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Executive Summary
This research has been conducted as analytical analysis of Pret a Manger, the company that is going to prove the importance of changes that could contradict the visions of the company, and British Airways, the company that introduces a powerful example of how an organisation should implement changes and explain them to employees and customers. The challenges the chosen companies face demonstrate the importance of the identification of internal and external factors. The analysis shows that the size and the direction of a company may not matter in case the importance of change is underlined.
A brief overview of two different industries is offered in order to explain the positions of the companies and their opportunities in regards to the possibilities and goals of other companies in the same spheres.
The analysis of the models and the recommendations given helps to understand that both companies have enough powers and opportunities to promote changes and improve their work in a variety of ways.
In general, the models of management, the ideas of how to introduce and develop changes, and the necessity to make people informed about the intentions to change something in the already established system are properly explained in the project and help to create a transfer of learning of the two case studies devoted to Pret a Manger and British Airlines.
Chapter 1: Introduction and Project Background
Introduction
The business world changes quickly today. People have to deal with a number of new requirements and needs, make fast decisions, and clarify what kinds of innovations are appropriate and effective for them. Companies have to stay competitive and consider such issues as personal and public values, security, satisfaction, and sustainable development (Reiss 2012).
People want to choose correct strategies, define their integration, and succeed in organisational change management, project management, and leadership (Hornstein 2015). Leaders should think about their possibilities and the abilities of their company. According to Cameron and Green (2015), leaders have to deal with a number of paradoxes in their jobs including the necessity to build close relations with employees and keep the required suitable distance at the same time or the importance to stay diplomatic in all situations but also know how to express a personal point of view.
With increased dynamics and the development of international relations, many companies want to use their best services and make the choices that bring a lot of benefits. Still, the majority of organisational issues are complicated in their nature. Leaders have to be ready to understand what should be done and when and make the decisions that are beneficial for them, their employees, and their companies. The example of Pret a Manger shows how good and bad decisions could be made within one company and what steps should be taken to overcome the challenges.
Project Background
Since the development of fast food industry and the opportunities for customers, a number of companies in the restaurant business re-define its standards and try to invent new ideas to impress people and take leading positions in the market.
Customers do not want to spend their time and wait for some services in queues. They expect to have a good portion of services, enjoy the products offer, and feel comfortable when they communicate with the companys representatives. Though a number of researchers admit that much depends on a team and the way of how people cooperate, it is also necessary to underline the role of a leader and their possibilities to organise people and explain what goals should be achieved (Gell 2014). The history of Pret a Manger, one of the famous chains of sandwich shops in London, tells a lot about the methods and tactics developed by its leaders.
Pret a Manger was founded by Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham in 1986. The main reason for why they wanted to create a new organisation was the inability to find a place where proper sandwiches could be found (Frei, Goldberg & Sice 2012). They tried to focus on the quality of food and choose all ingredients properly. It should not be another fast-food shop. It should be the company that appreciated its chance to provide people with high-quality services. Pret a Manger created new standards for fast food organisations in several years.
Project Problems
In this project, several problems Pret a Manger should find the solutions for can be identified. Each of them has its ground and explanation. These problems are based on internal and external issues.
Organisational Behaviour Problem
Pret a Manger struggled to open a new line of shops that was called twin shops . Therefore, a number of effective and clear steps are required to prove that this new concept could not contradict the main idea of Pret a Manger that was to prepare food at shops where it was sold.
Quality Management Problem
The idea to open new twin shops could put the quality of food and services under a question and make people think about the difference between Pret a Manger and other fast food shops.
Human Resource Management Problem
Pret a Manger worried that the idea of twin shops could influence the connection between employees and their further abilities to communicate with customers and offer the services in the same way.
Innovation Problem
The presence of twin shops made the company think about the necessity of trucks or other transportation means.
Business Model Problem
The company realised that the growth of shops promoted some alterations to be made to its business model. Still, it was difficult for the company to understand what modifications were appropriate.
Project Questions
Organisational Behaviour Management Question
What are the factors and behavioural changes that make Pret a Manger being confident that they can open a new line of shops?
Quality Management Question
How could twin shops change the work of Pret Manger stores?
Human Resource Management Question
How could the removal of the manufacturing element influence the work of the company and change the attitudes of employees to their duties and responsibilities?
Innovation Question
How much money should be spent on the development of transportation issues?
Business Model Question
Could a new business model or some improvements to the model change the concepts of a company and violate the element that made the company as it was?
Project Aim
The aim of the project is to describe, evaluate, analyse, and compare organisational changes in two different companies and understand what recommendations could be given to the companies and their leaders, in particular, to solve the challenges, promote the development, and improve the quality of services customers expect to get.
Project Objectives
To present a list of recommendations and make sure that the situations in the companies could be changed for better, several objectives should be established in regards to the questions and problems raised above.
Organisational Behaviour Management Objective
To clarify the behavioural factors and requirements that should be taken into consideration when companies want to promote changes and involve a number of people in these improvements.
Quality Management Objective
To determine the extent to which it is possible to change the work of the company and the system under which a number of employees have been working for a long period of time.
Human Resource Management Objective
To evaluate how organisational changes, both improvements and challenges, could influence the work of people and their employees satisfaction with their working conditions.
Innovation Objective
To understand what kind of improvements could be offered by the company in regards to the abilities and resources available.
Business Model Objective
To investigate the ways of how changes could be implemented and explained to employees and customers.
Significant of the Project
This case proves that the success of the company depends on the qualities and abilities of their leaders (Smith et al. 2014). On the one hand, changes promote the development of a company (Vukotich 2011) and make people work hard to achieve the best results and benefits. On the other hand, the examples show that not all decisions and changes are always appropriate for companies.
Therefore, change management in public organisations is an integral part of a working process that could gain forms of planned improvements and emergent approaches (Voet 2013). Competent managers and leaders have to be confident in the importance of change and identify enough reasons for making new steps and developing new strategies that could touch the work of all employees, the choices of all customers, and the needs of the whole company (Hayes 2014).
Project Structure
The project is divided into several sections with each of them has its purpose and impact on the understanding of the topic.
Chapter 1: the introduction to the case and the explanation of the projects aim, research questions, objectives, problems, and the significance of the work are given.
Chapter 2: the description of the case study where the questions of organisational change and leadership are discussed.
Chapter 3: the statement of the main problem in the case study, the plan of analysis, and the identification of the theoretical frameworks are offered.
Chapter 4: the analysis and evaluation of findings and techniques used by the company are introduced.
Chapter 5: a list of recommendations and limitations in regards to the company are offered.
Chapter 6: the analysis of British Airways as the company that showed how to succeed in change management is offered on the basis of the already done work and findings
History of the Company
Pret a Manger was founded by Metcalfe and Beecham in 1986. The main reason for why they wanted to create a company was the inability to find a place with proper sandwiches (Frei, Goldberg & Sice 2012). They tried to focus on the quality of food. It should not be another fast-food shop. They wanted to introduce a shop where certain respect and attention to customers were paid. Metcalfe and Beecham borrowed £17,000 from a bank to buy the name of the company, open their first shop, and hire motivated and friendly staff.
Certain financial difficulties occurred at the end of the 1990s and at the beginning of the 2000s because of the politics of its new CEO, Andrew Rolfe. He wanted to expand the company domestically and internationally to enter the market of the USA and Japan. Pret a Manger was not able to compete with other famous international organisations at the global level and lost its uniqueness as a friendly and food of high-quality shop. Pret a Manger had to make some changes, and the solution to fire the current CEO and invite Clive Schlee to perform the functions of the companys CEO was made.
Competitive Advantages
Four competitive advantages including the attention to the quality of food, recognition of customers, location of shops, and successful employee management were identified (Frei, Goldberg & Sice 2012).
Food Quality
Pret a Manger identified its production and introduced it to its customers. At first, sandwiches were the only product available to customers. With time, the chain was enlarged, and customers could also order coffee, salads, soups, and pastries (Frei, Goldberg & Sice 2012). The vision of the company was the idea that health could not be sacrificed.
In every shop, there was a kitchen, and the company was able to maximise the freshness of food offered to people. In comparison to other fast-food shops where kitchens were centralised, Pret a Manger was not able to minimise its food preparation costs. Still, it was not the goal of the company. Schlee convinced its stakeholders that a person could have a unique attitude to selling the food that was prepared independently. The results were impressive and reflected on the income statements of the company.
Customers
The cooperation with customers and the quality of services Pret a Manger offered to people is one of the key features of the company. For example, the regulars of the shop could count on free coffee or pastries. Every customer should be provided with the required service in no more than 60 seconds because people visit the shop not to wait but eat.
Several Pret Manger shops have more than five managers. The possibility of communication between customers and its CEO is possible. Such an attitude to customers attracted many people because they wanted to be a part of a team that offer its services. Nowadays, customers are free to leave their responses, share their opinions, and introduce their suggestions about changes they want to see in the company.
Shops
Shop locations and appearances play an important role in the company as well. Natural lights attract the attention of people. Each shop is located not far from each other. At the same time, shops do not cannibalise each other and co-exist peacefully (Frei, Goldberg & Sice 2012).
Employees
Employees should not be trained to be hired. Potential employees are welcome to demonstrate their personal approaches to work with customers. They have to be friendly and sensitive to customers needs. There is no place for a bad mood or rude behaviour. All promotions and approvals for employees are introduced in the form of a game.
The leaders of the company believe that if employees like what they do and can use their potential and abilities to their full extent, the results of such work could be impressive indeed. Bonuses are the priorities for employees. Pret a Mangers employees should be ready to make hundreds of decisions per day and earn bonuses. Besides, the establishment of organisational culture is an important part of Pret a Manger. Socialisation and parties are supported by all members of the Pret a Manger team on the basis of the achievements demonstrated in a certain period.
Assumptions
From the case study offered by Frei, Goldberg and Sice, the following assumptions could be given:
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Pret a Manger does not want to stop;
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Pret a Manger is a good example of how change management should be organised;
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No biases to stakeholders, leaders, and managers are observed.
Chapter 3: Problem Statement and Plan of Analysis
Problem Statement and Plan of Analysis
The evaluation of the data offered in the case study helps to identify the main challenges a company could face in case some changes and improvements could be offered and introduce the main benefits and strengths of the company like Pret a Manger. The authors of the case study focused on the circumstances under which Pret a Manger made its decisions and support changes and the problems that should be solved using the potential of the company and the resources available. With the intention to prove the worth and importance of twin shops, there are a number of problems and challenges that have to be identified.
The organisational and behavioural issues of the company could be discussed within the frames of several organisational models such as Lewins change management model and Kotters change model, quality management models including Demings theory and EFQM model, and HR management models such as ERG theory and integrative thinking theory. Finally, business issues that have been raised in Pret a Manger could be solved with the help of the innovation models like open innovation and lean innovation and general business models including SWOT and PEST analyses.
Every theory and every model are based on the necessity to find a solution to the problems stated in the first chapter. There are five main issues for consideration in this case study. Each group of problems introduces the necessity to think about the alternatives or the methods on how to improve the situation: organisational behaviour problems, quality management problems, HR management problems, innovation problems, and business model importance.
Organisational Behaviour Problems
Lewins Change Management Model
Pret a Manger is a customer-centred company with an intention to address all people, who visit shops, with sincerity and passion. Its leaders understand that not all companies, fast-food shops, and even restaurants have the same goals. Therefore, the company struggles to introduce the services that could impress customers and prove that its employees have a number of ideas to be developed. It means that some changes should occur in the company.
Lewins theory is one of the tactical models that could be offered to the company. This model consists of three stages in the frames of which change is compared with an ice block for people to unfreeze, change, and refreeze (Paton & McCalman 2008). The usage of this model is beneficial for Pret a Manger because it is one of the simplest ways to introduce, make, and understand change (Cameron & Green 2015).
Kotters Change Model
Kotters eight phases of change is another tactical model that could be used by Pret a Manger to succeed in implementing the idea of twin shops (Assen, Berg & Pietersma 2009). The peculiar feature of this model is the possibility to take small steps, make sure all of them are successful, and stop the process in case some stage cannot be completed.
It could be applied to the companies of different sizes and cultures (Kotter & Cohen 2013) and help leaders to avoid mistakes and continue developing an organisational culture (Rothwell et al. 2009). The following steps and decisions should be taken and made to understand if Pret a Manger is ready for twin shops and the challenges the change could lead to.
Quality Management Problems
Demings Theory
Demings theory is one of the models that could be used by the company to improve its management and quality control over all steps taken and the decisions made. There are four main points that should be considered and understood by leaders and managers. They include system appreciation (when employees and leaders have to understand the ways of how the whole system works), variation knowledge (when people should realise their opportunities), knowledge theory (when people comprehend what they should know), and psychology knowledge (when people use a certain portion of knowledge to understand human nature and its peculiarities) (Pyzdek & Keller 2012).
If all these points are considered by people, they get all chances to demonstrate high-quality work and results (Aguayo 2010). In addition to the system of profound knowledge developed by Deming, there is also a clear guide on how to implement improvements and take the steps that bring some benefits to the company. The following example shows how to use Demings cycle in business and make an improvement complete, planned, and measured:
European Foundation for Quality Management Model
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model is one of the recognised brands worldwide (Stimpfle 2011).
It helps to achieve good results in quality management by identifying a number of criteria according to which people should work, make decisions, strive for changes, and consider its own visions, missions, and values. There are nine criteria that are divided into two main groups, enablers and results (Chapman 2014). The main benefit of this model is that it could be applied to any organisation by using as many concepts as possible and identifying the required portion of knowledge (EFQM: model criteria 2012).
Human Resource Management Problems
ERG Theory
The concept of motivation is crucial for any companys work. It is not for employees to get orders and do everything possible to meet the established goals. It is necessary to stay motivated, consider personal and professional needs, and take the steps with desire and readiness (Koontz & Weihrich 2006).
Alderfer, the developer of ERG theory, supports the idea that all people have needs, and these needs could be of different types. Still, despite its variety, all of them are arranged in a certain hierarchy that cannot be neglected (Aswathappa 2005). In comparison to Maslows theory with five stages identified (Griffin & Moorhead 2011), Alderfer introduces three categories the consideration of which is important in the work of any organisation.
According to this model, several types of needs could motivate people at the same time. Alderfer admits that the identification of the components cannot be neglected because people should understand if their needs and the consideration of these needs could lead to satisfaction, frustration, progression, or regression (Nelson & Quick 2014).
Integrative Thinking Theory
In the company, people have to understand their opportunities and duties. It is not enough to accept the changes as something integral and required. It is important to comprehend why leaders want changes to be applied.
Integrated thinking is the theory developed by Martin and introduced as the process with the help of which it was possible to avoid tensions and find the solutions, not by means of choosing one best option but generating creative resolutions and combine the ideas (Uppal & Rahman 2013). There are four main steps that should be taken to clarify if the work of people is presented at a high level and if there is a need for some improvements.
Innovation Problems
Open Innovation Model
Innovation is the process that includes search and selection of the best ideas, exploration and synthesis of steps, and thinking as the convergence of outcomes that could be expected (Rogers 2010).
Chesbrough offered the Open Innovation model as an opportunity to understand what kind of general knowledge should be mobilised and generated into a new dynamic that promoted innovation processes (Benezech 2012).
Lean Innovation Model
Innovation is a concept that cannot be ignored by the company. People, who offer the services, should be ready for innovations and help other stakeholders explain the worth and need for improvements. Therefore, it is important to follow a certain order of the steps.
Lean innovation is the model with the help of which companies achieve the required results in a fast way by means of efficient learning available to its employees and leaders (Agan 2014). Sehested and Sonnenberg (2010) admit that it is important to focus on the innovation process and learn as much as possible in order to implement a system for the required process improvements. There are five main stages that should be taken into consideration: the specification of value, the identification of value stream, the evaluation of interruptions in value flow, the necessity to pull value, and the promotion of perfection again (Al-Hakim et al. 2016).
Business Model Problems
SWOT Analysis
The necessity to introduce a new approach in selling food requires the evaluation of various internal and external factors. The company should be ready to clarify what changes are appropriate, what decisions are effective, and what outcomes could be expected.
The SWOT analysis is one of the frequently used marketing tools with the help of which values of the companies could be estimated (Ferrell & Hartline 2010). This analysis makes a researcher look at the strengths and weaknesses of a company and identify opportunities and threats of a company (Speth 2015).
PEST Analysis
The consideration of the factors that can influence the work of the whole company is important in the sphere of business. Pret a Manger is the company that focuses on different spheres of business and succeed in the majority of them due to the results the analytics show.
The PEST analysis is the evaluation of political, economic, sociological, and technological factors that could influence the companys performance and identify its possible development and improvements (Chapman 2011). All these external macro factors affect companies in a number of ways (Blery, Katseli & Tsara 2010), and a researcher has to understand what factors are important for future analysis of a chosen organisation.
Research Details
It is important to understand that any kind of business research should not be organised in a kind of vacuum (Bryman 2008). Wilson (2014) business research is not only a process of enquiry and investigation but the synthesis and collection of knowledge about business-related issues and the peculiarities of decision-making processes.
Therefore, the choice of research methodology should be properly made regarding the philosophical, theoretical, and systematic aspects of the analysis. The success of business research depends on how a researcher could identify the characteristics of a topic, describe ideas, conduct and explain the worth of the literature review, clarify the possible sources of information, create a plan, and introduce several research questions to be answered (Hair et al. 2015).
The context of research and its methods may include the following factors: research theories that could be divided onto deductive and inductive, research considerations that could be epistemological and ontological, research philosophies that include positivism, realism, interpretivism, and pragmatism, and research strategies that could be qualitative and quantitative (Creswell 2013).
Ethical Issues
The main problem of the company described in the case study is the inability to understand the importance of change and prove its urgency to the stakeholders. People lack information about twin shops and their effectiveness. The result of such poor distribution of information is the inability of customers to understand how the shops depict the peculiar feature of the line developed by Pret a Manger.
Therefore, ethical considerations should touch upon the necessity to make sure that all participants of change management operations and other stakeholders of the study are provided with clear explanations and definitions to start working on the project. Polonsky and Waller (2014) underline such issues as the necessity to provide participants with anonymity, expose the situations that could provoke mental stress, use special techniques, avoid the cases when participants are involved in research without being aware of the fact and when information is sold. Besides, it is inappropriate to use such methods as deception and coercion and offence participants (Polonsky & Waller 2014).
Research Limitations
Limitations of the research are the outcomes and conditions that could influence the successful performance of the study. Conclusions should be based on the work done and the limitations identified. Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009) offer to use such issues as the size of the sample, the nature of research, or some restrictions based on geographical or cultural diversities and introduce them as the main limitations in business research. Change management is the field that could be limited by a number of aspects, and a researcher has to understand the essence of all limitations.
Chapter Four: Analysis and Findings
Chapter Summary
The main goal of this chapter is to introduce real-life applications of the models and techniques identified in the third chapter of the projec
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