Assignment paper- MG630 Change and Organisational Development

Module code and title:

MG630 Change and Organisational Development

Module leader:

Assignment No. and type:

PR1: 10 Minute Individual Presentation + 5 minutes for questions

Assessment weighting:

40%

Submission time and date:

Presentation: During Class Time

PPT slides to be submitted on BB before 2 pm on Friday 4 April 2025   

Target feedback time and date:

3 Weeks

Assignment task

CONTEXT

Miss Macaroon is a niche bakery business based in Birmingham, specializing in high-end macaroons. The business was founded by Rosie Ginday, a trained pastry chef with a strong passion for social entrepreneurship. Miss Macaroon operates as a social enterprise, with profits reinvested to support training and employment opportunities for unemployed young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Over the past three years, Miss Macaroon has expanded its operations by opening pop-up kiosks in major shopping centres across the West Midlands, alongside its flagship shop in Birmingham. The business now operates four outlets and plans to expand to eight within the next two years.

As part of its growth strategy, Miss Macaroon is planning to launch an online customization service for macaroons, allowing customers to design bespoke gifts for nationwide delivery. This service will be supported by an investment in a dedicated e-commerce platform and new packaging facilities at its Birmingham headquarters.

The planned expansion and introduction of the online customization service will lead to restructuring within Miss Macaroon. Proposed changes include:

• Appointing a regional manager to oversee operations across all kiosks.
• Reducing the number of store manager roles.
• Reducing the number of shop assistant roles
• Increasing the number of production staff to meet the growing demand for customized macaroons.
• Recruiting additional delivery drivers to support the nationwide shipping of online orders.
• Hiring a digital marketing team to manage the e-commerce platform and drive online sales.

Currently, each kiosk has a store manager and a small team of customer service assistants. Under the new structure, smaller kiosks will be managed by production staff, who will also take on some managerial responsibilities. The flagship shop in Birmingham will continue to have a dedicated store manager and expanded customer service team to handle high foot traffic.

While the proposed restructuring aims to streamline operations and support growth, it has caused concerns among current employees. Many staff members feel that the reasons for the changes and their implications have not been clearly explained. This has led to feelings of uncertainty, reduced morale, and a loss of trust in senior management.

Rosie Ginday believes that regular team meetings and newsletters have adequately communicated the rationale and benefits of the proposed changes. However, feedback from staff suggests otherwise, with several employees voicing frustration over the lack of consultation and clarity about their future roles.

In addition to managing these internal challenges, Miss Macaroon faces significant upfront costs associated with its expansion plans, including:

• Hiring of the e-commerce team and associated IT software
• Training costs for bakers to become shop managers
• Training costs for delivery driver roles.

Some long-serving employees who joined Miss Macaroon in its early days are resistant to changes in their roles, citing discomfort with new responsibilities. Rosie is committed to ensuring the success of the expansion while addressing these employee concerns. To this end, she has engaged your consultancy to help manage the restructuring process and ensure a smooth transition as the company continues to grow.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO 1: Understand the strategic and operational importance of change in organisations

LO 2: Critically evaluate change management theory, strategies and tactical options including organisation development

Task requirements

You have been hired by Miss Macaroon to provide insights into how the business can navigate the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) environment it operates in. Before Miss Macaroon commissions a detailed report (CW1), they require a presentation on how change management strategies can assist them and what tactical options are available to ensure resilience and growth during challenging times.

You are to:

1. Examine and investigate the strategic and operational importance of change for Miss Macaroon.
2. Identify, apply, and evaluate an appropriate change management model that you would recommend Miss Macaroon to adopt.
3. Identify the role that Organizational Development will play in ensuring future success for Miss Macaroon.

Presentation Requirements:

Group or Individual Work:

• You may work individually for this presentation

Presentation Schedule:

• The presentation schedule will be available on Blackboard. Ensure you check and adhere to your allocated slot.

Time Allocation:

• 10 minutes for the presentation, with an additional 5 minutes for Q&A.

Participation:

• Both members of the group must contribute to preparing the presentation and actively participate on the presentation day. Non-attendance will be treated as a “non-submission.”
• Each member should have a full understanding of the presentation`s content and be ready to handle questions.

Presentation Format:

• Use PowerPoint slides for your presentation. Slides must be uploaded to Blackboard by one team member to avoid 100% Turnitin similarity for both group members.
• Slide 1 must include the names and student IDs of all group members.

Groupwork Log:

• Include a final slide summarizing the division of tasks, detailing responsibilities, activities, and individual contributions.

Presentation Skills:

• Bring along notes or supplementary material for reference during the Q&A, but ensure that you maintain eye contact and engage with the audience during the presentation.

Recording Requirement:

• All presentations will be recorded for moderation purposes.

Referencing and research requirements

Please reference your work according to the Harvard style as defined in Cite Them Right Online (http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2019) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 11^th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Copies are available via the University library.

Minimum requirements:

10 references

Mixed academically credible sources for example: Core Textbooks, Journals, News Articles, Professional Bodies, Professional and Credible Videos, Professional and Credible Podcasts

References older than 10 years must be supported by a more recent reference.

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed against the assessment criteria which have been provided at the end of this brief. As this is a group report, a record of individual contribution must be submitted as part of the assignment for all members of the group which details the role played in the creation of the assignment and includes a record of all communications engaged with. 

These criteria have been designed specifically for this assignment and are intended to measure the extent to which you have demonstrated your achievement of its associated learning outcomes (see above). They have been aligned with the institutional grade descriptor appropriate for your level.

The assessment criteria provide a basis for fair and consistent marking and indicate what is expected of you in this assignment. It is strongly recommended that you engage with them while you are working on the assignment and use them in combination with any feedback you receive once your work has been marked to help you plan for future learning and development.

Submission details

• Your presentation will take place at the time and location specified in the Announcements section of your Blackboard module shell. Please be sure to check this information carefully, as missing your scheduled time will be considered a non-submission.

• You are also required to submit your presentation file electronically. Please use the relevant submission point in the Submit your work area in your Blackboard module shell at the time and date specified above.

• Please ensure that your work has been saved in an appropriate file format. PowerPoint is expected and only one individual (if presenting as a pair) must submit a copy of the file.

• You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version.

• Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which will be sent to your forwarded e-mail address (provided you have set this up). Please keep this receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment.

• You are reminded of the University’s regulations on academic misconduct, which can be viewed on the University website: https://www.bucks.ac.uk/current-students/registry-helpdesk-and-academic-advice/academic-integrity-and-misconduct. In submitting your assignment, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations

• Please also note that work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be considered a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded, but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission.

Before you submit

• Please use the provided checklist below to make sure you are ‘fit to submit’ your work
• We recommend you use this checklist as soon as you get this assignment brief to help you plan your work