Leadership and Change Management

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION Case-Study Southern Railway Ltd (Branded as ‘Southern’, www.southernrailway.com) is a private company in" rel="nofollow">in the UK, responsible for railway travel to South London, Surrey and Sussex, from London Bridge and Victoria Stations. In the last twelve months it has been the focus of much negative publicity due to its poor levels of service (delayed or cancelled train" rel="nofollow">ins), in" rel="nofollow">industrial disputes over modernisation plans, and scathin" rel="nofollow">ing comments and reports from Members of Parliament. The company is in" rel="nofollow">in need of significant change in" rel="nofollow">in order to remain" rel="nofollow">in profitable and main" rel="nofollow">intain" rel="nofollow">in both its public reputation and its relationship with its employees. This is a fraught time for the company. The company has recently experienced a series of strikes by staff in" rel="nofollow">in protest at the plans to remove guards/conductors from train" rel="nofollow">ins, and the dispute contin" rel="nofollow">inues, with accusations of unprofessional behaviour from both sides again" rel="nofollow">inst the other. Usin" rel="nofollow">ing appropriate leadership and organisational change theory, you are required to research and answer the followin" rel="nofollow">ing questions in" rel="nofollow">in report format: Tasks Write a report considerin" rel="nofollow">ing the recent dispute between staff/unions and management regardin" rel="nofollow">ing the removal of guards/conductors from train" rel="nofollow">ins, which should cover: 1. Analyse and evaluate the change management process at Southern Railway Ltd in" rel="nofollow">in regards to the guards/conductors dispute, usin" rel="nofollow">ing Kotter’s 8 step methodology. (30 marks) 2. Usin" rel="nofollow">ing Lewin" rel="nofollow">in’s model of leadership styles, evaluate the current relationship between the company and its workers/unions and recommend which style is the most suitable option for overcomin" rel="nofollow">ing the human barriers to change in" rel="nofollow">in the guards/conductors dispute. (30 marks) 3. Given what you already know about the dynamics at Southern Railway Ltd, analyse and then evaluate whether transformational or transactional leadership would be most likely to deliver effective and lastin" rel="nofollow">ing change in" rel="nofollow">in regard to the guards/conductors dispute. (30 marks) 4. The essay should in" rel="nofollow">include an in" rel="nofollow">introduction, main" rel="nofollow">in body of research and analysis, conclusion, references and appendices. It should be academically rigorous and properly referenced. (10 marks)