Change Management Plan

Running head: KOTTER CHANGE MANAGEMENT MODEL 2

KOTTER CHANGE MANAGEMENT MODEL 6

Assignment 3: Kotter Change Management Model

Kirsten Farnham

Dr. Allan Beck

HRM 560 – Managing Organizational Change

February 11, 2019

Applying Kotter’s Change Management Model to Walmart

There are many factors in our environment today that are driving ongoing changes including technology advancements, competition, new initiatives and project-based working. One Greek philosopher stated that change is the only constant we have (Hornstein, 2015). It is normal for one to feel intimidated by the scale of the challenges that come along with change in any kind of organization. John Kotter proposed the eight-step model of change which he formulated on the basis of one hundred organizations that were undergoing the process of change. This paper will outline how Walmart could apply Kotter’s model of change towards HR issues such as having better compensation and benefits as well as improving employee training and development procedures.

On several occasions, Walmart which is one of the largest global retailers, has been accused of poor wages and employee benefits. The pay scale are too low that they place their employees below the poverty line. There are no benefits such as rewards and this in turn demotivates and demoralizes the employees from performing well and being productive. Further, Walmart lacks appropriate training and development programs for the development of its employees. To this end, employees are highly dissatisfied with their jobs and the organization experiences very high turnover rates (Collings, Wood & Szamosi, 2018). This has posed a major threat to the entity as it affects productivity and makes the company incur more expenses in the recruiting process. As a result, there is need to implement Kotter’s model of change and implement the appropriate change so as to keep the organization on top of the competition.

Step 1: Establish a Sense of Urgency

For there to be effective change, the whole organization needs to want it and a sense of urgency should be created around the need for change. The HR manager could do so by sparking the initial motivation to get things moving. An honest and convincing conversation should be opened about what is ailing the organization and when more people are talking about the proposed change, the urgency builds up and feed itself (Fernando, 2018). For instance, the HR manager could table a proposition with Walmart’s shareholders and the CEO on the need to increase employee salaries as well as introduce attractive employee benefits.

The manager could stir the conversation by indicating how poor wages and lack of benefits has been causing employee dissatisfaction and has resulted in high turnover rates. Additionally, he could start the conversation on how the lack of training and development procedures is adversely affecting employee performance and productivity, which has also led to a decline in sales. These are dynamic and convincing reasons that can get people talking about the need to implement change.

Step 2: Creating Coalition

To lead change, the Human Resource management will need to gather a coalition of influential people to garner strong support after convincing them that the change is necessary (Hornstein, 2015). For instance, the HR management could consult with union representatives who could help represent the employees to the organization. They could enter into discussions regarding the appropriate way to have employees’ compensation and benefits improved and having training and development procedures put in place. The union will be key in helping rallying the employees behind any form of change as everyone will be need to work as a team. The HR management could also work with the supervisors especially on the area of developing training and development procedures as they are the ones who work directly with the employees. While doing so, the management needs to check the team for any weak areas and ensure there is an appropriate combination of people from different levels and departments within the organization.

Step 3: Developing Vision and Strategy

A clear vision and strategy will help every person understand the need for change. When people share in this vision, the directives given to them will make more sense. Management needs to first establish the values that are central to change. For instance, the management at Walmart could state that they are pushing for a stronger organizational culture where the employees come first. This will show that they aim for a goal of giving employees the skills and tools as well as the motivation of attractive compensation and benefits schemes so that they can do more to be productive (Collings, Wood & Szamosi, 2018). They could also communicate the vision of the change strategy stating that they intend to invest in the employees by making them better at their jobs as well as their everyday life. To achieve this, they will be need to create a strategy to execute this vision.

Step 4: Communicate the Vision

After creating the vision, it is time for Walmart’s management to communicate it powerfully and frequently while embedding it in every activity. Communication is integral to implementing and sustaining change (Hodges & Gill, 2014, p. 275). The vision can be talked about during meetings and during any other chance that the management gets. It should be used daily when solving problems and making decisions (Fernando, 2018). For instance, if an employee had a problem dealing with a client, management should take this as a learning moment and communicate why there is need to have training and development implemented for all employees. This vision needs to be applied to all aspects of the organization’s operations especially in training and performance reviews. Everything should be tied back to the vision of making the jobs and lives of the employees better.

Step 5: Empowering Broad-based Action

At this point, the staff and stakeholders at Walmart should be intending to get busy to achieve the benefits that management has been communicating regarding the changes to the human resource issues facing the organization. It is important to establish whether there is any resistance to change possibly from the shareholders. If there are any obstacles getting in the way of empowering action, they should be removed (Galli, 2018). To empower action, change agents and leaders should be identified to deliver these changes. These include the policy makers who will come up with a better compensation and benefits package as well as leaders to develop and implement training and development procedures.

Step 6: Generating Short-term Wins

Success tends to motivate people and a taste of victory should be given to the Walmart stakeholders early during the change process. For instance, if there are more positive customer feedback, this should be attributed to growing motivation of the employees by the attractive compensation and benefits packages as well as the training procedures. Short-term targets should be established so that each smaller target can be attainable as to motivate the whole organization. Short-term wins help ensure that negative thinkers and critics do not hurt the progress of the change (Galli, 2018).

Step 7: Consolidating Gains and Producing more Change

According to Kotter, most change projects fail when victory is declared too early in the process because real change should run deep. Quick wins should only mark the beginning of what needs to be achieved in the long-term (Collings, Wood & Szamosi, 2018). Each success for the training and development program needs to provide an opportunity to build on what has gone right and what can be improved. Upon every win, management at Walmart need to keep ideas fresh by welcoming new change agents and leaders for the change coalition. For instance, professional trainers and developers can be brought in to push the procedure further.

Step 8: Anchoring New Approaches into the Culture

To make this change stick, it needs to become part of the corporate culture at Walmart. This is what determines what gets done and the values behind the vision must show the daily operations (Galli, 2018). Continuous efforts need to be made to make sure that the aspect of change is seen through all aspects of Walmart. For instance, every incident that happens should be a learning moment and there could be programs whereby employees are recognized and rewarded from every sales they close or minor milestone in their day-to-day operations.

References

Collings, D. G., Wood, G. T., & Szamosi, L. T. (2018). Human resource management: A critical approach. In Human Resource Management (pp. 1-23). Routledge.

Fernando, M. (2018). LEADING CHANGE. Leadership: Regional and Global Perspectives, 280.

Galli, B. J. (2018). Change Management Models: A Comparative Analysis and Concerns. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 46(3), 124-132.

Hodges, J., & Gill, R. (2014). Sustaining Change in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA:

SAGE Publications.

Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291-298.