Assignment Overview
For this assignment, first do a thorough review of the required background materials and read up on each author’s discussion about Kotter’s eight-step model of change, Lewin’s three-step model, and the five phases involved in action research. All of the authors discuss at least one of these models. There are also some videos on some of these models that might help.
Case Assignment
When you are done reviewing these models of organizational change, take a look at the scenarios described in Questions 1-3. For each of these scenarios, explain which of the three models of change would be most appropriate for this situation. You are required to cite at least three of the sources from the background readings in your paper. Finally, Question 4 is a summary question that you should also answer using the required readings. Your paper should be 4-5 pages in length:
A corporation has had recent problems with increased turnover of employees and decreased profitability. However, nobody is sure exactly what the problem is or what to do about it. Senior managers have been arguing for many months about what to do, but it is clear nobody is being objective or has a clear idea about what to do to get the company back on track. Explain which organizational change model would be most suited for this scenario using at least one of the required background readings.
A financial services company has been using the same software system for 10 years and employees have grown very accustomed to using this system. The employees are hard-working but very resistant to change. When word leaks out that management is considering a switch to a completely new software system, the employees become very upset as a new system will require a tremendous amount of training and hard work. Management determines that a new system is necessary in order to remain competitive but is concerned about the difficulty in dealing with employees who are so resistant to any type of change. Explain which organizational change model would be most suited for this scenario using at least one of the required background readings.
A company has been gradually losing market share to competitors and the CEO believes radical change is needed in order to stay in business. He is concerned that his employees will be resistant to change and may be successful in blocking the necessary changes. The CEO also believes that if he can make a strong enough case that changes are urgently needed, he will obtain a the support of a large enough number of employees and senior managers that will help him overcome any resistance to the needed changes. Explain which organizational change model would be most suited for this scenario using at least one of the required background readings.
Conclude your paper with a discussion about which of the three change models you think is the most useful and which one you think is the least useful. Support your answer with references to the required background materials.
Assignment Expectations
Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials
List supporting references and cite sources in proper format.
Use appropriate writing style in essay form (organization, grammar, and spelling).
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 11-14 on in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is found under “My Resources” in the TLC portal.
(If the link above is down then use: http://rachel.golearn.us/modules/en-oya/business-101/webpages/Chapter6/5-lewins-3-stage-model-of-change-unfreezing-changing-refreezing.html)
http://cei.ust.hk/files/public/ar_intro_stages_of_an_action_research_project.pdf
Kotter, J. P. (2007). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 85(1), 96-103. [Business Source Complete]
Haneberg, L. (2005). Chapter 3: The action research approach to change. In Organization development basics (pp. 21-43). Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training & Development. [EBSCO eBook Collection]
