. Introduction and description of the organization - If based on real company names and people should be renamed and add disclaimer

The retail industry is undergoing fundamental change within its business operations and resulting profitability. Technology has heavily disrupted the industry caused a large amount of change in consumer purchasing habits. Technology has also significantly reduced the amount of information asymmetry within the market, thus help consumers better capitalize on deals and other bargains. This disruption has created both adverse and positive impacts on the industry. For one retail has allowed for a reduction within information asymmetry. It allows consumers the opportunity for true price discovery. Companies such as Ebay for example provide millions of consumers and sellers the opportunity to arrive at a fair price for goods and services. Others companies also have a better opportunity to reach consumers without necessarily requiring a physical store presence further aiding in the purchase of goods and services. Amazon also provides a platform of both consumers and markets participants to properly engage with one another on a very fundamental level. More pure-play brick and mortal firms do not have this flexibility and often have large amounts of overhead within their overall cost structures (Abrahamson, 2000).

The retail organization for this report will be Martys, a fictional name based off of the dominate retailer Macys. Martys has a long a storied retail history. It has been around for over 5 decades and has developed very strong brand equity within the United States and abroad. It has also garnered a large following through its creation of the Martys Day Parade during the holiday season and the Martys Fire Works Show during the fourth of July holiday. The company occupies the middle niche within the retail market space with a combination of premium products at affordable prices. It is not the low-cost producer and its brand does not cater to this market. Likewise, the brand is not ultra-premium although it does have a few products that can address this market. Typically speaking the organization caters to shoppers making between $55,000 and $90,000 a year with a relatively large amount of discretionary income. The organization is currently undergoing a fundamental shift in its operations as it looks to better compete with small, nimbler, internet companies. It is also shifting operations to better compete with the larger online retailers that have come to dominate the retail sector. To accomplish this the company is embarking on a digital transformation of its own along with strategic partnerships with logistics firms designed to help provide a compelling value proposition to shoppers (Alvesson, 2002).

2. The internal or external driven needs for change - Could be week 2 -PESTEL then SWOT or Burke Litwin

The internal and external needs for change are driven by a litany of factors. First, the external factor is heavily centered around changing consumer sentiment, purchaser behavior, and buying power. New competitors have entered the market and are willing to sacrifice short term profitability and margin to erode the market share of Martys. To do so, they are often offering products at much steeper discounts than Martys which ultimately forced the company to respond with lower prices themselves. However, due to Martys large overhead, it has limits in its ability to properly lower prices and compete. Many of the online retailers do not have these same restrictions which ultimately empowers the consumer. Consumers, due in part to globalization and the internet have a much more robust consideration set. These external factors of intense pricing competition, globalization, more market participants, and high consumer power all...

…readiness to change. For one, the forces against this change are very entrenched. The ability to sell stores and right size the overall portfolio is also very difficult in a market where buyers do not want to purchase the stores. As a result, the company may not be able to execute on its strategy. Likewise, the company ability to change its employee base and culture may be very difficult again causing strong resistance to change. Another factor is the overall societal perception and backlash from laying off a large number of front-line employees who do not want to engage in the change that is required. This negative press can further dissuade future employees who could help effectuate the change from applying to the company. Likewise, it can lower morale for those who are currently working within the company currently thus lowering the culture for change. As a assessment, from this analysis, the forces against change are high (Balogun, 2004)

Force Analysis

Forces For - 13

Plan: To improve operational efficiency through online sales adoption

Forces Against - 15

Higher Profitability 5

Staff afraid of change - 5

Strong customer engagement - 2

Low Morale from layoffs 3

Stronger employee engagement - 3

Costs - 3

Better company cost structure -3

Staff Training 1

Operational Disruption - 3

5. Your readiness as a leader to lead change

As a leader, the ability to lead change is impacted by a clear and engaging vision. As it relates to Martys the ability to change the vision of the company is that critical element of success. This vision must be compelling enough to engage thousands of employees, but simply ensure to place the odds of success in the leaders favor. Here, my readiness is very high as I am first very comfortable with change. Likewise, I have the experience and expertise needed to help initiate the changes…