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<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Complete</strong> <strong>Week</strong> <strong>Discussions</strong> <strong>Package</strong><br />
<strong>HRM</strong><strong>587</strong><br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Complete</strong> <strong>Week</strong> <strong>Discussions</strong> <strong>Package</strong><br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 1 Discussion 1<br />
Stories for Change<br />
Chapter 1 of your textbook includes, on page 9, Table 1.1, “Managing Change: Some Lessons from the Four Stories.”<br />
Review the four “lessons” (bullet points) on the table, and think about what some of the key “learning points” you<br />
gleaned about change from these stories. Then, do one of two things:<br />
Post the top three learning points you gleaned from the stories, and include how the stories for change helped you<br />
learn these points, or<br />
Research one of the four companies and see how or if that company has since changed (yet more) since the time of<br />
the book’s publication. How did that recent change fit with or not fit in with the “lessons” that the textbook mentions the<br />
company “learned” from their original set of changes? Explain what you find (bring the URL of the research/article you<br />
used to help you).<br />
Your instructor will follow up with you with additional questions throughout the week to push the learning further. Feel<br />
free to discuss your classmates’ findings and thoughts on these questions with each other as well.<br />
Hi class, and welcome to week one! Our TCO’s this week are A and B. This thread will focus on TCO A, which has to<br />
do with understanding the nature of change in an organizational setting. Be sure to read chapter one (Stories of Change)<br />
before posting. Then choose either option one or two from the discussion instructions: either post your top three learning<br />
points, or research one of the four companies and see what has changed….<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 1 Discussion 2<br />
Pressures for Change<br />
Organizations change due to many different pressures. In your lecture for <strong>Week</strong> 1, as well as your reading in Chapter<br />
3, you are introduced to many of these pressures. Think about a time at work, at school, or at home, when you have<br />
been subjected to similar pressures (this is “your” example). Did that pressure make you change or “dig in your heels”<br />
and refuse to change? What does that say about pressures for change? Does it always lead to change?<br />
Provide your example in your first post, and if you can, explain how the theories on “pressures for change” help explain<br />
why you were or weren’t actually pressured to change in your example. Please also discuss your classmates’ examples<br />
with them. In follow-up posts, talk about how these pressures did or didn’t cause a company to change, to their benefit<br />
or detriment.
Class: In this thread, we will be talking about the driving forces for change, or the environmental pressures that cause<br />
change. Later in the week we will also discuss the forces that hold back change, or act as barriers to change. Let’s start<br />
with your personal example, per the discussion instructions. Think about a time at work, at school, or at home, when<br />
you have been subjected to similar pressures (this is “your” example). Did that pressure make you change or “dig in<br />
your heels” and refuse to change? What does that say about pressures for change? Does it always lead to change?….<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 2 Discussion 1<br />
What Change’s in Companies?<br />
The textbook talks about many types of “change.” Here is a list of many of the “types”: first order, second order,<br />
anticipatory, reactive, adaptive, tuning, adaptation, reorientation, recreation, midroad, tectonic, incremental,<br />
transformational, downsizing, technological, mergers and acquisitions. It is all quite overwhelming, really. Our goal this<br />
week is to gain clarity and understanding of the differences among the types of changes.<br />
Consider the company you have selected (or one of them you are still choosing between) and discuss a recent change<br />
which has occurred at that organization. Pick which “type” of change you would say that change was, and why. Utilize<br />
the course textbook as the start for analyzing the theory of the change. Explain the theory of the change.<br />
Do you agree with the change which the company has decided to take? Let’s get started, and we will be addressing<br />
more questions about this throughout the week. Further, feel free to debate/discuss your classmates’ project/company<br />
findings with them as well…<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 2 Discussion 2<br />
Green Mountain Resort Case<br />
The Green Mountain Resort case is a perfect one for us to work together as a class on the different images for change<br />
and how they are reflected (or could have been reflected) in that case. We will cover multiple facets of this throughout<br />
the week but to start, let’s talk about the role that Gunter plays in our case study this week. For our opening posts, pick<br />
one or two of the following (or debate with your classmates):<br />
1. Which image of leader do you see Gunter best fitting into? Why do you think this?<br />
2. How did Gunter use that image to “lead” the company through this change?<br />
3. Which image do you think YOU would have selected to lead the company through the change, and how would this<br />
have been better than how Gunter led the change?<br />
Do you think it sometimes make sense to lead a change effort from different perspectives, at different stages of the<br />
change? Perhaps leading as a “Navigator” early on, but then shifting to mentor or “Coach?…<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 3 Discussion 1<br />
The Diagnostic Model<br />
Chapter 5 identifies several diagnostic models. The first five speak of the overall structure of the organization. Select<br />
one of these five and research it on the Internet. Discuss why you chose this particular model, with special emphasis<br />
on the components included and how they (and the model) fit with your view of the organization you are researching<br />
for your project. Speak also to what you see as the model’s strengths and weaknesses….<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 3 Discussion 2<br />
Force Field Analysis<br />
The Force Field Analysis Model is one of the most famous in change management. It was originally developed by Kurt<br />
Lewin and can be found in Chapter 5 at the end of the chapter (printed page 151). Review this model and relate it to<br />
an issue in your organization or your associations outside of work. Define how understanding the “forces for” and the
“forces against” inter-relate. What insights did you get from the analysis? Define how understanding the “forces for”<br />
and the “forces against” inter-relate. What insights did you get from the analysis?…<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 4 Discussion 1<br />
Barriers to Change<br />
(Note: This case is a work of fiction.) Addition/Subtraction Company (A/SC) is a textbook publisher for math education,<br />
including 1st grade through graduate school levels. The company has been supplying textbooks to public education<br />
schools (grade – university level) for 55 years. The company has always prided itself on the loyalty it shows to its<br />
employees in that almost all of its authors are full-time employees, and very little of the work done in the organization<br />
is farmed out to independent contractors.<br />
However, over the last 10 years, the earnings of the company have taken a huge hit, partly because of the No Child<br />
Left Behind Act, which caused some of A/SC’s textbooks to fall out of print before they made a profit, and partly because<br />
of the increase in costs due to the company’s health insurance premiums when a large number of their employee base<br />
(and their families) contracted serious illnesses requiring lengthy and expensive treatments which has impacted the<br />
bottom line of the company.<br />
The HR Vice President has reviewed the business practices of their two main competitors, and realized that they are<br />
making their profits because they rely mainly on independent contractor authors, paying them only royalties on sales<br />
versus the salary/benefits packages which A/CS employees make. Further, because the other companies have a wide<br />
open subject matter expert pool by using independent contractors, they are much more nimble at reacting to changes<br />
in need of the market, and they can offer more math areas in their textbooks, giving them a larger market share. In fact,<br />
the last projection which was done by the marketing team showed that A/CS was going to be out of business in two<br />
years if they don’t change something quickly.<br />
The HR Vice President is going to recommend to her CEO that the author group of employees (numbering 510) be<br />
downsized out of the company and replaced with independent contractors. Further, because of certain employment<br />
laws, none of those who are downsized will be invited back as independent contractors. The publishing team will be<br />
expected to work with independent contractors and manage all book writing projects using less human power as well.<br />
That team will be downsized by 15% over the next year. Choices of “who” will be downsized will be based on a review<br />
of the last two years of performance evaluations, seniority, and roles.<br />
This week, discuss the barriers that will exist to successful implementation of this change. Along with discussing how<br />
the change itself will be perceived by the employees, talk about risks to the company, internal and external factors<br />
which will create barriers, and challenges to overcome them.<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 4 Discussion 2<br />
Emotional Intelligence/Overcoming Resistance<br />
(Note: This case is a work of fiction.) Lefty’s BBQ is a U.S. national restaurant chain which serves beef, pork, and<br />
chicken barbecue along with Pepsi products, thin-cut French fries or slaw as sides, and offers biscuits or garlic bread<br />
as well. The restaurant operates as a drive-up only, with parking lots available at most locations for people to sit and<br />
eat in their cars, as well as picnic tables outside in some southern locations. The “average” customer is white male and<br />
about 35-45 years old. Many of the workers in the chain are high school part-time, hourly workers who operate the<br />
registers, clean-up, and cooking. Managers range from the age of 18+. Lefty’s BBQ senior management has<br />
implemented a change plan to introduce alcoholic beverages to its menu (beer and wine only). This is going to impact<br />
quite a bit of the operations, and certainly is going to impact the employee base, as in most states, to serve alcohol will<br />
require employees to be a minimum of 21 years of age. Due to some licensing issues, Lefty’s is also going to switch<br />
from Pepsi products to Coke products along with introducing the beer and wine to its new menu. Unfortunately, the<br />
press got a hold of this change in plan before senior management had communicated the change to the rest of the<br />
employees throughout the country. Identify, discuss, and begin to address the many resistances, emotional intelligence<br />
issues, and unintended consequences which the management will face and need to overcome and handle throughout<br />
this change.
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 5 Discussion 1<br />
Organizational Development Theory and Practices<br />
JetBlue Airways is a company which has embraced the OD theory and allowed OD’s vision of emotional intelligence,<br />
value proposition, positive reinforcement, and change through improvement and culture to drive much of its results over<br />
the past years. The airline industry is one in which external influences have had an unbelievable impact on the bottom<br />
line of all of the companies that fly. Thus, it may defy imagination at first that in an industry of barely controlled daily<br />
chaos, Jet Blue has found a way to make OD work to control that chaos. Interestingly, in 2010, JetBlue was one of only<br />
three domestic airlines to turn a profit, and their CEO, David Barger, is the lowest-paid CEO among the 10 largest<br />
publicly traded U.S. airlines in 2010. (Potkewitz) Doing research online, use a Google, Bing, or other searchengine-style<br />
search, and find case analyses or articles discussing JetBlue’s OD approach. Start the week by reviewing<br />
this article, “An Extraordinary Stumble At JetBlue,” found at<br />
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_10/b4024004.htm. After the crisis, CEO Neeleman was<br />
terminated and Barger was put in his place. The company has grown since Barger’s implementation. Their focus on<br />
organizational development, and company values and culture, continues to this day, which is why it is not a surprise to<br />
see that JetBlue Airways was one of the main case studies presented at the 2011 Customer Experience Strategies<br />
Summit in Toronto, where Vicky Stennes, VP of Inflight Experience presented on their inside-out approach to motivating<br />
employees by creating a customer-service-centric business model.<br />
We’ll begin with these questions:<br />
1. How does a company with an OD approach differ from one without that approach?<br />
2. Which company would you prefer to work for – one with an OD approach or one without?<br />
3. Do OD companies offer a higher value proposition to their customers than non-OD companies? And if so, why don’t<br />
all companies take this approach?…<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 5 Discussion 2<br />
Kotter's Eight Step Model<br />
Class, you will be the “change agents” for this change. Your professor will be the CEO, issuing dictates, orders,<br />
suggestions, support, ideas, and thoughts. However, you, as class members, will need to take each new piece of<br />
information and determine how it will fit into your plans for change, as change agents. Keep an eye on the new<br />
information as well as how your colleagues are addressing it. Innovation, creativity, and level headedness is key to<br />
making this week’s solution succeed. Good luck!<br />
Here’s the change: Bubble Bath Inc. is a privately owned company with approximately 2,000 employees whose make<br />
up is primarily line workers. Management makes up about 20% of the company, with the remaining 1,600 people<br />
working to produce the line of bathtubs, hot tubs/spas, and designer fixtures for which the company has become<br />
famous. The company started 10 years ago working out of the initial founder’s garage, and quickly increased in size<br />
when Jacuzzis became a standard fixture in many middle-class remodels and new constructions. Due to excellent<br />
marketing strategies, Bubble Bath Inc. has not experienced a downturn in sales despite the recent economic downturn<br />
in construction. Instead, they have parlayed the middle-class flight from tourism to encourage the “staycation” and the<br />
upgrade of the home as the new spa of the 21st Century. Profits last year were up 15% and everyone is feeling<br />
cautiously optimistic. Nevertheless, the CEO is concerned with market analysis reports that despite the staycation<br />
mentality, growth over the next two years is predicted to be stagnant to declining. Last week, as per the original exit<br />
strategy of the founding investors, the company will be restructured into a limited partnership of three people from an<br />
incorporation model of 15 shareholders. 12 of the shareholders will be paid a return of 8% on their investment, and the<br />
remaining 3 shareholders will form a limited partnership. As a result, the CEO has received word from the new partners<br />
that they want to change the operations model as follows, effective in three months:<br />
Discontinue the line of designer fixtures and focus solely on hot tubs and bathtubs. (This will mean eliminating two lines<br />
of 30 employees each.)<br />
B. Move the entire operation from the city of Atlanta, GA to a town 25 miles south of Atlanta called McDonough, where<br />
all 3 of the partners reside. No relocation packages will be offered, but those employees who choose to “retire” at the<br />
time of the move will receive a 4 weeks’ severance package. A new building which was originally intended to be a
“HottubsRUs” factory is sitting vacant and the partners bought it for a steal. They already have a buyer for the old<br />
factory in Atlanta.<br />
C. For the first time, include a sales office right in the new production building where a showcase with sales staff will<br />
be located. Along with supplying retail stores, the company will now also sell directly, both in the office and online.<br />
Initially, 5 sales people and one sales manager will be hired.<br />
Your CEO has asked you, the managers, to come up with a change plan using Kotter’s 8-step model. What are the first<br />
things that you will do in order to create a plan for change which will maximize efficiencies, utilize current processes,<br />
and ensure that profits continue? Who wants to start?…<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 6 Discussion 1<br />
Types of Communication Methods<br />
Throughout the term, you have been researching two companies and the change plans each underwent. This week,<br />
you will be working on the communication plan which you feel one of the companies most likely used (or you will create<br />
one you would have recommended it use). This plan will include types/methods of communication, a timeline for that<br />
communication, etc. (See the project for more details.) This week, we want to work together and look at types of<br />
communication. Also, you will be given an opportunity to share a draft of the “sample” communication you are going to<br />
provide for your project, and receive feedback from your classmates.<br />
First, let’s talk about the different types of communication methods and when each may be used and why. Take a look<br />
at the examples of types of communication methods listed (in this week’s lecture). Pick ONE of the types, and describe<br />
that type of communication, explain who would use it, provide a potential audience for that particular type of<br />
communication and the pros/cons of using that particular type of communication. Or respond to a colleague who has<br />
already posted.<br />
For example, a conversation is a type of communication. Two managers may use it, they might discuss with each other<br />
their roles in a change, their concerns about the change, and how they plan to discuss the change with their teams. A<br />
pro of this style of communication is that it is cheap, immediate, has an instant feedback mechanism, and is relatively<br />
easy and low-key; a con is that it can be overheard and repeated by others who aren’t to hear it yet, it is difficult to<br />
memorialize or “prove”, and/or it can be twisted later by others….<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 6 Discussion 2<br />
Tyco Case Study<br />
Review the Case Study on the Tyco company which appears in your textbook at the end of Chapter 11, pp. 345-346.<br />
After reading the case, let’s start the discussions with these questions.<br />
1. How did the turnaround team use Gerard and Teurf’s transformation skills (discussed earlier in Chapter 11) to<br />
overcome the frustrations of employees?<br />
2. What were some of the examples given in the case which led you to think those transformational skills were used?<br />
3. Of the three types of cultural transformation (behavioral, experiential, and attitudinal), which of these types occurred<br />
in the Tyco case, and why do you think so?…<br />
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 7 Discussion 1<br />
NASA Case Study<br />
Read the end-of-chapter case in Chapter 12 of your text and do Internet research on NASA during both disasters, with<br />
particular emphasis on the disasters’ effects on the culture. Why do you feel it is so difficult to “sustain” cultural change<br />
in a large organization AFTER the immediate effects of a major event like Challenger or Columbia? What role should<br />
leadership play in working to “institutionalize” such cultural changes? Why do you feel it is so difficult to “sustain”<br />
cultural change in a large organization AFTER the immediate effects of a major event like Challenger or Columbia?…
<strong>HRM</strong> <strong>587</strong> <strong>DeVry</strong> <strong>Week</strong> 7 Discussion 2<br />
Cracking the Code of Change: HBR Article<br />
Locate and read the HBR article, “Cracking the Code of Change,” in the Online Library. It can be found through a<br />
general search in EBSCOhost, in the Harvard Business Review collection, May-June 2000 issue.<br />
The article identifies two primary types of change that are most prevalent in today’s organizational world. Which type<br />
(E Change or O Change) do you think is most prevalent and what factors in our society influence that predominance?<br />
How can a leader best work toward a synthesis of both types to maximize the effectiveness of each for a successful<br />
change initiative? What are the benefits of each approach? What are the risks and costs associated with each?…