SECTION - A

1. Differentiate between Theory E and O.

2. Discuss the internal strategies of Resource Dependence Perspective as given by Pfeffer and Salancik.

3. Elaborate the steps in Action Research Model.

4. As per Schein Unfreezing consists of three processes to generate change. Explain these processes.

5. What dimensions should be considered while using the Managing Change Model?

SECTION - B

1. Why Organizational Development (OD) is called the first-generation change?

2. Discuss the processes of Institutionalisation of Organizational Development.

3. Write a short note on strategic interventions.

4. Write a short note on Appreciative Inquiry.

5. Discuss covert and overt elements in resistance to change.

SECTION - C

1. What are the various techniques for handling resistance to change?

2. Describe the characteristics of Level 5 Leadership.

3. Discuss the strategies for culture change.

4. What are informal components of Organizational Culture?

5. Discuss the skills involved in championing change.

CASE STUDY - 1

The Reluctant CEO To reduce cost and improve customer service, a financial group wanted to consolidate its customer contact centers across several divisions. A consultant was hired to support the effort and to prepare implementation plans. The project no more than began when rumor spread through several departments that this organizational change was not good for the company. Supervisors and key managers in the existing customer care centers began resisting the change. In some cases they would not show up for design reviews or miss key decision-making meetings. Information requested by the consultant and the design team was withheld or half-complete. At breaks and around the coffee pot, employees complained about potential leadership changes. Both employees and managers were distracted from their day-to-day work and productivity suffered. Key managers were rumored to quit if the change was implemented.

The consulting firm met with the CEO, repeatedly warning that this resistance would undermine his change and would ultimately begin to affect customers. The CEO, however, was reluctant to become personally involved. He viewed change management as the job of his project team and the consultant, and not the responsibility of the head of the company. After several months of difficulties and delays, the consultants finally declared the consolidation in jeopardy. With the project at a stand-still, the CEO requested an emergency briefing with his leadership team. To prepare for this status report, the consultants conducted interviews with key managers throughout each department. They quickly identified a manager in an existing customer care center who viewed his job at risk with the potential change. Arguments against the change initiated by this manager were spreading throughout the ranks. His supervisors were the same people who were presumably threatening to leave the organization. Even armed with this information, the CEO remained reluctant to take definitive action. The only recourse at this stage was reassignment or termination of this manager. Both options could have negative fall-out for the company and the affected manager. The CEO was faced with a stalled project and a potentially lose-lose decision for a long-tenured manager.

Questions:

Q. What mistakes CEO has made in this case?

Q. What solutions do you provide to reduce resistance to change?

CASE STUDY - 2

Change and Learning at General Electric

General Electric (GE) uses a change acceleration process (CAP) training program taught at its Crotonville (Ossining, NY) facility (www.ge.com). The facility was founded in 1956 by Ralph Cordiner, the CEO, to develop a group of general managers. Initially, a single comprehensive advanced management program was offered.

In 1981 when Jack Welch became CEO, crotonville was designated as one of his major change levers. He believed that GE was slow and steady and plagued by bad habits: turf wars, bureaucracy, egos and keeping everything peaceful. Welch wanted Crotonville to be used to instill values and to stimulate change. Welch wanted managers to undergo a major change in their behaviours.

The Crotonville training course fell into three categories: manager development programs, business unit leadership programs, and global business skills programs. CAP programs were special and were based on Lewin’s force field theory.

After years of presenting CAP, a GE seven step model of change was launched in the early 1990s. All participants come to CAP in teams, and each team brings a problem of its own to solve. As a check on learning Welch receives list of all current projects.

Welch believes that sending teams to a development program that emphasizes change is the only way for behavior to be modified. A changed team will return to the work setting and make changes. A changed person returning to a work setting with a team that has not been trained has little chance of introducing any change.

Typically, the eight to twelve persons team study, debate, and learn from other teams. The GE seven step change model used in CAP trains and teaches:

1. Leading change

2. Creating a Shared Need

3. Shaping a Vision

4. Mobilizing Commitment

5. Making Change Last

6. Monitoring progress

7. Changing Systems and Structures

The model is simple and easy for the trainees to grasp and find uses for back in the work setting. In learning the process and undergoing the CAP program, team members also learn specific tools for presentations, time management, quality audits, customer relations techniques, vision preparation, and conflict resolution.

When a GE manager leaves Crotonville, he or she knows the CAP model, can apply specific tools, and is more closely bonded to the team. The teams also prepare action steps and schedules for use back in the work setting.

Questions:

1. How do you rate the GE concept of sending teams instead of individuals to the CAP program at Crotonville?

2. What type of learning occurs in a training program such as GE’s?

3. Why would Lewin’s force field theory still play a role in training programs offered in the twenty-first century?