RECENT ASSIGNMENT

Guidelines to Case Study 2

In addition to the main guidelines on page 22 though 25, please note the following:

1. Please write up to 2000 words. You may write up to an additional 200 words if you think it helps the main argument you are making across each of the five (5) requirements for case study 2 which are set out below:

2. Use the VRD Industries case information from Case Study 1.
Required: Based on your analysis of VRD Industries in Case Study 1, you are now required to continue the external change consultancy role. Case study 2 requires you to implement change intervention models to solve the company’s range of change issues. Use the same list of issues and problems and assumptions from Case Study 1. However, if needed, add additional relationship and behavioural assumptions based on less than perfect information as follows:
A. Intervention 1: Use the process consultation intervention. Describe and explain why this intervention is useful and how it can be implemented within VRD given the facts in the case;
Note: Use the Process Consultation ideas presented on Page 243 through 248 in Waddell et al. Use the previous assumptions from case study 1 and/or make up new one’s if you wish. It is important not to regurgitate steps and narrative that your lecturer(s) already know about. For example, on P247, there is a list of procedures for process intervention. Please don’t rewrite this list. Rather, use your own words and process selection criteria to address the specific problems faced by VRD?
Please also use and quote relevant theoretical points from your readings already available in Module 3 in developing your answers to supplement and flesh out the explanations behind Figures or Tables that you might use. The one’s to use for Case Study 2 are:
Selected reading 3.2 : Walinga, J 2008, ‘Toward a theory of change readiness: the role of appraisal, focus and perceived control’, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 315–47.Selected reading 3.3: Elrod II, PD & Tippett, DD 2002, ‘The “death valley” of change’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 273–91, viewed 23 January 2006, Emerald Management Xtra database, item: 10.1108/09534810210429309.Selected reading 3.4 : Stewart, TA & O’Brien, L 2005, ‘Transforming an industrial giant’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 114–22.Selected reading 3.5 : Senior, B 1997, ‘Soft systems models of change’, Organisational change, Prentice Hall, Sydney, pp. 254–91.Selected reading 3.6 : Sirkin, HL, Keenan, P & Jackson, A 2005, ‘The hard side of change management’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 83, no. 10, pp. 108–18.Selected reading 3.9 : Hirsch, PM & De Sourcey, M 2006, ‘Organizational restructuring and its consequences: rhetorical and structural’, Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 171–89

B. Intervention 2: Use the team building process intervention. Describe and explain why this process will be useful and how it can be implemented within VRD given the facts in the case;
Note: For the team building exercise, use the intervention techniques explained on P251 through 257 of Waddell et al. Try to use team skills or behaviours that seem applicable for VRD, not what is in the text. Use the text table structure however as a basis to build and describe your team building process intervention. Please use and quote relevant theoretical points from at least the following readings not currently listed in your Module books. They have been uploaded onto the study desk for you immediately under the previous readings. These are: Bulla, R. Bell, C. (1986), Effects of team building and goal setting: A field experiment. Academy of Management Journal, 29, 305-328; Murray, P. Millett, B. (2011), The influence of learning behaviour on team adaptability, Int. J. Learning and Change, Vol. 5, Nos. ¾; Kirkman, B.L., & Rosen, B. 2000. Powering up teams. Organizational Dynamics, Winter: 48-64.
C. Intervention 3: Use the integrated strategic change intervention. Describe and explain why this process will be useful and how it can be implemented within VRD given the facts in the case;
Note: For the integrated strategic change intervention, use the intervention techniques explained on P327 through 337 of Waddell et al. Please note that this intervention is not asking you to do a Strategic Plan as in Strategic Management. Rather, it is focused on developing an Integrated Strategic Change Process. Please use and quote relevant theoretical points from at least the following readings. One of these is already listed as a recommended reading. These are: Selected reading 3.1: Cummings, TG 1997, ‘The role and limits of change leadership’, in JA Conger, GM Spreitzer & EE Lawler (eds), Leader’s change handbook: an essential guide to setting direction and changing action, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, pp. 301–20; Greiner, L. Bhambri, A. (1989), New CEI intervention and dynamcis of deliberate strategic change. Strategic Management Journal, 10 Summer, 67-86.
The latter reading is also available on the study desk under the guidelines to case study 2.
D. In relation to intervention number 2, design a team building survey similar to (but not the same as) Table 7.2, page 252-253 in your text. Your survey should be related to the facts in the case. Note: The survey can be included as an appendix by making reference to the appendix in the case write-up. You may exclude the team survey appendix as part of your word count;
E. Summarise the benefits to VRD. Given the three interventions used, summarise the benefits overall to the VRD change manager May Wong.
Good luck with Case Study 2 and I look forward to reading it!

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Intensive Workshop Team 2 thoughts on Assignment 3.
Team 2 initially decided after some lengthy discussion that the way to approach the assignment was to address the Integrated Strategic Change Intervention (Question 3) first. However this position was not necessarily accepted by all three teams once they came together to discuss their findings. Therefore it is highlighted that the content provided in this document is the workings of only a small number of people that attended the Intensive Workshop and should not be considered to be the views of all attendees.
Integrated Strategic Change (ISC)
1 – Collect data and communicate through involvement of external and internal stakeholders and employees at all levels.
2 – Develop a shared Vision/Mission for VRD with representatives from all levels of the organisation.
3 – Communicate with staff through hard systems e.g. Performance charts on a notice board and newsletters in a central location or internal distribution.
4 – Provide regular communication and direction through employee wide meetings or perhaps elected representatives from work teams involved in higher level strategic planning.
5 – Changes in Strategic Direction are likely to elicit a Cultural change.
6 - Analysis of the VRD Strategic Direction is assumed to incur a structural change within VRD.
Process Consultancy (PC)
1 – One of the team identified an article by Schein called “A General Philosophy of Helping Process Consultation” as a worthy reading to assist in this area.
2 – Rectification of the intragroup and intergroup personnel conflicts.
3 – Implementation of Incentive programs to encourage process innovation.
4 – Identification and rectification of process imperfections between Business Units.
5 – Adopt training opportunities for staff in either additional technical capability or soft skills e.g. process change, quality assurance, team design, process modelling etc.
Team Building (TB)
1 – Reduce apathy/lack of interest through team building and increased responsibility for team outcomes.
2 – Develop Team Norms to minimise occurrences of conflict and complaint between team members and groups.
3 – Elect team representatives as communication points of contact between groups and up and down the hierarchy.
4 – Use team building exercises to identify rewards for creativity and innovation and feed back into process development.
5 – The aggressive disposition of the new CEO does not advocate team involvement/willingness to delegate control, therefore team building needs to be implemented at all levels of VRD.
Team Building Survey
Didn’t really get to this question, however discussion indicated that survey questions needed to be developed for both the ‘Problem Identification’ and ‘Are you (or your manager) prepared to start a team building program’ sections of Table 7.2.
We hope this clarifies, further supports or helps you to understand and answer the requirements of assignment 3 and look forward to hearing from you with both positive and negative comments/suggestions on our brainstorming.

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