DB Schenker: Logistics Company And Change Management Models

Introduction to DB Schenker

DB Schenker is a division of German Rail Operator Deutsche Bahn AG. The following division focuses totally on logistics. The logistics division consists of air, land and sea freight and also one of the rail divisions that have been made out of the different rail freight organizations of Europe. The following organization was established in the year 2007 it has annual revenue of over pound 19 billion. It employs well over 90,000 employees across its area of operations that includes close to 150 countries. The business handles all the logistics based operations including rail, air and freight transportation. Apart from all these three kinds it also handles the contract logistics which has made the mentioned organization one of the best in the business. As said earlier the company has started its operations from the year 2007 and since then has overcome many leaps and bounds to be one of the most sought after logistics organizations globally. The management of the company struck out a deal to buy the British Rail Haulage firm English Welsh & Scottish Railway in the year of its establishment and in 2009 the company commenced all the operations under one name DB Schenker by combining DB-Schenker, Railion, EWS and Transfesa. Headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany it uses the most advanced technologies and communication methods to stay competitive in the market.  The company has recently agreed to a joint venture with Etihad Rail to operate trains in United Arab Emirates.

The change management is a collective term that mentions all the approaches to prepare and support individuals, teams and organization to prepare for an organizational change (Chappell et al. 2016). The management of the organization incorporates and implements different forms of methods including the redefining and redirecting the use of the different resources, business projects and business process allocations of the organization. The change management of an organization helps the organization to deal with the complex problems that occur now and then. It is one of the most challenging tasks for the managers of the organization (Small et al. 2016).  Change management is very much essential for the effective growth of the organization and helps the management of the firm to stay updated with the latest changes in the modern marketing world.

As mentioned earlier Change Management is one of the basic necessities to make sure that the organization is on the right path to success. The effective change management strategy helps the organization to stay competitive and innovative in the market. Change management is necessary in different cases;

1. Acquring a company of nearly equal size
2. Launch of a new product
3. Relocation of different office spaces within the office building itself
4. Implementation of a new software system in the company
5. Training the suppliers with the new forms of communication methods

Importance of Change Management

All these different changes require the integration and implementation of a successful change management strategy to ensure their sustainability in the market. Each of the above mentioned initiatives needs to be successful in nature which can only happen with the right set of approach for change management to be different in nature.

The research that has been put forward by the researcher has extensively dealt with two different forms of Change Management Models to demonstrate and measure the effectiveness of these two models and their effect on the structure of the mentioned Logistics Company.

Change Management is one of the most familiar forms of marketing tool applied by most of the companies in the modern world. The ways in which different organization manage changes varies from one organization to the other. These may include change in the management structure, change in the role of the employees, structural and cultural change as well as any other forms of change. However the most important part of the change management lies in the fact on how the employees in the organization accept the changes that are made within the organization.  Kurt Lewin developed an organizational change management model in the year 1940 which is still now regarded as one of the best among the different existing models and completely fits to the demands of the modern marketing world. The following Management model consists of three different phases namely;

1. Unfreeze- The first stage of the change management model is referred to unfreezing. The following involves the complete breakdown of the existing status quo of the organization so that the management of the organization can start building on a new organizational structure. The main task of the management is to convince the people involved with the organization on the ineffectiveness of the present set of organizational structure and the need for a total overhaul of the structure (Botelho, Kowalski,  and Bartlett 2013). The following can be easily highlighted by producing the sales report, financial degradation of the company under the current set of organizational strategies and structure, different types of negative surveys by the customers of the company. As said earlier the management of the company needs to carry out on a ground level change starting from its core so that it can start afresh. The company must apply these principles at the earliest so that they does not face any challenge in the market. The beginning process of the following change management model is always complicated and tough to manage. It is difficult for the management of the company to completely change the structure from the beginning. The change has to be done in an organized way so that it does not have an impact on the structure of the organization.
2. Change- The uncertainty that is involved in the unfreezing stage, the change stage is where the management starts to look for latest things to resolve the uncertainty and look for new ways to meet the target of the organization. The employees must have a clear and transparent understanding on the needs for the change and the ways in which they would be benefited as a result of such a change (Payne  2013). There are always problems when the management tries to change the organizational structure of the business, this is because there are many of the persons in the management itself or some employees who are opposed to such a change as they enjoy the status quo The management of the organization needs to make the employees understand the importance of change and the benefits that they will receive as a result of such changes within the organization. Management of the change is one of the most important as because such a change requires huge time and effort along with proper efficiency.
3. Refreeze- This is the last stage of the Change Management Model as prescribed by Lewin. The following stage is completed at the time when all the necessary changes within the organization have been integrated and implemented on the right note. The company at this stage starts the new operations under the new organizational set up of the business and begins refreezing at this point of time. The stability in the organization, proper sales report and proper maintenance of the financial terms of the business are all the indications of a stable business (Goetsch, and Davis 2014). The refreeze stage helps the organization to keep everything in the right place and make use of the newly available resources. It also helps the company to see that all the changes occur just in the right time and are used in the everyday business. The employees of the business organization are happy and confident enough to work in the new system which provides stability and sustainability to the organization

Figure 1. Figure showing Lewin’s model

(Source: Author)

Figure 2. Graph showing GDP of UAE

(Source: tradingeconomics.com 2018)

The graph above shows that GDP trend of the United Arab Emirates which that the country is experiencing increase in income. The people of the country would as a result demand comfortable railway services. The German logistics company should as result, form the entry strategies into the UAE skillfully.

Kotter’s Theory is one of the most contemporary theories of change management in the modern business world. It provides valuable insights that lead to the change management models of the modern business world (Mishra 2013). The theory highlights on the importance of focusing on the people behind the change rather than giving importance to the change that will happen in the organization. As mentioned before Kotter’s theory stands out to be the ideal one for the modern business environment (Hussain et al. 2016). The following theory is based upon the following;

1. Create a sense of urgency- The sense of completing the change in a hurried manner is of utmost importance for the management of the organization. The idea of the change needs to be incorporated by the organization so that they do not face any problems while incorporating the team on board and also any problems while motivating the team. The most interesting fact about the following business is the formation of a core group where the officials of the management can discuss the changes. This in turn will lead the employees to talk with others who are unaware of the following achievements and convince them to follow the changes of the organization. The management has the full responsibility to enquire about the strategies of their competitors and the items that can pose a serious threat to the sustainability of the following organization.
2. Formation of a strategic vision- The Strategic vision of the organization is based on the changes that define the changes as well as the vision that the management of the company hopes to achieve by incorporating the following changes. The main idea behind the creation of such a strategy is to not overwhelm who is listening to someone or who is not. The main idea is to make sure that the values of the organization work towards achieving the values that are incorporated behind the
3. Getting every person on board- The creation of the sense of urgency within the organization helps to bring the right persons together. To get the perfect team is to get the right persons on board is to acquire the services of the right persons who are capable to provide the best solutions for the organization. The process involves the confrontation of the problems that are avoided traditionally. This involves emotionally honest and open behaviors, connecting easily with other’s feelings and speaking fearlessly. These persons do not stay away from problems rather face them with courage to help the organization move away from crisis situations. This helps to create trust towards the members of the team and help in the process of change management.
4. Generation of short term wins –A large scale organizational change needs momentum, a sense of achievement and clear optimism for which it is necessary to achieve the results in a fast manner. Short term wins of the organization helps the organization in different ways like;
5. Provide the management with the feedback about the validity of the organizational vision and the strategies
6. Shift of power to the hands of new leaders
7. A build of faith to the change project even for those who are not actively involved with the change management project
8. Providing rewards to the people to recognize their achievements
9. Increasing and keeping a hold on the organization- The management of the organizations must have a certain amount of hold in the decisions they implement. They should ensure that each and every employee including those who do not participate in the process of the change management must accept the new model and work accordingly. This is of utmost importance to the organization as because participation of all the members will have a positive impact within the organization and will help it to sustain in the future.
10. Formulating a proper strategy-The formulation of the right set of strategies is utmost important for the organization to facilitate easy transformation in the management structure in the future. The strategies must provide a clear and transparent vision towards the future course of action and must keep in consideration different such changes that might have a serious impact on the organization in the future. The change I however much difficult as it is a venture into the unknown and there is always huge chances of negativity. Therefore the management must consider all the potential factors and the different threats that may occur in the future as a result of such changes.
11. Build up of a core group- The creation of a core group is very much necessary before the build up to the organizational change management. The core group created by the management must consist of experienced people selected from within the organization which will facilitate the easy transformation of the organization. The core group will formulate the most effective strategies that will help the organization to easily transform itself and change into a new form without disturbing its natural identity.
12. Recording each of the changes individually- Recording each of the changes in an organized manner helps the organization to keep a note of the positives and negatives of each such change and manage the changes accordingly. The recording of each of the changes helps the organization to increase its organizational effectiveness and implement the best change management policies.

Figure 3. Figure showing Koter’s model

Different Change Management Models

(Source: Author)

The Koter’s model is the more appropriate of the two models. There are certain advantages and disadvantages between both the Kotter’s and Lewin’s model that can assist the researcher to come into a conclusion regarding the relevancy of each model:

Lewin was of the view that the necessary awareness should be created in case of the changes and motivation can be generated from the same. The summary of all the supporting and opposing factors can be generated by the help of Lewin’s theory. Therefore, a single graph is enough for locating all the contingencies as well as the strong points.  However, the model is too much planning oriented (Botelho, Kowalski and Bartlett 2013). The reason for selection of Lewin’s model is that it is straight forward. However, it is more applicable for changes having less steps.

On the other hand, Kotter’s model is based on step-by-step formula and gives clarity in the guidance. Kotter’s model is appropriate for changes having multiple steps like expanding into foreign countries as in this case. Thus one can justify that Kotter’s model is the most appropriate model which the logistics company can adopt owing to the step wise segregation of the steps. The same has been applied during the framing of activities and formation of Gantt chart.

Whether it is internal or external change in an organization happens due to a number of different reasons. The identification of the reasons behind such a change is one of the most essential parts of the business management. In a business change happens almost every time as because the organizations always keep pace with the change in the market demand for the different goods and services of the organization. The employees of the business organizations must also be aware of such a situation as a change in the organizational structure has a direct impact on them as well. The company must be well aware of the different types of demands that the customers have and must deliver exactly the same kind of products and services to facilitate the return of the highest amount of profits for the organization.  Each and every products and services of a business organization has a particular time within which its demand falls in the market. This will lead to a sudden slowdown of revenues for the company and will force the management to finally take a call on the product on whether or not to continue use the product in a new set up or completely abandon the product. However the discontinuation of the product may lead to a huge impact on the operations of the organization.

Needs for Change in DB Schenker

In the following project the researcher has identified the needs for change in DB Schenker. The SWOT Analysis and PESTEL Analysis of the company was carried out to determine the needs for the change within the organization. The SWOT and PESTEL are as follows;

STRENGTH	OPPURTUNITIES
· Marketing Campaigns in many countries · Large number of employees · Worldwide Presence · Use of all types of Transport System	· Acquiring the business of other competitors · Acquiring the small logistics companies of different countries · Focusing on other areas for investment opportunities
WEAKNESSES	THREATS
· Difference in infrastructure in different countries · Strong competition and liberalization of railway market of Germany	· Documentation and customs · Infrastructural improvement is a challenge · Huge competition from international and domestic Companies · Environmental concerns

1. Strength-The mentioned logistics company has conducted a number of different marketing campaigns in different countries which has helped them to garner an idea about the marketing aspects and has helped them to formulate the right set of strategies to facilitate easy operations (Galliers, and Leidner 2014). Employee strength of more than 96,000 people have made the organization one of the topmost recruiters globally and has helped it to carry smooth operations in the areas where it operates. The company also has its own fleet of land, air and sea transportation mediums like heavy utility trucks, airplanes and ships to help it carry out products all over the world with ease.
2. Weakness- The large-scale difference in infrastructural capabilities of Europe, Asia and Africa has been one of the potent weaknesses of DB Schenker. Apart from such problems strong competition from other companies and liberalization of the railway transport system in Germany have led to huge loss (Langley et al. 2013).
3. Opportunities-The management of the company has went on for a large scale acquisition process and it has already bought a number of small and large scale Logistics Company both domestic and international to ease out their competition and ensure large scale profits. The management of the mentioned organization has also focused on other forms of investment opportunities to facilitate development and change process.
4. Threats- Serious and direct threats include documentation and customs in international airports and ports which have seen a serious increase after the recent terrorist activities (Bull et al. 2016). The company also needs to address the environmental concerns cause from different forms of transportation activities especially from sea transport.

1. Political- The Implementation of tax reforms in different countries have a direct impact on the operations of the business organization (Pihkola et al. 2017). The company faces problems when there is a variation in the prices of the commodity and fuel due to political interferences and instabilities.
2. Economical- The most important economic factor behind the operations of the company is the huge transportation cost that is totally beared by the company. The transportation cost has direct relationship with the various economic factors of the industry. The sudden fluctuations in the prices of the commodity have also a direct impact on the economy of the country as well as the company itself. DB Schenker also considers the rates of the commodity which is totally different in different countries.
3. Social-The management of the company undertakes a thorough market research of every country where it intends to start its operations (Cropper, Mann and Ross 2016). The management only provides a clearance to start operations once they find the countries suitable for operations. Transportation, Use of labor, proper warehousing facilities are the main factors behind such a consideration.
4. Technological-It is a real challenge for the management of the organization to make sure that they use the best possible database systems and ERP before they start their operations in the market. The maintenance of the real time information, trackers, proper software is utmost necessary to facilitate smooth operational capabilities.
5. Environmental- As mentioned earlier transportation involving ships, heavy duty trucks and large freight planes affects the air quality by releasing harmful gases in the atmosphere. The company must also take adequate steps in case of oil spills in the ocean.
6. Legal-The Company must have a clear and transparent idea about the legal principles that are used in the particular countries. The company must abide by all the legal documentations and comply with all the contractual obligations that are within the guidelines.

It is essential for the business organization to provide strategic guidance to the innovation process. There are six major forces that have been identified by the researcher that causes drives the organization towards change. They are as follows;

1. Commoditization- There are innumerable cases where there have been cases of out numbering one another just because the other company was too arrogant to be the best in the business. In 1992 Wal-Mart outnumbered Sears to be the number one retailer of the whole world.  The management of Sears was overconfident and had the assumption that they were the best in the industry. They failed to understand the key dynamics in the market and allowed Wal-Mart to out innovate them in three key areas namely cost of goods, cost of distribution and pricing.  The management of Wal-Mart thus out smarted them to be the largest retailer of the world (Cleveland-Innes 2017).  Therefore commoditization stands out to be one of the main factors behind the success of the organization. It is an inexorable pressure that drives the prices of the items downwards. The following pressure is one of the most competitive forces that is manifested in many ways. The management of Db Schemer is aware of such threats and is thus always involved in expanding its business line to different areas.
2. Digital Revolution- The last decade of digital revolution has been a boon for the industry and it has helped the organization to innovate and digitalize its content. The company has utilized the digitalization to the best possible limit to meet its goals. The process of digitalization has led the company to large scale commoditization as the cost of goods as well as the cost of transportation has became too cheap for the organizations that has made these goods easily available at mass market prices. The computer driven technological changes has been effective for the organization as they have utilized them to the full extent. The management of the mentioned logistics company have always adapted to new changes in the digital front to facilitate the use of the latest technology and stay competitive in the market.
3. Social Causes- As mentioned earlier digital technology has become more progressive and significant as its application is being increased to every fold of life, business and society (Waligo, Clarke and Hawkins 2013). Logistics business is nowadays totally inconceivable without internet and its absence will render the company ineffective off its operational capabilities. The management of the mentioned logistics company have implemented world class ERP software to facilitate their work structure. The ERP software along with a number of other software tools is exclusively designed for the proper and efficient management of the logistics business. The use of different online media platforms facilitates easy communication between the different departments of the mentioned organization which in turn helps the organization to structure their delivery process easily and ensures the absence of any form of glitch.
4. Globalization-Globalization is not a new term and the last few years it has seen a huge rise in every sector of life. It has drawn every nation and every business in a single economic system and through the enormous number of different social media there has been a large participation of people in the mediated social system. The power and the impact of globalization literally means that almost every company needs to have a clear understanding of the current and the future impacts of the worldwide trends on operations, so that they can develop a globalized strategy to develop market based strategies for overall growth. Globalization has had a great impact on the operations of DB Schunker as they have developed themselves from a medium sized logistics company to one of the most potent forces in the Logistics market. The presence of transportation mediums along with the proper utilization of technology have been the best of strategies that were implemented by them to gain success in the market.
5. Turbulent world-The great financial crisis of 2008 was significant to the company as it directly challenged the growth of the company. The inflation that happened as a result directly shook the base of the organizational structure of the company. The management of DB Schenker took some very harsh yet positive decisions to ensure the sustainability of the organization.. Additional funds were pumped in along with the formation of a independent financial monitoring team to control the financial aspects of the different business transactions of the organization. A change was inevitable as such a major crisis threatened the existence of the company (Rinaldi, Unerman,  and Tilt 2014).
6. Acceleration-All the total issues that drove the mentioned company for a change in the management is a strategically decisive issue that is central to everything that needs to be planned and understand in a proper and efficient way. However these factors are not independent of each other rather they are mutually dependent on each other.

All these different forces act as the factors that drive the organization towards the change management process.

An organization that wants to implement a successful change in the management and organizational structure must possess adequate resources to successfully implement such a change. According to experts the resources are generally classified into two different types namely the socio cultural resources and physical resources (Mascarenhas, Nunes and Ramos 2014). Both these resources must be present in a proper amount to lead the organization to a successful change.

The socio Cultural resources include;

1. Motivating Changes- The first phase of the change management process includes the creation of the readiness for change in the client organization and to develop different approaches that helps to overcome resistance to the change management process. The management of the organization must make sure that they help the employees to understand the exact reasons for the change to occur in the organization, explaining the current state of affairs and why does it needs a complete overhaul, how can the change help the organization to sustain in the future and to explain the ways and processes by which the change will be achieved by the organization. The management of the organization must also identify the individuals or a group of individuals who are most likely to resist and oppose the changes in the organization. These resistance may occur from insecurity, inability to cope up with the change in the organization or if the change may lead to an adverse effect. The management of DB Schenker have created a independent team with the task to manage the change effectively and deal with any possible interventions from the employees (Mascarenhas, Nunes, and Ramos 2014). It is the task of the team members to make the employees understand about the change to happen and to ensure their full consent to such a change.
2. Creating Vision-The leaders of the mentioned company must articulate a clear vision on the exact things that will be achieved by the organization as a result of the different changes to be undertaken in the organization. The company has aimed to change the way in which they deal with the delivery of the products and have aimed to undertake a new process which strives to improve their operational capabilities. The managers of the company have their task cut out to formulate the vision in such a way that it will surely be much more realistic and lively (Leeuwis 2013). The company must identify the changes accordingly and create the vision that respects the employees and help them to gradually adopt to the changes.  
3. Development of Political Support-Power is one of the most important resources that is needed for the successful implementation of the change management process. The more the power of the management, the more is its ability or capability to implement change in the organization. The management of the mentioned logistics company is well organized and have the adequate power to take charge of the change management process of the organization. The matters of power and politics are critically important to recognize and manage during organizational change activities (Hayes 2014). The organization has a strong mechanism for alignment of power with the change effort is to create a network of power players who interact and count on each other to support and guide the change effort.
4. Managing Transition- The following phase occurred when the organization reached the time for undertaking the transition of the company to a new form. This is the time when the actual change takes place in the company from the old phase to a completely new organizational structure. DB Schenker had changed its overall structure starting from its managerial changes to the mode of operations (Pugh 2016). The transitional phase of the company was one of the toughest one as it involved the total restructuring of the organization.
5. Sustaining the Momentum- The leaders of the company have their task cut out once the change is implemented within the organization. It is their duty to ensure that the change has been implemented properly and efficiently. As mentioned earlier the change in the organization faces many resistance as because there are a number of issues that are raised by the employees which they feel can dismantle the proper set up of the organization. The management of the mentioned company formulates the change management strategies in such a way that it helps to easily overcome such resistances and sustain the momentum of the change management process.

On the other hand the physical resources that are needed for the change management process are;

1. Selection of Task Appropriate Leaders- Each and every leaders of the business organization needs to clearly identify the leaders within the organization who are capable enough to shoulder responsibilities and devote adequate time and energy to the organization (Raso 2017). The managers of different departments within DB Schenker are selected based on all these parameters and they are used to devote their time to the organization. The managers of different departments have the responsibilities to make the employees working under them understand the needs and the benefits of the changes to be occurred. These leadership responsibilities stand out to be one of the most key resources of the organization (Waligo, Clarke and Hawkins 2014).
2. Reallocation of the existing resources-As the company transforms itself it has to make way for all the existing resources and opt for new ones that are much more efficient than them. However the management of DB Schenker believes that creative reallocation of existing budgets in accordance with the named priorities can sometimes launch a new initiative with minimum chance of impact on the existing set of programs.
3. Bridge Funding-Sometimes external or internal findings are needed for the development of the pilot programs of the organization. The management of DB Schenker discusses strategies for long term support of successful programs with the senior administration when a particular consignment needs special attention. In such cases the management team makes sure that the following project attracts substantial funding from other sources to carry on the following project efficiently and smoothly.

The management of the mentioned logistics group have to implement a number of critical changes to help the organization sustain in the competitive market. A number of different factors like climate change, globalization, needs of customers, on time deliveries have plagued the organization for quite some time and so it is the duty of the organization to start afresh (Pihkola et al. 2017). The main changes that need to be addressed by the organization are;

1. Climate Change- Carbon Di Oxide is believed to be the most important gas that has an direct impact to the degradation of the environment. The environmental concerns from the following gas are the highest as because the gas is the main source of pollutant that serves in the set up to the greenhouse effect of the world.  The transport sector ranks just after the energy sector to be the main emitters of Carbon in the earth’s atmosphere. The increasing volumes of the mentioned company’s business have led to much more carbon footprint from the following company. Thus the company needs to have a permanent solution to such a problem.
2. Globalization- Globalization and an economy that relies upon the divisions of labor have been responsible for the rise in the volumes of transport. The increasing flow of goods has led to much larger forms of emissions and large volume of transport (Peppard, and Ward 2016).
3. Energy- Mineral oil stands out to be the largest source of raw material as because it is the main fuel to run vehicles, ships and aircraft. The demand for oil is always higher due to the rapid change in the globalization process of the world. The company must formualate a new energy efficient model for the business which will help them to plan their energy needs accordingly.

The alignment of the organizational change must be done according to the demands of the organization as such a venture will help the organization to easily implement the strategies formulated by the management of the organization (Hayes 2014). There are different ways to create an idea about the change process that will take place within the organization. The discussed organization has a number of different training and support programs which are designed for the employees to help them have a clear idea about the change management process that may occur quite frequently within the organization. The employees are trained in such a manner that they can easily adapt to the changing circumstances of the organization. The management of the organization must also have the clear idea about when to accelerate the deployment of the change. Accelerating the planning and change capability of the deployment is key in two different areas namely, in the environment that have a substantial organizational complexity and in the organizations like DB Schenker that require rapid and effective change as a part of the strategic imperative and competitive distinction (Herrmann and Nadkarni 2014).

Forces Driving Change in Any Organization

The activities that the following Gantt Chart would deal with are steps to strategic changes which DB Schenker needs to incorporate to enter into joint venture with Etihad Rail. The following are the change activities which can be suggested to the management of the German railway company:

1. The company should first conduct a PESTLE of Abu Dhabi, the host country. The outcome of the process should be gaining information on the market conditions of Abu Dhabi under which the new project would be operating.
2. The second activity is conducting SWOT analyses of both the firms and Etihad Rail, the national railways of Abu Dhabi. The outcome of this process would allow DB Schenker recognize the strengths and weaknesses of theirs and their partner, Etihad Rail. They would also be able to point out threats and opportunities which Abi Dhabi would offer to them.
3. The third activity would be recognizing the strategic fit and the organization fit.
4. The fourth activity would be presentation of the reports of the aforementioned three activities before management of DB Schenker. The outcome of this step is consideration of business returns which the partners can expect out of the business venture.
5. The fifth activity would be pointing out strategies based on the analyses of the previous activities by the apex management. The outcome of the activity would be allocation of resources like financial resources and human resources towards the business expansion strategy of expanding into Abu Dhabi.
6. The sixth activity would be training of the existing staff to align them with the new project to embrace the change.
7. The seventh activity would be meeting of the government representatives of Germany, the European Union and other relevant stakeholders. The outcome of the step would be submission of the relevant documents to the government.
8. The representatives of the company would meet the representatives of the government of Abu Dhabi and the other relevant people to take further decision of the project.

It is clear that the above activities would not only require two logistics companies meet but the respective governments as well. This project consequently would require immense time because the government bodies would also require time to take decisions on the project. The target timeframe would at least be 3 years and the name of the project would be Project Etihad Railways. Since, the entire project is subject of approval of governments of the two countries and the EU, no amount has been allocated. The company would require acquiring and training its human resources but the allocation would take place only after gaining approval from the governments of Germany and Abu Dhabi. The relevant Gantt chart showing the activities has been attached.

As mentioned in the earlier parts of the project the change management concept of the organization needs to be handled by a group of efficient leaders who are efficient enough to handle the change and implement it in their own ways. Some of the main tasks of these leaders include;

1. Clarifying the vision of the organization and communicating it effectively- It is the duty of the leaders to effectively clarify the need for the change in the organization to the employees and clear all doubts regarding the changes to happen.
2. Staying connected with all the employees of the organization-One of the main task of the leader in the organization is to establish a proper and transparent communication with all the employees of the organization just to make sure that all the different issues that may occur as a result of the different changes are well addressed (Goetsch and Davis 2014). These also help to establish a trust for the leaders of the organization.
3. Must be responsible and should have an honest approach.-Responsibility and honest approach is one of the main requirements to be an effective leader. The managers of DB Schenker are appointed after assessing their capabilities and ensuring their acceptability to the other employees of the organization.

The involvement of the stakeholders and the employees of the organization is utmost important to the success of the business (Rinaldi, Unerman, and Tilt 2014). The success of the change in the business organization depends on the proper involvement of all the concerned parties. The role and opinion of each and every concerned persons is utmost important to the success of the new format that the company decides to adopt.

The identification of the stakeholders is done by the management after consideration of some key elements,

1. How the stakeholders will measure the success for change?
2. The amount of influence they possess?
3. What is their importance in the organization?

After the identification of the stakeholders it is important for the management to communicate the total process of change management to them; the different points that needs to be pointed out are;

1. What are the things that need to be communicated?
2. What are the different ways by which communication can be completed?
3. Which are the particular parts of the messages that need to be emphasized particularly?
4. How will the communication process be successful?

An effective communication process helps the organization to easily adapt to the different changes in the organizational structure of the organizations. The management of DB Schenker needs to communicate in different ways and in different languages in the places where it conducts all its business operations (Mascarenhas,  Nunes, and Ramos 2014).

The management of DB Schenker has an effective plan for proper and effective monitoring of the change management plan.  The continuous monitoring by the management helps the organization to provide a proper direction for the employees of the mentioned logistics company and improve productivity and improve the time management of the organization (Pugh 2016).

1. Creation of Specific forms for measurement-The management of the organization must create specific forms for the measurement of the different tasks of the organization. The form may contain items like performance of a given day, month or a week, sales figure, sales figure and many other such related items.
2. Develop a system for monitoring the operational progress- Use of time based sheets, flow charts, departmental progress sheets and many other such related items.
3. Creation of an open work environment-The presence of an open work environment helps the organization to make sure that the managers and supervisors of the organization can have a transparent outlook to the performance of the employees and rate them accordingly. The managers can also help the employees to improve their performance if they feel that some person is not performing accordingly.
4. Invest in New Technology- This could be investment in new technology like new software and computers as well as other latest components that helps the organization to

Socio-Cultural and Physical Resources for Successful Change Management

Reputed business consultant Robert H. Waterman and Tom Peter had developed this model to give a strategic vision to the business units. The original model derived its identity from Mckinsey in the year 1977. It is very well known concept in case of organizational analysis and it assesses the inner atmosphere of an institution. In case of any dilemma, this model attempts to change all the internal structure and effectively make a change in it with a view to conceptualize all aspects of the dilemma (Small et al. 2016). There are seven models inferred in this theory that lead towards a restructurer of business entity and improvise the process of change in leadership if necessary. It concentrates on the improvement of the performance and maintains a consistency during the other changes. It helps to determine the best way regarding the strategy implementation of the company. The seven effective models of the theory are strategy, structure, system, shared values, skills, staffs and style respectively. The first three models are termed as hard elements and the rests are treated as soft elements.

The model is based on seven separate models to develop the performance of the employees and staffs. The theory has placed the shared values in its core as according to this theory, they are the central unit for the development criteria. The structure, system and staff of the company is depending on the shared values. This theory has concentrated over the actual skills and contingencies of the employees and it has the ability to make a change in the organizational ability of the company (Doppelt 2017). When the people are getting affected by the inefficient working methods of the company, these seven models can help them out of the problem.  It helps to formulate the plan with an intention to provide a sustainable competitive strategy to the company by giving special concentration on the production development. It also focuses on the coordination of the employees and makes an attempt to change the formal as well as the informal processes of the company. If there is problem or dilemma cropped up regarding the leadership, this theory will help to make an effective change in that management system. This theory attempts to bring a developmental change within the working force and focus on the capabilities of the employees. These processes have given the employees to change the working capabilities and created effective impacts on them.

This model is essential for the systematic value creation and it delivers four cornerstones for providing certain guidelines. It has been stated by the company that an effective management of a company based on the clear purpose of the company and the purpose of the company is based on the cultural aspects of the company, challenges and strategies of the company. The sustainability of the company is based on the process of clarification regarding the ultimate purpose of the company (Peppard and Ward 2016).

The second approach is corporate engagement. It has been observed that the structure of a company can be changed with the hard wiring and soft wiring. The performance of a company is based on the sustainable development strategies and the involvement of the entire company in CSR processes will help a gradual improvement.

Invitation to the strategic partners to join in the creation processes can be proved as effective strategy regarding the sustainable development of the company and this process will help to new mindset and new idea in the company. This process can be termed as collaborative co-creation.

A transparent and mutual understanding can lead to the sustainable development of the company. It will build a communication in between the different types of stakeholders.  

Conclusion 

The change management is a collective term that mentions all the approaches to prepare and support individuals, teams and organization to prepare for an organizational change. Change management is very much essential for the effective growth of the organization and helps the management of the firm to stay updated with the latest changes in the modern marketing world. The Lewin model and Kotter model have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, from the above mentioned discussions it has been clarified that the approach of the Kotter’s model is quite acceptable. In a business change happens almost every time as because the organizations always keep pace with the change in the market demand for the different goods and services of the organization. These changes helps the employees to motivate and give birth to new ideas and creative thinking that ultimately leads to the systematic development of the company. The SWOT and PESTEL analysis of a company helps to point out the strength and weak points of a company and helps to apply proper strategy by the management department of the company. In addition, the political, economical and societal effects on the business operation of a company can also be identified. It is essential for the business organization to provide strategic guidance to the innovation process. An organization that wants to implement a successful change in the management and organizational structure must possess adequate resources to successfully implement such a change. The effect of the Mclinney’s 7model has lso been discussed that provides an systematic approach to the sustainable development process of the company. The effect of the climate change and globalization on the change management strategies are being discussed here. All these features help to define the importance of the strategic change management in case of sustainable development of the company.

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