Leading Organizational Change
Oscar Lopezbarrera
BMAL 504
Liberty University
Introduction
This thread will discuss Dennis Hightower and how he integrated
eight country managers into one synergetic operation center. The
complexity of transnational operations led by an American versus a
European leader was thoroughly discussed. At the end,
Dennis Hightowerwas placed in that position and did a tremendous job
at it.
1988 to 1994
From 1988 to 1994, Dennis began his journey to accomplish his
vision and task of growing the corporation in Europe by 20 percent
annually. His actions of in entering mega deals with well-known and
established international businesses were the beginning of his
strategy. Flanigan (2016) stated “the behavior of organization leaders
will impact the effectiveness of organizations both positively and
negatively “(p. 118). In this case, Dennis behavior towards was not
taken positively by the European country managers. It was stated that
“it may work in the United States, is doomed to failure in Europe, given
our diverse cultures” (Jick and Peiperl, 2011, p. 417). Dennis had a
different mindset and was determined to meet the annual growth
established by headquarters.
Dennis Hightower
Hightower’s approach to change seemed to revolve around
ensuring his subordinates had a clear understanding of what was
warranted and were not pressured on how to make it happen. Dennis
gave the idea and allowed his managers to run the task, per their own
creative methodologies. He “spent remarkable time on personnel
issues” (Jick and Peiperl, 2011, p. 418). Per Dennis Hightower,
“Numbers don’t get the things done, people do”. Dennis renewed the
DCP-EME by reorganizing and restructuring the regional offices.
Jack Welch and Dennis Hightower both believed in knowing people and
being able to choose the right person for the right job, knowing how to
