Diagnosing Whether an Organization Is Truly Ready to Empower Work Teams: A Case Study

Provide practical examples and related facts to support  your answers with evidence from our readings and also from your own work and life experience. Please also remember to respond to your classmates’ posts to stimulate further discussion. 

Over the last three weeks we have focused very much on leadership, power, organizational culture, and organizational change. Our case study for the week is a great synthesis piece that addresses all of these topics through a detailed study of a firm's attempted move to team-based management.

Attached below is the article “Diagnosing Whether an Organization Is Truly Ready to Empower Work Teams: A Case Study” by: Bergmann, Thomas J.; De Meuse, Kenneth P.

Human Resource Planning, 1996, Vol. 19 Issue 1, p.38-47. 

As you read through the report, pay close attention to the discussion about Harley-Davidson and Shelby Die Casting, and their eventual conclusions about how to manage resistance to change. Also, keep in mind our OCI material and think about the process from a cultural change perspective. Pay close attention to the lessons for top management presented at the end.

ANSWER ALL 

1. Assess Kurt Lewin's model for planned change in the text.

a) What did the company do right?

b) What more might have been done to prepare for the change?

2. What are your thoughts on Harley-Davidson’s resolution for resistance to change?

a) Do you support the conclusions of the management team? Why or why not?

3. Share with the class what you found most interesting about the article and why.

a) Compare and contrast the case study’s findings with our discussions and the information from our text.

As always, but particularly given the synthesis nature of our discussion this week, be certain to read, consider, respond, and probe your classmates’ thoughts and ideas. This is a great opportunity for you to weave together many of the leadership topics and theories covered this session. This is an excellent warm up and hint to the final exam essays.