CHAPTER 9 Change Management DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. What are the main reasons that planned approaches to change might fail? Answer: • Managers fail to work on getting buy-in before or during change. • Managers think change will implement itself. • No comprehensive documentation is done for how staff should change their processes. • Intentions are good but people go back to old ways when they are short on time. 2. Can emergent change be intentional? How can emergent change be used to bring about a specific end result? Answer: • All change starts with a disturbance of the status quo. • Every system has a drive for coherence. • Forces are constantly interacting, mutually influencing each other. As these difference parts interact, a new, more complex coherence arises. • Emergence leads to a new order, eventually. 3. What are some of the benefits of shared mental models within organizations? Are there any drawbacks to widely shared mental models within firms? Answer: • Deeply ingrained assumptions and generalizations that influence people. • Often, people are not consciously aware of mental models or their effects. • The status quo is preserved. • Ideas reinforce each other. SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO EXERCISES 1. How can the CHG 766 course be effectively converted from an in-person format to a 100% online delivery, considering the driving forces such as students' desire for flexible schedules and the ability to assemble courses for a degree, as well as the restraining forces such as faculty and student readiness for online learning and cost considerations? Answer: To convert the CHG 766 course from in-person to a 100% online delivery, adapt weekly modules into a flexible schedule that distance students can cover at their own pace. Adjust assessments into usable formats for effective student evaluation. Assess new course ability to meet learning outcomes and meet monthly while online course is offered, to determine effectiveness and needed revisions. Driving and restraining forces Driving forces: • Students want flexible schedules where they can read and participate when they want and where they want with any devices, i.e., phone, laptop, community computer. • Students wish to be able to pick and choose different courses from different schools to assemble the requirements for a degree, diploma, or certificate. • If a school does not offer online courses, it will gain a reputation as not being up-to-date with convenient options. To strengthen the change: Be clear upfront on any requirements for students to meet mid-term, discussion, and assignment deadlines, so they know the course is not solely on their chosen time. If the final exam must be in person or proctored nearby to the student, they must know this in plenty of time and understand date, cost, and arrangements details. Restraining forces: • Faculty, relevant IT, and students need to learn and be able to problem solve IT issues with their courses. • Costs such as computer hardware, software, and copyrights can be a significant amount. Students believe online courses will cost less due to less contact with instructor and a physical space; however, online course often cost as much as in-class courses. • Textbooks need to have online components to allow students to engage into course depth using quizzes, exercises and games on the content. This is helpful since faculty are not available in the same way as traditional courses. Ways to lessen restraints: • Announce the format of the course is online delivery promptly on all branding materials, websites, and course listings. • Explain the details about course costs. • Recruit, select, and train faculty, IT, and students carefully at their convenience, to understand the basics and know how to learn more and where to get help. 2. How has The Young Turks' transition to a pay-by-subscription model impacted their ability to educate viewers on social and political issues while maintaining their core values of truth, evidence, fairness, progressiveness, and sharing? Answer: Young Turks is a televised podcast with information with information related to social and political issues. It is watched, in general, by viewers with liberal ideas who want know about current issues. The organization offers free podcasts but are moving to a pay-by-subscription model that offers more content. Young Turks also requests donations to hire more reporters to research and provide further information. They educate viewers who then reflect upon their own ideas and strengthen them with facts and opinions from the stories shown. Some of the podcast’s stated values are: truth, evidence, fairness, progressive, and sharing. https://www.thenation.com/article/the-young-turks-are-beating-major-media-operations-on-youtube/ 3. How does McDonald's Canada communicate and implement its People Vision to make employees feel valued and proud to work there, aiming to be the best employer in every Canadian community? Answer: At McDonald’s Canada our People Vision is for our people to feel valued and proud to work here. In fact, we aim to be the best employer in every one of our Canadian communities. McDonald’s does well sharing these values in ads, literature, and some commercials. Employees are respected, valued, and empowered. • Employees are recognized and rewarded in many ways. • Great rewards for outstanding work include a variety of exciting Once in a Lifetime Opportunities. • Compensation packages include benefits that employees tell us they value. • Employees receive regular performance and wage reviews. • See: https://www.mcdonalds.com/ca/en-ca/careers/our-people.html 4. Research such as: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/whats-the-trick-to-brewing-a-perfect-cup-of-tea/article38355442/. Talk to people. Experiment. Answer: To brew the perfect cup of tea, it's essential to consider various factors such as water temperature, brewing time, tea-to-water ratio, and tea quality. Here's how you can approach it: 1. Research: • Read articles and resources like the one from The Globe and Mail to understand different brewing techniques, tea varieties, and tips for achieving optimal flavor. • Look for information on water temperature and steeping times specific to the type of tea you're brewing, whether it's black, green, white, or herbal tea. • Learn about the importance of using high-quality tea leaves and how factors like freshness and processing methods can affect the taste of the final brew. 2. Talk to People: • Engage with tea enthusiasts, experts, and knowledgeable individuals to gather insights, recommendations, and personal experiences with brewing tea. • Seek advice from tea aficionados on preferred brewing methods, tea brands, and tips for enhancing the flavor profile of different teas. • Join online forums, social media groups, or local tea communities to connect with fellow tea lovers and exchange ideas and recommendations. 3. Experiment: • Begin by experimenting with different tea varieties, such as black, green, oolong, or herbal teas, to discover your personal preferences in terms of flavor, aroma, and strength. • Adjust brewing parameters such as water temperature, steeping time, and tea-to-water ratio to achieve the desired taste profile for each type of tea. • Keep a brewing journal to record your observations, including the tea variety, brewing method, and tasting notes, to track your progress and refine your techniques over time. • Don't be afraid to try unconventional brewing methods or explore unique flavor combinations by incorporating ingredients like spices, herbs, or citrus zest into your tea blends. By combining research, conversations with tea enthusiasts, and hands-on experimentation, you can refine your brewing skills and discover the perfect cup of tea tailored to your preferences. Remember that brewing tea is both an art and a science, so don't hesitate to explore and enjoy the journey of discovering new flavors and techniques. CASE STUDY: Change at Tiger Boots Would you recommend that Tiger Boots take a planned approach, emergent approach, or blended approach to this change effort? If you think the company should take a blended approach, what portions of the change should be planned and what should be emergent? Explain your choice of approach with a draft of your change plan. Answer: • A blended approach but over 8‒14 months to plan extensively. • Do focus groups and marketing, communication, then sales and distribution. • The emphasis would be a planned approach. • Have regular ongoing communication with employees to explain this is an addition, not cancelling, of their current line; the company is growing, which is a good thing; they will have opportunities to give input related to the new products; they will have opportunities if desired to work on new line • Actions planned for certain times, then see what opinions arise during an emergent period. • For instance, communicate to existing buyers that due to requests from menswear consumers, Tiger Boots is going to launch a medium-priced line of casual shoes ($150–$175) that are longer-wearing than existing casual shoes, but also comfortable and safe in rugged conditions such as hiking. Then survey buyers to determine their assessment of demand and adjust plans accordingly. CHAPTER 10 Downsizing and Restructuring SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO EXERCISES 1. What are some of the key characteristics that Canadians should develop to prepare for changes in the workforce due to automation, and how can technology both contribute to job loss and create new job opportunities? Answer: Significant numbers of jobs will be fully or partially automated within the next ten years. Critical thinking, coordination, social perceptiveness, active listening, and complex problem solving are some of the key characteristics Canadians should develop to prepare changes to the workforce. Technology is feared due to job loss but it can also create job. To prepare for changes in the workforce due to automation, Canadians should focus on developing key characteristics that are less susceptible to automation and remain in high demand. These include: 1. Critical Thinking: The ability to analyze information, evaluate evidence, and make informed decisions will be crucial as automation takes over routine tasks. Canadians should hone their critical thinking skills to adapt to complex and evolving work environments. 2. Coordination: Effective coordination skills, including project management and teamwork, will become increasingly important as automation integrates with human labor. Canadians should learn to manage tasks, resources, and teams efficiently to maximize productivity and collaboration. 3. Social Perceptiveness: Understanding and empathizing with others' emotions, behaviors, and perspectives will be essential for effective communication and collaboration in automated workplaces. Canadians should focus on enhancing their social perceptiveness to build strong relationships and navigate diverse work settings. 4. Active Listening: Actively engaging with others' verbal and non-verbal communication cues, processing information attentively, and responding thoughtfully will be critical for effective communication and problem-solving in automated environments. Canadians should practice active listening to foster mutual understanding and collaboration. 5. Complex Problem Solving: The ability to identify, analyze, and solve complex problems using creative and innovative approaches will be highly valued as automation handles routine tasks. Canadians should cultivate their complex problem-solving skills to adapt to evolving job requirements and industry demands. While technology can contribute to job loss by automating routine and repetitive tasks, it also creates new job opportunities by driving innovation, productivity, and economic growth. Some ways technology can both contribute to job loss and create new job opportunities include: 1. Job Displacement: Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can replace human labor in tasks such as manufacturing, data entry, and customer service, leading to job displacement in certain industries. 2. Job Creation: At the same time, technology creates new job opportunities in emerging fields such as robotics, data science, cybersecurity, and digital marketing. These jobs require specialized skills and expertise that can't be easily automated. 3. Skills Upgrading: As technology evolves, workers may need to upgrade their skills and acquire new knowledge to remain relevant in the workforce. Upskilling and reskilling initiatives can help workers transition to new roles and industries where demand is growing. 4. Entrepreneurship: Technology enables individuals to start their own businesses and pursue entrepreneurial opportunities in areas such as e-commerce, app development, and online content creation. This can lead to job creation and economic growth. Overall, while automation poses challenges for the workforce, Canadians can adapt and thrive by developing key characteristics and embracing technology as a tool for innovation and opportunity. 2. What are some of the potential consequences of job loss or downsizing for workers and their families, and how can these impacts vary depending on factors such as the duration of unemployment and individual coping mechanisms? Answer: • Many employees will bounce back, finding work in their industry. • Others may choose to become self-employed. • However, if unemployment lasts for a long-period, depression and suicide may occur in downsized workers. • Downsized, then later unemployed, workers, can experience embarrassment and low self-esteem. • Family and individual savings decrease. • Changes in family life may occur such as arguing, separation, and divorce, as well as addictions. 3. In the context of downsizing and restructuring, what are Cameron's three strategies, and how do they relate to the risks of stress, violence, and suicide outlined in the provided resource? Answer: Cameron's three strategies in the context of downsizing and restructuring are: 1. Leveraging Human Capital: This strategy focuses on retaining and developing the organization's valuable human resources during times of change. It involves investing in employee training, development, and engagement to maximize the potential of existing staff members and ensure their continued productivity and commitment to the organization. 2. Maintaining Organizational Commitment: This strategy emphasizes the importance of maintaining a sense of organizational commitment and loyalty among employees, even in the face of downsizing or restructuring. It involves fostering open communication, transparency, and trust between management and employees, as well as providing support and resources to help employees navigate change and uncertainty. 3. Building Psychological Contracts: This strategy involves establishing and nurturing positive psychological contracts between employees and the organization. It focuses on fulfilling mutual expectations and obligations, such as providing job security, opportunities for career advancement, and a supportive work environment. By honoring these psychological contracts, organizations can foster a sense of trust, loyalty, and commitment among employees, which can help mitigate the negative impacts of downsizing and restructuring. In relation to the risks of stress, violence, and suicide outlined in the provided resource, Cameron's strategies can play a crucial role in mitigating these risks: • Leveraging Human Capital: By investing in employee training, development, and support programs, organizations can help employees cope with the stress and uncertainty associated with downsizing and restructuring. This can reduce the likelihood of employees experiencing stress-related mental health issues and resorting to violence or self-harm as a result. • Maintaining Organizational Commitment: Open communication, transparency, and support from management can help alleviate employees' fears and anxieties about job loss and organizational change. This can contribute to a sense of psychological safety and stability in the workplace, reducing the risk of negative outcomes such as violence or suicide. • Building Psychological Contracts: Fostering positive psychological contracts can help employees feel valued, respected, and supported by the organization, even during times of change. This can enhance employees' sense of belonging and purpose, reducing the likelihood of stress-related mental health issues and negative behaviors such as violence or self-harm. Overall, Cameron's strategies focus on creating a supportive and resilient organizational culture that prioritizes employee well-being and engagement, which can help mitigate the risks associated with downsizing and restructuring, including stress, violence, and suicide. CASE STUDY A Downsizing Decision at the Department of Public Works Questions: 1. Outline the issues that Kathleen should consider prior to designing a restructuring strategy. Answer: • The Department of Public Works did not expect an increase in funding for the next two years; however, operating costs for that department are projected to increase at a rate of 3% annually. • Rather than directing the department to cut a specific number of jobs, Kathleen has been asked to develop a restructuring strategy that will meet with the town’s mission of providing quality services to its residents in a cost-effective manner. • All operating policies are being reviewed, including the services provided by the Department of Public Works and how these are delivered (i.e., costs, staffing, scheduling, etc.). • Review capital costs. For example, each of the three sub-units of garbage collection, parks and recreation, and city maintenance are housed in three separate buildings. Is there any way that these capital costs can be reduced? • There is little transfer of staff among the three different sub-units in this department; review of staffing is required to determine how staff are utilized, hired, promoted, and replaced. • A review of staffing levels is needed (in 1999, 5% of permanent positions were eliminated and 2% of the workforce in 2000 was reduced). Summer students were no longer being hired to assist with special projects and vacation replacement. • Attrition levels were examined. Kathleen found very little turnover of staff in this department. • Both employee satisfaction and satisfaction with services by town residents were examined. 2. Design a strategy to restructure the Department of Public Works. Be sure to provide support for the decisions/recommendations you propose. Answer: • Overall, the employee and resident satisfaction rates are fairly good. It will be important to maintain and attempt to increase satisfaction levels after restructuring takes place. • The emphasis of this restructuring probably needs to focus on work redesign, i.e., changing the ways work is conducted. • Since there is a mandate not to lay off any more staff, there could be some voluntary staff reductions, for example, by offering incentives for early retirement. Some of the long-standing and more expensive personnel could be replaced by new staff, who would be paid considerably less. • In addition, there needs to be an examination of the capital costs involved in running these departments. Currently, the town is maintaining three different buildings to offer these services. Could one of the areas such as garbage collection be contracted out so the costs of overhead like buildings, trucks, truck maintenance, and so on could be absorbed by an external vendor? • Could summer students be employed by the town in any one of these three areas? Perhaps summer students and co-op students hired throughout the year could help reduce salary costs. • Is there any way that staff could be reassigned to one of the three departments in a more fluid manner to reduce recruitment and selection costs when replacements are needed? Contract staff could also be utilized to reduce the salary benefits costs of full-time workers. 3. A recent newspaper editorial suggested that the town contract out the collection of garbage. What are the advantages/disadvantages of contracting out services that had been provided by the government? Answer: • One of the advantages of contracting out services is the reduction of salary costs. It is likely that the contractor’s employees are not unionized and do not require the level of salary and benefits of city workers. • Another benefit of contracting out this service is the reduction or elimination of overhead costs such as leasing and maintenance of garbage trucks. It is also possible that the building used by the town to provide the garbage service could be sold and real estate, building maintenance, hydro, and other costs can be reduced. • One of the main disadvantages of contracting out the garbage service is the loss of control that may occur in the standard of service, or service level. Although the taxpayer continues to pay for this service, the town no longer has direct control over how this service is provided. There is a risk of decreasing service levels that can go so far as to affect health and safety in the community. ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED EXERCISE See “Downsizing a Business with Dignity” at http://humanresources.about.com/od/layoffsdownsizing/a/downsizing.htm. What are some of the suggestions given by these guidelines? Answer: The guidelines provided in the article "Downsizing a Business with Dignity" offer several suggestions for managing downsizing processes with compassion and professionalism. Some of these suggestions include: 1. Communicate Openly and Honestly: Maintain transparent communication with employees throughout the downsizing process. Provide clear explanations for the reasons behind the decision to downsize and keep employees informed about the timeline and process. 2. Treat Employees with Respect: Treat employees with dignity and respect, recognizing their contributions to the organization. Avoid blaming or criticizing employees for the downsizing decision and focus on supporting them through the transition. 3. Offer Support Services: Provide access to support services such as career counseling, resume writing workshops, and job search assistance to help employees transition to new employment opportunities. Offer severance packages or outplacement services to support employees financially during the transition period. 4. Consider Alternatives to Layoffs: Explore alternatives to layoffs, such as reduced work hours, voluntary retirement programs, or reassignment to other departments or roles within the organization. Consider implementing temporary measures to address short-term financial challenges without resorting to layoffs. 5. Plan for the Future: Develop a comprehensive downsizing plan that considers the long-term implications for the organization and its remaining employees. Assess the impact of downsizing on the organization's culture, morale, and productivity, and develop strategies to mitigate potential negative effects. 6. Provide Emotional Support: Acknowledge the emotional impact of downsizing on employees and provide opportunities for them to express their feelings and concerns. Offer support resources such as counseling services or employee assistance programs to help employees cope with stress and anxiety. 7. Maintain Confidentiality: Respect the privacy of employees affected by downsizing and maintain confidentiality throughout the process. Avoid discussing individual layoffs or sensitive information in public forums or with unauthorized personnel. By following these guidelines, organizations can navigate the downsizing process in a compassionate and ethical manner, minimizing the negative impact on employees and preserving the organization's reputation and culture. Solution Manual for Strategic Human Resources Planning Monica Belcourt 9780176798086, 9780176570309
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