Questions and Answers of Managing Organizational Change

Describe a time when you were most proud to be a member of your organization. What was the situation? Who was involved? What made it a proud moment?
Imagine yourself and your organization have been fast-forwarded by five years. What do you see around you? What does the structure look like? How have clients been created, retained, and expanded?
What will your ideal organizational structure look like?—people, systems? . . . What structures need to be in place for the organization to sustain and for employees to flourish?
What are the action items that we need to cover to create the organization of the future?What additional resources will be needed?
Change managers should try to provide a clear narrative that articulates the what, why, and how of a proposed change.
Humans are creatures who abhor a “meaning vacuum”; in the absence of clear communication they will draw conclusions, that is, attribute meaning to fill the void. This is something that an
There is no guarantee that change managers’attempts at sense-giving will be successful, as organizational members live in a world of multiple narratives and, regardless of authority structures, the
Managers (including those in change management roles) are “creators of meaning” whether they like it or not. They cannot choose to opt out of this role. Their only choice is how
This exercise requires you to interview two organization development practitioners about how they go about doing their work. Compare and contrast them in terms of the following issues:• Their
Who are the key decision makers in relation to this issue? What arguments will you use to get them to attend the meeting?
What technology would you need to make it work well?
As a result of considering such questions, what new issues emerge for you, as a largescale change intervention agent, to consider? What specific skills would you need to make such an event work well?
Identify a current change in an organization with which you are familiar. Alternatively, identify a current public issue about which “something must be done.” Consider what sense-making changes
He made an impromptu and incognito visit to a Target store in Dallas to talk to customers.Unrecognized by store employees or customers, he sought candid opinions from shoppers. This was a surprise to
When he first arrived at Target’s headquarters (in Minneapolis) he was allocated the newly refurbished CEO’s suite, but he insisted that he be moved to a smaller office close to Target’s global
With the intention of putting pressure on Amazon and Walmart, he changed Target policy to one offering free shipping for online orders during the holidays, a “decision that was made in a matter of
It is not unusual for him ask colleagues about their “work-life” balance and especially their workout habits. He encourages colleagues to take time for fitness activities and“isn’t the type
What do you see as the symbolism associated with Target CEO Brian Cornell’s actions?
If you were a Target employee, what might you conclude about the nature of the change happening in Target?
To what extent are the following approaches to change embedded in the DuPont story (justify your answer, providing specific examples)?a. ODb. Appreciative inquiryc. Sense-making
In your opinion, how compatible are these three approaches? Why? What evidence is there in the DuPont story for your answer? As a change manager, to what extent could you utilize insights from each
Imagine you are an OD practitioner brought into DuPont at the time of the Orlon manufacturing operation closure. Describe the steps you would take to help manage this change based upon action
Do you model the change behavior you desire?
Whose interests do you serve when you engage in change?
Is your approach value-laden or value-neutral? If value-laden, can you articulate what these values are? Are you comfortable with them?
What do you mean when you talk about a change being successful? What criteria do you use? Do they relate to organizational performance?How can you determine this?
Are there other people, inside or outside your organization, who have differing perspectives on such questions? What would you say are the criteria they use to evaluate change? Is your organization
If you manage across different countries, to what extent have you observed the necessity for different ways of engaging in organizational change in those countries? Why is this the case?
Can you identify different sense-making activities going on during organizational change?What ability do you have to influence these? Do you exercise power in your attempts to influence the
Bring the advice from these different models into a single list, omitting the overlaps.
Reflecting on your own experience and knowledge of organizational change, consider what issues and steps are missing from these guidelines; add these to your master list.Now create your own composite
Can you prioritize this advice? What items are more important, and which are less important? Taking a contingency approach, in which organizational contexts do particular items become more or less
Can you identify a preferred sequence of change implementation steps? And can you explain and justify this recommendation?
Looking at your composite change management model, identify three management skills associated with each of the elements. Use this as the basis of a personal assessment; what are your strongest and
Looking at the elements in your composite change management model, and reflecting on your own experience of organizational change, which elements are usually handled well, and which are often handled
With reference to John Kotter’s eight-stage model of change, what mistakes did BA make in this instance, and what aspects of the change management process did they handle well?
How can the union’s response to the introduction of swipe cards for check-in staff be explained from a processual perspective? If those who were managing this change had adopted a processual
Choose one of the contingency frameworks that was introduced in this chapter and carry out a similar assessment. Which aspects of the organizational context of this change were addressed in an
In your judgement, is there any one change management approach, or combination of approaches, that provides the best understanding of the swipe card debacle? Why?
You are a change management consultant hired to advise BA top management on how to avoid a situation like this happening in the future. What advice will you offer, and on which change implementation
Refer to the change kaleidoscope, and identify the contextual constraints and enablers affecting the changes that Erick Thohir and his management team want to implement.
Based on your analysis of the context, what advice can you give to Erick Thohir and his team about the change implementation design options that they should consider?
Also based on your context analysis, what major mistakes would you advise them to avoid when implementing their proposed changes?
Do you work with a “one size fits all” approach to change management? To what extent do you adapt your approach to the scale and timing of the change, staff readiness, your own relative power,
How capable are you in adopting more than one change image? Are you more comfortable with a top-down or a bottom-up approach—or somewhere in between? Do you need to develop any particular skills to
Is there a dominant change approach in your organization? If so, how appropriate is it? What would you need to do in order to modify or replace that dominant approach?
How do you handle the many different change initiatives that are unfolding in your organization or business unit at a given time—when these are all at different stages? Is this a problem? If not,
It is helpful to consider appropriate measures of success for a change initiative. Thinking of a change initiative that is currently under way in your organization (or a change that is taking place
2.Earlier in this chapter, we identified “the top ten” causes of initiative decay. Which of these factors apply to the recent changes in your organization? What additional factors, not mentioned
What aspects of NASA practice revealed following the Columbia disaster suggest that the changes that were recommended following the Challenger disaster were not sustained?
This chapter has discussed actions that can be taken to sustain change. In your judgement, which of the following would have been most useful to NASA after the Challenger disaster?• Redesign
This chapter has explained “words of warning” in terms of what to be alert to in regard to sustaining change. Which of the following do you see as most applicable to NASA?• Recognize
If you have been involved previously as a manager of change, how would you rate yourself in terms of your handling of the need to take actions that sustain change?What have you done well? What not so
When you have been on the receiving end of the change initiatives of others, how well have they handled the need to take actions that sustain change? What have they done well? What not so well?
Of the cases presented in this chapter, which one resonates best with you? What is it about this case that you can relate to? Are there any implications for how you would act in the future?
How good are you at handling unanticipated outcomes? How could you improve in this area?
If there was one main idea that you took away from this chapter that you believe can be of most use to you as a change manager, what would it be?
If you were to add an idea, suggestion, or practice to the treatment of sustaining change that is provided in this chapter, what would be your contribution?
How would you describe Miranda Priestly’s management style?
What impact does Miranda’s style have on the performance of those around her?
Good boss or bad boss: what is your assessment of this management style?
Given her style, why do so many people desperately want to work for Miranda?
Why do you think Miranda Priestly gave Andrea Sachs the job?
If you have a low resilience score, say below 140, what steps do you think you could take to improve your resilience?
How would you advise a colleague with a low resilience score?
How would you describe your role as a change manager using the terms introduced in this chapter: champion, soul-of-fire, quiet leader, positive deviant, disruptive innovator? How is this reflected in
How effectively do you use your informal networks to drive change in your organization?How could you develop and make better use of those networks?
Do you feel that you have the resilience required to operate effectively as a change manager? If necessary, what steps can you take to maintain and to strengthen your resilience?
As a practicing manager, you probably already have most of the required capabilities of the change manager. But how do you feel about using intimidation to motivate others to change?Are there
Are you politically skilled? Do you use political skills to advance your change agenda? Who are the other “politicians” in your organization? Are you able to manage their support, and to block
Which dimensions of the 7-S framework, described in chapter 4, did Eric Collins and his senior management colleagues focus on in order to change Nampak’s culture?Reminder: The “hard” dimensions
Which dimensions of the 7-S framework were not affected?
Where does this culture change initiative belong on the “depth” scale in figure 5.1, between shallow and deep change? In your judgement, would a different emphasis across the seven factors of
What words would you use to describe the positive and negative dimensions of your organization’s culture, or an organization with which you are familiar?
How can you explain the negative aspects of that organizational culture? Why have those dimensions developed in that way? What factors are causing, supporting, or reinforcing those dimensions?
What are the consequences of the negative dimensions of this organizational culture?In what ways are they harmful to the organization, its employees, suppliers, and customers?
What actions can you take to change the dysfunctional aspects of the culture? The 7-S framework (chapter 4) is a good place to start. What changes need to be made to the“hard” factors: strategy,
What would those actions cost?
Describe your new business model. What digital tools and social media technologies will you use to attract customers or clients from your previous employer to your business—and perhaps from other
In what kinds of change initiatives are you currently involved—shallow, deep, mixed? If your current involvement concerns mostly shallow initiatives, how will that affect your ability to answer
Does your personal comfort zone favor involvement in major, transformational, deep changes?Why? Or are you more comfortable implementing lower-risk, shallow changes—which can of course still be
In your judgement, does your organization need disruptive innovation, in which areas, and why? Or would those changes be too“disruptive” and less effective than continuing to implement sustaining
You are a social media user, accessing your favorite websites from at least one mobile device—your smartphone or tablet. You also use those sites through your smart Internetconnected television.
External impacts and future business challenges?
Economic, social, political, and technological trends and developments?
What are other organizations doing to prepare for the future?Core values and beliefs?
What is the organization’s reputation and what do competitors envy?
What is the customers’ experience?
What contributions have been made to the community?
What do employees tell friends and family about working here?
What new business ventures have been developed?
Describe the actors, events, actions, and consequences What are the key messages and themes?
What’s happening in the marketplace?
How are staff providing services and interacting with customers?
What is the mood—what are people experiencing and feeling?
Explain the business case for change and the desired outcomes Explain what is not negotiable—values, operating principles Collect responses—what needs clarification, elaboration, explanation?
Who is served by the organization?
What does the organization do?
What quantitative and qualitative measures would indicate that we had achieved this?
What will it be like, and how will it feel, when those standards have been achieved?

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