Programme: - MSc in Project Management

Course: Organizational Behavior and Leadership

Individual Assignment
SUBMITTED TO: - Dr. Kennedy. O. Ogollah

SUBMITTED BY፡- EYASU DESTA …..ID…..GSR/0632/12

AUGUST 20ADDIS

ABABA, ETHIOPIA
QUESTION ONE: Prompt 1

You are in upper management for a mid-sized manufacturing company. Recent economic
changes forced upper management to move much of the manufacturing to a foreign
country. As a result, many of the state-side employees will be forced to work directly
with foreign counterparts. There is great concern that the existing employees may not
embrace the change, and you've been tasked with creating a plan to minimize the fallout.

#Develop a plan that will facilitate as smooth of a transition as possible, optimizing employee buy-
in, satisfaction, and productivity. Write a report that explains the details of your plan, and be sure
to integrate concrete examples and supportive reasoning for how to implement this plan following
each step of Lewin's 3-Stage Model of Change.

ANSWER: -

Changes are always the hardest to handle but if handled properly can lead to the success
of the organization. Since the management is moving their manufacturing unit to foreign
country, employees are now being dealing with foreign counterparts which would be a
bit difficult but could be resolved with proper planning for the employees and their
training. So, as a Manager of mid-sized manufacturing company I plan to overcome the
problem faced on the company.

Lewin’s 3 stage model of change could be very helpful to the organization by providing
guidelines to change. These three stage model of change are: -

1. UNFREEZING

Before we can cook a meal that has been frozen, we need to defrost or thaw it out. The
same can be said of change. Before a change can be implemented, it must go through the
initial step of unfreezing. Because many people will naturally resist change, the goal
during the unfreezing stage is to create an awareness of how the status quo, or current
level of acceptability, is hindering the organization in some way.

So at this stage we will talk to the people and educate them that how this change will be
beneficial for them. Until and unless people don’t find their personal benefit into
anything, they will not change. So getting them agreed onto this is very important and
on this stage communication plays a very important role to inform everyone about the
eminent change.

When we come to the question to implement the change in this mid-sized manufacturing
company, there will be resistance. This resistance comes from people’s due to fear—of
change in the work itself, of change in the process of completing work, or of the
possibility that the change may result in the loss of their job etc. So to solve these issues
what I have to do is I should have a strategic plan to enabling change that ensures
maximally effectiveness in my company. So,

 First I will recognize the changes in the broader business environment

 Develop the necessary adjustments for the company’s needs

 Train employees on the appropriate changes

 Win the support of employees

 strategies to increase their satisfaction with in a company

I will find ways to help them understand their role and integrate into the team quickly.

2. CHANGING

Now that the people are 'unfrozen' they can begin to move. Lewin recognized that change is a
process where the organization must transition or move into this new state of being. This
changing step, also referred to as 'transitioning' or 'moving,' is marked by the implementation of
the change. This is when the change becomes real. It's also, consequently, the time that most
people struggle with the new reality. It is a time marked with uncertainty and fear, making it the
hardest step to overcome. During the changing step people begin to learn the new behaviors,
processes and ways of thinking. The more prepared they are for this step, the easier it is to
complete.

Now people will be given training on how to handle the foreign clients and everything related
to their work. No stone will be left unturned during their training.

Integrating new employee into an established employee takes buy-in from my current
employees. An easy way to get buy-in is to announce to my employees about the new hire. To
solve such problem, I plan for some tasks like: -

 To Be honest and clear during the process

Transparency during the process is important to the employee and to the company. Being clear
and upfront about the position and expectations is very crucial. Take a slow and methodical
approach to filling a position, and do not be afraid of honesty. If I set clear expectations, I and
the new employee will be happier.

 Review the employee’s position description which

 Provides the context of the position

Share how the position fits in with other positions in the unit
  Share the “big picture” view you have for the position

 Announce the new employee to my existing employee before they start

Announcing the new employee to the existing through a meeting or email allows me to
communicate the new employee’s experience and skills to help illustrate the value they can bring
to company. This introduction also gives me the opportunity to set clear expectations about the
new employee – including their start date, their job title, and duties among other things. This can
make the current employees more accepting and welcoming when the new employee starts.

 This provides measureable standards that build from the major duties, and a basis for on-
going communication regarding performance.

 It brings major duties down to a practical level.

 It helps the employee understand when a job is well done or needs improvement.

 Give my new employee a welcome package

A welcome package is an opportunity for employers to provide pertinent information about the
organization and company culture, while also rewarding the new employee and also it is an
important component of employee retention.

 Establish regular meetings to discuss performance (both positive and negative), progress
made, and other work items

 Follow up the ongoing work and work force timely.

3. REFREEZING

Lewin called the final stage of his change model freezing, but many refer to it as refreezing to
symbolize the act of reinforcing, stabilizing and solidifying the new state after the change. The
changes made to organizational processes, goals, structure, offerings or people are accepted and
refrozen as the new norm or status quo. Lewin found the refreezing step to be especially
important to ensure that people do not revert back to their old ways of thinking or doing prior
to the implementation of the change. Efforts must be made to guarantee the change is not lost;
rather, it needs to be cemented into the organization's culture and maintained as the acceptable
way of thinking or doing.

Since people are adopting the change but to ensure they don’t get back. So in order to ensure
refreezing positive rewards and acknowledgment of individualized efforts will be used as it is
believed that positively reinforced behavior will likely be repeated.
QUESTION TWO: (Prompt 2)

You are an executive-level manager for a large marketing firm. Up until recently, your marketing
executives enjoyed a myriad of perks including travel to meet with clients, laptop computers, free
gym memberships, and company cars. However, after your firm lost a high producing account,
marketing executives will lose some of the important benefits to which they've grown
accustomed. It is your job to get the executives to buy into the changes. These changes include
the restricted use of personal vehicles, limited travel benefits, elimination of telecommuting and
the return of smartphones and tablets. You know this will not be easy.

Integrating Kotter's 8-Step Change Model, create a change management plan that will convince the soon-
to-be disgruntled executives to buy into the change. Write up your plan as a report that you will give to the
CEO for approval before you implement it. Within the report, explain and justify specific steps you will
take and your methods of communication with the employees about the changes.

ANSWER: -

Taking back the benefits that people have already enjoyed is very difficult but during economic
imbalance companies do have to do certain changes to their policies regarding perks and benefits
people are enjoying. So my company is undergoing these changes and my plan to handle these
problems will be:

 Communication of the change will be made directly and clearly by the managers or team
leaders:
As the company is facing some economic difficulties but still not going for retrenchment or layoff.
This is a problem for short duration as we are working on to resolve all the issues and get back to
the path of achievements but till the time company doesn’t get stable or back to its position we
require your cooperation and dedication. In order to comply with the same management have
suggested some change for a period of time, I hope we all will comply to it and cooperate to our
best.

Although we are taking back some of the benefits but have some alternatives for them such as:

 Instead of company car, employees would be asked to use public transports and
the expenses would be reimbursed after the submission of pay receipt.
 Travel benefit would now be limited but company will provide complete travel
benefit to the executives who will convert the clients or crack the deals.
 Elimination of tele-commuting – people are advised to have some other way to
communicate for the official purpose.
  Company will be providing only the personal computers for work. Employees will
be asked to bring and use their personal smart phones and tablets and need to
return those of company.
 Instead of company car, employees would be asked to use public transport and
the expenses would be redeemed after the submission of pay receipt.
 Instead of gym membership employees will be have another way of doing this
within the organization on certain days.

I will plan those upper listed suggestions based on the Kotter’s 8-step change model.

Step 1: Create Urgency

For change to happen, it helps if the whole company really wants it. Develop a sense of urgency
around the need for change. This may help you spark the initial motivation to get things moving.

Open an honest and convincing dialogue about what's happening in the marketplace and with
your competition. If many people start talking about the change you propose, the urgency can
build and feed on itself.

Step 2: Form a Powerful Coalition

Convince people that change is necessary. This often takes strong leadership and visible support
from key people within your organization. Managing change isn't enough – you have to lead it.

To lead change, you need to bring together a coalition, or team, of influential people whose power
comes from a variety of sources, including job title, status, expertise, and political importance.

Step 3: Create a Vision for Change

A clear vision can help everyone understand why you're asking them to do something. When
people see for themselves what you're trying to achieve, then the directives they're given tend to
make more sense.

Step 4: Communicate the Vision

What you do with your vision after you create it will determine your success. Your message will
probably have strong competition from other day-to-day communications within the company,
so you need to communicate it frequently and powerfully, and embed it within everything that
you do.

Use the vision daily to make decisions and solve problems. When you keep it fresh on everyone's
minds, they'll remember it and respond to it.
Step 5: Remove Obstacles

Hopefully, your staff wants to get busy and achieve the benefits that you've been promoting.

Put in place the structure for change, and continually check for barriers to it. Removing obstacles
can empower the people you need to execute your vision, and it can help the change move
forward.

Step 6: Create Short-Term Wins

Nothing motivates more than success. Give your company a taste of victory early in the change
process. Within a short time frame (this could be a month or a year, depending on the type of
change), you'll want to have some "quick wins " that your staff can see. Without this, critics and
negative thinkers might hurt your progress.

Create short-term targets – not just one long-term goal.

Step 7: Build on the Change

Kotter argues that many change projects fail because victory is declared too early. Real change
runs deep. Quick wins are only the beginning of what needs to be done to achieve long-term
change.

Launching one new product using a new system is great. But if you can launch 10 products, that
means the new system is working. To reach that 10th success, you need to keep looking for
improvements.

Step 8: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture

Finally, to make any change stick, it should become part of the core of your organization. Your
corporate culture often determines what gets done, so the values behind your vision must show
in day-to-day work.

Make continuous efforts to ensure that the change is seen in every aspect of your organization.
This will help give that change a solid place in your organization's culture.

It's also important that your company's leaders continue to support the change. This includes
existing staff and new leaders who are brought in. If you lose the support of these people, you
might end up back where you started.