Assignment Sample on RBP020L063S Leadership and Change Management
Task 1: Introduction
Efficient leadership and change management adaptation may be beneficial for an organisation to ensure its service efficiency and flexibility across the current operational market. The present report will pay attention to highlight the relational consequences of leadership and change management concerns on behalf of a renowned Swiss-based medical device supplier, Aesch AG. The organisation has been notified to act with a sense of negligence regarding the realisation of transformation in the customer decision-making attributes. Moreover, employee management within the organisation had not been fair at all which can be recognised with half the presence of employees in a meeting called by the marketing director, Anna Frisch. Moreover, the consideration of inadequate budget is also noticed from the organisational perspective regarding the conceptualization of C-level marketing as suggested by Anna Frisch.
In this concern, the report will include a general description in order to highlight relational reasons and consequences for change management within Aesch AG. Followed by this, the change management consequences will be analysed with adequate academic and literature understanding. Suitable recommendations will also be highlighted for the organisation concerning the areas of leadership, change management, employee engagement and organisational development.
Task 2: Causes of change
Organisational change is found to play a significant role for any business entity to enhance overall business growth and long-run business success. As mentioned by Vargas et al. (2019), change management could drive successfully by analysing the prime need and requirements for change and estimating the outcome it may bring on the company’s development. Aesch AG is found to be one of the largest and renowned suppliers within the German healthcare industry. The case study highlights Aesch AG, an international leader in terms of in-vitro and molecular immunodiagnostics, modernised diagnostic, imaging systems along with IT systems of healthcare and others. Having an effective engineering focus and technological strength, the mentioned company is found to enhance its limits continuously in diagnostic feasibility.
According to Day et al. (2017), globalisations, technological innovation and customer change in demands can be considered as one of the key drivers behind the implementation of organisational change. Management of every business organisation can be considered as one of the responsible persons behind determining the needs of organisational change and execute required operations by empowering existing employees systematically to drive change. In this context, the case scenario illustrates that Anna Frisch has undertaken initiatives regarding organisational change at Aesch by determining the organisational need to enhance growth and productivity. After appointing to the position of marketing director, she perceived the rapid shift of the customers’ decision-making process. Anna mentioned that after she realised the changes, she tried to change their existing marketing activities. Anna added that previously, marketing was mainly focusing upon the benefits and features of specific systems and addressed its requirements for clinical users. By perceiving the future consequences of their existing marketing activities, Anna tried to lower the budget regarding marketing on the specified clinical users and was willing to address the requirements for “C-level” CIO, CFO and CEO through the marketing.
As mentioned by Wooliscroft and Ganglmair-Wooliscroft (2018), C-level or C-focused marketing approach enhances the potential of business to influence the purchasing behaviour of target audiences in a more effective and systematic manner. In the context of the case scenario, it can be mentioned that a C-level approach can serve as beneficial for clinicians, for example, to discuss the features of X-ray machines with vendors A or B. On the other hand, administrators can make or incorporate strategic decisions regarding evaluating or making potential industrial partners within the healthcare industry in the future. Morgan et al. (2019) mentioned that marketing strategy requires to be improvised by any business organisation operating across the competitive industry to generate brand reputations and overall business efficiency. In this context, Anna perceived that by changing their existing marketing activities, the organisations could provide integrated solutions to their target audiences, which in turn enable them to strengthen the overall efficiency of hospitals as well.
While executing or incorporating any change within an organisation, it is essential for leaders or managers to develop suitable plans so that change-related activities or goals can be accomplished effectively (Bakari et al. 2017). In the context of Anna, it is identified that she had already developed a systematic plan about the way through which C-level marketing can be introduced in Germany. However, senior executives along with her peers rejected her proposal even after determining the need for organisational change for the future business success of AG. The key reason behind this statement is that while Anna conducted her first kick-off meeting to discuss her proposal, only 50% of the employees were present, which generated disappointment for Anna. This disappointment for Anna continued as the employees who participated in the meeting showed different excuses along with a reluctance to accept her proposal. In this context, bureaucracy traits have been identified among the executives and peers of Anna. Adding to this, it can also be mentioned that Anna faced discrimination as marketing heads showed defensive mode by prioritising others’ business activities instead of the vital proposal that Anna presented.
Bligh et al. (2018) highlight it is important for managers or executives to prioritise the perspective by providing opportunities for each of the team members equally to present their proposed ideas and thoughts before making any kind of decision. In the case of Anna, it is identified that Anna was in the marketing director’s position and she tried to implement the change by recognising its urgencies and benefits for AG. Adding to this, she also tried to convince their peers and marketing heads to analyse the urgency and provide some budget so that the proposed change can be implemented successfully. However, knowing the urgency of the proposed plan, the executive and peers of AG rejected her proposal by making irrelevant excuses. Thus, it can be mentioned that lack of employee engagement and inadequate leadership traits restricted Anna to implement the proposed change successfully.
Task 3: Analysis of the change management consequences
Change situation in the organisation
In relation to the case study, Anna wanted to change the marketing strategy to a C-level approach for providing effective services to the clients. However, the changes were not being accepted by the higher officials of Aesch AG. Anna had proposed the approach again after three months by addressing her arguments based on marketing strategy and she had to face some serious opposition by officials as they got offended by her approach. As a result, a sense of conflict between them has been created. Conflicts between the workforces can easily hinder the services, which are being provided by an organisation. As suggested by Beňo (2021), conflict increases the inter-team issues among teams working on the same goal of providing effective services. Along with this, all the arrangements and services becomes more time consuming because of the lack of proper communication between the members who are involved in the conflicts. As mentioned by Chen et al. (2020), communication is the key to any organisation’s success. It helps in building trust across the firm along with preventing those problems, which have been aroused between Anna and the officials of Aesch AG. The conflicts, which have developed in the organisation, have dramatically affected the relationship between the workforces and hampered their team spirit.
Anna being a marketing specialist has suffered a lot because of her proposal that led to the sense of discrimination increased in the organisation. An organization like Aesch AG should implement a diverse culture in their organisation. The organisation that implements an entire culture, which is diverse, can easily move out from the challenges in their path of success. A diverse culture can develop creativity and innovation in Aesch AG along with attracting more specialists from the pool of diverse candidates as well. As suggested by Xu et al. (2019), a diverse organisation can develop easily and regain more productivity in the industry. In relation to the case study the issues, which have been developed between Anna and the officials of Aesch AG, has developed a sense of dissatisfaction in Anna. It can lead to the increased employee turnover in the organisation, which is not at all good for the reputation of Aesch AG. As per the case study, the perspective Anna was not being considered by the higher officials, which is a kind of demoralising factor for employees. Lack of a better understanding of change management and leadership has become one of the major drawbacks of Aesch AG.
Importance of culture and its role in relation to organisational change
The culture of the organisation plays a major role when it comes to initiating organisational success. The organisational culture determines whether the entity has a higher power difference between the hierarchy and lower management working in the company. Based on the case study, it was identified that Anna was willing to initiate change in terms of decision making within the organisation that would help in improving the efficiency of the hospitals.
However, the decision to initiate the change was opposed by the hierarchy and this indicates that AG follows a bureaucratic organisational culture. The presence of a bureaucratic working environment can be very harmful to individuals with freethinking capabilities or the ones who wish to bring change in the organisation that can include the company’s position and operations (Arif et al. 2017).
In this regard, the leadership of the organisation can be improved and contrary to the bureaucratic leadership style that carries out the decision-making aspects within the company, AG can adopt a transformational leadership style. Considering the present condition of the organisation, transformational leadership can be very beneficial in terms of effectively handling the workforce as well as initiating a change within the company. In most successful companies in the global context, transformational leadership can be found to be prevalent. This is mostly due to the fact that transformational leaders work closely with their employees designated at lower management levels. As lower management departments are much closer to customers and have direct conversation so they understand the issues more effectively. Apart from that, transformational leadership also initiates an environment with free thinking and innovation that supports four changes like the one that is willing to initiate change in the work process (Hussain et al. 2018). Apart from that, it has also been seen that transformational leadership within the organisation can motivate the workforce and this can also improve the overall organisational culture and helps to initiate change management in a more effective manner. Hence, based on this it can be stated that culture plays an important role when the organisation or the hierarchy is willing to initiate scenes between the company. Bureaucratic organisational culture can be reluctant to initiate changes in the company as change management often leads to power shifts from the hierarchy throughout the organisation (Thuy et al. 2020). Therefore, it is essential to avoid bureaucratic organisational culture to initiate a change management process in a more effective manner.
The link between Power, Politics and conflict
Politics, power and internal conflicts are linked with each other when it comes to initiating change within an organisation. In the case of Anna Frisch, it was seen that the hierarchy that was in power had a conflict with the changes Anna was willing to initiate within the company. This led to a political clash between Anna and the hierarchy of the organisation that was responsible for making the majority of the decisions. Apart from that, power differences in an organisation are harmful to the overall stability of the company in terms of managing its human resources. Based on organisational culture the companies that have a high power difference have the tendency to foster more internal conflicts within the company (Nakyagaba et al. 2021).
Conflicts within the organisation can lead to the loss of productivity and efficiency therefore, organisations need to reduce the power distance between the hierarchy and the employees working at the lower level to minimise the increasing power gap. Political conflicts also tend to occur in organisations that have a higher power difference. Therefore, to avoid conflict that can occur due to the initiation of a change management process it is essential for the management of the organisation to respond in a more flexible manner (Empson, 2017).
Task 4: Recommendation
Effective change management strategies allow employers to understand the need for change and they could show their effective commitments towards improving their activities according to the change requirements systematically (Dzwigol et al. 2019). Aesch AG has been noticed to operate in the market with a range of different issues that have been creating a potential obstacle in terms of implementing the proposed change management concerns as directed by the organisational marketing director. In this regard, efficient recommendations are highlighted below concerning the issues experienced within Aesch AG.
Change management adoption
The company should pay attention to efficiently adopt change management attributes by recognising the consumer decision-making aspects and current market trends. However, a distinctive analytical approach will have to be undertaken by the organisation as an integral part of successfully adopting change management consequences (Jayatilleke and Lai, 2018). The company is also notified to refuse the proposals made by the marketing director regarding the consideration of c-level marketing. In this regard, the organisation should be attentive to consider a critical approach concerning the adoption of any change proposals.
Resolving leadership issues
Leadership is considered as the most essential parameter of success considering change management attributes within an organisation (Rudolph et al. 2018). In this regard, Aesch AG will have to look to improve its existing leadership styles. The company has been noticed to serve in the market with an autocratic leadership style, which is likely to be transformed into a transformational leadership attribute. Transformational leadership might be helpful for the organisation to proactively consider other respective employees’ perceptions during the decision-making activities. On the other hand, transformational leadership also maintains a transverse relationship with the change management adoption in the workplace atmosphere (Eliyana and Ma’arif, 2019). Due to this concern, the organisational management and higher authority might be able to outline a distinctive vision with an intention to guide the proposed changes in order to maintain their service flexibility and efficiency. However, the configuration of a motivated and dedicated workplace atmosphere has been also adding a greater value to the conceptualization of transformational leadership within Aesch AG. In accordance with the transformational leadership theory, Aesch AG should focus on disclosing immediate self-interest in order to identify the required changes concerning market preference and consumer trends. In this context, a critical approach is likely to be undertaken by the organisation and leaders in order to justify both the positive and negative consequences related to their decision-making (Asbari, 2020). The attributes of the demand forecast feature might also be considered by the organisation as an integral part of recognising their leadership effectiveness regarding successful identification and implementation of change management concerns.
Employee engagement
The prospects of employee engagement can serve in a beneficial manner for an organisation based on which increasing competitive advantage might be insured by them under the lights of a motivated workforce. The company has been already noticed to obtain inadequate employee engagement with only half of the presence in a meeting called by the organisational marketing director (case study). Moreover, reluctant behaviour was also noticed by the employees who did not bother to attend the meeting. In this concern, Aesch AG management will have to look for providing their departmental managers and directors with adequate power and authority to show cause the employees not bothering to attend the meeting called by them. In this case, a clear hierarchical structure might be followed by Aesch AG based on which distinctive employee engagement could be obtained by them. On the contrary, the provision of employee rewards and performance appraisal programs can also provide a positive impact to enlarge the employee motivation and dedication level based on which prolific employee engagement can be ensured (Osborne and Hammoud, 2017). The improvement of the internal workplace culture should also be enlightened by the organisational management as an integral part of ensuring employee engagement.
Organisational development
Aesch AG management should look to provide adequate financial resources in order to provide adequate support regarding the consideration of strategic interventions undertaken by analysing the consumer decision-making trends. An independent ombudsman can also be recruited by the organisation as an integral part of pointing out relational issues in the areas of employee engagement and change management consideration. Collaborative workplace culture should also be emphasised by the organisation in order to develop their workforce flexibility and efficiency (Oviawe et al. 2017). Adequate research and development facilities should also be enhanced by Aesch AG in order to consider successful organisational development.
Task 5: Conclusion
The overall report has signified the change management prospects and leadership aspects on behalf of Aesch AG. Inadequate employee engagement, reluctant behavioural patterns from the employee’s perspective and inadequate financial support for or marketing proposals had highlighted different issues related to the adoption of change management within the organisation. However, both the cultural and social dimensions can also be interested in this concern with the organisational inability to cope up with the changing trends in consumer decision making. The attributes of politics and conflict can also be noticed within the organisation for the employees have not bothered to attend the meeting called by their marketing director.
In order to resolve these issues, the consideration of transformational leadership has been undertaken in this report. This feature is also expected to be supported with successful consideration of change management under the lights of Lewin’s change management theory. However, Aesch AG is also recommended to consider efficient employee engagement by recognising their performance with a performance appraisal system based on which their employee motivation could be increased. Moreover, the consideration of a collaborative workplace culture is also suggested to the organisation along with the inclusion of an independent ombudsman for efficiently pointing out strategic issues concerning the adoption of change management.
Reflective essay
Leadership and change management is the most important sector of any organisation. As per the case study, I feel that there is an urgent need for change management for providing effective quality of services by Aesch AG. In the context of Anna, she has proposed some ideas and proposals about change management, which are being rejected by the senior executives and her peers. The organisational associates did not understand the importance of the change. As suggested by Mansaray (2019), implementing a management structure that looks after these small details and a leader who is about to direct the organisation in terms to reach the firm’s success is essential. Most of the organisation uses the management to succeed in their future goals and objectives. Aesch AG is the most renowned healthcare organisation as well as the largest supplier of the German healthcare industry. This company has done a lot to improve their facilities in diagnostic devices such as ultrasound equipment, X-ray machines and scanners along with this they have pushed their potential towards the feasibility of the services as well. As per the case study, Anna stated that she realised that there is an urgent need for change management in the structure of discussion making on the customer’s side. She wanted to develop a marketing strategy, which should be focused on C-level. I feel that the implementation of a C-level marketing strategy will help the organisation to get a better insight into the market with the help of higher associates of the organisation. As mentioned by Alqatawenh (2018), the marketing of the C-level can easily reach the requirement of the team and provides a better depth understanding which cannot be provided by others. As per the case study, Aesch AG is basically engineering and technology-driven but Anna feels that the organisation must provide value to the clients which will develop the performance of the organisation effectively. I feel that in the organisation of Aesch AG, there is a need for an effective leader who will help the organisation to grow while taking the responsibilities of the management with developing better work strategy as well. As suggested by Brodtkorb et al. (2019), leaders are the most important source of success as they motivate the employees by creating a sense of confidence along with maintaining better coordination with the clients as well. The most important strand of a leader is they facilitate the changes effectively by setting up the goal with the help of effective representation as well. I feel that Anna has the quality of being an effective leader in Aesch AG as she recognised the need for the changes in the organisation but due to having a mentality of patriarchy in the organisation, her proposal was rejected. When after three months Anna again presented her proposal of C-level marketing strategy, all of the higher associates was defended. The sense of decimation is there among the higher associates as being a woman Anna is not getting that much appreciation and respect, which she deserves of thinking different and unique than the others. Implementing a diverse culture in an organisation is the most essential part of any organisation to achieve success easily.
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