Scenario: Jack’s Dilemma

Jack White is the
newly appointed general manager of the pet food division of Strickland
Corporation. He has completed a strategic review that has convinced him that
the division needs to undergo rapid and substantial change in a number of
areas, given the recent strategic moves of key competitors.

Although Jack is new, he is familiar enough with the company to know that there will be significant resistance to the changes from a number of quarters. He also suspects that some of this resistance will come from people with the capacity to act in ways that could seriously impede successful change.

Jack reflects on
the situation. He believes that it is important to introduce the proposed
changes soon, but he also recognizes that if he acts too quickly, he’ll have
virtually no time to have a dialogue with staff about the proposed changes,
much less involve them in any significant way.

One option is to
act speedily and to make it clear that “consequences” will follow for anyone
not cooperating. He certainly has the power to act on such a threat. The risk,
Jack knows, is that even if no one shows outright resistance, there’s a big
difference between not cooperating and acting in a manner that reflects
commitment. He knows that he needs the cooperation of key groups of staff, and
that sometimes “minimum-level compliance” can be as unhelpful as resistance
when it comes to implementing change. “But maybe I’m exaggerating this
problem,” he thinks to himself. “Maybe I should just go ahead with the change.
If people don’t like it, they can leave. If they stay, they’ll come around.”

But Jack is not sure. He considers another option. Maybe he should spend more time on building up support at least among key groups of managers and staff, if not more broadly across the organization. “Maybe,” he reflects, “the need to change is not quite as immediate as I think. I just know that I’d feel a whole lot better if this consultation could happen quickly.”

Write a 525- to 700-word paper in which you:

• Identify the risks associated with the need for change in Strickland Corporation.
• Describe the different approaches Jack may consider that could be used to manage resistance.
• Discuss an approach that would be appropriate in minimizing resistance to change.

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

APA Requirements: Title page with name, course number, faculty name and date

Page
numbers in the header on the right-hand side starting on the first page.
Running head is not required.

Double
spacing in 12-point font

An
introduction that will say
what the paper is about.

A
conclusion that
“wraps” up the points in your paper.

Paper
should be written in first person
(I, we) and should not use the 2nd person
“you”

At
least two references. The reference is not valid unless there is at least one
citation to go with it.

Each
paragraph is indented 5 spaces.

Direct
quotations should
be used sparingly when writing a paper. If a direct quotation is used, it
should have “quotation marks” at the beginning and end and a citation
with the author, year, and page/paragraph #. Every citation must have a
reference listed to go with it.

Paraphrasing means taking
someone else’s ideas and putting them in your own words. The originator of the
ideas must be giving credit. To cite ideas that are paraphrased, use the author
and the year of publication. Every citation must have a reference listed to go
with it.