Running head: CONSULTING PROPOSAL #2 1
Consulting Proposal #2 The Young Change Agents
Christy Stephens
Liberty University
BMAL 504 – Leading Organizational Change
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Definition of Project:
Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), a newly merged company brought together James
Shaw and Amy Middelburg to partner with them as they joined forces with AIESEC. There were
significant differences with the two companies and each had their own set of issues. Prior to
joining PwC both Middelburg and Shaw were respected members within AIESEC who help
leadership positions. In joining PwC they found themselves at the bottom as more of just a “staff
number in a database”, as Shaw stated (Jick & Peiperl 2011, p. 463). Their primary focus at the
company was to take a look at the company’s image as a whole and envision what changes could
be made to help the company globally. As they joined forces they began researching the
company’s vision and values, however they were less than enthusiastic about what they
discovered. Because of this, they decided to come up with a list of changes they wanted to
implement and proposed them to a man by the name of Keith Bell who held a supervisory role in
the organization. The approach that Middelburg and Shaw took was to propose that the company
should redirect their focus from solely profits driven to that of relationships with the public,
clients, and their business partners (Jick & Peiperl 2011). While PwC understood that their ideas
could have some risks they also realized the potential for great rewards. Despite all of this PwC
was hesitant to move forward with these ideas for fear of failure. Leadership was reluctant to
move forward on some of these drastic changes as it was a large company and it brought on huge
responsibility with the possibility of negative outcomes. AIESEC provided Middelburg and
Shaw, with many skills in regards to corporate responsibility during their time there and proved
to be a great motivating factor for them. They came up with a plan that focused on three areas,
which were social, economic, and environmental. Keith Bell approved of their proposal, and
supported it by sending it up to individuals in different management section within the firm.
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Diagnosis of current situation:
For Middleburg and Shaw to put these changes in motion they needed to be both realistic
as well as achievable. The changes must also be completed in the right timely fashion to avoid
unnecessary loss in profits or other negative outcomes. To move forward with these changes
PwC would be placing a large amount of responsibility on this young team which could pose a
challenge to the team’s implementation plan, by the organization simply allowing their image
and reputation to be placed in someone else’s hands.
Everyone will take on greater roles that are involved in the company from partners, stakeholders,
suppliers, and staff, to the company’s clients and community. Anyone involved in the
organization whether inside or out will assume a bigger role to make this change take place.
Their proposal would affect the values of the organization long term by increasing staff and
client loyalty, reducing the possibility for a negative image by regulators or nongovernmental
organizations, and increasing the organizations effectiveness operationally and financially (Jick
& Peiperl, 2011). Improving global market stability was also something the team felt they could
improve by successfully implementing their plan (Jick & Peiperl, 2011). Additionally the team
faced the challenge of PwC’s primary concern being the bottom line. Despite their plan being
well liked among senior management little action was taken to make a change. It became more
challenging to convince management that the implementation of their plan was essential as the
organization moved forward (Jick & Peiperl 2011). The organization’s was so stuck in their
normal everyday routine that they were less willing to try the new proposed ideas brought
forward by the young team. Being that they were positioned low within the organization caused
further limitations making progress as they had no control over the decisions that the executive
team chose to take on or not (Jick & Peiperl 2011). Eventually the young team was able to bring
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in reinforcements from AIESEC that could assist in helping them implement the changes and
turn their plans into actions (Jick & Peiperl 2011). PwC is a company that was in need of a
change that would transform the newly merged organization. They needed to find ways to
improve sustainability while creating a global standard. Furthermore they needed to focus on
relationships both internally as well as externally.
Recommendations:
Once PwC recognizes that there is a need for change in order to meet demands, and keep
up with the pace of society they will be able to successfully accept change, which in turn will
improve their status as an organization. They will be able to take measures to implement
sustainable systems that will enhance their reputation as well as their prosperity. PwC should
integrate strategies to amend corporate responsibility and public image. The young change agents
have built a plan that also includes changing the organization’s culture, processes, relationships,
and finally redirecting the organizations narrow-minded profit margins focus towards new values
that provide practical reachable goals.
For all of these recommendations to take place successfully there are some things that need to
take place. According to Barry Oshry’s “middle space” concept, middle space is a space that
pulls us between others. Those who are pulled into this middle space become caught between
conflicting agenda’s (Jick & Peiperl 2011, p. 449). When these different views come together in
the middle space it creates an opportunity for both ends of the spectrum to come together to find
common ground. Thus creating a team that can work together. Building an effective team is
necessary for creating an appropriate organizational environment (Kumar, Deshmukh, & Adhish,
2014). When an organization initiates change the team must be prepared to deal with the
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challenges set forth and must be able to tackle the tasks that come about. It is also important to
monitor progress on goals and objectives ensuring that everyone stays on target. Oshry suggests
that we as individuals must change our focus from trying to fix people to working to fix the
situation (Jick & Peiperl 2011, p. 448). By doing this, the middle space becomes a powerful unit
enabling them to work together as one. When the top and bottom of the organization are brought
together by the middle space it levels the playing field and important issues and priorities can be
discussed without individuals feeling helpless.
The ability of
organizations
to be skilled at
teamwork
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and building
high
performance
teams is a
major key to
competitive
advantage
and may very
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well
determine the
future success
or failure of
many
organizations.
The ability of
organizations
Running head: CONSULTING PROPOSAL #2 8
to be skilled at
teamwork
and building
high
performance
teams is a
major key to
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competitive
advantage
and may very
well
determine the
future success
or failure of
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many
organizations.
The ability of
organizations
to be skilled at
teamwork
and building
high
Running head: CONSULTING PROPOSAL #2 11
performance
teams is a
major key to
competitive
advantage
and may very
well
determine the
Running head: CONSULTING PROPOSAL #2 12
future success
or failure of
many
organizations.
An organizations ability to be skilled at developing and nurturing teams is a major key to
having a competitive advantage and my very well determine the future success or failure of a
company (Warrick, 2016). If leadership in any organization is unable to create solid
relationships with subordinates it can negatively affect overall performance of the organization.
Subordinates need to feel cared for and believed in for them to feel motivated and inspired by
their leadership (Curtis & O'Connell 2011). Middelburg and Shaw were being invited to
meetings, reinforcing that leadership cared about their ideas, now they just need to reinforce the
changes they have been expressing as well as a plan of action to be considered. These young
recruits need to take more initiative to formulate solutions in order for them to take on leadership
roles at the bottom and the top of the organization (Jick & Peiperl 2011).
In my brief experiences with leading change it has been evident that patience is key to
achieving success in the change process. Change takes time, and must be thought out effectively
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before being implemented to ensure the smoothest transition possible. It is necessary to evaluate
the current relationships in the organization and work toward strengthening them. This will
eliminate any weak areas. Oshry recommends that the organization must work together and
avoid throwing blame on specific areas or individuals (Jick & Peiperl 2011). By incorporating all
levels of the organization together it creates a better understanding of how the organization
operates, and individuals at all levels will feel a sense of purpose within the team.
Implementation Plan:
PwC must move forward with a plan to adapt to major changes by involving new ideas
and suggestions to be heard and implemented. It is clear that change needs to occur, therefore
PwC must put together a team that can work together to discuss ways to introduce and
implement new vision across the organization. The highest level of teams is drawn together
from all levels of the organization and is able to draw from and integrate contributions from
many individual team players. The highest levels of team creativity are a result of different
cognitive structures coming together (Khedhaouria, & Ribiere, 2013). Once these ideas are set in
motion the organization must act on some and move forward with change implementation
process. It is important to explore all of the possibilities, by including all levels of the
organization from interns to country managers who will each have responsibilities implementing
the changes effectively. The new values of the organization will be made known corporate wide
as well as to the public.
The implementing teams must stay up to date with the current business environment.
They must work to keep the community informed of the progress of change as well as take
feedback to be considered into the process. Though there is a team in place it is crucial that the
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organization assists them through the process. Quarterly meetings are an excellent way to
evaluate performance and recognize the positive steps that have already been accomplished.
They must include employees from all levels to avoid any negative middle space between them
that could prevent positive and meaningful change. They must focus on primary concerns within
the company such as conserving energy, increasing recycling organization wide, and monitoring
waste management to reduce the amount of waste the organization produces. As changes are
made to conserve energy and reduce waste the team will monitor the results monthly and they
will assess if the new changes implemented impacts the bottom-line negatively or positively.
Summary:
Middelburg and Shaw, proved to be valuable assets to PwC despite being young and new
to the organization. They showed passion and a drive to make necessary changes to make the
organization thrive. They provided a new set of eyes to things that had been overlooked or not
thought of and proposed ways to create change where needed. Often it is lower ranking
employees that can accomplish things that upper managers never have the time to do, like
research ideas, write reports, and organize projects. They can then be pushed to upper
management to be implemented because of their position (Jick & Peiperl 2011). This is why it is
so important that management remember the importance of these young fresh eyes allowing
them to bring new ideas to the table. By taking the time to consider the ideas of these young
team members leaders are reinforcing that they are cared for and a valued member of the team.
Shaw and Middelburg did not give up on their ideas because they believed they could make a
difference for this organization.
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References
Kumar, S., Deshmukh, V., & Adhish, V. S. (2014). Building and leading teams. Indian Journal
of Community Medicine: Official Publication of Indian Association of Preventive &
Social Medicine, 39(4), 208-213. doi:10.4103/0970-0218.143020
Curtis, E. , & O'Connell, R. (2011). Essential leadership skills for motivating and
developing staff. Nursing Management (Harrow, London, England : 1994),
18(5), 32.
Jick, T. D., & Peiperl, M. A. (2011). Managing change: Cases and concepts
(3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Khedhaouria, A., & Ribiere, V. (2013). The influence of team knowledge sourcing on team
creativity: Evidences from information system development. The Learning
Organization, 20(4/5), 308-321. doi:10.1108/TLO-10-2012-0063
Warrick, D. D. (2016). What leaders can learn about teamwork and developing high performance
teams from organization development practitioners. Performance Improvement, 55(3),
13-21. doi:10.1002/pfi.21559
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