Change management paper
Wen
suggestions.docx1. Choose a case for the paper that interests you. Most choose a case that they experienced on the job (e.g., company merger, reorganization, adoption of innovation or new procedure). If you have never experienced anything remotely like this, then you could choose a case in your community that interested you (e.g., political issues like taxes, land acquisition, school boards). If none of those apply then you can choose a case that is personal to you (e.g., getting a raise, selling something to a client or customer). If you have never worked, then choose a case you may experienced as an intern or student. I am pretty liberal about the kind of case that you choose.
2. Choose a case that involved a failed change attempt or proposes a change that has never been attempted. DO NOT CHOOSE A CASE THAT WAS SUCCESSFUL. The outline is hard to use when describing successful change attempts.
3. Write the paper as an expanded outline. That means writing paragraphs under the lower level headings. By using the outline as headings, you won’t leave something out.
4. With regard to length, some overwrite Section I. I think they get into describing the problem and go on a tirade. Although cathartic, it eats space. Section II should be relatively brief and the shortest of the three sections. Section III is where you should be writing a lot. That is where you are showing me that you can use the course content to propose an effective change.
5. Remember that you will be sending the paper to me as an attachment. I will grade it and make comments in the file. I will return it to you at the SAME address from which I received it. IF FOR SOME REASON, YOU DON’T WANT ANYONE TO SEE THE PAPER, USE YOUR STUDENT EMAIL ADDRESS. DO NOT USE YOUR WORK ADDRESS.
6. I will erase all papers at the end of the term. I never share papers with others.
Below I will give you some insights into the outline.
SUGGESTED OUTLINE FOR CHANGE MANAGEMENT PAPERS
I. Statement of problem area. In this section, describe the change attempt and the key players.
A. Background of change attempt.
1. Nature of change (What is being proposed?).
In this section, provide an overview of the change including a brief history.
2. Issues (Why is it being proposed?).
If you are writing about a failed change, indicate why it was proposed and how it failed. If you are writing about a proposed change, then describe the problem it is intended to resolve.
3. Change Agent(s). This section is focused on the people who proposed or will propose the change. If there are only a few change agents, you can describe what each on is like. If you are there many, then describe their general characteristics.
4.
A. Personality. What are they like? If you want, you can refer to the personalities I mention in the handout on integrative bargaining.
B. Power. What kind of power do the change agents have and how much? Is their power formal (e.g., authority) and/or or informal (e.g., expertise, charisma, personal contacts)?
C. Motive for being the change agent. Why are they proposing the change? Is it collective (e.g., the betterment of a group or organization) and/or personal (e.g., money, promotion)?
5. 4. Target(s). This section is focused on the people who must change. What are they like? If there are only a few targets, you can describe what each on is like. If you are there many, then describe their general characteristics.
A. Personality. I want to know what they are like and you can use the personalities in the handout on integrative bargaining.
B. Power. What kind of power do they have (e.g, informal and/or informal) how much power do they have?
C. Change Orientation Do the targets typically support or oppose change and why?
II. Statement of theory. In this section, describe each of the theories that you will use in Section III.
The material will come from the handouts in class. Do NOT apply them to your case until Section III. Every theory used in Section III MUST be described in Section II and every theory described in Section II MUST be applied in Section III.
Sometimes one theory will be enough. It describes what went wrong and what should have been done. However, in some cases, you may need a theory that describes what went wrong (e.g., psychological reactance) and a different one that describe what should have been done (e.g., Katz’s functional approach).
A. Key concepts and definitions. In this section, define the key concepts in the theory (e.g., psychological reactance, attitudinal function).
B. Explanatory statements.
In this section, describe what each theory says about to create change (e.g., what factors cause psychological reactance and how do people reduce their reactance). DO NOT APPLY IT TO YOUR CASE. ALSO, DO NOT JUSTIFY WHY YOU ARE USING IT. Only describe what the theory says. Use the material in the handout.
III. Change management plan.
A. Change Goals. These are objectives of the change.
1. Instrumental These are usually task related goals (e.g., increase productivity, greater profit, efficiency).
2. Relational These are focused on the type of relationship that the agents should want to achieve with the targets (e.g., cooperation, trust).
3. Face These are image related goals. They include the type of image the target should created (e.g., competence, trustworthiness) as well as image the target should support in the targets (e.g., they are competent and valued).
B. Obstacles to goal achievement. Theories in Section II can be used to describe the obstacles. If describing a failed change attempt, in this section note what went wrong and how it is related to some if not all theories in Section II. If proposing a new change, then describe what could go wrong using the theories in Section II.
C. Strategies to overcome each obstacle.
1. Be specific about what you will say or do. Avoid general recommendations.
2. Link strategies to theory described earlier. Every strategy must be linked to a theory. Every theory in this section must be described in Section II and every theory describe in Section II must be used in this section. Use the concepts of the theories in Section II to justify the strategies.
D. Indicators of success.
1. Minimum definition of success.
2. Maximum definitions of success.
E. Costs and risks of strategies.
1. What could go wrong and why? This is focused on the change attempt you are proposing Why might it fail?
2. Backup solutions for costs and risks
F. Probability of success of intervention and why.
IV. Bibliography and/or footnotes.
