BUS503 All Modules Discussions latest 2018 September

Module 1 Discussion

Abandoned: Circuit City

Week 1: Please watch the following video concerning the failure of Circuit City:

Then respond to the following:

Did the management of the company fail to recognize significant changes occurring within the external environment of the retail industry and fail to adapt to them?

What internal issues were responsible for the company’s ills? Be sure to respond to your classmates’ postings.

Abandoned: Circuit City

Week 2:

What, in your opinion, were the top three reasons that the company failed, and how might these failures have been avoided?

Was the failure of the company attributable to organizational resistance to change – or to poor decisions made on the part of top leadership?

In Week 2, be sure to respond to your classmates’ postings.

Bright Sun Films. (2016, September 30). Abandoned - Circuit City [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/BWPLKXPM9F

Module 2 Discussion

Resistance to Change

Week 1: Resistance to Change

What are the dynamics that create resistance to change in individuals? In organizations?

Visit the library, and locate an article on “resistance to change.”

Summarize the article and its findings.

How does the article inform “resistance to change” on the part of individuals, groups, or organizations?

Week 2: The Role of Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Social Categorization Theory (SCT) in Resistance to Change

How might either of these theories inform our understanding of resistance to change?

For example, the employees of Organization A resist a merger with Organization B because they are loath to give up their social identity as an Organizational A “in-group.” What role might social identity dynamics play in the organization’s resistance to change process?

Module 3 Discussion

Organizational Culture

Week 1: Organizational Culture: What Is It?

As you have learned from the Background readings, organizational culture is one of four critical factors that contribute to the success or failure of organizational change; that is, the organization’s culture must exist in a state that is ready—and amenable—to change.

What is organizational culture? What are its characteristics? What role does the organization’s culture play in the processes of organizational change and transformation?

Week 2: Organizational Culture: Can Culture Truly Be “Managed”?

Some organizational theorists would assert that an organization's culture cannot be "managed" in the same sense that the processes, activities, and things that exist within an organization can be managed. David Campbell (2000, p. 28) says that an organization

is being constructed continuously on a daily, even momentary [italics added], basis through individual interactions with others. The organization never settles into an entity or a thing that can be labelled and described, because it is constantly changing, or reinventing itself, through the interactions going on within it.

At the same time, Campbell says that an organization “does have a certain character to it, such that, like driving on the motorway, not just anything goes" Let’s consider a massive multinational organization with thousands of employees: Clearly, no one individual—no matter the extent to which he or she has legitimate and/or expert power—is capable of single-handedly affecting culture (i.e., moving it in one direction or another); the sheer multiplicity of formal and informal groups, structures, tasks, functional operations, and individual interactions that exist and occur within many large organizations are seemingly endless.

Consider the potential number (and combination) of individual-to-individual, individual-to-group, and group-to-group interactions that are likely to occur on a momentary basis within an organization (and then, there are endless numbers of contacts/interactions with external stakeholders as well). The possibilities are seemingly infinite—or at least they are indefinite.

However the concept of organizational "culture" is defined, culture is abstract, fragmentary, fluid—and even relative and momentary. Which leads to the question:

Can an organization’s culture really be “managed”?

Reference:

Campbell, D. (2000). The socially constructed organization. London: Karnac Books.

Module 4 Discussion

The Cycle of Change Model

Week 1: The Cycle of Change Model

It is recognized that the following is a challenging exercise, because it requires that you make a very difficult choice; however, this exercise will also ensure that you have fully evaluated each step of the Cycle of Change Model, and that you have considered the requisite value of each step to the overall organizational change and transformation process.

Your task for the Module 4 Discussion is to reflect on the various steps of the Cycle of Change Model. Then, answer the following question:

If you were required to choose only one step in the Cycle of Change Model as being most important to the success of any major organizational change or organizational transformation initiative, which step would you choose? Why?

Be sure that you justify your choice with sufficient depth. If possible, give an actual organizational example to defend your choice.

Week 2: Respond to Your Peers’ Choices

In Week 2, please respond to at least three (3) of your classmates’ Week 1 postings, stating whether you either agree or disagree with their choices (please do so respectfully), and explaining why.

Module 4 Reflection Discussion

Uber: A Broken Culture

Week 1: Uber: A Broken Culture

The upbeat tag line at the transportation company Uber’s website (“Get there, your day belongs to you”) stands in stark contrast with the company that has experienced multiple scandals over the past several months: the company’s culture of sexism, a legal battle with the company’s investor (Google), and hefty fines ($20M) levied by the Federal Trade Commission, among other things, have led to the recent departure of Uber’s co-founder and CEO. In response, the company has recently hired Bozoma Saint John to repair the company’s image. A native of Ghana, Ms. Saint John is well-spoken and accomplished.

Watch the following video interview, and then respond to the following questions.

CBS News. (28 July, 2017) Meet Bozoma Saint John: The woman tasked with fixing Uber’s image. CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/meet-bozoma-saint-john-the-woman-tasked-with-fixing-ubers-image/

In Module 3, we discussed four antecedents for successful organizational transformation—as you recall, one of these was the Organizational Culture. Ms. Saint John has specifically been tasked with changing Uber’s culture.

Is there an “organizational transformation” needed by Uber that extends beyond the reparations of the company culture that are so clearly needed?

What should be the expected outcome (value/ benefits) of Uber’s organizational transformation?

What challenges confront Ms. Saint John in her role as the organization’s change leader? (Hint: Be sure that you consider both organizational and individual resistance to change).

The following article may also help you in formulating your response:

Solon, O. (2017, 28 July). Can Bozoma Saint John repair Uber’s troubled image? The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/28/bozoma-saint-john-troubled-image

Week 2: Change Leader Characteristics?

Identify what you believe to be at least three (3) characteristics and/or past experiences that make Ms. Saint John an excellent choice as the company’s change leader. Be sure to justify your choices.

Respond to at least two (2) of your peers’ postings. Consider the following article in your response:

Clay, B. (2010, 10 August). Six characteristics of highly effective change leaders. Innovation Excellence. Retrieved from http://innovationexcellence.com/blog/2010/08/20/six-characteristics-of-highly-effective-change-leaders/