Student Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Case Notes
Chapter 15: Leading Change and Stress Management
Case 15.1: Organizational Change at Amazon
Case Description
Innovation and change are happening around us every day, at faster rates and more dramatically
than ever. This chapter walks students through the concepts that help facilitate these changes
within organizations, and this case provides an example of a company leading the way in terms
of change and innovation. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon is an ever-changing company and it has been
Learning Objectives:
15.1: Describe the forces driving organizational change.
15.2: Explain why planned organizational change is necessary.
15.3: Discuss the reasons why people resist organizational change.
Question & Answers
1. Explain the impact of Jeff Bezos being the leader of Amazon since its beginning. How
does this compare to organizations that change their CEOs during times of challenge?
Ans: The impact of having a consistent leader—a leader who has behaviors a workforce can
expect—will influence how the workforce responds to change. The massive Amazon workforce
Student Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
2. Discuss the role of experimentation and learning from failure in Amazon’s approach to
organizational change. Research and develop another example of where an organization
has learned from failure and ultimately succeeded.
Ans: Amazon’s approach not only highlights to role of experimentation and learning, it is
extended to the speed at which experimentation and learning is conducted. Jeff Bezos is quoted
saying, “fail as fast as possible.” Failing quickly creates a cycle where more new things are being
tried and tested, increasing the possibility a wildly profitable innovation is found in the near
future.
market.
3. Discuss how the acquisition of Whole Foods helped Amazon executives learn how to
disrupt the grocery industry. In your opinion, will they succeed in the retail grocery
market? Why or why not?
Ans: Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods helped Amazon executives learn how to disrupt the
4. In addition to an obsession with the customer, what are the other keys to Amazon’s
success in implementing organizational change?
Ans: Amazon’s notion of people getting left behind if they aren’t bought in to change is
Note:
In this guide, some suggested answers are provided. Most of these questions are there to make
students think and interrelate concepts from the current and previous chapters and, hopefully, to
Student Resource
Scandura, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 3e
SAGE Publishing, 2022