ASSIGNMENT 3 - QUALITY PAPER

"Kotter" Please respond to the following:

· Read the article titled  “The Perils and Pitfalls of Leading Change” . Next, analyze the change that was implemented by Daniel Oliveira.  Synthesize the change based on Kotter’s eight (8) steps for leading change. Determine if Oliveira followed the Kotter model. Select one (1) of the steps to assess and determine if Oliveira accomplished this step. Why was this an important step? Comment on how following the model may have made his change successful.

In this week’s reading “The Perils and Pitfalls of Leading Change,” we learned about Daniel Oliveira. Oliveira who took on the position as the store manager for the clothing and accessories store in Recife which was one of the largest stores by size and revenue, not to mention over 350 employees. He was also given a new assignment of leading and managing the turnaround of a store that had been experiencing declining performance (Cates, Karen, et al., 2016). Oliveira entered the position with a high level of enthusiasm, ideas and a readiness to make changes to improve the business. He educated himself through researching general information about the business, working in multiple departments, attempting to earn the respect and friendship of the current employees. However, he decided to begin these changes without any information or input from the employees. Oliveira ran into many obstacles when presenting his ideas to the store management team. They were less than enthused about his ideas, and his ideas were not being implemented. Then the store's performance diminished. Oliveira had lost the respect of his employees.

Kotter’s steps for leading change provides a blueprint for how to implement effective change.  Kotter's eight-steps to leading change are:

1.    Create a sense of urgency

2.    Build a guiding coalition

3.    Form a strategic vision and initiatives

4.    Enlist a volunteer army

5.    Enable action by removing barriers

6.    Generate short-term wins

7.    Sustain acceleration

8.    Institute change

("The 8-Step Process for Leading Change")

Oliveira did not follow these steps in modeling his changes. Kotter’s steps for leading change are a clear road map to effective implementation of change.  The advice that Oliveira was given modeled Kotter’s steps, but Oliveira failed to listen to or follow that advice.  He did make an effort to get to know his employees, but he only learned about the employees on a surface level.  Oliveira failed to get information from the employees to make the right decisions for change that would be in the best interest of the store.  Furthermore, two employees sat with upper management and quit to work for competitors due to losing belief in Oliveira as a store manager. I feel his intentions were genuine, but his approach was entirely off.

Step 4 of Kotter’s eight steps to leading change would be the step I would choose as a crucial step. “Large-scale change can only occur when massive numbers of people rally around a common opportunity. They must be bought-in and urgent to drive change – moving in the same direction” ("The 8-Step Process for Leading Change"). Enlisting a volunteer army would have helped Oliveira accomplish a much better accept the approach to change. As stated in the text, if done properly, with creativity, such communications can go viral, attracting employees who buy into the ambition of the message and begin to share a commitment to it (Hodges & Gill, 2015). Many of the store employees had been with the business for quite some time and were stuck on what would and would not work. The thought process appeared to be they had a more rounded idea, and understanding of the functions help increase performance because of experience. In my opinion, if Oliveira enlisted the help of his employees his plans would not have failed as poorly as they did. Oliveira would have had a better understanding of the business and functions. Had he utilized an army of volunteers to formulate a successful plan of changes this would have changed his mind set and ideas moving forward to implement change.  The way forward would have been respected and easier to apply the suggested changes into the business. He would have also been able to gather and retain the respect of his employees because he would have shown that they were a vital piece to the puzzle and that their input mattered. Employees should also feel as though they are a part of the team.

References

Cates, Karen, et al. “The Perils and Pitfalls of Leading Change: A Young Managers Turnaround Journey” 2016. doi: 10.4135/9781473972377

Hodges, J. & Gill, R. (2015).  Sustaining Change in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications

Kotter (n.d.). “The 8-Step Process for Leading Change.” Retrieved from  www.kotterinc.com/8-steps-process-for-leading-change/ .