• What actually happened?
• What accounts for the difference?
• What can we learn?
6. How would you suggest a leader overcome resistance to a change that is going to cause
some people to lose their jobs?
Employees resist change because it violates personal compacts, the reciprocal obligations
and commitments that define the relationship between employees and the organization.
7. Why are idea champions important for a creative culture? Do you think these people
would be more important in a large organization or a small one? Discuss.
8. Planned change is often considered ideal. Do you think unplanned change could be
effective? Discuss. Can you think of an example?
Unplanned change is effective because it is essentially the result of creativity. Successful
leaders find ways to encourage the development and sharing of new ideas, which often
start out as unplanned change. The American Management Association asked 500 CEOs
the question: “What must one do to survive in the twenty–first century?” The top answer
9. Is the world really changing faster today, or do people just assume so?
The world is changing faster today as a result of technology. Rapid technological changes,
10. Do you believe the recent Wall Street meltdown of 2008 will lead to any lasting changes in
U.S. financial services institutions? What kinds of lasting changes do you envision? What
about companies in other industries?
Students’ answers may vary. Some of them may think that there will be greater
transparency in U.S. financial institutions because of relentless media coverage and the
Teaching Tools and Exercises
1. Leader’s Bookshelf: Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath
and Dan Heath
“Big changes can start with very small steps. Small changes tend to snowball,” write
authors Chip Heath, a professor at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University,
A Three-Part Framework for Change
Switch offers some solid advice that can be applied to both individuals and organizations
that need to change. The following is a quick summary of the authors’ three-step plan for
Test Your Change Leadership
One of the most interesting features of Switch is the use of “Clinics,” which are sidebars
2. Small Group Exercise: Resistance to Change
In small groups, ask students to share experiences at home, at school, or at work in which
they encountered resistance to change. How were these situations handled? Referring to the
3. Read and Discuss: Morten Hansen, Herminia Ibarra, and Urs Peyer, “The Best–
4. Interview: Interview three managers at different organizations about changes they have
implemented. What was their experience in implementing the change? How did they
manage resistance to change?
5. Read and Discuss: Tammy Erickson, “ Predictions for 2010: Five Changes in the Way We
6. Leadership at Work: Organizational Change Role Play
You are the new director of the Harpeth Gardens not-for-profit nursing home. Harpeth
Gardens is one of 20 elder-care centers managed by Franklin Resident Care Centers.
Harpeth Gardens has 56 patients and is completely responsible for their proper hygiene,
nutrition, and daily recreation. Many of the patients can move about by themselves, but
several require physical assistance for eating, dressing, and moving about the nursing
home. During daytime hours, the head of nursing is in charge of the four certified nursing
In class: The instructor can divide the class into small groups to discuss the answers to
questions 1 to 3 and to brainstorm the key points to cover in the vision speech to
Leadership Development: Cases for Analysis
I. “ From This Point On…”
Synopsis
Bernini Foods, one of several companies offering healthy, frozen-packaged meals in the once-
laughable and nutritionally challenged frozen dinner industry, faced unprecedented competition
from long-time industry leaders including Bertolli, Marie Callendar, Healthy Choice, Lean
Cuisine, and others. Like its competitors, Bernini looks to increase its market share through a
combination of price cuts and the introduction of new products. To meet these challenges, CEO
Case questions and answers
1. Why do you think the regions are not responding to Wilkes’s initiative for change? What
did Wilkes do wrong with respect to implementing the change?
Students’ answers may vary. Some may say that Wilke’s did not establish a sense of
urgency for the change among the regions. People have to believe that change is really
2. Should Wilkes solicit more active support from Bernini and McCann for the change he is
attempting to implement? How might he do that?
Students’ answers may vary. Some may say that Wilkes should solicit more active support
from Bernini and McCann. Open and honest communication is perhaps the single most
3. Develop a plan that Wilkes can use to successfully restart the implementation of this
change.
Wilkes could begin by hiring people who display the characteristics of creative individuals.
Then he could use the characteristics like alignment, creative values, open culture, and
team collaboration to ignite creativity in specific regions or the entire organization. To
II. Riverside Pediatric Associates
Synopsis
Frustration mounted as the founding doctors spent more of their time managing the growing
business and less time on patient care. They realized their original vision of providing excellent
pediatric care in a comforting environment was fading fast. Most importantly, they were growing
dissatisfied with their work. Instead of diagnosing illnesses and building relationships with
Case questions and answers
1. Assume you are Sanchez or Hudson and plan to implement immediate organizational
change within the practice. Where would you start? What steps would you take?
Students’ answers may vary. Some of them may say that Sanchez or Hudson should start
by looking at their practice in terms of the environmental forces as illustrated in Exhibit
15.1—technological changes, increasing regulation, changing market forces are creating
2. The accountant recommended that Sanchez and Hudson consider using appreciative
inquiry (AI) to facilitate positive change within the practice. How would you implement the
four steps of AI? Be specific. What kinds of things would you expect to arise during the
Discover and Dream steps of AI?
Students’ answers may vary. Some of them may suggest the following:
• Discovery. People identify the organization’s key strengths and best practices.
Sanchez, Hudson, the employees, and some patients form a large group and identify
the strengths and weaknesses of Riverside Pediatrics. For instance, a strength might
3. Sanchez and Hudson are caught between being physicians and being leaders of their
practice. How do you suggest they resolve this dilemma? What leadership qualities will
Sanchez and Hudson need to display in order to lead positive change in their practice?
Students’ answers may vary. Some of them may say that Sanchez and Hudson should hire
a competent office manager and a billing clerk who will carry out the identified changes in
the practice allowing them to spend the majority of their time as pediatricians.
Sanchez and Hudson will need the following key characteristics to accomplish successful
change:
• Define themselves as change leaders not those who maintain the status quo
• Demonstrate courage
Digital Homework Grid
Case Assessment Questions
Topic
Category
The management at Crimson
Corp. wants to implement an
enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system in the company.
However, the employees have
mixed reactions about it. They
are hesitant about learning the
new software technology.
Leadership Challenge #1
Perform
According to the eight-stage
model of planned
organizational change, which
of the following steps should
the management take?
a. Empower the employees to
make all managerial decisions.
Bradley and Brendan are
employees at Epitome Inc.
They believe that integrated
marketing communication
(IMC) can help Epitome in its
branding efforts. The
management is apprehensive
of implementing IMC as it
requires a huge budget.
However, Bradley and
Brendon strongly advocate
that the incorporation of IMC
can bring about consistency
across all marketing channels
and also enhance the customer
experience. Bradley and
Brendan are known as:
Leadership Challenge #5
Perform
The management at Virtuoso
Inc. has mandated ten hours of
work for six days a week to
increase the company’s
revenues. Furthermore, it has
proposed to deduct salaries of
employees by 10 percent. The
management feels that this
would reduce the company’s
Leadership Challenge #6
Perform
expenses while increasing its
profitability. This move by
Virtuoso’s management is met
with huge resistance from the
employees because:
a. it violates the personal
compact between employees
and the organization.
b. it fails to incorporate the
destiny phase of the
Homework Questions
Topic
Category
The management at VividImage Inc., a
publishing house, is planning to implement
an online performance evaluation system
based on the amount and quality of work
done by an employee per day. However, the
employees believe that the system is
inequitable as it would hinder their creativity.
In this case, which of the following actions
should the management take?
a. The management should communicate to
the employees that the performance
evaluation system can help increase the
Leadership
Challenge #2
Perform
According to the eight-stage model of
planned organizational change, which of the
following actions can be undertaken to get rid
of obstacles that undermine a change effort?
Leadership
Challenge #3
Connect
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31
a. Leaders can revise the existing structures,
systems, or procedures.
b. Leaders can automate the work carried out
by manual labor.
c. The functioning of all departments in an
organization can be centralized.
d. Organizational hierarchy can be
implemented.
According to the eight-stage model of
planned organizational change, the last stage
of navigating the change process is:
a. empowering people to act.
Leadership
Challenge #3
Connect
You are doing research on leading change in
organizations. Illustrated in the table below is
a list of four stages of the appreciative inquiry
(AI) process. Match each stage with its
corresponding description.
Stages of the
Appreciative
Inquiry (AI)
process
Descriptions
of Stages
Design
Identifying
and
appreciating
“the best of
what exists”
Destiny
Formulating
action plans to
achieve “what
Discovery
Imagining
Leadership
Challenge #4
Connect
In the discovery stage of the appreciative
inquiry (AI) process, _____:
a. leaders celebrate the best of what exists
Leadership
Challenge #4
Connect
and push forward to realize a dream by
creating specific programs
b. people reflect on what they learned during
the dream stage and imagine what it would be
like if these extraordinary experiences were
the norm
The design stage of the appreciative inquiry
(AI) process involves:
a. leaders making decisions about what an
organization needs to do in order to be what it
wants to be.
b. celebrating the best of what exists and
pushing forward to realize a dream by
creating specific programs.
c. creating a shared vision of the best possible
future, grounded in the reality of what already
exists.
d. identifying “the best of what exists”—an
organization’s key strengths and best
practices.
Leadership
Challenge #4
Connect
Companies use cross-functional teams and
self-managed teams for:
a. lateral thinking.
b. brainstorming sessions.
c. appreciative inquiry.
d. creative collaboration.
Leadership
Challenge #5
Connect
You are doing research on leading change in
organizations. Illustrated in the table below
are terms related to organizational change and
change leadership. Match each item with its
corresponding description.
Term
Idea
incubator
Leadership
Challenge #4
Leadership
Challenge #5
Leadership
Challenge #6
Connect
Creativity
Idea
champion
Immersion
Appreciative
inquiry
After-action
review
Corporate
entrepreneur
ship
Listed below are seven scenarios pertaining
to creativity that lead to change in
Leadership
Perform
organizations. Drag and drop the options
below into the illustrated box categorizing
them into scenarios or concepts.
Answer Options: CyberCell Inc. is striving to
foster a creative culture. It encourages its
employees to generate creative ideas which
are aligned with the organization’s mission. It
has developed its own digital platform which
Challenge #5
planning new strategies to market products of
the company. He arranges a face-to-face
interactive session with marketing associates
and market research analysts to suggest a
wide array of ideas. All suggestions are
equally welcomed without any scrutiny/ The
R&D department at Parabola Inc. is
developing innovative methods to develop
SCENARIOS
TERMS
Listed below are six scenarios pertaining to
organizational change. Drag and drop the
options below into the illustrated box
categorizing them into scenarios or concepts.
Leadership
Challenge #1
Leadership
Challenge #2
Leadership
Perform
Cerulean Inc., an electronics manufacturer, is
planning to develop a mid-range cellular
device with fast processing speed, a large
touch screen, a high resolution camera, and a
built in storage space along with integrated
mobile applications. Cerulean is aware of the
shifting consumer attitudes toward
technological gadgets. It understands that
consumers are tech-savvy and willing to
purchase a gadget which caters to their needs/
Alex, the CEO of Glisten Inc., works toward
taking Glisten to greater heights. He deals
with complex and ambiguous situations with
dexterity which is admired by all his
employees. He implements solutions to
pressing organizational problems. He
empowers his employees to assume
responsibility and often involves them in
Challenge #4
Leadership
Challenge #6