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A S Watson Final
A S Watson Final
Table of Contents
1. Background………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
2. Analysis and Evaluation……………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
3. Leadership Style and Theories implemented by Watson group……………………………. 7
4. Analysis of the implemented theories…………………………………………………………………..8
5. Issues faced when implementing theories and impact on change ………………………..9
6. Implication and Evaluation of both Theories……………………………………………………… 10
7. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
8. Refences…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15
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Leadership and Change
Management
Organizations can only prosper when change management is effectively practiced. Leadership
also plays a vital role to ensure best practices in organizations, empowering employees to
eventually result in organizational growth, which is the ultimate goal. These processes when
integrated together will ensure that the organization prospers in the given market structure.
Successful change programs focus on a number of aspects of structural changes and the
development of leadership.
The history of the case points to a few different management and leadership styles with their
ongoing business processes. A.S. Watson's growth strategy can be explained comprising of
market penetration (e.g. the expansion of chain store network in the existing markets) as well
as markets developed through expansion into previously unexplored territories. Since 1987, the
company has been successful in entering Asian and European markets. It is stated that A.S.
Watson primarily expands its business through organic growth. "Organic growth plays a major
part in our expansion", Ian F. Wade said when he was the group’s managing director.
Eventually, A.S. Watson indulged in joint ventures to explore it’s horizon and penetrate into a
larger market share. A.S. Watson also made acquisitions. An example is the acquisition of the
Kruidvat Group which transformed Watson Group to the third largest beauty retailer in the
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Leadership and Change
Management
world This merger helped Watson group to show their presence in the ever growing European
market.
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Leadership and Change
Management
Due to the ever-growing cultural changes, this enabled the company’s management to
acknowledge the problems they experienced and what solutions could be implanted in order to
rectify those problems. Change management process consists of multiple steps from planning,
implementing, working out feasibility, attainability and keeping track of what changes it is
bringing to the system. The last step is really important because one has to keep a close on eye to
what reactions are being caused by the newly implemented change strategies. It is necessary to
rectify negative reactions which are not according to the desired results.
Organisations sometime fail to recognise the fact that leadership and change management as
interrelated and interdependent aspects. The common misconception is that both these
elements are treated separately. Change in culture cannot be brought without the leadership
taking a charge and being involved. This is to be carried out at every managerial level to ensure
that it is embedded within every employee of the organisation that they have to embrace this
change and work together towards achieving that goal. Empowered employees are the backbone
of every organisation and it is the leader’s duty to ensure that they are. The organisation has to
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Leadership and Change
Management
clearly communicate what the culture of a business entails. If the employees are clear on what
the brand’s image is and what it promises to deliver, only then they will be able to meet the
demands of the customer in a complete manner.
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Leadership and Change
Management
The Watson group has generated a complete concise strategic plan to be implemented in a way
that their goals align with the goals of their employees. This required the generation of a
comprehensive managerial plan focusing mainly on training of employees and value addition so
the company is ranked highly on customer retention, resulting in keeping the competitors at a
distance. For excelling in retail sales, creative and innovative management is the prerequisite
base for the organization to flourish in the market. The company needs to have a clear
understanding of its brand and the value it needs to project. Leadership has to be aligned with
these practices to maximize profits.In order to examine the different market criteria,
empowered employees and a strong management plan in place will pave the way for
situational analysis and implications. Having a competitive edge and a strong culture within the
organization is necessary in order to better achieve efficiency, retaining employees and
increasing employee motivation.
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Leadership and Change
Management
incorporated by the Watson group is advantage over their competition and the second being
employee empowerment practices, which provide the employees with suitable knowledge
about the market dynamics. The competitive advantage acts as the focal point for the entire
application of the market. The employees receiving complete information about the market
and the aims of the company are more aware of the customers' needs (van Rossum et al. 2016).
Planning, providing employees with all kinds of information regarding the products and services
implies the best strategy for the organization. When the employees have proper knowledge, it
provides a better ground for the managerial staff in order to proceed towards successful
factors. If the organization understands the importance of employee training and development
criteria, only then it will be able to build a better customer experience overall. The values of
leadership and work-based criteria should be in sync with the challenges they are facing in the
market. Employees need to be educated about how important it is for them to understand the
impact they have in the organization. Their duties as an employee should be stated clearly to
them. By providing employees with a sense of belonging to the organization, the chances of
them understanding goes higher. Team building activities can also play a pivotal role in making
the employees more and more aware and building strong bonds between them and the
organization.
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Leadership and Change
Management
Change was embraced well within the Watson Group, by leaders and employees equally. The
change in culture was required to adapt to the mentality that Watson Group was now bigger
than ever and their services and customer experience had improved by a great deal.
Facing competition in the market from different development and growth criteria ensure that
different market bases are catered with suitable and appropriate solutions. One solution
cannot be expected to work on each and every segment. Every market segment has unique
attributes such as preferences, buying power, etc. The company has created great quality
products and services, which provide a competitive edge in the market. Employees are being
provided with proper training so that their goals are aligned with the goals of the organization,
which is the most important factor for the organization to reach its goals. The different
strategic factors accompanied by programmed job rotations find the best mix for the
organization to stay ahead of the competition and continue doing so. Offering different
products is the unique selling point incorporated into the organization's strategy to prove that
they are a stand out seller in the market. This provides them a competitive edge as consumers
come to them due to the wide array of product and service options they are offering. A cost
leadership technique, is an effective technique which created increased awareness of the
particular market in which the operations are being run. Based on a complete understanding of
the nature of the market, a company can find out its competitive edge. It also allows companies
to stay on top on whatever is going on in today’s everchanging market.
Operational effectiveness strategy means using any practices which enable an organization to
better utilize it’s inputs. This can include any process which can be recitified or made more
efficient. A successful company invests and focuses on technological advancements, data
processing, and culture-based management styles. In Asian cultures, it is necessary to have lean
and transparent processes in order to achieve maximum productivity and profitability. This
variety of issues generate when an organization fails to imply the strategy chosen for them.
When the systems are not in place appropriately, the company will not be able to maintain its
competitive edge which will result in the company to lose its competitive edge.
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Leadership and Change
Management
Cost leadership strategy means that a company intends to gain competitive edge and gain
higher profit margins by offering products and services at the lowest rates in the whole market.
This strategy can be implemented in organization’s like Watson Group which have a wide list of
services and products and are big enough to store stock in higher quantities.
The superior product quality of the company is USP of the Watson group. A USP helps in
differentiating anything from it’s competitors. Their high product quality, wide number of
products and services have given them the competitive edge and that is the reason of the high
customer retention.
Operational effectiveness strategy ensures that the organization is always going internally. It
strives to always keep improving is what set the Watson’s apart. The vision of a leader is most
important in a planning and implementing phase. The leadership style especially needs to be
coincide with the culture based management style. Especially in the case of A.S Watson and
their expansion in different Asian markets.
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Leadership and Change
Management
Conclusion
It is relatively evident from this case study that A.S Watson Group has adhered to a style of
management support system that not only helps them plan better but implement their
projections of the market and customer well.
What is ‘Change Management’? Change Management is primarily used for one reason which is
to ensure highest success of the business. Without change management businesses are prone
to project failures, risking project objectives and can primarily threaten the entire future of a
business. In today’s day and age, any business lacking effective, thorough and timely change
management is at a very high risk of collapsing or failing.
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Leadership and Change
Management
The conclusion is clear. Change is not a singular entity. It requires interactivity of every realm
and sphere of an organization. All contributors, leaders, tools etc. have to work together to
make change management successful.
A.S Watson has successfully formed an effective leadership style that is both beneficial for the
employees as well as the customers. The style of leadership is projected in such a manner so as
to generate a) better experiences for employees and b) support of management groups. These
are essential to look at the bigger picture; business expansion criteria. This aids the organization
with their planning. Planning being done for business perfectives is also helpful in two folds. It
firstly helps with the coaching and monitoring of employees and secondly it creates a well
planned and executed structure. The organization identified a problem and found a suitable
solution, which in this case was a merger which automatically opened up new markets and
diversified audiences.
They were then able to expand their business and move to a beauty and health store from a
normal sized pharmacy. Leadership styles were quickly adapted by the higher management,
keeping in mind the internal and external factors being faced. This led to creating harmony
between the company and its employees. Which in turn resulted in the smooth transition of
expansion of the business. Employees took on the newer roles and the responsibilities it
brought. They were putting in their best efforts in order to provide the best of experiences to
the customers. The company was aware of how it can maintain a competitive edge in the
market as the expansion resulted in Watson competing for a bigger share in the overall market.
The USPs of the organization were strengthened which led them to stand out from the
competition. Change is always hard for people as well as organizations to cope up with. It is
necessary to keep up with the modern changes in technology, cultures and the trends of the
market. Firms need to be aware of any changes going inside or outside which will directly
impact them. Being aware isn’t enough; they need to able to analyze, improvise and adapt their
processes. The market is competitive than ever and those who fail to keep up usually fade away
in no time.
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Management
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Management
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