Leadership and Change Management

Leadership and Change Management

Organizations usually face change due to many forces surrounding the business. The forces can be from internal or external sources. External forces of change usually occur outside of the organization and it could have a global effect. There four external forces for change: demographic characteristics, technological advancements, market changes, and social and political pressures (Kreitner-Kinicki, 2003). The internal forces for change come from inside the organization. The forces come from human problems and managerial behaviors and decisions.

Crys Tel is facing external and internal forces which require attention to change. The external force requires Crys Tel to look into widening its market share by increasing product offerings. The internal force that is causing a need for change is departmental fragmentation; there is no cohesiveness with departments. Crys Tel may face resistance to change. The following top ten reasons explain why People usually resist change. An individual’s predisposition toward change is personal, people fear surprise and fear of unknown, there is a climate of mistrust, fear of failure, loss of status or job security, peer pressure, disruption of cultural traditions or group relationships, personality conflicts, lack of tact or poor timing, and non-reinforcing reward system. Crys Tel has gone through constant change since it was founded. Crys Tel employees did not have a problem with change but they have to work on the department’s weak and strong parameters which will have an impact on the company’s business. The following models for change has helped Crys Tel successfully manage change implementation.

The company Fullfilware was started as a small direct mail company in the basement of Henry Lewin’s in Sandy Springs, Georgia in 1993 (Kohut, 2006). It was started with one addressing machine to stamp 5000 pieces of mail. Today, the company has grown from a small direct mail house into a fast growing, successful direct mail marketing company which provides many different services. The company provides integrated direct marketing solutions through a combination of creative, database management, print production, mailing, internet, email marketing and fulfillment services (Kohut, 2006). The company carefully planned its growth and evolution through many milestones. Every couple of years, the company grew by expanding its business by offering new services. Fullfilware invested into a massive equipment upgrade which was the key to providing new services. In 2002, Lewin brought in a new management team who brought with them a wealth of knowledge in the industry. For fullfilware, change was necessary for growing and being a successful company.

In Lewin’s model of change, there are three steps that a company must follow to implement change. The first step is to “unfreeze” which is to dismantle old behaviors or system, the second step is to present a new alternative which should be better and more appealing to employees. The third and final step is “freezing” which requires changed behavior be reinforced both formally and informally in the organization (Kreitner-Kinicki, 2003). The model is for companies who want to start small,