Devry HRM587 final exam 2016

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.

Recall that external and internal pressures often impact implementation of change in companies. For this question, please write an essay answering these questions:
A. Define specific (at least 2 each) external and internal pressures that will (or did) affect the implementation of the changes in your two companies. (10 points)
B. Name two strategies of handling these pressures that you would (have) suggested to the company leaders as being the most effective in managing those pressures during the implementation phase. (10 points)
C. Defend your positions with details about why you feel your strategies would assist with handling these pressures. (15 points)(Points : 35)

Question 3.3.(TCO 3) 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 discuss some of the “unanticipated outcomes” which occurred during the change process in ONE of the two companies you studied this term. First state the company and the change process. Then, state at least two unanticipated outcomes from the change process, and whether they were negative or positive. If negative, what could have been done to avoid these outcomes? If positive, what could have been done (or what was done) to accentuate these (and why were they unintended?) Do you feel the unintended consequences were greater or less than the intended ones? Why do you think so? Explain in depth.(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 are a department head and you just learned that your small, start-up, privately-owned company has been bought out by another publicly held company. You are told that everyone in the small private company will need to go back through interviewing with the new company, and that everyone will need to compete for and rejustify their employment in their current position. You have been told that YOUR job will remain intact if you are able to smoothly guide your flock through the change, help your people in creating resumes and preparing for interviews, and also in creating job descriptions for each of the positions in your department, justifying while doing so the existence of those positions. You will need to bring on board immediately all of your direct reports to assist you in this project. You are not to let anyone under that level know about this situation for at least a month, at which time you will be setting things in place for the new structure. You will be judged on the smoothness of the implementation of these new processes, meeting timelines and deadlines, ensuring confidentiality until the time stated, and also on the number of employees (%) who remain as viable candidates for their old jobs.
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 use for this change scenario and why? Of the two methods (nStep and OD), 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. What skill competencies related to change management did you feel the change leader of your change exhibited well? (Consider the images of change in your answer but don’t focus entirely on those images – discuss competencies in change managers in this question.) Which important competencies did you feel that leader did NOT exhibit?
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)

Navigator image
Caretaker image
Interpreter image
Director image
Janitor image

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.

Your key players are those with the highest level of interest, but a lower level of power.
Your key players are those with the lowest level of interest, but the highest level of power.
Your most unimportant players are those with low levels of power but high interest.
Your stakeholders who need to be “kept informed only” are those with high levels of interest but lower levels of power.
Your stakeholders who need to be “kept informed only” are those with low levels of interest but higher levels of power.

A nurturer will be the planner, the instigator, and the decision maker for change so when she changes focus, she will ensure everyone follows the plan without determining or considering the results on people.
A nurturer will accept her role as sponsor and implementer and ensure her direct reports do the same.
A nurturer, like a caretaker, assumes that change managers receive rather than initiate change, and therefore has little role in implementation other than protection.
A nurturer, like Kotter’s theoretical manager Jim Kirk, will accept the change plan, initiate the change boldly, and ensure a new structure is determined through the project.
All 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.

mental acuity.
psychosis.
emotional intelligence.
level of change agent status.
competence.

Spray and pray
Tell and sell
Underscore and explore
Identify and reply
Withhold and uphold

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.

long-term wins almost never happen.
recognizing that traditional measures may also need to be changed will allow celebration of short-term wins.
most changes occur in a straight-line fashion.
when things get worse before they get better, it is time to halt the change and return to the old ways.
All 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.”