HRM 587 Week 8 Final Exam      

                             HRM 587 Managing Organizational Change – DeVry                           

Version 1

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:

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…….. 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)

3. (TCOs E,H) 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…….You will assess the “sustainability” of the changes which occurred in the companies you studied. Select ONE of the company change programs for your answer to this question and state it here.  Assess the change project.  Was it successful or unsuccessful in your opinion? What will it take (what are some steps the company can, should, or DID take) to make it SUSTAINABLE? What theories did you consider in coming to this conclusion? Do you think this change will still be in place in one, five, or ten years? Why or why not?(Points : 35)

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 have been asked to handle a project where the company is going to close the plant in your company and offer all of the workers an option of taking a buy-out severance package which is quite generous OR relocate to another state, where the business climate is much better (but the cost of living is higher and the style of living is lower)………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 would you recommend for this if you use one? Of the two methods (nStep or OD), which would you recommend we use for this particular change program? Why? (Points : 35)

5. (TCOs C,D) Your project this term asked you to compare and contrast two companies’ change projects or programs for change……..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.  Would you characterize your leader as the change “sponsor” or the change “implementer” of this change? Or was this leader in fact both? Describe the difference between a sponsor of change and an implementer of change, why they are both important, and why you feel your leader was one or the other.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)

1. (TCO A) When JetBlue left their customers sitting on the tarmac for hours on Valentine’s Day, and their CEO was ultimately terminated as a result, the company was responding to (pick the best group) (Points : 7)

2. (TCO A) Which of the following best shows forces for change vs. forces for stability? (Points : 7)

4. (TCO B) During the diagnosis for change period, it is important to analyze the stakeholders for their readiness to change. Using the power-interest matrix, you review the level of interest and amount of power of stakeholders and determine the following: (Points : 7)

5. (TCO C) The Burke-Litwin model states that there are four transformational factors of change. Identify the answer below which contains at least three of those factors. (Points : 7)

6. (TCO C) “This organization is running like clockwork!” This statement by a company leader is likely to result in “no change” because(Points : 7)

7. (TCO D) The art of a leader managing the meaning of a vision for followers and aligning it with his or her values is called (Points : 7)

8. (TCO F) The Emotional Intelligence domains and associated competencies are used to help us determine when a potential change agent, or person, is ready for leadership. When a person exhibits the competencies of integrity, initiative, and optimism, we know he or she has reached the stage of (Points : 7)

9. (TCO G) One day, while on the company elevator, the head of HR is talking to the CEO and doesn’t realize his speaker phone is on when the CEO asks, “Do you think that we can afford to keep the downtown branch of the company open? Or is it time to think about across-the-board layoffs?”  The HR head frowns, turns off the speaker and replies, “I’ll call you later” and hangs up. Four employees from the downtown branch are on the elevator and hear this comment. The HR head tells the four employees (whose names he does not know), “Say nothing about this. You heard nothing.” They immediately rush to their cubicles and begin spreading the word. The gossip has hit the entire department and local news agencies by the 6:00 news that night. The CEO is featured saying, “This is nothing but a rumor at this point. We have no current plan to lay off anyone.” This is an example of what type of communication plan on the part of the CEO? (Points : 7)

10. (TCO G) Toxic handlers, as related to change management communication, do the following: (Points : 7)

11. (TCO H) A sign that a change is “sustained” could be seen as (Points : 7)

12. (TCOs G,H) Review this story and pick the best answer based on your understanding of change management practices:

Company X,Y,Z establishes a vision for change where “cutting costs is critical to our survival” and establishes a reward system to the department which cuts costs the most in one quarter, and states it will be a “department-based reward” system for the next four quarters. By the “most” the management establishes, the cuts will be valued by a somewhat complicated algorithm % and $$ of cut in the total expense budget. The sales team goes for the gold and cuts their travel budget by 50%, which is by far the biggest department cut in both $ and %. They win the 1st quarter reward. In quarter 2, the IT team cuts expenses the most by ending the purchase of all new software or PCs. In quarter 3, the production line cuts their expenses the most by laying off 60% of the workers (sales have dropped significantly and technology problems have slowed production, so this was needed anyway.) (Points : 8)

Version 2

TCO A

• Compile the change management imperatives that will go into making this a successful change project.
• Construct a set of strategies that managers can use to help employees cope with complex change.
• Persuade the managers involved in this change that the imperatives that you identified and the strategies to help employees cope with change will help them manage the complex realities of this change project. (Points: 30)

TCO B

• Construct a model of change that reflects the reality of change in modern organizations and reflects your beliefs about change.
• Think of an organizational change that you believe should be implemented in an organization where you work now, or one you worked for in the past.  Create a plan to implement change by integrating your change model.
• Plan a system to measure how your model will impact the organization.

TCO C

• Evaluate the various types of change pressure that might impact the organization in terms of: (a) staffing levels, and (b) corporate branding.
• You are further asked to compile a list that compares each potential force for change to the stability of the organization.
• Speculate as to why some of these potential pressures on organizations to change do not impact all organizations in the same way. (Points: 30)

TCO D

• Appraise the cultural impact of this change on the employees who will move from government to private sector employment.
• Speculate on the changes that will come to the strategic behaviors of the new privatized organization compared to the government organization.
• Propose a plan that will help bring alignment between former government employees and the new strategy that they will have to work within. (Points: 30)

TCO E

• Compose a likely set of reasons why people will resist this change.
• Appraise the most effective and least effective strategies for overcoming the resistance to the change identified in the scenario.
• Devise a plan to implement the most effective approaches to reducing change resistance. (Points: 30)

TCO F

• Appraise two approaches to diagnosing organizational change, pointing out what works and what does not work in effective organizational diagnosis.
• Construct your own version of an effective diagnostic model using the best elements of other models.  Be specific about the components of the model you create.
• Create a strategy that will measure the effectiveness of your diagnostic model. (Points: 30)

TCO G

• Help yourself by generating a checklist of key attributes of a good change communication plan.
• Then, compose an example change communication using an appropriate scenario.
• Finally, formulate a methodology to measure the success of your communication plan. (Points: 30)