“Strategic Digital Innovation: 5 Effective Change Models That Can Rejuvenate Ailing Retail Business, Delivering Successful Transformation and Conquering the Crisis”

“Strategic digital innovation has become essential in today’s unpredictable retail environments, where businesses like Sea Treasures—a 50-year-old aquarium retail company facing potential closure—demonstrate how legacy retailers can turn crisis into opportunity by applying strategic change theories to achieve successful digital transformation.”

“Innovative Short-Term Digital Transformation: Choosing a Strategic Change Model That Sparks Innovation”

For Sea Treasures’ immediate six-month website implementation, Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model emerges as the optimal framework for managing this critical short-term transformation. This model’s structured approach addresses the urgency of Sea Treasures’ deteriorating financial position while systematically overcoming employee resistance to digital innovation.

The model designed by Kotter starts with the formation of an urgency, which is critical in the case of Sea Treasures, as it will soon be out of business within a year. The sales and marketing director should be able to convey the crisis situation with an accent on how the digitalization is the only realistic way the company can survive. Such sense of urgency allows building successful coalition of the essential stakeholders, such as the now-convinced owner and senior store managers.

The model is especially helpful in regard to Sea Treasures digital program due to the focus on the development of the vision. Creating a strong sense of online success, which can be achieved by giving real life examples such as the case of Amazon, can assist in luring employees to sense the end picture of a positive future, still without the technological angst. Sharing such a vision at all levels of organization through strategic communication process causes unanimity in knowledge and commitment.

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“During the long-term change strategy, an innovative systems thinking approach has been adopted to drive sustainable innovation.”

It is not with the use of traditional linear change models in mind that Sea Treasures shall contemplate a substantial growth in the sale of live sea creatures in the long term. An especially good framework in which to address this large-scale change is the combination of Systems Thinking with Appreciative Inquiry, exactly because these complex interdependencies necessitate the use of a holistic thinking pattern like Systems Thinking, which deals with the interdependencies between the technology infrastructure, shipping logistics, regulatory compliance and customer service excellence.

Systems thinking acknowledges the fact that the introduction of live sea creatures on the internet has a bottle neck effect on the organization. It should be able to adapt to temperature control shipment, customer care representatives should have specialized information about marine biology as well as quality control systems that guarantee a quality and good treatment when it comes to animals being transported. This system view eliminates the balkanized execution that has become the undoing of many elaborate change programs.

Appreciative Inquiry complements systems thinking by building upon Sea Treasures’ existing strengths—50 years of expertise in exotic sea life and established customer relationships. Rather than focusing solely on operational deficiencies, this approach leverages organizational knowledge assets while building capabilities for digital expansion.

“Strategic Organizational Impact and Innovation Assessment”

These change models create distinct effects across organizational hierarchies. Employees initially face anxiety about technological adaptation and job security concerns. However, structured change management provides training opportunities and role expansion possibilities that ultimately enhance career prospects. The phased implementation approach allows gradual skill development, reducing resistance while building confidence.

Managers experience increased responsibilities as change facilitators, requiring development of new leadership competencies in digital transformation and remote team management.

They shift their role which was originally one of operational control to that of change coaching and providing strategic implementation.

Executives shall be required to show steadfast determination towards change in the face of finances and stakeholder demands. A high level of investment in technology infrastructure and employee development are needed in order to achieve success, which must be coupled by the proper provision of resources as well as monitoring of their performance.

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 Conclusion

Sea Treasures’ transformation illustrates how strategic change model selection enables struggling businesses to navigate crisis successfully. Kotter’s structured approach addresses immediate digital implementation needs, while systems thinking supports complex long-term expansion.

The concept of sustainable competitive advantage in the emerging retail markets is anchored on this two-model approach.

What makes the implementation such a success is an awareness that change management is more than process adjustment but is a cultural movement, employee growth, and strategic repackaging that establishes long-term organizational durability.

Below is a sample question:

Change Model Assignment

Assume you are the Sales and Marketing Director for Sea Treasures, a small group of well-known retail stores specializing in exotic sea life and high-end accessories for aquariums.   The company has been in business for over 50 years, but the customer base is shrinking, sales are slow, and you are faced with reducing staff and closing stores.   Sea Treasures will be out of business within a year if innovative and creative changes are not made quickly.

After many months, you have finally been able to convince the owner that the only way to sustain the business and increase revenue is to create an Internet Website to sell the large inventory of aquarium decorator items (currently gathering dust in a costly warehouse) .  This will be a short-term, small scale change.  Six months later, you will expand the Website to sell live sea creatures such as tropical fish and small sea turtles online, which is a long-term, large-scale change.

You face many challenges in this transformational change initiative, beginning with strong employee resistance, new technology, and shipping methods.  Many small businesses have been faced with these same issues, and have made the transition successfully.

Consider the humble beginnings of Amazon, and look where they are today.  Selecting the best change model for this business, and implementing it step by step provides the foundation for creating an exciting new company.

 Explain which change model you would follow for the short-term change and which you would follow for the long-term change.

  Provide rationale for your decision and discuss the effects that these changes would have on the employees, managers, and executives within the organization.  Include at least three references and follow standard APA formatting for your paper.

Below is the answer to the sample question:

Change Model Implementation for Sea Treasures: A Strategic Approach to Digital Transformation

Name: [Student Name]

Name of the course: Human resource management

Instructor: [Name of the instructor]

Date:

Introduction

Sea Treasures is a 50-year-old store that deals with rare sea animals, as well as accessories to maintain fish aquariums, is an organization that has been facing an existential crisis which requires urgent and strategic organizational change. As the customer base decreases, the sales drop, and there is a potential of shutting down in a year, the company needs a digital transformation that will cover all pillars to regain its position in the contemporary world of retail.

This discussion will look at how suitable change models will be applied in cases of implementing a new site in the short term and investing in online live sale of sea creatures in a long run, focusing on the human resource implication of such transformational programs.

What Sea Treasures has to deal with is not the first such issue facing the modern business arena. Numerous other brick-and-mortar retailers have managed to negotiate the same digital changes successfully, which proves that given appropriate change management solutions, even old businesses can redesign themselves to fit the modern markets. The point here is that the selection of the relevant change models which maintain the focus on the immediate operational needs and long-term strategic goals as well as the human resource issues of organizational transformation should be made.

This paper will explain why and how the approach and implementation of the change model by Kotter, consisting of 8 steps have been chosen in short-term digital transformation, and Burke-Litwin Model in long-term expansion studied, their impact on various levels of the organization, and make strategy recommendations on their successful implementation.

 Short-Term Change Model Kotter: 8 Step Change Process

Kotter (1995) 8-step change model would be most suitable in handling this essential change as far as the implementation of the site of Sea Treasure in the next six months is concerned. With this model, the structure and sequential nature deal with the sense of urgency the company is facing and the systematic means of countering resistance and building energy into the change.

 Step 1: Developing a sense of Urgency

The starting point should be that a strong sense of urgency should be implemented within the organization.

As Sales and Marketing Director, this requires transparently communicating Sea Treasures’ precarious financial position and the one-year timeline for potential closure. The urgency message must emphasize that digital transformation represents not just an opportunity but a survival necessity. This crisis communication serves multiple purposes: it breaks through complacency, mobilizes employee attention, and creates psychological readiness for significant change.

Steps 2-3 Coalition and Vision Building

The formation of a guiding coalition means including high profile players such as the newly converted owner, store managers and important personnel capable of promoting the digital initiative. The alliance should be able to come up with a strong and persuasive vision in the form of how online sales will transform the business. This vision must mention successful stories of digital transformations such as how Amazon started with a small online bookstore but today it has become a global e-commerce leader, so that employees can form an imaginative picture of a bright future, having nothing to do with their technological fears.

Step 4, 5 and 6: Communication, Empowerment, and Quick Wins

Communicating vision can also be very effective because it uses a variety of channels and uses the same wording which is not conflicting and is very effective. It must show that the employee is not worried of his or her job security in the technology scene respectively.

Empowering broad-based action involves providing necessary training and resources while removing barriers to change implementation. Generating short-term wins through early website sales milestones builds credibility and maintains momentum throughout the transformation process.

 Steps 7-8: Consolidation and Anchoring

Consolidating gains involves expanding the digital initiative beyond initial success while avoiding premature victory declarations.

By personalizing the components of the new course in the corporate culture, it is possible to make the digital transformation rooted in the corporate DNA instead of simply being an adaptation measure.

The choice of Kotter model is motivated by its practical application in the realization of crisis-based changes and well-organized practice in handling resistance. The urgency-driven nature of the model fits in line with the immediate need of Sea Treasures to survive, whereas the sequential nature can be clearly followed by the organization that has no experience in administering such extensive changes.

Burke-Litwin Model: Long-Term Change Model

In the case of Sea Treasures venturing into live sea creature sales, there is a more holistic model that can be used to better organize the change that is necessary within Sea Treasures because the area of change is significant, and as a result, systemic change is complex and difficult to achieve. This model is referred to as the Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance and Change. This model considers the complex interactions of environmental factors, organizational factors and individual factor that foster changes success.

Environmental and Leadership Factors

The Burke-Litwin model begins with external environment assessment, crucial for Sea Treasures’ expansion into live animal sales.

This entails regulatory necessity to transport live animals, competitive research of the current online animal shops, and customer demand research of exotic marine species. The top management should be steadfast in this expansion and create new capabilities in supply chain management, adherence to regulations and Customer service quality.

Systems and Organization Culture

Emerging in the sale of live creatures also needs major cultural changes of conventional retail businesses to specialization in animal care and shipping. The model focuses on the fact that organizational culture, management practices, and systems should be compatible to facilitate this change. These involve coming up with new policies on animal welfare, getting in contact with specialized shipping companies, and coming up with ways of educating customers on the care of marine life.

 Individual and Group in Behavior

Burke-Litwin model acknowledges that effective changes should be accompanied by alterations on individual and group levels. New competencies have to be obtained by the employees in the field of marine biology, shipping logistics, and customer consultation. The dynamics of groups should be changed to accommodate teamwork and sharing of knowledge over traditionally independent departments.

Choosing the Burke-Litwin model to focus on the long-term change is purposeful because of its systems comprehensive attitude and the acknowledgment of the high level of interdependencies in the process of Sea Treasures growth. In contrast with linear change models, Burke-Litwin takes into consideration the fact that several organizational factors should change at once in order to reach successful transformation.

Impacts on Organization Levels

 Level of Impact of the Employees

IM applications of such change models do cause enormous impacts on the employees, which is categorically important to the students of human resource management. The early responses are normally characterized by the fears on the job security, peer competence in technologies and job content change. Nevertheless, the targeted solution of both models offers the models of resolution of these areas in terms of dues through the overall training programs, the open communication and the slow-paced learning about the opportunities to practice the skills.

The workers in selling jobs will have to acquire new skills in online customer service, inventory management, and finally, new expertise about marine life management and cargo demands. Change process alters the old sales jobs to consultative jobs that involves wider knowhow and problem solving ability. This development has the capacity to improve careers and job fulfillment of the employees who are also willing to take up new challenges.

These changes are associated from the HR point of view to the need of altered job details, altered performance measures and adjusted remuneration systems which reveal greatly enlarged responsibilities. Training and development programs would play a critical role in the success of the employees in the process of transformation.

Impact of the Level of the Management

The role of change facilitators increases the burden on managers who need to develop new leadership skills in the digital transformation and change management. Their conventional role in oversight of operations is extended to change coaching, employee development and support in strategic implementations.

The digital transformation needs the managers to branch out and become the adopters and builders of technology and be proficient in new systems, as well as to facilitate the training of the employees. To achieve the long-term expansion, the managers will be forced to make expertise in areas that are specialized, like regulation compliances, supply chain management and customer education programs.

The HR implications for the management can be addressed by a number of leadership development programs, adjustments in the performance management system, and succession planning where digital competencies and traditional retail expertise can be put into consideration.

 Impact of the Executive Level

The highest pressure and responsibility are vested upon executives when the transformations occur. They are expected to exhibit a clear sense of unending resolve against financial strings, stakeholder demands and organizational pugnaciousness. The first case when the owner was not ready to take a journey of digital transformation demonstrates the typical executive issue of acknowledging the need to change and investing into something that is unclear.

Strategic resource allocation, tech infrastructure and employee development investment, and stability of stakeholders during uncertain transition periods are few of the executive responsibilities. Success presupposes the simplicity to combine immediate financial requirements and the chief transformation investments.

HR-wise, executive changes can include changes in the composition of the boards, changes in executive compensation to be based on transformation-based success measures, and redesign of the leadership team that would incorporate both digital and professional skills.

Conclusion

The turnaround of Sea Treasures explains why proper choice of change models under the various organizational circumstances is very essential. The 8-Step Model of Kotter has the structure and system that is needed to achieve immediate digital implementation and the Burke-Litwin model has the detailed system perspective that is needed to achieve the complexity of long-term expansion.

The efficient human resource management during the process of change determines the success of both transformations in great extent. This involves covering the issues of the employees, acquisition of new competencies, changes in organizational structures, and provision of developmental areas of never ending learning and customization.

To the students of human resource management, the case shows how HR practitioners can be the key agents of change, and they should have the relevant skills in aspects of change management, organization development, and strategic workforce planning. Human management of the organizational change is another core HR skill needed in the present business environment, where things constantly change.

As demonstrated in the Sea Treasures case, effective organizational change went to show that it entailed more than strategic planning and process of allocating the appropriate resources but rather a detailed consideration of relevant human factors that would make the change initiatives a success or a failure as a result of resistance and implementation barriers.

References

Burke, W. W., Litwin, G. H. (1992). Organizational performance and change causal model. Journal of Management, 18, 3: 523-545.

Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change. Harvard Business Review Press 2013.

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2019). Organizational behavior (18 th ed.). Pearson.