Introduction

This assignment aims to provide information about a transformational change in the

operations of a chain of brick & mortar grocery superstores in India by drawing from a variety of
secondary sources and conducting research into the academic literature. This paper explains the
case study with the help of different scenarios and provides an analysis of what went well and
what could have been done differently by the owners. It is of utmost importance to have crystal
clear knowledge that the focus on reforms was driven from the top down and that the coalition
that was formed to carry out this change played an important part in accomplishing the set goals.
It should also be noted that the coalition was a significant contributor to the success of this
endeavor. As a result, the Kotter model is being taken into consideration as the main emphasis
of this project.

In contrast, this assignment’s secondary emphasis is on the Nadler and Tushman

congruence model. The selection of the Kotter model and Nadler and Tushman congruence
model ensures that all steps are followed effectively. The Kotter 8-step approach is widely used
because it offers change managers a straightforward road map to follow, even if they do not have
extensive experience in the relevant subject matter. (Stouten et al., 2018)

Case Study

My family has owned and managed a chain of traditional brick & mortar grocery
superstores in the city of New Delhi for more than three decades now. Our unique selling
proposition is that we take great pleasure in customizing the shopping experience of our clients
by providing optimized price, in-store promotions, and highest quality in-house branded product
lines. Due to the proliferation of e-commerce and a major shift in customer’s shopping behaviors
during the pandemic, an ever-increasing number of customers began grocery shopping online.
This had a catastrophic impact on our organization, and it was immediately obvious that we also
needed to transition to conducting business online. My father, who is the co-founder and co-owner
of our family business was the first and most vehement opponent of the idea because he was
afraid that his legacy would be lost, and our company would become just another online delivery
platform. He felt compelled to voice his concerns for a long time.

I, on the other hand, was the Marketing head of our business and an avid promoter of adopting
the new technology to not only retain our existing customer base but also to attract young and
new customers to our store who preferred the convenience of ordering groceries online and
getting them delivered right at their doorstep. In the end, along with the buy-in of my uncle who is
also a co-founder and co-owner of our business, I convinced my father that he should begin
assisting us in selling some of our in-house branded products online and support us in this
endeavor. It took us a few months, but we successfully persuaded my father that it was in the
best interest of the business to comply with our request.

As the pandemic hit, customers were unable to go about their normal shopping routines,
which resulted in significant financial losses for our organization since the core of our business
model was to attract foot traffic to the store. During the pandemic, we could not continue providing
in-store service to our customers in the same manner as before and not even at the same scale
due to the social distancing restrictions posed by the Indian government. Within the first couple
of months, we successfully transitioned into e-commerce and made available the bulk of our
products online as an emergency response to the problem. Because of the implementation of the
new system, the sales staff were under the impression that their previous roles no longer required
them to engage in personal sales within the shop store. Further, the new training that needed to
be given to the personnel to deal with the challenges of handling inventories and orders in real-
time, something that they were not adept at, further aggravated the situation.

The duty of being the driver of this newly introduced vehicle fell squarely on my shoulders.
I was responsible for advertising the new online channels to our customers, training the staff
members to use new technology, and simultaneously operating a grievance cell for the staff.

The sales team fought the introduction of this new structure and style of working, and this
resistance was successful. Because they did not want to put in the effort required to unlearn all
that they previously knew to acquire new talents, they avoided situations in which they would be
forced to do so whenever possible. We started noticing an increase in employee absenteeism
and a lack of interest in attending training sessions.

Critical Literature Review

The 8-Step Process model for leading change developed by John P. Kotter in 1996 is a
procedure that is intended to assist owners of the business to implement organizational change.
The selection of this model is highly relevant to the current case study as this model helps the
senior management of the brick & mortar grocery superstore chain which included my father, my
uncle and myself to implement a successful organizational change. At each step, the specific
tasks that need to be completed to maintain a modification project on the schedule are outlined
(Caulfield and Brenner, 2020). Numerous businesses undergoing transitions in their operations
employ the Kotter model of change management today. This framework assists the owners of the
brick & mortar grocery superstore chain in being remarkably effective in their activities, whether it
be shifting to new business technologies or reorganizing systems and processes. However, the
biggest limitation of the Kotter model is that it takes a considerable amount of time. The approach
is primarily hierarchical, and there is little room for participation or collaborative effort. Moreover,
it can lead to irritation and discontent on the workers' part if the people's specific requirements
are not given sufficient consideration.

On the other hand, the Nadler and Tushman Congruence Model is a model that is used
to identify difficulties around performance and how to begin addressing them to increase
performance (Escher et al., 2018). The fundamental principle behind Nadler and Tushman
Congruence Model is that all its parts need to coordinate their efforts and function as a unified
whole. ‘Work’ examines the activities conducted within the brick & mortar grocery superstore
chain and the way they are conducted. It encompasses all aspects of the process, from where
brick & mortar grocery superstore chain as a firm provides the input. ‘People’ refers to the different
persons that are responsible for producing the job, ranging from the upper management down to
the numerous consumers and other external stakeholders. This part discusses everything, from
skills and knowledge to determination and commitment and everything in between. ‘Structure’
refers to the organizational structure and procedures in place inside the business (Geis et al.,
2019). It describes how brick & mortar grocery superstore chains are set up, whether functionally,
based on products, or regions. Moreover, many management levels, the general organizational
chart, and the information flow between the various departments and divisions are discussed for
the brick & mortar grocery superstore chain. ‘Culture’ is the element that can have the greatest
influence on performance but is also the hardest one to analyze. It considers the leadership style
and the beliefs and values of the individuals who work there. There is some repetition of effort
here, as it examines not individuals but policies, methods, techniques, diversification, and
incentives. The congruence model is a change management approach that analyses an
organization’s performance based on how it functions as a system. The organization is sectioned
into its parts, and the congruence model analyses those parts to determine how to improve the
entire system by making each component better.
Analysis

The retail business has been undergoing fast change over the past few years, and those
merchants unable to adapt to these changes or manage them effectively have suffered.

Most meaningful change is accompanied by some form of opposition to that change. Because it
is determined that a change would be beneficial, people may resist it because of the impact they
anticipate or think it would have on their standing in the workforce. The major issue I had to deal
with was the resistance from my sales team, as they did not want to unlearn their old skills and
were unwilling to learn new ones. On the other hand, venturing into new marketing and distribution
channels was also a problem as my father thought that it would affect his company's legacy.

For this reason, the first step was to make the transition obligatory which lessened
employees' reluctance to change. The need of the situation demanded that the adjustment be
made in any event, at some point in time or another. To get things going, it was necessary to
emphasize how urgent the situation is to change for the brick & mortar grocery superstore chain
due to the pandemic. Because of the current scenario of the retail industry, transformation was
essential, and the continuous bankruptcies and store closure announcements were proof that
brick & mortar grocery superstore chain must take quick actions (Geis et al., 2019). The second
step for the brick & mortar grocery superstore chain was to have a group of individuals with
sufficient authority to push the changes to steer the progress. For things to move forward in a
timely and effective manner, it was necessary to have a project team that was both compact and
cohesive. This team included stakeholders representing a wide range of activities affected by the
change. However, this step was not executed smoothly as the coalition that led this change was
at crossroads within the group, since two stakeholders were convinced with the idea of change,
and one was not. This friction within the coalition led to different mission statements being rolled
out in the flagship store.

The third step was that in a short period of time, the convinced owners of the store
conveyed the fundamental concept driving a project to transform their organization. Therefore,
making it possible for their sales team, workers, and father to comprehend the change at hand
and develop an interest in it (Eschen et al., 2018). The fourth step was forming a volunteer army,
which included cherry-picking staff members who were most convinced that change would be
beneficial to make a case to the remainder of the staff. This step was of utmost importance as the
front-line employees best understood the apprehensions of their peers and made a better
argument to comply with change. The next step was the alteration of the current circumstances
because it can be unsettling and frequently calls for making compromises in the near term. Even
if workers were unhappy with the way things were going, owners did not expect them to be willing
to make these sacrifices unless the staff felt that doing so would result in improvements in the
long run (Baloh, Zhu, and Ward, 2018). Further, the sixth step was to realize that this change may
take a long time to make significant changes. The project's excitement was maintained by
accomplishing and celebrating little triumphs along the way such as an increase in the number of
online orders from young and new customers who had earlier avoided stepping into the store as
it was a hassle. In the seventh step, Kotter emphasizes that one does not have to sit around and
wait for short-term achievements; rather, one can go out and actively seek them out (Eschen et
al., 2018). The last step was to communicate that change is not irreversible unless it is accepted
as 'our method of operation.' There was also a real possibility that individuals would go back to
the old methods of doing things if the previous mode of operation continued to appear familiar
and safe compared to the new one (Pereira et al., 2021).

Despite an application of the Kotter model to initiate change, there were certain
shortcomings to the approach. Since the Kotter model is a top-down model, the custodians of the
change missed potential opportunities because not everyone was involved in the vision’s co-
creation. It also led to resistance and resentment amongst employees because little consideration
was given to the change curve and how people react to significant change. It was noted that some
employees were overt while other were covert about their unwillingness to adapt to organizational
changes. The reactions ranged from expressing their resistance publicly to unknowingly resisting
change through their language or general actions. The custodians of change also lacked the
necessary back-and-forth (and, to a degree, actionable instructions) to be taken as a step-by-step
process.

To combat this, the owners also used the Nadler and Tushman Congruence Model to
make changes. It is important to comprehend that the coalition oversaw leading the change effort
and developing the plan and strategy to implement the change (Wentworth, Behson and Kelley,
2020). The development, articulation, and dissemination of the change vision and purpose were
modified with the help of the Nadler and Tushman Congruence Model. The owners of the brick &
mortar grocery superstore chain empowered their people to act on the vision effectively. People
are more likely to get involved when empowered because it encourages them to execute non-
traditional ideas, activities, and actions (Amme et al., 2018). Moreover, Nadler and Tushman
Congruence Model helped the company owners to set both challenging and attainable objectives,
enabled the business to track continuous progress, inspired their sales personnel and provided
them with an adequate amount of training in an effective manner. It was easier for them to make
a better relationship with their employees, adopt habits, and enhance the business’s overall
performance thus linking all the components of the congruence model (work, people, structure
are culture) together seamlessly.

While this model was applied to bat off the limitations of the Kotter model, it still was not foolproof
since it lacked a direct way for incorporating group dynamics into organizational analysis. The
absence of a structured template gave the custodians flexibility but also limited their ability in
quickly coming up with proven solutions to organizational problems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be inferred that since it was urgent for the brick & mortar superstore business
to modify their ways considering the pandemic, the Kotter model was used to introduce tis
overhaul and was carried out through a step-by-step approach which was mostly successful but
due to the lack of stakeholders’ ability to anticipate the reactions and resistance of the staff, the
change took much longer to be incorporated efficiently within the organization and it did not come
without grievances from the sales staff. To tackle this issue, the Nadler and Tushman Congruence
Model was utilized to facilitate the modification of the process of developing, articulating, and
disseminating the change vision and purpose.
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