly due to innovation and
technological advancements. With the changing pattern of vehicles-
petrol, diesel hybrid to electric, traffic is also changing. Therefore,
the company is upgrading the employee's knowledge and skill
regarding the new technology around them, diverse strategies for
controlling that traffic, managing peaks and troughs, and
understanding various power points around that (Refer to Case
Study).

e. Environmental: Resources, customers, rivalry, the economy, technology, political
and social circumstances, and the state of the economy are some
frequent external elements that affect the organisational
environment. For example, as mentioned earlier, keeping in mind
people’s concern for safety, the company heightened its safety
protocols during covid. Technological development helps the

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company to monitor if the employees are using safety kits properly
or not via cameras from remote locations also (Refer to Case Study).
Thus, it can be said that the company changes its traditional strategic
operations within the internal organisational environment.

2. Complete a strategic analysis of the case study and the new smart
motorway project of Highways England
A strategic change management is a plan for bringing about a change. A change management
strategy, in terms of business, specifies how an organisation will deal with issues like
adjustments to the supply chain, inventory requirements, scheduling, or project scope
(Rosenbaum et al. 2018). A strategic analysis of the new smart motorway project of Highways
England revealed that Over the past 20 years, there has been a significant increase in the demand
for travel on the strategic road network (SRN), and this demand is anticipated to continue. On
some of the busiest stretches of our country's roadways, smart motorways have been
implemented for this reason. These roads are used by huge thousands of people every week for
travel, work, entertainment, and other activities. By the end of 2020, the corporation added about
500 miles of motorway capacity without constructing new roads or acquiring more property.
More than 28 million hours have reportedly been saved in travel time as a result of the enhanced
capacity smart motorways have provided. Compared to traditional widening, smart motorways
emit less carbon during construction. The company has gone through a technical change process
within the organisation due to this new smart motorway project. The company decided to
introduce Smart motorways and for this, the organisation went through an entire organisational
change. The existing automobile and mechanical engineers were instructed to go through a few
training sessions to study and understand how the Smart motorways work because technically
these new motors are different from the traditional ordinary motorways (National Highways,
2022).
The inclusive organisational culture helped Highways England to arrange further training to
help the employees cope with this technical organisational change and understand the importance
of the most recent type, all lane running (ALR) ability in the advanced motors that permanentlyconvert the hard shoulder to a running lane and has a system of related features, including
emergency areas (National Highways, 2022). The organisation has also SES standards to monitor
how effectively the innovation in the advanced technology change process is going on for the
last 5-10 years (Refer to Case Study). Strategic leadership also play an important role in
addressing the change management process and inducing innovation within the system for better
implementation of the new smart motorway project of Highways England. In order to help and
guide the employees go through the change process, the organisation has employed a strategic
approach named ‘future, engage, deliver’. The four pillars of the current leadership and
governance are- time, cost, quality and safety. As a result, the company's inclusive organisational
culture always seeks out individuals with a flexible mindset as well as those who can be
supported and heard as they go through change. The world around us is always changing. A
static state never exists. Therefore, it is the organisation's and the executives' responsibility to
guide the employees in adjusting to this transition successfully.
3. Propose a strategic change management plan
The main purpose of different strategic change management models serves as a manual or
planning guidance for implementing changes, navigating the process of transformation, and
making sure that changes are accepted and implemented. Here, Lewin’s three-stage change
management model will be used to equip the organisation to cope with the innovation and
technical change process. Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze are the three phases (Rosenbaum et
al. 2018).
 Unfreeze: It is the stage where unfreeze describes human behaviour as a quasi-stationary
equilibrium state with respect to change. This mentality refers to the ability to accept
change and respond constructively. However, employee resilience is anticipated to
happen in the majority of situations, nonetheless. In such situations, the team's leaders
should emphasise the value of innovation and change to the team members and explain
the importance of introducing new smart motors to combat environmental effects, lower
traffic accidents, and smooth out traffic.
During the Unfreeze step, you could do the following actions: – Deciding what needs to
change.
– Do a business survey.
– Recognise the need for change.

– Assuring management's support (Rosenbaum et al. 2018).
– Consult with key players to win their backing.
– Present the problem as having a favourable influence on the entire firm.
– Instigating a need for change.
– Spread a convincing argument for why change is best.
– Share the transformation by talking about your long-term goals.
 Change: It is the process when the employees agreed to participate in the organisational
innovation change and guide them thoroughly through inclusive organisational culture
and strategic leadership style. Information flow and leadership are two crucial factors that
influence how successfully and effectively the change implementation process performs
over the long run. The term "information flow" refers to the sharing of information at
various organisational levels, the availability of a range of skills and knowledge, and the
coordination of problem-solving efforts across the organisation. The ability of some
members of the group to persuade others to work towards a common objective is known
as leadership (Rosenbaum et al. 2018). A well-planned transition process needs a vision
and a motivation to be successful. As the transition process progresses, businesses should
openly and clearly disclose their plans. Explain in full to everyone the benefits and
effects of the planned implementation. Put an end to rumours, clarify misunderstandings,
and answer to questions. the beneficiaries, the implementation, and who is affected. Put
an end to rumours, clarify misunderstandings, and answer to questions.
 Refreeze: It is the stage where the organisational leaders keep motivating the team
members to sustain that change and remain productive. Communication plays an
important role in which the management will interact with the team and mentor them so
that the change occurs smoothly. For this purpose, Highways England should carry out
the following during the Refreeze phase:
– Integrate the new changes into the culture by figuring out what factors promote and
hinder change.
– Create and spread strategies for maintaining the change over time. Think about: –
Ensuring leadership and management support and, if necessary, modifying organisational
structure.
– Developing feedback procedure (Rosenbaum et al. 2018).- Implementing an incentives programme: Long-term and short-term communication,
support, and training should be provided. Consider the many ways that employees learn,
and encourage both formal and informal techniques. To inspire the workforce,
achievement must be celebrated.

Conclusion

In light of the above analysis, it can be said that stakeholders and executives must focus on this
change management strategy because it helps to identify when a change is essential, approve
changes, put changes into action, and monitor changes to ensure they have the desired impact on
organisational productivity.

References

Boschetti, F., Price, J. and Walker, I., 2016. Myths of the future and scenario archetypes.
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 111, pp.76-85.
French, R., Mahat, M., Kvan, T. and Imms, W., 2021. Viewing the transition to innovative
learning environments through the lens of the Burke-Litwin model for organizational
performance and change. Journal of Educational Change, pp.1-16.
National Highways, 2022. Smart motorways stocktake Second year progress report 2022.
[online] Available at: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/media/uivj2zem/smart-motorways-
stocktake-second-year-2022.pdf (Accessed on 23 March 2023)
Rosenbaum, D., More, E. and Steane, P., 2018. Planned organisational change management:
Forward to the past? An exploratory literature review. Journal of Organizational Change
Management, 31(2), pp.286-303.