An Evaluation of How Change is managed in Practice and the Key Considerations for Organisations Undertaking a Change

Worley and Mohram (2014) state that academics are yet to provide frameworks to handle the rapidly changing market environment, and because technology is often instrumental in the change process now, the traditional change models are less relevant and out of date. Therefore, this research sets out to evaluate the process and techniques used to manage change in large organisations, in this case in the casual dining industry, using Mitchells and Butlers PLC as a case study.The literature highlighted how important different components are to making change initiatives successful.Adopting an interpretivist philosophy and using qualitative research methods, the questions posed were shaped by the themes emerging from the literature. By interviewing managers and conducting focus groups for employees, the key findings helped meet the aim and objectives of this study.The findings of the research support the majority of change management theories but it established that the components of change management model are often considered by managers but rarely shape what happens in practice. This research project has revealed that change management in practice involves effectively planning and coordinating the people and resources of an organisation but these needs to be adaptable. In addition,establishing desirable objectives that are sufficiently explored, planned, communicated and executed will be beneficial to the organisation. The findings did however establish that the post-change environment was exceptionally important to ensure the change was sustained in the organisation but although expert support and training is suggested to achieve this, further research in this area would benefit future change initiatives.