Exam 18: Creating and Leading Change

Despite a good balance sheet and stock performance in recent quarters, the top management of Ackerman Consumer Products can see trouble on the horizon. From its beginnings as a family business manufacturing specific household items, it has grown to an industry giant with a line that includes several hundred tools. This growth has allowed it to acquire three other former rivals, all of which were victims of their own inability to change with the times. Along the way, Ackerman has maintained the same principles, particularly in terms of valuing the contributions of its employees and cultivating a strong workforce. Nevertheless, earnings are off. Which of the following did Ackerman's leadership most likely fail to do during the course of the organization's growth over the past few years?

Discuss strategy, execution, culture, and structure as key factors that lead to an organization's sustained, superior performance.

"Bjorn, your group members are going to resist that change, regardless of the content of the change. That's human nature. The old ways of doing things are comfortable and easy, so your staff will not want to try something new. That's called ________," said Bjorn's manager and mentor.

Briefly discuss the eight steps for leading change.

Cynthia, Juan, and Ahmed are managers at a department store. They have been notified by their district office, just as the extremely busy holiday season is to begin, that there are several significant changes about to take place in their organization. While none of them are enthusiastic about the changes, their reasons for "fighting back," as they put it, are different. Cynthia thinks it a bad idea to implement the changes during such a busy period. Juan realizes that the proposed changes will cause him to lose certain privileges that he is not willing to sacrifice. Ahmed, on the other hand, does not want to disturb the status quo and prefers the old ways of doing things.When Cynthia thinks it a bad idea to implement the changes during such a busy period, it is an example of resistance to change based on

Buddy Mann, operations manager, anticipated that his employees would resist the company's change to a new benefits program. Therefore, to make the change easier and to show consideration for his employees' concerns, he arranged for a corporate HR representative to host several optional training workshops, allowed each employee to take half a day off to learn about the new program, and invited his employees to meet with him to voice their concerns and questions. Buddy's efforts to manage resistance to change can be described as

PetroChem, an international energy company with offshore oil platforms throughout the Caribbean, has introduced new technology that has led to the replacement of a number of local workers with experts from Europe and North America. This has resulted in protests from a group called Nuestro Mar, which claims to speak for the displaced workers. In response, PetroChem has just appointed the leader of Nuestro Mar to its board of directors, an example of

Another name for the genius of the and is organizational

"We've had to cut our overhead expenses, and we let go several of our support staff," said J. Montgomery Sutcliffe, Managing Partner of Pleshette and Sutcliffe LLC. "However, you are brilliant attorneys, and I am counting upon each of you to creatively deliver even better legal services to our clients, even while doing extra work that was previously done by our support staff." J. Montgomery is counting upon his team to subscribe to the belief known as the ________, the ability to achieve multiple objectives at the same time.

Having recognized that their company is not where it needs to be in terms of sales, profits, or other metrics, the managers at Marathon Athletic Gear have established some goals and long-term objectives. This is the beginning of the stage known as

Development of nanotechnology is an example of

Explain the five levels of leadership outlined in Jim Collins's Good to Great.

Doreen has announced to her employees at the Cable Car Bakery that she is changing their pay structure in a way that she believes will benefit them in the long run. However, Taryn is not so convinced, and later she tells her coworkers that her sister's employer did something similar. "No matter what she says," Taryn said regarding Doreen, "it's all about what benefits her." This is an example of ________, a cause for resistance to change.

When management realizes that its current practices are no longer appropriate and that the company must break out of its present mold by doing things differently, this is known as the ________ stage of motivating change.

Responding to pressure after a problem has arisen is known as ________ change.

Discuss the unfreezing stage of managing resistance, including the best ways for managers to communicate the need for change, as well as the concept of a performance gap.

Discuss the stages of Kurt Lewin's three-step model for managing resistance to change, with a focus on moving (including force-field analysis)and refreezing, including the pitfalls that can occur in the final stage.

Companies that take the current industry structure and its evolution as givens and choose where to compete are known as

Companies that try to change the structure of their industries, creating a future competitive landscape of their own design, are known as

Shared responsibility for change in very small organizations is often lost with growth and over time.