Module 3 – Case THE FOUR CHANGE ANTECEDENTS: CULTURE, CAPACITY, COMMITMENT, AND CAPABILITY

Case Assignment

Begin the Module 3 Case assignment by reading the following Case study:

Burton, O., & Pope, D. (2012). Winds of change at Measurement Equipment Supply Co., Inc. Journal of Case Studies, 30(1), 51-57. Retrieved from EBSCO—Business Source Complete.

Then, in a well-written 5- to 6-page paper, respond to the following:

What do you believe are the most important 3-4 threats confronting the Measurement Equipment Co. Inc. (MESCO)? Hint: As you read the case, take note as to how events that have emerged in the company’s external environment, for example, increased regulation, economic, social, and technological—have created the need for the company to consider undergoing major changes.

In the Background section of this module, we reviewed the role of:

Culture

Commitment

Capacity

Capability

in determining the extent to which companies are prepared to successfully undertake major organizational changes. Your task is to rank each of these four factors from the highest (#1) to the lowest (#4) company need as they relate to MESCO’s readiness to change. Next, defend each of your rankings (for example, if you ranked “Commitment” as #1, explain specifically why you believe Commitment is the factor that the company has the greatest need to address; what circumstances or threats faced by the company cause you to rank this factor as being the most important need?).

Using the factors you ranked as #3 and #4, provide 2 or 3 recommendations for each concerning what you believe the company should do in order to sufficiently prepare the company to undergo a major organizational change. For example, assuming you have ranked the company’s “Capability” as #4 (the lowest of the four factors—and as the greatest need), what do you recommend Bill Smith should do to improve “Capability” before MESCO can successfully move forward with the company’s major organizational changes?

Assignment Expectations

Your paper must be at least 5-6 pages in length.

Be sure that you incorporate sources found at the Background page into your written analysis.

You may want to review information about the industry in the library’s IBISWorld resource.

Be sure that you properly cite all sources used in your paper (APA Style) in-text and in your end referencing.

Upload your Module 3 Case to the Dropbox before or on the assignment due date.

Module 3 – SLP

THE FOUR CHANGE ANTECEDENTS: CULTURE, CAPACITY, COMMITMENT, AND CAPABILITY

For the Module 3 SLP, you are asked to administer the adapted Organizational Readiness to Change (Climate of Change) to someone you know who has experienced a major workplace change. As you learned from the Background materials, one of the four factors that may be used to determine the potential success of a major organizational change is the organization’s culture; that is, the organization’s culture must exist in a state that is ready for—and amenable to—major change or organizational transformation. For purposes of this SLP, you are free to administer the survey to someone who has experienced either a major (transformational) or minor organizational change.

This adapted survey is intended to measure an organization’s readiness to change from the perspective of the organization’s culture. Download the survey: Organizational Change Questionnaire – Climate of Change – Adapted).

Following completion of the survey, respond to the following in a 3- to 4-page paper:

Identify the nature of the change: What was the change that the organization experienced? Then, identify the change as a minor or major organizational change.

Was the organizational change successful? In other words, does the interviewee believe that the organization achieved its stated purpose?

Provide the total score and the level of readiness for organizational change.

From the perspective of the organization’s culture, what does the interviewee believe was the single, most important characteristic of the organization’s culture that contributed to the success or failure of the change (e.g., open communication/ poor communication, high level of trust/ mistrust, etc.)? How does this identified characteristic compare with the general responses (and the total score) given by the interviewee?

Conclude your SLP by commenting on the extent to which the interviewee’s organizational culture contributed to the success or failure of the change. How do the interviewee’s responses inform (or align with) the success or failure of the organizational change?

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your SLP should be 3-4 pages in length (not including Cover and Reference pages).

Be sure to cite your sources using APA Style.

Upload your paper to the SLP 3 Dropbox before the assignment due date.