Case Study 13: Reorganizing Human Resources at ASP Software ***Read the case below and consider the following questions:(( do not forget citation and references))

1- suggest a one paragraph summary of the case

2- What do you think the central problem is in this case?

3- What actions do you think an organization development practitioner should take? Nathan Miller's phone buzzed on his desk in his home office.

"Hi, Nathan? This is Susan McNulty, from ASP Software, I'm the vice president of human resources here. I got your name from Joan Orman at Kendall Consulting."

Nathan smiled. Joan had been a talented coworker during his time at Kendall several years ago. He had since received many referrals from her for his growing organization development practice. "Of course?what can I do for you?" Nathan inquired. ASP was a familiar company to Nathan. It was a large employer in the area, a high-tech organization in a community without many technology companies. ASP built software products for Fortune 500 companies, employing about 750 software engineers in product development and 500 sales executives. Including the other support functions needed to make the company run (marketing, HR, finance, and so on), it employed almost 1,500 people in the region.

"Well, we're reorganizing our human resources department here at ASP, and I was asking Joan whether she knew of anyone who might be able to help us with a team-building exercise, and your name came up. Do you think you might be able to do that for us?"

"Well," Nathan paused. "I might be able to help you with some ideas?team building could be a possibility, or there are other initiatives we could work on as well. Can you tell me a little about what you're trying to do there at ASP? Perhaps give me some of the context?"

"Sure," Susan said. "We're changing our model from a functional model to a full client management services model. Of course, that model requires a lot of teamwork, and we've also had a small reduction in staff, so. . . . " She paused for emphasis.

Nathan listened. He wasn't sure what a "full client management services model" meant, but it was clearly important to Susan.

Susan continued. "So, with this new focus on teams, it seemed important to our change team that we conduct a team-building activity. I was hoping that maybe we could meet in person and I could describe our model and we could talk about how you might be able to help us? Say, Tuesday at 2:30?"

"That sounds fine. I know right where your headquarters are located. Should I stop in the lobby and ask for you?" Nathan asked.

"That's fine. I'll see you then."

"I'm so glad you could make it. It's nice to meet you in person." Susan welcomed Nathan to ASP Software headquarters, a four-story building located just outside downtown. The building was a standard glass-and-steel box, with a shiny chrome ASP logo featured prominently in the marble-floored lobby. The lobby was a busy place as employees and visitors were constantly coming and going. Nathan wore a visitor's badge and had been waiting in the lobby until Susan came down to greet him.

On the fourth floor, Susan and Nathan sat down in a conference room at a large mahogany table surrounded by 12 leather chairs. On the wall he noticed a cherry wood-framed print of mountain climbers. At the bottom read "Teamwork: Giving a helping hand makes all the difference." Another showed a kayaker paddling down a river, with the text "Goals: Effort is nothing without a vision." Also in the room were a video-conferencing unit and a recessed screen that appeared via remote control. Track lighting provided spotlights on the framed prints.

"Thanks for inviting me. It sounds like you have an interesting and challenging change underway," Nathan said.

"Oh, yes, I think so. I'm really pleased that the management team has adopted this new structure. I think it will improve our productivity and reputation as an HR team," Susan said.

"So you said that you're changing models? Can you tell me what that means?" Nathan inquired.

"Sure." She handed Nathan an organizational chart.

Susan McNulty Vice President Paula Linda Andrews Steven Peters Matthew Williams Washington Compensation/ Employee OD/Change Recruiting Benefits Relations Management Comp OD Recruiters Specialists ER Specialists ConsultantsSusan McNulty Vice President Paula Washington Linda Andrews Matthew Williams HR Support HR Support HR Support Sales and Marketing Software Engineering Distribution Support Team Support Team Support Team