HRM COURS PROJECT

Question 1. 1. (TCO All) For the next set of questions , you will first select ONE of the TCOs of the course. Then, you will be asked to write an essay about the project you worked on this term over your two companies’ change program based on the TCO you selected above. Select the TCO your essay question will cover: TCO A - Given that progressive and successful companies require their employees to embrace change, examine how changing work conditions impact the employees. TCO B - Given the inherent reality that all organizations must experience change in order to improve, demonstrate how “models” are used in Change Management, for diagnosing an organization’s need for change.  TCO C - Given external, internal and/or multi-levels of organization factors that drive change, assess and create a leadership model which supports and promotes each type of change within the organization. TCO D - Given that an organization’s mission and vision will determine its strategy towards change, ensure that an organization’s change initiative is aligned with and capitalizes on its culture and mission in preparation for change. TCO E - Given a selected Change Management implementation “model”, determine the causes of change and develop a plan of action to implement the change. TCO F - Given that both organizations and their employees commonly resist change, understand how to recognize and overcome barriers to change and develop a strategy to manage resistance to change that will ensure successful implementation of change. TCO G - Given that developing a “vision for change” and communicating that “vision” is a critical part of the change process, analyze the key elements of the “vision for change” and develop a strategy to communicate the change to the stakeholder. TCO H - Given the organization’s goal of creating and implementing a sustainable change while moving toward becoming a “learning” organization, develop a plan to implement change in a sustainable manner that can be applied to any change. Using the TCO you selected from the list above, which you felt was most relevant to your project this term, write an essay answer explaining how the change management you saw in one of your companies from your project this term followed or failed to follow the theory of success ingrained in the TCO you have selected. State the #1 thing you think that company’s change agent did which most contributed to the success or failure of the change and why that relates to the TCO you selected.

· Include in the answer the name of the company you are discussing.

· Explain/analyze why you think this way.

(Points : 35)

Question 2. 2. (TCOs A, E) Your project this term asked you to compare and contrast two companies’ change projects or programs for change. This question will review what you learned about the change projects in a continuation of your project. It will ask you to apply course information to your project companies. For your answer, be sure to reference the names of the companies you studied in your project this term to help your instructor determine the score of your response.  Evaluate ONE of your two companies’ change interventions through the lens of Rand’s Six Step Model.  State first the steps. (10 points)  Assess how well the company realized each of the steps and what areas were less than successful in their implementation.  Speak to those failed steps and what the implications were for the success or failure of the implementation. (10 points)  Do you feel that Rand’s model did assist (if it was used) or would have assisted (if you feel it wasn’t used) in this change? Why or why not? (15 points) (Points : 35)

Question 3. 3. (TCOs E,H) Your project this term asked you to compare and contrast two companies’ change projects or programs for change. This question will review what you learned about the change projects in a continuation of your project. It will ask you to apply course information to your project companies. For your answer, be sure to reference the names of the companies you studied in your project this term to help your instructor determine the score of your response.   You will assess the “sustainability” of the changes which occurred in the companies you studied. Select ONE of the company change programs for your answer to this question and state it here.  Assess the change project.  Was it successful or unsuccessful in your opinion? What will it take (what are some steps the company can, should, or DID take) to make it SUSTAINABLE? What theories did you consider in coming to this conclusion? Do you think this change will still be in place in one, five, or ten years? Why or why not? (Points : 35)

Question 4. 4. (TCO All) This question does not address your course project. This change scenario is envisioned instead, for this question. First, the scenario, and then the question. Scenario:  You have been asked to lead a project changing the company from the use of a performance management system/appraisal method where supervisors get to decide the ratings and rankings of their particular direct reports and each person’s subsequent raise amount, to a new method where “forced ranking” is implemented. This means that Department Heads get copies of all of the ratings of their entire department members from the supervisors, and then rank each employee to other employees in the department, and then, each employee is ranked throughout the company overall. The person who ultimately determines the final rating/ranking and raise for each employee is typically two to three levels above. The head of HR feels this will cut down on the amount of lawsuits over unfair ratings as well as it will assist them in ensuring parity of raises across the system. In the past, raises were all over the board – supervisors got a pot of $ and divided it as they saw fit. Now, they will be 1-4% - based on the final rankings done by the top management. Supervisors will have little to no input into their team’s raises going forward. The question: This term, we studied organizational development theory versus the more systematic nStep method of conducting a change process. What would be the pros/cons of using OD theory for this change project? What would be the pros/cons of using nStep? Which nStep method would you choose if you used one? Of the two methods (OD or nStep), which would you recommend we use for this particular change program? Why? (Points : 35)

Question 5. 5. (TCOs C,D) Your project this term asked you to compare and contrast two companies’ change projects or programs for change. This question will review what you learned about the change projects in a continuation of your project. It will ask you to apply course information to your project companies. For your answer, be sure to reference the names of the companies you studied in your project this term to help your instructor determine the score of your response.  Consider ONE of your company’s change projects (not both companies – just one.) State the company and the change process/program/project. Name the leader of the change from that company. Answer the following questions about that change: A. Was the leader of this change project transactional or transformational? Define those two terms and explain why you feel your leader was mainly one or the other, or evenly divided between both. B. Evaluate the leader’s implementation of the change as it compared to the company’s vision and mission statement. Were they aligned? Did this alignment (or misalignment) contribute to the success or failure of the change? Why or why not? (Points : 35)

       External forces for change are totally environmental; internal forces for change are more economic.        An internal force for change is a lack of diversity in the make-up of the senior management, whereas an external force for change is a lawsuit by the EEOC requiring the management to correct diversity failure in the company.        Internal forces for change tend to create a faster change than external forces for change.        The mimetic isomorphism pressure to change was seen when Sarbanes Oxley was passed in order to ensure that an Enron-like scenario never happened again. This was an external vs. internal force for change.        None of the above

       McDonalds when they started selling coffee drinks and salads        Domino’s pizza’s new crust and pizza recipe        Dairy Queen when it invented “the Blizzard”        The Wall Street Journal when it went online        All of the above

       Includes purpose, structure, rewards, and helpful mechanisms        Is based on the conceptualization of the organization as a transformation process        Can be a starting point for an organization that has not given attention to the trends that may impact its future operations        Includes strategy, structure, process, and lateral capability        Includes structure, style, skills, super-ordinate goals, etc.

       inputs/outputs/throughputs.        logical reasoning from deduction.        systems thinking.        transformational lenses.        the Black Box model.

       Frames, lenses, angles, and hyperbole        Mission and strategy, leadership, and organizational culture        Hypotheses, problems, symptoms and inputs        Vision, identification strategies, litigation, and execution        None of the above

       understand that not everyone in an organization is ready to be asked to step up to the plate as a change agent.        review the landscape, picture the new landscape, mold the new landscape, and freeze the new landscape.        stop using the human resource department as change managers.        accept that project managers may be the best change agents for all organizations.        unlock their perceptions, review their biases, and reinterpret the organization through different lenses without “blind spots”.

       scripting.        performing.        staging.        norming.        framing.

       Self-Awareness.        Social Awareness.        Relationship Management.        Self-Management.        Personal and Social.

       create consensus; the main communication process is simply involvement.        focus on performance and results orientation; the communication will direct people toward tasks.        totally and irrationally immerse him/herself in the overwhelming amount of change to enact, the leader will spray information about the change daily and pray that others will take the message and run,  inspiring others to act accordingly.        develop a vision of the future and encourage a cohesive community of other change leaders who will support the vision by communication through creating trust and getting people mobilized around the change effort.        hire a pastor to come and work with the organization.

       total and full denial of blame.        shifting the blame.        apology.        shift the blame and apologize.        initial delay/silence while reviewing victim responses to the crisis.

       charismatic (inspirational) transformation.        cultural readjustments.        sustaining change.        All of the above        None of the above

       Expect some unanticipated outcomes.        Be alert to some measurement limitations.        Don’t declare victory too soon.        Beware escalation of commitment.        Recognize “productive failures.”