Personal Information
The identified person was in charge of the marketing department of the targeted organization. His title (and position) is that of a Marketing Manager. The interview was used to understand the unique changes that were being considered in the company. Organizational change is something critical because it guides firms to implement new practices that can result in improved performance. A new change was needed in order to transform the marketing process and make it easier for the company to realize its objectives (Cummings, Bridgman, & Brown, 2016). The Marketing Manager was keen to ensure that the change was implemented successfully and eventually increase the firm’s profitability.
Program Responsibility and Needed Change
The proposed change was aimed at expanding the company’s marketing model to include the use of online platforms such as social media platforms and affiliate programs. The new program therefore focused on improving the company’s marketing approaches (Batras, Duff, & Smith, 2014). The program would be executed using a powerful model. The main responsibilities behind the program was to come up with an effective plan for implementing change, acquiring new resources, and empowering different workers to support the process.
As indicated earlier, the needed change is to improve the firm’s marketing model. This means that new approaches and initiatives will be considered in order to maximize sales (Ward, 2017). Different stakeholders, workers, and leaders will be part of the program. Continuous support will be considered in order to ensure the program is implemented successfully.
Approach to Make the Change
A powerful approach will be needed to make the proposed change a reality. A powerful change model can support the implementation process and eventually deliver positive results. Kurt Lewin’s model of change is the best approach for supporting or making the change. The model follows these three unique steps: unfreeze, change, and refreeze (Ward, 2017). Each of these phases will be used as guidelines to support the implementation process.
Unfreeze
This stage can be used to sensitize different workers about the importance of online-based marketing. The traditional marketing approaches will be analyzed during the phase in order to identify key areas for improvement (Koryak et al., 2015). Adequate communication, collaboration, and decision-making will characterize this stage. The workers will be informed about the importance of evidence-based marketing procedures. The reasons why the new change is necessary will be outlined.
Change
The second stage will be considered after the workers will have been updated about the intended change. During this phase, the employees will be trained and informed about the roles of social media and the internet in online marketing (Hussain et al., 2016). Trials will be done whereby different employees will be guided to merge contemporary marketing approaches with online strategies. Support, training, and empowerment are critical success factors that will be considered during this stage. The workers will begin to appreciate the importance of online marketing.
Refreeze
This stage is usually used to make the implemented practice (or change) an integral aspect of a given company. The employees will be guided to make online marketing part of the organization’s business model. It will be appropriate to embrace the concept of continuous improvement (Freeman & Siegfried, 2015). This practice will ensure the workers are willing to embrace and implement new concepts that can make the marketing process successful. The provision of resources and rewards will sustain the process and eventually make the firm profitable.
References
Batras, D., Duff, C., & Smith, B. (2014). Organizational change theory: Implications for health promotion practice. Health Promotion International, 31(1), 231-241.
Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., & Brown, K. (2016). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. Human Relations, 69(1), 33-60.
Freeman, D., & Siegfried, R. (2015). Entrepreneurial leadership in the context of company start-up and growth. Journal of Leadership Studies, 8(4), 35-39.
Hussain, S., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M., Hussain, S., & Ali, M. (2016). Kurt Lewin’s process model for organizational change: The role of leadership and employee involvement: A critical review. Journal of Innovation Knowledge, 1(1), 1-7.
Koryak, O., Mole, K., Lockett, A., Hayton, J., Ucbasaran, D., & Hodgkinson, G. (2015). Entrepreneurial leadership, capabilities and firm growth. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 33(1), 1-14.
Ward, J. (2017). Leadership and change in public sector organizations: Beyond reform. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.