Case Study - Change Management

In a recent leadership team meeting, George Kasey, the CEO of Kasey Food, a Canadian chain of meat production, raised concerns that business is slow due to the lack of focus on innovation.

While Kasey Food had been very successful in marketing their products in the past, it is currently seeing a decline in sales. George K. had previously challenged his leadership team to come up with innovative ideas to drive continued success, but results have not yet improved. The chain suffers especially because of the unexpected rise in demand for vegan food. Therefore George K. started looking for a potential business partner to expedite the company's involvement in vegan products. In addition to the possibility of acquiring knowledge and skills around vegan nutrition, Kasey Food is evaluating a merger with an innovative company that is based in Southern America. This would also provide an opportunity to (at least partially) transfer production to save on costs and to secure access to the continent's market after Pandemic. Concerning this possible merger, the business development manager has already started looking into potential legal issues.

As a next step, the business development manager worked on an analysis to identify where the company currently stands and what it wants to achieve in a new combined post- merger organization. Based on the findings, a decision was made to limit potential merger partners to companies that have similar target customers, i.e. a focus on retailers and restaurants, to build a sustainable combined business model.

However, the company cultures of potential partners investigated could not be more different. Kasey Food's employees benefit from long-term employment, working in a highly process-driven and structured environment. In contrast, the staff of companies that are rising stars in the vegan food space are usually very young teams, living in a company culture that is driven by flat hierarchies, pragmatism, and fast pace.

While George K. is close to deciding regarding the merger, managers are reporting that morale amongst workers is declining. Employees are sensing upcoming changes but have not been informed officially. Therefore, many rumors exist, and a general anxiety is building up. George K. has now requested his Chief Operating Officer to develop a communication plan within the next seven days.

Answer these questions based on the case study 1. Identify the challenges faced by Kasey Food and prepare a diagnosis. You should choose the best tools and factors for change diagnosis and make explicit reference to them in your answer. 2. Define the firm's vision for change based on the results of Q1. In addition, identify the drivers and constraints the firm must consider when implementing a change management plan. 3. Please suggest different change strategies this company should adopt for a successful transformation. Explain your suggestion using theory and examples. 4. Create a draft of communication plan for Kasey food's CEO and describe which audiences must be addressed with which message at what stage. 5. Propose a cross-functional task force and describe the member's roles and responsibilities. a. Which change manager profile, according to the 6 images model of change management, would be your most effective partner in leading the operational teams through this change? Justify your choice.