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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Is most organization change forced on the organization by external factors or fostered from
within? Explain.
Organization change is caused by both external and internal factors. However, most organization
2. What broad category of pressures for organization change other than the four discussed in the
chapter can you think of? Briefly describe it.
The chapter focuses on four categories of pressures for change: people, technology, information
3. Which sources of resistance to change present the most problems for an internal change agent?
For an external change agent?
For an internal change agent, individual sources of resistance present the most problems. For
4. Which stage of the Lewin model of change do you think is most often overlooked? Why?
The Lewin model of change consists of three stages: unfreezing, change, and refreezing. Once change
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having an internal change agent rather than an
external change agent?
An internal change agent is likely to know the organization’s people, work tasks, and political
6. How does organization development differ from organization change?
The focus of organization development is much more specific than that of organization change. Three
factors distinguish organization development. First, it is a distinct field of study and practice. Second,
7. How and why would organization development differ if the elements of the social system were
not interdependent?
If the elements of the social system were not interdependent, OD would be much less complex. If a
8. Do quality-of-work-life programs rely more on individual or organizational aspects of
organizational behavior? Why?
Quality-of-work-life programs tend to rely more on individual aspects of organizational behavior,
9. Describe how the job of your professor could be redesigned. Include a discussion of other
subsystems that would need to be changed as a result.
Students may generate a number of ways in which the professor’s job could be redesigned. For
10. Which of the seven keys for successfully managing an organizational change effort seem to be
the most difficult to manage? Why?
Depending on the situation, each of the seven could be quite difficult to manage. Making sure that top
management supports the change can be quite a task in some organizations. On the other hand, taking
GROUP EXERCISE – Planning a Change at the University
Learning Objective: This exercise will help students understand the complexities of change in
organizations.
Summary: Students are to plan the implementation of a major change in an organization.
Task:
Part 1: In small groups students will consider one of the following changes:
1. A change from the semester system to the quarter system (or the opposite, depending on the school’s
current system)
2. A requirement that all work—homework, examinations, term papers, problem sets—be done on
computers and submitted online
3. A requirement that all students live on campus
4. A requirement that all students have reading, writing, and speaking fluency in at least three
languages, including English and Japanese, to graduate
5. A requirement that all students room with someone in the same major.
First, students decide what individuals and groups must be involved in the change process. Then they
decide how the change will be implemented using Lewin’s process of organization change (Figure 16.1)
as a framework. They then consider how to deal with resistance to change, using Tables 16.3 and 16.4 as
guides. They decide whether a change agent (internal or external) should be used. They develop a realistic
timetable for full implementation of the change and decide if transition management is appropriate.
Part 2: Using the same groups as in Part 1, students describe the techniques used to implement the
change described in Part 1: structural changes, task and technology methods, group and individual
programs, or a combination. They may need to gather more information on some techniques.
They should also discuss how to utilize the seven keys to successful change management discussed at the
end of the chapter. This exercise may be used as an in-class project. Each group should report on which
change techniques are to be used, why they were selected, how they will be implemented, and how
problems will be avoided.
0Follow-Up Questions0
Part 1
1. How similar were the implementation steps for each change?
Generally, students will appropriately anticipate areas of student resistance.
2. Were the plans for managing resistance to change realistic?
Students probably will not adequately anticipate resistance from other sources (professors,
administrators, trustees, parents, potential employers, government agencies, and activist groups).
3. Do you think any of the changes could be successfully implemented at your school? Why or why
not?
The analysis will help students view the situation from more perspectives.
Part 2
1. Did various groups use the same technique in different ways or to accomplish different goals?
Groups can compare their answers.
2. If you did outside research on organization development techniques for your project, did you
find any techniques that seemed more applicable than those in this chapter? If so, describe one
of them.
Students can share their research experience.
VIDEO EXERCISE
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams: Organization Change and Development
Summary: Kim Clay has followed an unusual career at the home furnishings company MG+BW
Signature Stores which also sells furniture at Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, independent retailers. Kim
started out in Consumer Inquiry and moved to Customer Care, having responsibility for handling orders
and managing business-to-business relations. Now she manages the information technology department.
1. What forces for organization change are reflected at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams?
The company makes furniture and a computer tracking system tracks every piece of furniture through
the manufacturing process. If the system goes down, there is trouble. This creates demands for new
positions, the help desk and new training for all employees. Changing technology means the
2. Suppose that there was a need to move Kim Clay out of her current job and into a new one.
How might this change process be managed most effectively?
The best way may be the use of the simpler Lewin’s process for planned organization change. First,
the process would have to be unfrozen, and inform all employees of the upcoming change. Managers
3. In what ways is Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams using organization development?
The company planned the change for a new IT system where a piece of furniture is tracked
electronically throughout the entire manufacturing process. They installed Kim as the head of the
Now What?
Imagine Happy Time Toys has been making changes to both toy product lines and quality goals. You find
yourself listening to a coworker exhibiting resistance to Happy Time Toys’ quality and production goals
for a new product line. She complains about the changes and states that the product is tricky to assemble
and the goals are unrealistic. Also, because of recent changes, the coworker believes that the company is
too concerned about quality at the expense of productivity. The coworker feels that the company could
make a lot more money if they let some of the team’s borderline products go through. The coworker is
going to continue to tell the team to pass borderline products to help the team meet its production goals to
earn the bonus. This would reduce the employees’ stress and, after all, the products are not that bad. What
do you say or do? Go to this chapter’s “Now What?” video, watch the challenge video, and choose a
response. Be sure to also view the outcomes of the two responses you didn’t choose.
OB Concepts Applied:
Discussion Questions
1. What types of resistance to change did you see in the various situations?
Organizational sources include a narrow focus of change. The company may have predicted their
current production staff could produce the products but in fact, the production staff needed an extra
2. How did Alex unfreeze Allison’s perspective and what impact did that have?
Allison thought the only way to meet production goals was to slip through some slightly defective
3. Using concepts from the chapter, what would you have done to make the transition to the new
product line go more smoothly?
Management could have anticipated the change of duties for production staff and helped them
through the changes by providing additional resources and communication. Including production
