BUS503 Organizational Change and Transformation
Module 1 Case
ORGANIZATIONAL RESISTANCE TO CHANGE (AND WHY GOOD COMPANIES FAIL)
Assignment Overview
Organizational Resistance to Change (And why good companies fail).
In the Module 1 Case Assignment, you will write a 5- to 6-page paper in which you analyze in-depth the reasons that good companies fail due to their reluctance to respond to changes in the internal company and the external environment.
To begin the Module 1 Case assignment, read the following article and chapter from the following sources:
Butt, J., & Ivanov, S. (2017). Study of a large office supply retail organization: How good companies slowly go out of business. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 9(4), 100-116. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Shein’s (2011) Phases of Organizational decline? Shein, James B. (2011). Chapter One – The Phases of Decline and Early Warning Signs Reversing the slide: a strategic guide to turnarounds and corporate renewal. [Books24x7 version] Available in the Trident Online Library.
Case Assignment
After you read the foregoing sources, visit the library, and consult IBISWorld (download the IBISWorld Academic Overview). Search for “Office Supply Stores in the U.S.” Scan through the various pages associated with the large office supply retail industry, noting key areas of opportunity, key areas required for success, and key threats. Then, in a well-written 5- to 6-page paper (not including Cover and References pages), respond to the following:
Based on your research, what are the key drivers for success in the large office supply store industry? This section should be at least 2 pages in length.
What were the reasons for the failure of the Fortune 500 office supply company, as discussed in the Butt and Ivanov (2017) journal article? Are these reasons consistent with Shein’s (2011) phases of decline?
What other reasons, if any, have you identified? Are there any practical difficulties that served as barriers to needed organizational change? (This section should be at least 2 pages in length).
What recommendations would you have given the leadership of the foregoing Fortune 500 company relative to how the company may have avoided organizational failure? (This section should also be at least 2 pages in length).
Conclude your paper by identifying the key lessons you have learned from Module 1 (as taken from both the Background materials and the Module 1 Case assignment) concerning the need for ongoing adaptation on the part of the organization and the need to avoid organizational inertia and resistance to change. This section should be at least 1 page in length.
Assignment Expectations
Minimum length requirements for the Module 1 Case assignment is 5 pages (not including Title and Reference pages).
Be sure to cite at least 3 scholarly sources using APA Style.
Upload your paper to the Case 1 Dropbox before the assignment due date.
BUS503 Organizational Change and Transformation
Module 1 SLP
ORGANIZATIONAL RESISTANCE TO CHANGE (AND WHY GOOD COMPANIES FAIL)
For Module 1 SLP, we will continue our research into why good organizations resist change. To this extent, please visit the library, and find the following texts:
Iverson, L. (2010). The science of change management: The 7 phases of change & breaking through resistance to change. [Books24x7 version]. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Davidson, Jeff. (2009). 5 ways to overcome resistance to change. [Books24x7 version]. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Read the chapter titled “Resistance to Change” from Iverson (2010) The 7 Phases of Change and Breaking through Resistance to Change. In this chapter, you will note several key barriers that cause organizations to resist needed change. Namely, these are:
Lack of Knowledge or Skill
Physical or Resource restrictions
Negative Projections (Future or Past)
Discomfort
Fear of the Unknown
It is important to note the author’s emphasis that any one of these factors creates organization-wide resistance to change.
After reading the chapter “Resistance to Change,” respond to the following in a well-written, 3- to 4-page paper to include 2 Scholarly Sources from the Required and Optional readings List:
Part One: Description
Think of an experience you had with an organization that failed to change when change was needed.
Describe the change and explain why the organizational change you identify was needed. Describe what negative consequences (or outcomes) resulted from the organization’s failure to enact the needed change. What were the costs to the organization (e.g., poor employee morale, loss of customers, poor company image, financial losses, etc.)?
Part Two: Application and Analysis
Apply Iverson’s (2010) perspective to demonstrate how lack of knowledge, physical or resource restrictions, negative projections, discomfort, and fear of the unknown contributed to the resistance to change in this organization. In other words, explain how Iverson helps us understand why the barrier you have selected caused organization-wide resistance to needed change (keep in mind that we are focused on organization-wide, and not individual resistance to change).
Part Three: Solution and Recommendations
Finally, as a leader, what could you have done to avoid or minimize this resistance to change? Be specific and be sure that your recommended actions target the barrier you identified in Part Two (e.g., lack of knowledge, physical or resource restrictions, negative projections, discomfort, and fear of the unknown). See Davidson’s (2009) “5 ways to overcome resistance to change” to help you “connect the dots” by making a clear argument regarding how these specific recommendations would have helped the organization implement the needed change without resistance. If the resistance to change is ongoing, what suggestions do you have for resolving this problem going forward?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Minimum length requirements for the Module 1 SLP assignment are 3–4 pages (not including Title and Reference pages).
Be sure to cite a minimum of 2 scholarly sources from the Required or Optional Readings List using APA Style.
Upload your paper to the SLP 1 Dropbox before the assignment due date.
BUS503 Organizational Change and Transformation
Module 2 Case
INDIVIDUAL RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
Case Assignment
Read the following case study:
Nelsen, B. J., & Valadez, M. S. (2012). Resistance to technological change: The case of the unused calculators. Journal of Case Studies, 30(2), 14-20. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Then, in a well-written 5- to 6-page paper, to include 3 scholarly sources from the required and optional readings list, please respond to the following:
Part One:
Briefly summarize the circumstances confronting Ms. Figueroa in her quest to have the calculators widely used at the American School for the Deaf (ASD).
Part Two:
Identify the key individuals (stakeholder groups) in the unused calculator case, and discuss the extent to which each stakeholder is resistant to change (i.e., is amenable to use of the technology).
How might the different perspectives of each of the major stakeholders, in this case, come together to further increase the overall resistance to change at the ASD?
Part Three: Using the background readings:
What factors—other than the technology itself—do you believe contributed to the resistance to change on the part of each of the major stakeholders you have identified in Item #2 above (mistrust, fear, loss of job security)?
Part Four: Conclude your paper by commenting on the following:
Is it possible that Ms. Figueroa can resolve this situation such that the calculators can be used at the ASD?
Or, is the resistance to change at the ASD now impossible to overcome? Be sure to explain your reasoning.
Assignment Expectations
Your paper must be a minimum of 5 pages in length (excluding title and references pages).
Be sure to cite and reference (Using APA Style) a minimum of 3 scholarly sources listed in the Course Materials and Bibliography (Module 2 required and Optional Reading List), or in the Module 2 Background Page: Required and Optional Readings.
Upload your Module 2 Case to the Dropbox before or on the assignment due date.
BUS503 Organizational Change and Transformation
Module 2 SLP
INDIVIDUAL RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
As we have established, resistance to change occurs at various levels: Individual, group, and organization. Moreover, resistance to change is both a workplace and a personal phenomenon. Therefore, organizational change theory applies in both contexts.
For Module 2 SLP, you will consider either a personal or workplace situation in which you resisted change.
In a well-written 3- to 4-page paper, to include 2 scholarly sources from the Module 2 Background and Required and Optional Readings List, please respond to the following:
Part One: (Description): Describe a situation in which you resisted a personal or an organizational (workplace) change.
Part Two (Application and Analysis):
Identify the specific reasons that contributed to your resistance to change.
What measures, if any, were taken (by yourself, by others, by top leadership, etc.) to decrease resistance to change?
What was the outcome of the change, and how were the concerns you identified in question 1 of Part 2, resolved?
Part Three (Insights): Now that you have a better understanding as to why individuals resist change,
What insights have you gained that would affect how you would approach this change today?
What have you learned that you can use to enhance your ability to lead change?
Will you approach the change process differently in the future?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Your SLP should be 3 to 4 pages in length (not including Title and Reference pages).
Be sure to cite and reference (using APA Style) a minimum of 2 scholarly sources listed in the Course Materials and Bibliography (Module 2 required and Optional Reading List), or in the Module 2 Background Page: Required and Optional Readings.
Upload your paper to the SLP 2 Dropbox before the assignment due date.
BUS503 Organizational Change and Transformation
Module 3 Case
THE FOUR CHANGE ANTECEDENTS: CULTURE, CAPACITY, COMMITMENT, AND CAPABILITY
Case Assignment
Begin the Module 3 Case Assignment by reading the following case study:
Burton, O., & Pope, D. (2012). Winds of change at Measurement Equipment Supply Co., Inc. Journal of Case Studies, 30(1), 51–57. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Then, in a well-written 5- to 6-page paper (excluding title and references pages) to include three scholarly sources from the required or optional readings list, respond to the following:
What do you believe are the most critical threats (discuss at least 3) confronting the Measurement Equipment Co. Inc. (MESCO)?
Hint: As you read the case, take note how events that have emerged in the company’s external environment, for example, increased regulation, and economic, social, and technological factors, have created the need for the company to consider undergoing some major changes.
In the Background section of this module, we reviewed the role of Culture, Commitment, Capacity, and Capability to determine the extent to which companies are prepared to undertake major organizational changes successfully.
Your task is to list four factors that the company should consider as they relate to MESCO’s readiness to change. Defend and explain your reasoning for each factor.
What steps do you recommend Bill Smith should take to move forward with the company’s major organizational changes successfully?
What do you believe the company should do to sufficiently prepare for this proposed organizational change?
Assignment Expectations
Your paper must be 5–6 pages in length and include at least 3 scholarly sources from the required and optional readings list.
Be sure that you incorporate sources found on the Background page into your written analysis and from the Required and Optional readings list only.
You may want to review information about the industry in the library’s IBISWorld resource.
Be sure that you properly cite all sources used in your paper (APA Style) in-text and in your end referencing.
Upload your Module 3 Case to the Dropbox before or on the assignment due date.
BUS503 Organizational Change and Transformation
Module 3 SLP
THE FOUR CHANGE ANTECEDENTS: CULTURE, CAPACITY, COMMITMENT, AND CAPABILITY
For the Module 3 SLP, you are asked to administer the adapted Organizational Readiness to Change (Climate of Change) to someone you know who has experienced a significant workplace change. As you learned from the Background materials, one of the four factors that may be used to determine the potential success of a significant organizational change is the organization’s culture; that is, the organization’s culture must exist in a state that is ready for, and amenable to, significant change or organizational transformation. For purposes of this SLP, you are free to administer the survey to someone who has experienced either a major (transformational) or minor organizational change.
This adapted survey is intended to measure an organization’s readiness to change from the perspective of the organization’s culture. Download the survey: Organizational Change Questionnaire – Climate of Change – Adapted).
Following the completion of the survey, respond to the following in a 3- to 4-page paper to include at least 2 scholarly sources from the Module 3 Required or Optional readings list:
Identify the nature of the change: What was the change that the organization experienced? Then, identify the change as a minor or major organizational change.
Was the organizational change successful? In other words, does the interviewee believe that the organization achieved its stated purpose?
Provide the total score and the level of readiness for organizational change.
From the perspective of the organization’s culture, what does the interviewee believe was the single, most important characteristic of the organization’s culture that contributed to the success or failure of the change (e.g., open communication/poor communication, high level of trust/mistrust, etc.)? How does this identified characteristic compare with the general responses (and the total score) given by the interviewee?
Conclude your SLP by commenting on the extent to which the interviewee’s organizational culture contributed to the success or failure of the change. How do the interviewee’s responses inform (or align with) the success or failure of the organizational change?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Your SLP should be 3–4 pages in length (not including Cover and References pages).
Be sure to cite and reference a minimum of 2 scholarly sources from the Module 3 Required or Optional readings list using APA Style.
Upload your paper to the SLP 3 Dropbox before the assignment due date.
BUS503 Organizational Change and Transformation
Module 4 Case
THE “CYCLE OF CHANGE” MODEL
Case Assignment
For the Module 4 Case Assignment, you will use the Cycle of Change Model from Chapter 2 of Campbell (2014) to evaluate the organizational transformation process of a well-known company: Caterpillar, Incorporated.
Read the following from Bouchard (2014) The Caterpillar Way: Lessons in Leadership, Growth, and Shareholder Value, and the case study from Neilson and Pasternack (2005) about Caterpillar’s organizational transformation, titled The Cat that Came Back. As you read through these two sources, be sure that you carefully consider how the various steps in the Cycle of Change Model were employed by Caterpillar as it undertook its massive, yet immensely successful organizational transformation. Essentially, Caterpillar “wrote the book” on how significant organizational change should be successfully accomplished.
Campbell, H. (2014). Managing organizational change: A practical toolkit for leaders. [Books24x7 version]. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Bouchard, C. T., & Koch, J. V. (2014). The Caterpillar way: Lessons in leadership, growth, and shareholder value. [Books24x7 version]. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Neilson, G. L., & Pasternack, B. A. (2005). The cat that came back. Strategy+Business. Retrieved from https://www.strategy-business.com/article/05304?gko=56862
After reading the two Caterpillar sources, write a 5- to 6-page paper using 3 scholarly sources, and respond to the following:
Apply the Cycle of Change Model to the Caterpillar case study. That is,
Direct the change: Minimally, describe the process by which Caterpillar determined the nature and scope of the change needed. Did the organization explicitly state what the expected outcome(s) of the transformation would be? How well was the change articulated?
Drive the change: How was the company’s new vision made known? What was the process for “driving” and energizing people involved with and responsible for the organizational transformation?
Deliver the change: Describe the process by which Caterpillar delivered the change (e.g., project management).
Prepare for the change: Discuss Caterpillar’s change management process; how were the company’s people and culture prepared for such a massive transformation?
How was the change propagated throughout the organization?
What benefits/value did Caterpillar realize from the organizational transformation process? Were the outcomes consistent with the benefits that were contemplated at the outset of the planning process?
With the understanding that Caterpillar’s transformation was tremendously successful, provide your impressions concerning the extent to which Caterpillar adhered to the Cycle of Change Model.
Related to Item No. 2, what did Caterpillar do particularly well in terms of following the Cycle of Change Model sequence?
Conclude your paper by providing recommendations on what Caterpillar might have done differently to improve the organizational transformation.
The following source may also be helpful to you in the completion of the Case Assignment, as it provides very current background on Caterpillar: Ibis World. Available in Additional Library Resources in the Trident Online Library.
Assignment Expectations
Your task for this assignment is to “map” the events you’ve read in the case study to the various steps in the Cycle of Change Model. Bear in mind that Caterpillar did not utilize the Cycle of Change Model as the “script” by which the company undertook the various steps of its organizational transformation. Therefore, you may not find that Caterpillar followed the Cycle of Change Model precisely, and in certain instances, you will likely be required to interpret how Caterpillar fulfilled some step(s) in the Cycle of Change Model sequence.
Your paper must be at least 5 pages (Excluding Title and References Pages) in length.
Be sure that you incorporate (3 scholarly) sources found on the Background page into your written analysis.
Be sure that you properly cite all sources used in your paper (APA Style) in-text and in your end referencing.
Upload your Module 4 Case to the Dropbox before or on the assignment due date.
BUS503 Organizational Change and Transformation
Module 4 SLP
THE “CYCLE OF CHANGE” MODEL
For the final SLP in this course, you will be given a fair degree of latitude to explore some aspects of Organizational Change and Transformation. The SLP for this module requires that you visit the library and choose a chapter from a textbook, or an article from a journal, trade magazine, or newspaper that is of interest to you and is related to some aspect of organizational change and transformation.
You will then choose some portion of the chapter or article, briefly summarize the contents, and then apply the contents to some aspect of your personal life and/or workplace. (Remember that organizational change theory extends beyond organizations and applies to personal changes as well as workplace changes.)
Be creative! Use your imagination and critical thinking skills to consider how change theory applies either to a personal or workplace experience you have had. Importantly, you have the flexibility to choose your topic and its application, so long as you can demonstrate that you are able to effectively apply the theory/concepts you have read.
Visit the library and perform a search of the available sources using one or more of the following keywords:
Organizational Change
Organizational Transformation, and/or
Change Management.
After choosing and reading some aspect of a book chapter or article that is of particular interest to you, respond to the following in a well-written 3- to 4-page paper (excluding Title and References pages) using a minimum of 2 scholarly sources:
Summarize what you have read from the article or chapter you have selected. Be sure to cite specific concepts that are applicable to the personal or work experience you have selected for this module (one page).
What did the author say that was particularly relevant and/or of particular significance to the past personal and/or work experience you have selected? Why did you select this particular chapter or article? How have the organizational change and transformation concepts you have selected informed your personal or work experience? What new understanding or insights do you have after applying these concepts to your personal or work circumstances?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Your SLP should be 3–4 pages in length (not including Cover and Reference pages).
Be sure to cite 2 scholarly sources from your search and the required and optional readings list.
Upload your paper to the SLP 4 Dropbox before the assignment due date