Professional practice reflection

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Managing Change – 21884 (AUT2021)

Module 3 Seminar: Understanding stakeholders

In this seminar, we will build a deeper understanding of important change management issues

around understanding different stakeholders (internal and external). During Zoom breakout

sessions, you will work in small groups on the individual activities listed further down below.

Please make sure you have this handout on hand when participating in the Zoom session.

BEFORE CLASS – Complete two tasks

Task 1: Read the following article: Ramaswamy, V. and Gouillart, F. (2010). Building the

co-creative enterprise, Harvard Business Review, 88(10) - available on Canvas Module 3,

page ‘Stakeholders as co-creators’

Task 2: Read the case scenario information in this handout (the case scenario was introduced

in Seminar 1 handout).

Business Case for a Diversity and Inclusion Program in the law firm Smith & Jones

You are a team of HR

business partners working for

Smith & Jones, a top-tier

Australian law firm based in

Sydney. The firm employs

about 600 lawyers and 150

partners and provides full-

services in commercial law.

Smith & Jones is a traditional

law firm that has operated for

decades in a relatively

sheltered marketplace with

little employee turnover.

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While the firm has a relatively diverse base of administrative and paralegal staff, 95% of the

firm’s partners are male and of Anglo-Celtic or European background. This is clearly at odds

with the value statements listed on the firm’s website that embrace diversity (e.g. ‘we take

pride in diversity within our teams and want to be an inclusive place to work. We value our

differences and work as one team towards a shared purpose.’).

When it comes to the firm’s client relationships, the firm’s motto has long been to be their

clients’ ‘best partner’ that ‘truly knows’ their clients’ ‘needs, values, ideas and opinions’.

Over the years, this has led to cultivating a stable base of clients with relatively similar

characteristics. However, with rising competition in an increasingly globalised marketplace,

the firm’s managing partners are now particularly concerned with finding ways to increase

their client base and are seeking possible solutions from the HR department. Your task is to

develop a proposal for a diversity and inclusion program that can help them achieve their

strategic goal while keeping within the limits of a tight budget in a cost-cutting environment.

Although senior executives are keen to hear solutions, you sense that there may yet be a lack

of awareness of what diversity and inclusion actually means and how fundamentally practices

would have to shift. You, therefore, need to offer a convincing business case demonstrating

to the firm’s managing partners why they should endorse your suggestions.

IN-CLASS – Zoom live session

Breakout Room activity 1 (10 minutes)

In small groups of 3 students, reflect on a change that you have experienced as a stakeholder

of an organisation (e.g. as a staff member, customer/client, shareholder etc.):

• Was the organisation prepared for this change? • How effectively did the organisation communicate with stakeholders during the

change?

• What could they have improved in terms of their stakeholder communication and change management?

Can you identify any patterns or similarities across your individual experiences?

Appoint one person to take notes and report back to the class.

Class discussion

Teams will share some insights from their discussion in the breakout room.

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Breakout room activity 2 (10 minutes)

In small groups of HR Business Partners, you need to conduct a stakeholder analysis to

manage the implementation of the Diversity and Inclusion Program in the law firm Smith &

Jones (please refer to the Case Scenario presented in this handout). While we discussed how

the change initiation would be pitched to senior management during our first seminar, now it

is time to think beyond the proposal and to plan change implementation.

In groups of 5-6 students, discuss the following points:

Tasks:

 Who are the key stakeholders in this change initiative?

 Which stakeholders could be potentially neglected? (could be potentially seen as

unimportant but the contrary holds true)

 What would be their potential sources of resistance?

Appoint one person to take notes and report back to the class.

Class discussion

Teams will share the insights about the stakeholders affected by the change

initiative in the Smith & Jones law firm.

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Breakout room Activity 3 (12 minutes)

In the previous discussion, you have identified key stakeholders for your change initiative

and their potential sources of resistance. In this activity, you will develop strategies to

communicate with key stakeholders and potentially manage their resistance.

In groups of 5-6 students, discuss the following tasks:

 Use these findings from Activity 2 and suggest strategies for managing the resistance

of individual stakeholders.

 How would you communicate the change initiative to key stakeholders?

 How can the co-creative approach (Ramaswami and Gouillart, 2010) be applied to

this initiative?

Appoint one person to take notes and report back to the class.

Class discussion

Teams will share your findings identified in their breakout room