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Never Stand Still Business School

AGSM @ UNSW Business School

business.unsw.edu.au/agsmCRICOS Code 00098G

Session 2, 2015

MNGT6371 Managing Change

(Online)

Published in 2015 byUNSW Australia Business School

UNSW AustraliaSydney NSW 2052

CRICOS Provider Number: 00098G

This document is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced

by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publishers, UNSW Australia Business School.

The UNSW Business School is actively monitoring student learning and quality of thestudent experience in all its programs. A random selection of completed assessmenttasks may be used for quality assurance, such as to determine the extent to which program learning goals are being achieved. The information is required for accreditation purposes, and only aggregated findings will be used to inform changes aimed at improving the quality of UNSW Business School programs. All material used for such processes will be treated as confidential and will not be related to course grades.

Managing Change (Online) Do NOT move or delete, edit only when this document is used for a different course.

We welcome ideas to improve these course materials.Please email suggestions to [email protected].

MC 2015

Published in 2015 byUNSW Australia Business School

UNSW AustraliaSydney NSW 2052

CRICOS Provider Number: 00098G

This document is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced

by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to the publishers, UNSW Australia Business School.

The UNSW Business School is actively monitoring student learning and quality of thestudent experience in all its programs. A random selection of completed assessmenttasks may be used for quality assurance, such as to determine the extent to which program learning goals are being achieved. The information is required for accreditation purposes, and only aggregated findings will be used to inform changes aimed at improving the quality of UNSW Business School programs. All material used for such processes will be treated as confidential and will not be related to course grades.

Course overview

Managing Change

(Online)

Managing Change (Online) Do NOT move or delete, edit only when this document is used for a different course.

We welcome ideas to improve these course materials.Please email suggestions to [email protected].

MC 2015

Contents

Course calendar 1

Session 2, 2015 1

Getting started 2

Course outline 5

Learning resources 8

Units and readings 8

Your tutor 8

Your classmates 8

Other resources 9

Learning processes 11

The action learning cycle 11

Learning partnerships or study groups 11

Teleconferences 12

Online dialogues 12

Online dialogue 14

Dialogue, discussion and debate 14

Guidelines for online participation 16

Moodle eLearning support 18

360 degree Managing Change feedback 19

Summary of key dates for 360 degree feedback 19

Process for collecting your 360 degree feedback 20

Assessment 25

Assessment submission 25

Summary of requirements 26

Assessment 1 – Action learning review 26

Assessment 2 – Interview with a change agent 29

Assessment 3 – Integrative Change Project 30

Assessment 4 – Contributions to online dialogues 37

Acknowledgements 38

Course Coordinator 38

Course Facilitator 38

References 39

Appendices 40

Course calendar

Session 2, 2015

Managing Change (Online)MBA (Executive)

Week no. Week begins UnitAssessment due (% weighting)

Online dialogues

Other activities

0 18 MayIntroductory

dialogue

Introductory activities

1 25 May 1 Teleconference 1

2 1 June 2

Dialogue 1

3 8 June 3Assessment 3 Part 1 (5%)

Due 9.30 a.m. AEST Tuesday, 9 June

4 15 June 4

Dialogue 2

5 22 June 5Assessment 1 (15%) Due 9.30 a.m. AEST

Tuesday, 23 June

6 29 June 6 Dialogue 3

7 6 July 7 Teleconference 2

8 13 July 8Assessment 2 (25%) Due 9.30 a.m. AEST

Tuesday, 14 July

9 20 July 9 Dialogue 4

10 27 July 10 Dialogue 5

11 3 August 11Assessment 4 (15%)

Dialogues 1-6Dialogue 6

12 10 August 12 Teleconference 3

13 17 AugustAssessment 3 Part 2 (40%)

Due 9.30 a.m. AEST Monday, 17 August

Course overview 1

Getting started

Welcome to Managing Change (Online).

In this opening section of the Course Overview, we briefly outline some initial activities that will enable you to make a good start in your studies. Ideally, you would have completed all or most of these activities before the beginning of Week 1.

c Connect your UNSW zMail address to a preferred email address

Make sure that emails sent to your UNSW zMail address are forwarded to a preferred email address. To do this, go to:

https://www.it.unsw.edu.au/students/zmail/redirect_external.html

Your instructor will use your UNSW zMail address to send you important information about the course (including assessment feedback and grades). So it is important that you set up, and keep current, your email forwarding address at UNSW Identity Manager:

https://idm.unsw.edu.au Please take a few minutes to check that now. It will ensure you do not miss out on emails vital to your success and enjoyment of the course.

c Read the Course Overview

This will give you a picture of the overall goals, structure and content of the course, the assessment requirements, the learning processes that you will be using and the resources that will enable you to make the most of the learning opportunities.

c Log in to the course website and complete four introductory activities:

• Postyourintroduction.

• BookaplaceinanintroductoryteleconferenceinWeek1.

• Sendanintroductoryemailtoyourtutor.

• PostsomecontributionstotheIntroductoryDialogue.

These activities will help you to get to know other members of your class and your tutor, find your way around the website, and start familiarising yourself with the online dialogue process.

2 Managing Change (Online)

To log in to the course website:

• Go to https://moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au/

• Enter your zNumber and your zPass to access Moodle.

• Under ‘Course overview’, click over your Managing Change class and this will take you to the course Homepage.

c Familarise yourself with the 360 feedback process (see pp. 18–23 of the Overview)

This is the process that you will use to get feedback about your skills as a change agent.

c Look ahead at the tasks and activities over Weeks 1 to 13 and consider how you will program your study activities week-by-week

The following flow diagram gives an indication of the pattern of tasks and activities over the span of the course. Further details about these tasks and activities are given in later sections of this Course Overview.

Course overview 3

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Course outline

Welcome to Managing Change (Online), a course in the MBA (Executive) Program. This course looks at change on many levels, beginning with a micro focus on the individual and culminating with a more macro view of the whole organisational system. It balances practical skill building with a solid foundation of theoretical understanding.

The aims of this course are to:

• introduceyoutoselectedtheoriesandconceptswhichunderpinthepractice of change management

• exploretherolesthatyouandothersplayininitiatingandfacilitatingorganisations to change

• provideyouwithframeworksforanalysingandunderstandingyourownexperience of change in organisations

• identifytherangeofkeyskillsyouneedtoeffectivelyleadandimplement change

• assessyourownManaging Change (Online) and recognise the special abilities you have already developed

• showhowmanagingchangeshould producecompetitiveadvantage.

This course, Managing Change, consists of 12 units which are divided into three sections.

Section 1, ‘The Change Agent’, explores the roles that you and others play in facilitating organisations to change. It introduces the role and skills of the change agent and requires you to complete an assessment of your own Managing Change (Online). It also introduces you to the concept of building commitment to change and explores the vital role that this plays in managing change.

Section 2, ‘Change Theory and Method’, presents dominant theories and methods of achieving organisational change. You will use a contingency approach to analysing the effectiveness of different change leadership styles.

Section 3, ‘Change and Organisations’, introduces systems thinking and ways in which change can be sustained. You will also build on your understanding of how organisations develop capabilities which other organisations don’t have. Moreover, we come to understand that effective change provides competitive advantage only when we have the wisdom to understand the deeper issues associated with change.

Course overview 5

Workshop 2 – working with complex change: All units feed into this

Workshop 1: Developing your individual skills

Unit 1: Roles of change agent

Unit 11: Strategic change

Unit 10: Building organizational capabilities for change

Unit 9: Understanding the organization as system

Unit 2: Preparation and diagnosis

Unit 7: Research method

Unit 3: Finding solutions and

assessing readiness

Unit 6: Types of change theory and

effectiveness

Unit 4: Building commitment to

change

Unit 5: Leading change thru vision and management

Unit 8: Action research

Change agents at work

Change theory and methods

Change in organisations

Managing Change

Unit 12: Integration

Section 1 can be thought of as providing the tools and knowledge to make change happen, whereas Sections 2 and 3 provide the wisdom to make change happen successfully.

MBA Program Learning GoalsThe Course Learning Outcomes are what you should be able to DO by the end of this course if you participate fully in learning activities and successfully complete the assessment items.

The Learning Outcomes in this course also help you to achieve some of the overall Program Learning Goals and Outcomes for all postgraduate coursework students in the UNSW Business School. Program Learning Goals are what we want you to BE or HAVE by the time you successfully complete your degree (e.g. ‘be an effective team player’). You demonstrate


this by achieving specific Program Learning Outcomes – what you are able to DO by the end of your degree (e.g. ‘participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams’).

MBAProgramLearningGoalsandOutcomesLearningGoal1:BusinessManagementKnowledge

Students should be able to identify and apply current knowledge of disciplinary and interdisciplinary theory and professional practice to general management and busi-ness within diverse situations

Learning Goal 2: Critical Thinking

Students should understand and be able to identify, research and analyse complex issues and problems in business and develop appropriate solutions

Learning Goal 3: Communication

Students should be able to produce written documents and oral presentations that communicate effectively complex disciplinary ideas and information for the intended audience and purpose

Learning Goal 4: Teamwork

Students should be able to participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams and to reflect upon their own contribution to the team and on the necessary processes and knowledge within the team to achieve specified outcomes

LearningGoal5:ResponsibleBusiness

Students should be able to appraise ethical, environmental and sustainability consid-erations in decision making and in practice in business

Students should be able to consider the social and cultural implications of manage-ment practices and of business activities

Learning Goal 6: Leadership

Students should be able to reflect upon their own personal leadership style and the leadership needs of business and of teams

LearningGoal7:InternationalPerspective

Students should understand the needs of undertaking business within a global con-text

Students should be able to apply business management knowledge to business situ-ations within global markets with due recognition for differences in cultural, legal, commercial and other issues

Learning Goal 8: Risk Management

Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the limits in precision and the risks associated with business models

Students should be able to appraise risk and to develop risk mitigation strategies applicable to business undertaken within uncertain and volatile environments

Course overview 7

Learning resources

In Managing Change (Online), the primary resources to support your learning and development are:• availableonlineonthecourseMoodlewebsite• theunitandreadings• youronlineclassfacilitator• yourclassmates

Units and readingsThese provide the content and structure for your reading and reflection in the course.

The exercises in the units encourage you to continually apply the course ideas to yourself and to your work as a change agent, and to explore their practical implications for strengthening your approach, and your organisation’s approach, to managing change.

Please note that you will need to start reading each unit in advance of the online dialogue on that unit, so that you are in a position to contribute to the dialogue. This requires a reading rhythm that is different from the rhythm in a course with weekly face-to-face classes. An indication of the weeks in which you would be reading the various units in the course is given in the flow diagram on page 4 of this Overview.

You can find the units and readings in your Moodle online classroom. To log in to the course website:

• Go to https://moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au/.

• Enter your zNumber and your zPass to access Moodle.

• Under ‘Course overview’, click over your Managing Change class and this will take you to the course Homepage.

For details of assistance with login problems, see the sub-section on eLearning support at the end of this section.

Your tutor Your tutor is available online, in teleconferences and via email, to provide advice and information about course requirements and learning processes. He/she will provide feedback on your assessments, and facilitate the online dialogues

Your classmatesYour classmates will be an invaluable potential source of learning for you. Your learning in the course will be enriched by their experience in similar


https://moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au

and different jobs and industries, their willingness to explore and critique the ideas in the course materials, and the alternative perspectives and views that they present in the online dialogues and teleconferences.

We encourage you to form learning partnerships or study groups with other members of the class.

Other resources

eLearning supportFor enrolment and login issues contact:

UNSWITServiceCentre

Hours: Monday to Friday: 8.00am – 8.00pm Saturday and Sunday: 11.00am – 2.00pm

Email: [email protected]

Phone: Internal – x51333 External – +61 2 9385 1333

For assistance in using Moodle, including how to upload assessments:

TheAGSMeLearningCoordinator

Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.00am – 5.00pm



For help with technical issues and problems:

External TELT ServiceCentre




AGSM websiteThe MBA (Executive) current students’ website provides administrative information relating to classes, workshops, exams and venues. The website should be referred to for information on policies and relevant forms required.

Course overview 9

Administrative supportAdministrative queries should be addressed to Student Experience.StudentExperience AGSM MBA Programs UNSW Business School UNSW SYDNEY NSW 2052Tel: +61 2 9931 9400 Fax: +61 2 9931 9205 Email: [email protected]

Additional student resources and supportThe University and the UNSW Business School provide a wide range of support services for students, including:

• EducationDevelopmentUnit(EDU) (https://www.business.unsw.edu.au/students/resources/learning-support/consultations). Academic writing, study skills and maths support specifically for UNSW Business School, AGSM and MBT students. Services include workshops, online and printed resources, and individual consultations. EDU Office: Level 1, Quadrangle Building; Ph: +61 2 9385 5584; Email: [email protected]

• UNSWLearningCentre (www.lc.unsw.edu.au) Academic skills support services, including workshops and resources, for all UNSW students. See website for details.

• Librarytrainingandsearchsupportservices http://info.library.unsw.edu.au

• eLearning information [email protected]

• UNSWITServiceDesk Technical support for problems logging in to websites, downloading documents etc. Library, Level 2; Ph: +61 2 9385 1333; Website www.its.unsw.edu.au/support/support_home.html

• UNSWCounsellingService (www.counselling.unsw.edu.au) Free, confidential service for problems of a personal or academic nature; and workshops on study issues such as ‘Coping With Stress’ and ‘Procrastination’. Office: Level 2, Quadrangle East Wing; Ph: +61 2 9385 5418

• StudentEquity&DisabilitiesUnit (http://www.studentequity.unsw.edu.au) Advice regarding equity and diversity issues, and support for students who have a disability or disadvantage that interferes with their learning. Office: Ground Floor, John Goodsell Building; Ph: +61 2 9385 4734


Learning processes

The action learning cycleManaging Change has been designed using the action learning approach. The action learning approach is based on the assumption that to achieve change we need to practise new behaviours and skills, receive feedback, see the consequences of new ways of behaving and thereby integrate new skills into our way of thinking and behaving. Action learning is, therefore, highly appropriate in managing change, where the ability to change organisations and others begins with being able to change yourself.

The experiential approach to learning forms the starting point of the action learning cycle. The action learning cycle can be represented as follows:

Immersion and Concrete Experience

Reflect

Conceptualisation, formulate new understanding, principles and strategies for action

Implementation, Experiment and Practise

Source: Kolb 1984.

From our own experience, we observe and reflect so that we can formulate new concepts, principles and strategies for action. Finally, we experiment and practise them in new situations.

Learning partnerships or study groupsIt can greatly enhance your learning in an online course to form a learning partnership with a fellow-student or a study group with several fellow-students. If you can find people in your geographic area, you may be able to physically meet with your partner/study group during the course. Alternatively, you could use facilities such as Skype or WebEx to have face-to-face discussions online.

You can use the profiles that members of the class post in the online classroom to identify possible learning partners

Course overview 11

TeleconferencesThere will be three teleconferences with your tutor during the course, with about 6 participants in each teleconference. The first teleconference, in Week 1, will provide an opportunity to clarify course requirements, resources and learning processes.

You will be able to book a place in a teleconference in the online classroom.

The schedule below is provided as a guideline only and could change depending on the needs of your class. Your tutor will advise you of any changes.

Week no. Week beginning Teleconference topics

1 25 May • Your learning goals and expectations• Course requirements, including the requirements for the

assessments • Learning processes in the course, including the online dialogues• Your learning strategies• Assessment 1

7 6 July • Your learnings from the course so far• Assessment 2• The Diamond Bank case

12 10 August • Review and integration of Units 1 to 11• Assessment 3

Online dialogues There are six assessable online dialogues in Managing Change (Online), which comprise Assessment 4. These provide opportunities to explore course concepts, frameworks and theories and their application to your work as a change agent and to your organisation’s approach to change management.

Each online dialogue is an important forum for sharing your ideas, experiences and learnings with fellow-students and with your tutor.

It is expected that you will devote the same number of hours to contributing to the online dialogues as you would have spent attending the classes and workshops in the face-to-face version of Managing Change. That works out as approximately 4 hours for each of the six dialogues.

The introductory activities in the week before Week 1 will provide opportunities to explore the dialogue process before the first assessable dialogue, which starts in Week 2.


The six dialogues together count towards 15% of the grade, each dialogue counting equally.

Later in this Overview, we provide more advice about your contributions to the online dialogues.

Week no. Week beginning Online dialogues Units

0 & 1 18 & 25 May Non-assessable introductory dialogue Unit 1

2 & 3 1 & 8 June Dialogue 1 Units 2 & 3

4 & 5 15 & 22 June Dialogue 2 Units 4 & 5

6 29 June Dialogue 3 Unit 6

7 & 8 6 & 13 July Dialogue break

9 20 July Dialogue 4 Unit 9

10 27 July Dialogue 5 Unit 10

11 3 August Dialogue 6 Unit 11

Course overview 13

Online dialogue

Dialogue, discussion and debateIn the second reading in the Introductory Activities, Peter Senge (2006) makes an important distinction between two processes that a group can use to exchange and explore views, ideas and experiences – processes he labels ‘discussion’ and ‘dialogue’.

Senge defines ‘discussion’ as a process in which the purpose is to ‘win’, in the sense of ‘having one’s views accepted by the group’ (ibid. p. 240). The extreme version of this kind of process is a debate in which each side seeks to demolish the position of the other. In dialogue, on the other hand, individuals suspend their assumptions and their attachment to their opinions and focus on expanding and enriching a shared understanding of the topic or issue.

Note that Senge does not dismiss the value of discussion as a process. He writes that ‘both are important to a team capable of continual generative learning, but their power lies in their synergy, which is not likely to be present when the distinctions between them are not appreciated’ (ibid, p. 240).

However, we have labelled our online activities ‘dialogues’ because we wish to encourage a process of dialogue rather than discussion, believing dialogue to be more effective for the learning process in this course.

Table 1 further unpacks the distinction between dialogue on the one hand and discussion and debate on the other.

Table 1 Dialogue, discussion and debate

DIALOGUE DISCUSSION AND DEBATE

MINDSET

Assuming that many people have pieces of the answer or that there a number of ‘right’ answers

Assuming there is a right answer and you have it

Seeing all sides of an issue Seeing two sides of an issue

Willing to suspend and test your assumptions Invested in/committed to your assumptions

Openness to letting your assumptions go Determined to be right

Willing to play with and try out new ideas and possibilities

Resistant to entertaining alternative points of view

GOALS

Expanding options and appreciating complexity Seeking closure by deciding which view is to prevail

Finding common ground and working toward a common understanding: Win-Win

Attempting to show that the other side is wrong and that you are right: Win-Lose

Your view is enlarged and changed Your view is affirmed


DIALOGUE DISCUSSION AND DEBATE

A shared understanding to which all contribute and which is:• greater than the sum of its parts• richer than any single participant’s contribution

Aiming for one view to prevail over others Deciding what is rightor Seeking a compromise between alternative views

PROCESS

Inclusive, inquiring Exclusive, polarising

Shared collaborative and co-operative enquiry – exploring complexities and options

Competitive and oppositional

Focusing on commonalities and connections Focusing on differences

Building on others’ contributions Using counterarguments to demolish others’ contributions

Sharing your power and using the power of the group

Using your individual power and the power of your argument

Expanding and exploring new options and shared understandings. Keeping the discussion open to challenge and divergent views

Seeking a conclusion that ratifies your position. By creating a winner and a loser, discouraging further discussion

EXPRESSING YOUR VIEWS AND IDEAS

Presenting your assumptions for examination and testing

Defending your assumptions as the truth

LISTENING AND RESPONDING TO OTHERS

Listening to understand, find meaning and common ground

Listening to find flaws and construct counter-arguments

Searching for strengths and value in others’ positions

Searching for flaws and weaknesses in others’ positions

Acknowledging that others’ thinking can improve on your own

Defending yourself and your views against others

Source: Adapted from three sources:

(1) Gerzon, M. 2006, Leading Through Conflict: How successful leaders transform differences into opportunities, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass, p. 170.

(2) www.globallearningnj.org/global_ata/a_comparison_of_dialogue _and_debate.htm

The table on this website was adapted from a paper prepared by Shelley Berman, which was based on discussions of the Dialogue Group of the Boston Chapter of Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR).

(3) www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ELA/SocraticSeminars/ dialoguedebatediscussion.htm

Dialogue and discussion/debate are probably best regarded as poles of a continuum with a variety of possible processes between the two poles. For our online activities, we encourage you to reflect on the process you are using and to aim at a process as close as possible to the dialogue end of the continuum.

Course overview 15

http://www.globallearningnj.org/global_ata/a_comparison_of_dialogue

Guidelines for online participation

Getting startedIf you defer posting until late in the dialogue, you may find a daunting number of postings to read and that much of what you wanted to say has already been said. So the earlier you can start, the better,

If this is your first experience of online dialogue, you may feel some initial nervousness. Our advice is to take the plunge, begin posting early and then actively build your confidence as you become more familiar with the dialogue process.

Reader-friendly postingsFeedback from students indicates that they find that the following kinds of postings from fellow students are frustrating and time consuming, discouraging rather than encouraging dialogue:

• postingsthatmakemorethantwoorthreekeypoints.Theseareofteneither not read or not responded to. In fact, a reader friendly posting will often make just one point, with a brief supporting example or reason, ending with a question to stimulate further discussion

• postingsthatrepeatcoursematerialinthestudent’sownwords

• Postingsthatdonotlinkbacktopreviouspostings(unless,ofcourse,anew dialogue thread is being started). This kind of posting suggests that either the student has not read others’ contributions and/or that the student is not engaging in a dialogue

• postingsthatrepeatpointsalreadymadebyotherstudents.

The implications for you in crafting your contributions are to:

• keeppostingsshortandtothepoint

• readotherrelevantpostingsbeforecraftingyoursandbuildonthesepostings

• goforqualityofinsightratherthanquantityofmaterial.


The following is one simple template for an effective posting

Acknowledge and value previous contributions

Add value via clarification, providing an example, presenting a different view or perspective, asking a question to explore a previous posting, etc.

Invite further responses via a thought-provoking question.

Keeping trackAs a dialogue develops, you may find a number of on-going conversations on a variety of topics. Bear in mind that you don’t have to keep track of everything everyone is saying across all the topics in the dialogue. Select the conversations that you wish to join.

It will help everyone decide which conversations to join if the dialogues are clearly structured into threads, with the postings in each thread headlined to indicate the topic of the thread.

Your tutor will post some dialogue topics and questions at the beginning of each dialogue. However, feel free to post on any topics or issues relating to the relevant unit or units. One way of contributing to a lively dialogue is to post interesting questions or examples for discussion.

Other suggestionsThe following are some additional suggestions for building a fruitful dialogue:

• Respondquicklytoothers’postings.Itcanbeoff-puttingtobeoutthere alone!

• Bepoliteandlookforopportunitiestoexpressappreciationandgivepositive feedback.

• Useinclusivehumourandalighttouch.

• Acknowledgeotherparticipants’contributionsbeforeputtingforwardan alternative perspective.

• Activelyinviteandencouragecontributionsfromothers.

• Useothercontributors’firstnamesinrespondingtotheirpostings.

• Rememberthattherearenonon-verbalcuesinanonlinedialogue,only what’s on the screen. So you need to be particularly sensitive about the way in which you put your ideas across and respond to others.

• Havefunandenjoytheprocess.Enjoyandplayalittlewiththepossibilities.

Course overview 17

Moodle eLearning support

eLearning supportFor enrolment and login issues contact:

UNSWITServiceCentre




For assistance in using Moodle, including how to upload assessments:

TheAGSMeLearningCoordinator

Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.00am – 5.00pm



For help with technical issues and problems:

External TELT ServiceCentre





360 degree Managing Change feedback

Summary of key dates for 360 degree feedback

14 May Pre-course Initial information provided by Leaderskill Group

5 June Week 2All 360 degree feedback questionnaires to be completed and returned to Leaderskill Group by this date

12 June Week 3 Instructors access students’ 360 profiles

15 June Week 4 Students access their 360 profiles from the 360 Facilitated® website

A 360 degree feedback instrument is a tool commonly used in organisations for developmental purposes. It is a way of finding out how others perceive you at work and gives you high quality information that you can use to improve your change skills. It is often likened to ‘holding up a mirror’. 360 degree refers to the range of information sources used in this feedback process. You will get information from those above, below and beside you in the organisation, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 The 360 degree feedback process

How I see my skills

My boss

My peers

People who report to me

My peers

Course overview 19

Early Start

The survey begins on 14May2015to allow you extra time to contact respondents. We recommend you begin as soon as possible to ensure you are able to include questionnaires from all your chosen respondents.

The 360 degree Managing Change survey we will be using has been developed by a faculty at AGSM MBA Programs and by Leaderskill Group. It is designed specifically for change agents who are involved in development through learning, coaching and MBA programs. Feedback helps the manager to understand how he or she may be influencing others around them, and allows them to use this input to focus their learning and measure their improvement over time.

The 360 degree Managing Change survey is a unique instrument, utilising feedback as a suggestion for change, not an appraisal of the manager. This significantly reduces ‘appraisal defensiveness’ and instead provides usable information which the manager can readily act upon.

Process for collecting your 360 degree feedbackYour 360 degree Managing Change survey is accessed online via Leaderskill Group’s survey website (a delivery partner). We provide them with your name and email address for use only with this survey. There is a strict privacy policy regarding all information.

When you receive your login email from Leaderskill:

Step1:Read the online instructions and complete your self-questionnaire.

Step2: Identify colleagues who will provide you with feedback. Choose people who know you well enough to be able to respond. Invite both “fans” and “critics”!

Brief your respondents face-to-face, or by phone. Include:

• yourboss(and,ifappropriate,uptotwobosses)

• fourtosixstaff/directreportsifavailable(minimumthree).

• fourtosixofyourpeersifavailable(minimumthree).


Note:

• Ifyouhaveonlydirectreportsorpeers,youcanincludejustone of these categories in your survey.

• Ifyouhavefourormoredirectreportsorfourormorepeers,you will be able to see their individual scores. Otherwise, you will see only the average scores.

Step3:Enter your respondents into the survey. They will receive their own login emails with individual passwords to access the questionnaire.

Step4: Log in regularly to check the progress of your survey. The system sends automatic reminders, but you can send additional reminders if required.

Step5: Download your completed 360 degree profile directly from your Participant Control Centre (see below).

Survey Schedule & Completion Date1) Receiveloginemail:Thursday, 14 May 2015 (or next business day).

2) Requestfeedback: As soon as possible.

3) Surveycompletiondate (all questionnaires submitted): Friday, 5 June 2015.

4) Downloaddate: Monday, 15 June 2015.

5) Usefeedback:Have your 360 degree profile available for the relevant classes

Ethical considerationsIn this section we would like you to take note of the ethical considerations of 360 degree feedback.

In order for this process to be effective and for everybody involved to be treated fairly and with respect, we suggest the following principles of appropriate disclosure, avoiding conflicts of interest, informed consent and confidentiality are observed.

Disclosure: appropriate disclosure of information gathering and storage processes. The information you and your work colleagues give will not be disclosed to anybody except you and your Course Instructor. The database is kept by Leaderskill Group and will not be accessed by anybody other than you. However, an overall statistic of all students is maintained.

Conflicts of interest: the avoidance of conflicts of interest where sensitive personal information might be used for purposes other than the one intended. Your colleagues have invested time in you by giving their responses. They do this under an agreement of confidentiality,

Course overview 21

therefore, when you get your report it is important that you do not use this information for anything other than your leadership development. Complaining to others at work about the feedback from your boss, for example, is not appropriate. Your boss acted in your best interest, and you should respect that by not using it against him or her.

Informed consent: informed consent by all the parties involved. Everybody who responds to this survey must give their consent for the information to be used in the way it will be. Make sure they are aware of the format of the report that you will receive, and get their acceptance of this. This is particularly important for your boss/bosses whose responses will be individually identifiable.

Confidentiality: the practice of appropriate confidentiality, and assurances of this to all participants.

Preparing yourself for feedbackBefore you start this process we would like you to consider the way you might handle the information you receive. It is our reaction to information which precipitates behaviour change (Locke and Latham 1990) and there may be some information here which is challenging. If this is the case there is a danger that your reactions will become defensive and irrational, and that the associated behaviour change will be destructive rather than constructive. Ask yourself the question ‘How will I deal with feedback?’ Think carefully about the way you tend to respond to both negative and positive feedback.

Negative feedback: think about the way you might feel if your respondents suggest a lot of change. A request for change is not in itself negative (it can be a very good thing), but suppose this is in the area of communication, when you pride yourself on the fact that you are an excellent communicator, you might perceive this as negative. Rehearse the emotions you might feel. A common response to negative feedback is defensiveness. When we get negative feedback we might prefer, or find it easier, to blame somebody else rather than accept our own weaknesses. This may alleviate some of the stress we feel at first, but it does not resolve the issue that we have fundamentally different perceptions of our behaviour compared to others.

Positive feedback: When you receive positive feedback do you use it to the full? Do you really hear praise and accept the associated feelings? It is usually a wonderful feeling to be praised, but many of us either cannot really hear it or we bask in the glory without building on our strengths. Building on your strengths could mean making a clear note of what you do well so that you can try to behave like this more often and in more situations.


Exercise 1: Receiving feedback

1. Think of a time when you have received negative feedback. How did you respond? Is this typical of your response to negative feedback?

a. How might you have responded more constructively?

b. What strategies can you use to avoid being defensive?

Course overview 23

2. Think of a time when you have received positive feedback. How did you respond? Is this typical of your response to positive feedback?

a. How might you have responded more constructively?

b. What strategies can you use to build on your strengths?

SupportFor further assistance, please contact StudentExperience by phone on +61 2 9931 9400 or, for TechnicalSupport, contact Leaderskill on [email protected] or +61 2 9449 7737 (9am to 5pm Australian EST).


Assessment

The assessment process plays three roles: it enhances learning, it provides feedback to you on your progress, and is a means of testing and grading your performance. All information on assessment is provided in the Assessments &examinations section of the AGSM website.

https://www.business.unsw.edu.au/agsm/students/resources/assessments-and-examinations

Assignments 1, 2 and 3 must address non-overlapping issues. In other words, there should not be much overlap between these assignments.

Assessment submissionAll assignments are to be submitted via the Online Submission boxes in the Course Moodle site.

All assessment deadlines are set out in the course timetable and in the outline of assessment requirements that follows. Deadlines on assessments are final.

It is not an excuse if you failed to attend a class where instructions or work were given, or did not consult the relevant sections in course materials relating to assessment requirements.

All items of assessment, other than final exams, will be returned to students with a grade and feedback.

Course overview 25

Summary of requirementsIn order to pass this course, you must:

• Achieveanaggregate(overall)markofatleast50,and

• Achieveaminimumpassgradeinthefinalpieceofassessment.

Assessment 1 – Action learning reviewDue: Week 5, 9.30 a.m. AEST Tuesday, 23 June 2015Weight: 15%Maximum length: 4 pages

Assessment 2 – Interview with a change agentGroup ProjectDue: Week 8, 9.30 a.m. AEST Tuesday, 14 July 2015Weight: 25%Maximum length: 8 pages

Assessment 3 – Integrative Change project:Part 1 – ProposalDue: Week 3, 9.30 a.m. AEST Tuesday, 9 June 2015Weight: 5%Maximum length: 2 pages

Part 2 – Project Plan final reportDue: Week 13, 9.30 a.m. AEST Monday, 17 August 2015Weight: 40%Maximum length: 14 pages

Assessment 4 – Contributions to online dialogues Weight: 15%

Assessment 1 – Action learning reviewDue: Week 5, 9.30 a.m. AEST Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Weight: 15%

Maximum length: 4 pages

The purpose of the action learning review (ALR) is to record a recent event in which you, or others, were acting in a change agent role, reflect upon its significance in terms of the concepts you have covered so far in the course and consider ways of acting more effectively in the future. Choose an event from your own organisation which involves an attempt to change something, which can be analysed using relevant course concepts (i.e. not one which does not relate to the course material), and which can be analysed to assess the way you, or others, handled the situation. The event can be an example of either effective or ineffective change management, or both.


The review will provide you with the opportunity to consider and articulate ways of integrating new skills into your daily behaviour. It is a personal action learning review and, therefore, you should feel free to speak of personal experience, to admit weakness and vulnerability, and to discuss mistakes. However, it is not the place to explore your feelings about work.

Your entry must draw on concepts from Units 1, 2, 3 and 4.

You may wish to choose an event which illustrates something learnt in one particular unit, or something which is relevant to more than one unit. Try to choose events that have happened very recently, say in the past week. The more recent the events, the more detail you will remember and the more salient the analysis will be for you.

Your entry should be presented in essay style, that is, it should have a coherent argument or set of points that you develop through the essay. Avoid heavy descriptions of events that have no conceptual analysis or application of relevant concepts.

The action learning review is an aid to the learning process and follows a learning cycle. In this cycle there are four stages to learning: reflection, conceptualisation, implementation and immersion. Reflection involves pondering events to understand why they occurred and how we would like the future to unfold. Conceptualisation is about contemplating how we can apply our theoretical frameworks to achieve objectives that may only have become apparent while reflecting. Implementation entails acting to try to influence people and change situations. Immersion involves experiencing the outcomes of implementing our plans.

The requirements of this assessment are that you:

Observation: provide a description of a specific change event from your own organisation that you have experienced recently or which is vivid in your memory. Don’t get too lost in the detail of the event, and provide only as much detail as is necessary for the reader to understand what is important. Provide as much detail as is necessary to provide a platform for the analysis in the next section of the review. Your observation should include consideration of the consequence(s) or lack of consequence(s) of the event. We suggest that this section comprises roughly 10% of your page count.

Analysis: analyse the change event and its consequence(s) using concepts from the course material and/or assigned readings. Show that you have read and understood the relevant concepts. Discuss the insights you obtained from using the concepts to understand the event. Perhaps use several concepts, consider the extent to which they apply, outline any inadequacy of the concepts used for understanding the event that you analyse, and/or identify the links between the concepts. We suggest that this section comprises roughly 45% of your page count.

Course overview 27

Improvement planning: based on your analysis, outline an action plan that you could implement in your own work as a change agent, including:• Descriptionsofspecificactions,interventionsorapproachesthatwould

be more effective in similar situations in the future, and the improved outcomes you would expect. While observations and analysis can focus on other people, improvement planning should be about yourself. Frame your plan as one you would carry out if you were in a similar situation in the future.

• Thecriteriayouwouldusetoevaluatetheeffectivenessofapplyingthese actions and interventions and the evaluation processes that you would use. This step is important because it helps determine how your actions or approach can be refined.

• Likelyorpossibleobstaclestoimplementingthisplanofaction(e.g.lack of time, insufficient resources, unsupportive colleagues), and how they can be overcome.

The ‘Improvement Planning’ section should be as thorough as the ‘Analysis’ section and we suggest that the two sections are roughly equal in page count.

In short, the ALR provides you with an opportunity to consider an area in which you may become more effective, and uses the concepts in the course material to describe precisely how you will do so.

Note: You will need to write concisely in order to cover all the important aspects of your personal action learning review within the strict limit of 4 pages.

Your instructor will assess the learning review in order to determine your understanding of concepts and your ability to apply them to your working life. You will be evaluated on your conceptual analysis and application of course concepts, not on the nature of the events you choose to record.

You will also find a sample ALR with comments from an instructor in Appendix 3. The sample is for illustration purposes only. If your work too closely mirrors the sample, then your maximum mark will be a credit.


Assessment 2 – Interview with a change agentDue: Week 8, 9.30 a.m. AEST Tuesday, 14 July 2015Weight: 25%Maximum length: 8 pages

Interview an experienced change agent about a recent change project in which they have been involved. Find someone who you consider to be an experienced change agent. The change agent you select may be an internal or external consultant, a line manager or CEO.

Write a report which provides an analysis of the role of this change agent in the particular organisational change he or she has chosen to discuss. Your report should make explicit references to theoretical concepts covered in the course material and readings from Units 1 to 7. You should address the following:

• Describethechangeandanalysetherolesplayedbythechangeagent.We suggest that this section comprises 15% of the page count.

• Analyseandassessthechangeagent’seffectivenessinthechangeprocess. What competencies were demonstrated and how did they influence the success of the change? How effective was the change agent in influencing people and the organisation, and in helping the organisation to achieve the goals of the change program? We suggest that this section comprises 45% of the page count.

• Discussthetwomostimportantlessonsfromtheinterviewthatamember of your group could put into practice in his or her own work. State why these lessons are important and what is needed to implement them at work. We suggest that this section comprises 40% of the page count.

Your report must be no longer than 8 pages.

As interviewing is a critical diagnostic skill, we have four suggestions to make this exercise more valuable.

• Sendyourquestionstotheintervieweepriortotheinterview.

• Youmaywishtoconsidervoicerecordingtheinterview.Thiswillgiveyou some data to analyse your interviewing technique (remember to ask the interviewee for permission). Keep in mind, however, that taping may inhibit the interviewee.

• Asktheintervieweeforfeedbackonyourinterviewingskills.

An example of Assessment 2 is provided. If your work too closely mirrors this example then your maximum grade will be a credit.

Course overview 29

Assessment 3 – Integrative Change Project

Part 1 – Project proposalDue: Week 3, 9.30 a.m. AEST Tuesday, 9 June 2015Weight: 5%Maximum length: 2 pages

Part 2 – Project plan final reportDue: Week 13, 9.30 a.m. AEDT Monday, 17 August 2015Weight: 40%Maximum length: 14 pages

Aims• todevelopastrategyandafullimplementationplanforan

organisational change based on sound diagnosis

• tointegratecourseconceptsfromarangeofunitsinarticulatingandjustifying your strategy and implementation plan

• toaddressthechallengesandcomplexitiesofmanagingchange.

ProcessTo complete this piece of assessment you will submit a report of a plan for a change, and the analyses you have undertaken in order to develop your plan. You will not be required to implement the plan. We are looking for evidence of ability to apply course concepts to the analysis of a situation and to develop recommendations for improvement.

You might follow a change management process in constructing this assignment similar to one we will study in Unit 2 of the course – the change process framework (Figure 2.1). This process involves identifying and scoping an issue, that is, something that needs to be changed. Before any changes can be implemented a thorough diagnosis of the current state of the organisation, including identifying the root cause(s) of the issue, needs to be completed. Then a solution can be proposed and a means of implementing that solution can be developed. Finally, by way of ensuring the ongoing success of the implementation(s), some means of monitoring and evaluating changes need to be identified.

We do not ask that you complete the implementation of a project or solution, only that you recommend a solution and construct a plan for how to implement your solution. You will need to actively engage in the diagnosis stage, i.e. gather information and data that can help you


understand the current state of the organisation. This diagnosis of the current state of the organisation will help understand why the problem/issue is occurring. This will most likely involve scoping and diagnosis which is interactive, in which you will need to talk to people in the organisation and gather relevant data. At this point you will be analysing the organisation’s present and past. You are identifying what is currently an issue and what events, practices, processes, decisions in the past have led to the current organisational state. When it comes to implementation planning, in which you generate a plan for how to improve the situation, you may involve others to help you develop your implementation plan, but the final plan, and in particular application of the course concepts in the plan, must be your own work. This phase is future oriented in that you are developing a plan for a new and different way of doing things.

Selecting your project The key points in selecting your project are:

• Identifyanissuewhichtheorganisationwouldbenefitfromworkingon. Choose something which is not working well now, which is hindering performance, or which could cause a problem in the future. Alternatively, you could focus on a change which will lead you to creating or seizing an opportunity.

• Theissueshouldincludesomedegreeofchallenge–e.g.organisational,political, interpersonal, technological, implementation, but not one that is realistically impossible to implement.

• Ensurethatyouwillhaveadequateaccesstotheinformationyouwillneed in diagnosing the current situation and formulating a plan.

• Selectaprojectwhichhassufficientscopebutwhichisnottoobroad.

The following gives more guidance on project scope.

Project scope – your project should be one that is feasible to implement and in which you could play a significant role. It may be a project which requires the involvement of somebody else/other groups within the organisation. The project should be a short-to-medium term project (not one that would take years to implement), with well-defined boundaries, and one that can be reported within the page limit of 14 pages.

The project should contain some of the real challenges associated with change. These challenges may include lack of senior management commitment, resistance at the operational level, competing interests in the process or outcome, political influences, organisational culture and inertia, to name just a few.

Course overview 31

Choosing your organisation – if you choose a large organisation, you might tackle a change issue within your own area of that organisation, or a change issue at the organisational level. Be careful, if choosing a challenge at the organisational level, particularly if you work for a large organisation, that it is an issue that can be clearly defined. For example, scoping the assignment as ‘improving human resources management’ is going to be too broad and complex for our purposes here. However, you might scope the project as ‘improving the personal and professional development opportunities for Direct Reports’.

If you choose a small organisation, you have more leeway in dealing with broader issues. So in this case, obtaining information about, and developing a plan for dealing with, improvements to client service or Direct Reports morale will be more manageable if you are considering 15–20 people than if you are considering 100+. For those in large organisations, it is certainly possible to select a broader issue, but you will probably need to confine your action plan to your own area. You will also need to address the challenge the broader organisational context presents to your plan.

You may do the project within your own organisation, or another organisation of your choice. When choosing your organisation bear in mind that you should be able to play a significant role in the change. Examples of appropriate organisations, other than your current employer, are social clubs, community groups, or religious organisations of which you are an active member.

Project examples – Here are a few ideas of issues that might be suitable for this assessment. However, do not be restricted by this list. These are examples only, and your own ideas are preferred.

• poorinter-departmentalcommunicationand/orcollaboration

• highturnoverorlowmoralewithinagroupordepartment

• highcustomercomplaintsaboutcallcentrewaitingtimes

• declininggrowthinnewcustomeracquisitions

• inadequatestrategicplanningprocesses

• inappropriatebehaviours,normsorvalues

• respondingtoanewcompetitorornewtechnology.

Note that these examples are of issues rather than solutions. You need to start this assignment by identifying an issue that needs to be addressed. Your own diagnoses of the current state of the organisation will lead to a solution about how to address the issue. Therefore, solutions, like implementing a new IT system, or an organisational restructure, are not appropriate starting


points for this assignment. These may turn out to be appropriate solutions, but the issue that they address needs to be clearly articulated and analysed before these solutions can be generated.

Because we require you to complete your own solution generation and implementation planning you should not select a project which has been completed or which is in the later stages in your organisation. You may choose to pick an issue which the organisation has attempted to resolve through the implementation of a change, but you need to complete a diagnosis of this issue which might reach different conclusions or recommend different solutions to those made by the organisation. In this case your implementation plan will be different to the one followed by the organisation, and you should not review/assess the implementations actually made by the organisation.

Planning to get started• Generateanumberofideasforaproject(nottoowidearange

of alternatives), and discuss them – with co-workers, superiors, subordinates, classmates and your instructor.

• Selectthemostappropriateprojectgiventheguidelinesaboveandthereport outline below.

• Obtainpermissionfromtheappropriatepartieswithinyourorganisation to conduct your analyses. You will need to collect information to help in your diagnosis of the current state so permission or support from key people is advisable. You might wish to prepare a brief verbal or written proposal to them which could include:

– reference to the requirements of this assignment

– the intended outcomes of the project and benefit to the organisation

– methodology requirements such as access to records, individuals for interview

– time frame and resource commitments – the idea will be to minimise disruption to regular work activities.

• Youmayliketoidentifyamanagerwhowillactasasponsorfortheproject. This person can give you feedback on your ideas and analyses, and help you to identify key issues, sources of information, or obstacles to your plan.

Course overview 33

Writing your report

Part 1. Proposal

You are required to submit a short (two-page) account of your intended assignment. Include:• Theproposedscopeoftheproject.• Intendedoutcomesoftheproject.• Yourcurrentroleintheorganisationandyourroleinthischange

project.• Howyouwillcollectthenecessarydatatomakeyourdiagnosisofthe

current state of the organisation, your formulation of a strategy, and your framing a plan for implementing it.

• Possibleobstaclesyoumightfaceincollecting/analysingthedataanddeveloping your plan, and ways of overcoming them. This does not mean obstacles faced by the organisation in implementing a solution, rather obstacles you will face in completing your diagnosis and recommendation.

You will receive feedback from your instructor on the appropriateness of your project scope (e.g. whether it is too narrow or too broad).

Part 2. Final reportYour report needs to show evidence of understanding of concepts across the whole course, i.e. not just one or two units. You also need to show your ability to integrate concepts, i.e. use more than one concept to analyse an issue or develop a strategy, and consider the links between the concepts. Your report should cover the following:

The issue (we suggest this section contains 10% of the page count)• Thescopeofyourprojectandhowyoudecidedonit.• Justificationthattheissuechosenisimportantfortheorganisation.• Yourcurrentroleintheorganisationandyourroleinthischangeproject.Identifying change (we suggest this section contains 40% of the page count)

• Diagnosesofthecurrentstateoftheorganisation/departmentwhichidentify the root cause(s) of the issue.

• Aclearstatementoftheproblem.

• Aproposedsolutionwhichaddressestheissueandproblemstatement.

• Assessmentofreadinessforchange,andofthelevelofcommitmentnecessary for the change.


In this section you should provide a balance between reporting on both the outcomes of your diagnoses and solution generation (content) and the tools you used to arrive at these outcomes (process).

Your implementation plan (we suggest this section contains 30% of the page count)

• Clearactionstepsforimplementingthestrategy.

• Howyouwillensuretheactionstepsareimplemented,e.g.buildingreadiness for change, change leadership, engagement strategies.

• Identificationofobstaclestoyourimplementationplanandhowthesemight be overcome.

In this section you should also provide a balance between reporting on the practices/processes/structure, i.e. the content of the change(s), and the means of implementing them, i.e. the processes of achieving the change(s).

Change evaluation (we suggest this section contains 20% of the page count)

• Whatyouexpecttheprojecttoachieve,i.e.theintendedoutcomesofyour change intervention. (This should be clearly related to the issue and problem statement identified earlier.)

• Processesand/ormeasurestoevaluatethesuccessofyourproject.

• Processesforadjustingthestrategyandimplementationasthechangeinitiative develops.

Figure 2 represents the shape of the analysis we are looking for in this report. Note that we will deal with convergent and divergent thinking in more detail in Unit 3.

Figure 2 Integrative Change Project – The shape of the analytical journeyIntegrative Change Project – The shape of the analytical journey

Link

act

iviti

es to

orig

inal

issu

e

Change issue

Convergent thinking, to define and narrow issue down to specific problem

Divergent thinking to generate solutions to problem

Convergent thinking to narrow range of solutions down to manageable number

Divergent thinking to assess the impact of the change oon the organisationn, and how to embed the change in the organisatio

Problem statement

Multiple solutions

Single/few solutions

Implementation activities

Components of project Thinking style

A

B

C

D

E

Course overview 35

At the top of the figure (point A) the lines start far apart from each other to represent the breadth of scope of the change issue. The change issue should not be too broad so as to be unfeasible, but it should start broad enough to be of benefit to the organisation and through diagnostic processes of convergent thinking become narrower and more defined. You should arrive at a clearly defined and specific problem statement (point B). By generating a number of different solutions to that problem statement you will engage in divergent thinking (point C) and then narrow those solutions down to the most appropriate one(s) (point D). You will then generate ideas about how to achieve this/these solution(s) and you may propose multiple activities to implement (point E). The feedback loop on the left hand side of Figure 2 going from Point E back to Point A represents the fact that the activities you recommend implementing have to clearly address the original change issue.

This is a simplified illustration of the thinking processes you might go through in constructing and writing your project. Of course there may be more phases of divergent followed by convergent thinking, i.e. more kinks or ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ than we have here. The purpose of this diagram is to give you a starting point in understanding what is expected for the report. You may like to talk to your instructor about your project and how it fits with the processes illustrated in this diagram.

You should use concepts from across the course in making your diagnoses and developing your action steps, for example Theory E and Theory O (Beer and Nohria 2000), action research, systems thinking, organisational capabilities. You are not expected to use concepts from every unit. Only include them if they add value to your analyses and your project plan. However, using only the concepts, theories and frameworks from the early units of the course will limit your analysis.

Assessment criteria

Part 1. Project proposal

Project proposals will be graded according to the extent to which they meet the guidelines in ‘Writing your report’ above.

Part 2. Final report

This part of the assessment will be graded using the usual grade categories, i.e. High Distinction, Distinction, Credit, Pass and Fail. The criteria used to grade reports are:

• effectivenessofaddressingthepointsin‘Writingyourreport:Part2’above


• choiceofcourseconcepts–appropriatenessofconceptsforissuesandrange of concepts across the course

• applicationofcourseconcepts–generatinginsightwithconceptsratherthan simply describing actions with them

• synthesis/integrationofcourseconcepts–showinglinksbetweenconcepts and building ideas with multiple concepts

• internalflowofreport–consistencyandcontinuityofpointsmadeinone section with points made in other sections (for example, action steps address problems raised in the earlier diagnoses of the current situation)

• structureofreport–organisation,balance,coherenceofreport

• referencing–comprehensiveandaccuratereferencing.

Sample Integrative Change Final ProjectIn Appendix 5 you will find a sample Integrative Change Final Project with instructor’s comments at the end. This sample is not intended to show a ‘perfect’ project report since all projects are different; rather it gives you an idea of what a project report might look like. This project was not graded a High Distinction and as you will see from the instructor’s comments there are improvements that could be made. The sample report is for illustrative purposes only. If your assessment too closely mirrors this sample, then your maximum grade will be a credit.

Assessment 4 – Contributions to online dialogues

Weight: 15%

Your instructor will post some questions or topics for the dialogues. However, feel free to start discussions on other topics relevant to the unit(s) being discussed.

Course overview 37

Acknowledgements

Course Coordinator

Professor Chris Jackson BSc (UK), MPhil (UK), PhD (UK)

Professor of Business Psychology, the School of Management in the UNSW Business School

Chris Jackson is a Professor of Business Psychology in the School of Management in the UNSW Business School. He is a registered Organisational Psychologist in Australia.

Chris has substantial international business experience. He has worked as a Management Consultant in the UK specialising in selection and development of people and has developed electronic learning systems for large corporations. He has also designed personnel selection systems and advised on the management of change in Australia. He also has substantial interest in the programming of expert systems which help advise on these processes.

These interests have continued in his research. Now Chris is very involved in understanding the processes underlying learning and personality from biological and cognitive perspectives. His research at the moment is on developing a hybrid model of learning which represents a new and compelling way of understanding personality in the workplace. He is currently developing an on-line psychological research laboratory for understanding these processes and how they relate to work performance.

Course Facilitator

Geoff Mortimore MA (Oxford) , BPhil (Oxford), BSc (ANU)Geoff has taught for AGSM MBA Programs since 1993, and currently teaches three courses in the MBA (Executive) Program – Foundations of Managerial Skills, Managing People and Organisations and Managing Change, and Change Skills and Approaches to Change.

Thanks to previous contributors including:• Humphrey Armstrong• Ben Bryant• Marcus Cohen• Dexter Dunphy• Rose Trevelyan• Jo Wackrill• Ann Wilson


References

Beer, M. & Nohria, N. 2000, ‘Cracking the code of change’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 78, no. 3, pp. 133–141.

Kolb, D. A. 1984, Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

Locke, E. A. & Latham, G. P. 1990, A Theory of goal setting and task performance, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Moorhead, G. & Griffin, R. W. 1998, Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

Course overview 39

Appendices

Appendix 1 Adapted from Bloom, B. S. et al. 1956, Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain, Longman, New York.

Appendix 2 Self and peer evaluation form used in Assessment 2.

Appendix 3 Sample action learning review.

Appendix 4 Interview with a change agent.

Appendix 5 Sample Integrative Change Project Report.

Appendix 6 Assignment writing.

Appendix 7 Referencing in assignments.


Appendix 1

Adapted from Bloom, B. S., et al. 1956, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain,

Longman, New York.

© MBA (Executive) Program – unauthorised copying prohibited

Appendix 2

Self and peer evaluation form used in Assessment 2.


SELFANDPEEREVALUATIONFORM–TOBECOMPLETEDONOWNANDHANDEDINTOFACILITATOR

ASSESSMENT2–ALLTOCONTRIBUTE

Syndicate Team Number: _____________________________________________________

Name: _____________________________________________________________________

SyndicateTeamMembers(listbyname,includingyourself)

ACommitment and

Effort

BOriginalityand

Initiative

CQualityandReliability

INSTRUCTIONS:

Grade each group member (including yourself) on attributes A, B, and C using a 1 to 5 scale where:

1. = Did not meet my expectations of a team member. Contributions were well below that of other team members.

3. = Met most of my expectation of a team member. Made a fair contribution.

5. = Exceeded many of my expectations of a team member. Made outstanding contributions.

ATTRIBUTES

A. High commitment to team, cooperative, receptive to criticisms and suggestions, worked well with others, attended meetings and participated. Effort devoted to teamwork and to management of the team.

B. Displayed originality and initiative in contributions. Contributions frequently showed imagination. Contributions had high impact.

C. Reliable, high quality of work output, produced results, got work done on schedule.

Marks will be averaged across the group and students will receive the rounded % equivalent of the average rating provided. Thus a rating of 4 will provide 4% but a rating of 1 will provide 1%.

Appendix 3

Sample action learning review.


Sample Action Learning Review

Instructor’s commentsThe following comments identify some of the reasons why Louise’s ALR received a high mark, and some of the ways in which the ALR could be improved.

The comments also highlight some important issues in writing an effective ALR.

Choice of eventThe choice of event is appropriate in two ways:

• Louisehasfocusedonanepisodeinherownpractice.Whileitnotone in which she is in a managerial role, it is one in which she is doing something, i.e. giving feedback that is a central ingredient of a manager’s role.

• Theeventisofappropriatescopeforthisassignment.Itisbestnotto choose an event or episode where a great deal of contextual detail needs to be given, or where the issues are too complex to be dealt with adequately within the page limit.

Focus of the ALRLouise had focused on a clearly defined central issue about her effectiveness in giving feedback.

Description sectionLouise’s description of the event in question is concise and to the point. It does not provide any unnecessary detail, e.g. about the organisation’s background, size, turnover etc.

The first section should be just observation. No reflection is required here.

Analysis sectionThe analysis section demonstrates a clear understanding of emotional intelligence and self-regulation. Not only has Louise effectively drawn on these ideas and theories, she has continually linked her analytical points to the course concepts.

However, the opening paragraph of the ‘Analysis’ section is quite general and does not add much value to the analysis of this specific event. Long descriptions and definitions of concepts are not necessary. It would be

Appendix 3: Sample action learning review 1

better to use the scarce words to use course concepts in analysing the specific event.

Also, the range of ideas used in the ALR is relatively narrow. This is reflected in the rather short references list. By and large, it is good to use a wider range of relevant ideas from the course, ideally integrating the ideas. It is obviously not a competition to see how many references you can make! On the other hand, it is important to demonstrate that you have understood the relevant ideas and theories in the course, and can apply them to a real situation.

Also, Louise has made a remark or two about the limitations of the concepts being used in the analysis. This is a further strength of her Analysis section.

Balance between the sectionsThe recommendation in the assessment instructions is that the Analysis and the ‘Improvement planning’ sections are roughly equal in page count, i.e. each about 45% of the total page limit. Louise’s analysis is about 100 words longer than her Improvement planning section.

It is a common tendency for students to write an analysis that is too long and this can sometimes prevent them from giving adequate attention to all the prescribed topics for the improvement plan.

Improvement planLouise has drawn on the literature and used some suggestions from the readings in the development of her improvement plan.

Identifying particular improvement steps/actionsThe opening sentences of this section are again marginal in value and perhaps Louise could have got straight to the point of the improvement plan, which is to identify different actions that could be taken. When Louise does this, her improvement plan is specific and she has even noted some exact phrases that will be used in the future. This is not always necessary, but adds depth to her plan.

The improvement plan should be developed with the benefit of hindsight and should list the actions that could have been taken or will be undertaken in the future – so that you can continuously improve, and hence engage in lifelong learning!


Evaluating effectivenessAn important part of the ALR is stating precisely how you would evaluate the effectiveness of applying the steps or initiatives suggested in the improvement plan. This is one of the two most neglected components of ALR assignments. Louise has done this well, by suggesting a number of ways of measuring the effectiveness of the initiatives she has recommended.

Obstacles to implementing improvementsA significant omission from Louise’s Improvement planning section is the absence of any discussion of obstacles to implementing the steps in the plan. This is the other most frequently neglected component of an ALR. Louise looks at obstacles to measuring success, but not at obstacles to implementing the improved ways of giving feedback.

Focus of the improvement planLouise has not reflected on Jane’s deficiencies in receiving feedback, but has used the situation to reflect on herself.

It would have been quite easy to analyse this same event from an external perspective. Such a position allows one to be objective and develop a comprehensive improvement plan for another person (e.g. Jane). Some students even go so far as to suggest an improvement plan for an organisation or another manager that allows them to rectify a deficiency. What is more difficult and often differentiates between grades given is to use the ALR as an opportunity to reflect on yourself and your behaviour in the workplace.

Flow between sectionsA well-organised and integrated ALR flows well from section to section. That means the issues raised in the Analysis section are also dealt with in the Improvement plan.

In this example Louise has introduced some new ideas about giving feedback (constructive wording) in the Improvement plan that have not been referred to in the preceding analysis. The ALR would be more internally consistent if she had raised this issue about how the feedback was given in the Analysis section, and then described ways to use constructive wording more effectively in the Improvement plan.

Appendix 3: Sample action learning review 3

ReferencingAppropriate referencing is an essential ingredient in an ALR.

Louise refers to the unit when she should be referring to the publication that was the original source of the idea. She should then generate a list of these in the ‘References’ section at the end of the document. Only cite references you have read.

The References list does not follow the prescribed conventions for referencing the course. The instructions in MYL says: “Note that the item for the course in the Reference list does not mention a particular unit or units. The page numbers in the bracketed citations in the text of your assessment will indicate the units from which the ideas are drawn.”

Style

Some students need to carefully check their grammar before handing in an assignment. Perhaps asking a colleague or friend to proofread materials before submission will help. Alternatively, reading written work out loud can identify problems.

There are two ways in which the sample deviates from the prescribed format.

• Thereisnosingleindentatthebeginningofeachparagraph(thisisprescribed)

• Thereisalinebreakbetweeneachparagraph(thisnotprescribed).


Warning

Do not make your work similar to these examples. You will not achieve more than a credit if your work is similar.

“A change quote”Appendix 4

“A change quote”

i. The eventAn easy to navigate and manage Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that integrates customer information and stringent compliance frameworks are needed for an effective pharmaceutical organisation. Since 1992, the FLIM database system was ACME’s CRM. In July 2011, FLIM was replaced with a new CRM, VLOD, to ultimately improve efficiencies and sustain competitive advantage.

ii. Analysis of the VLOD changeAt a superficial glance, active management support for VLOD, participation by employees, some cultural communication and phenomenal resource support (Abraham, Crawford and Fisher, 1999 in MC 2011, pp. l–6) drove the relatively successful change.

I conducted interviews with Kanter, Stein and Jick’s (MC 2011, pp. l–13) various internal change agent roles – Jim, the change strategist (Director), Sam, a change implementer and the team leader of the VLOD implementation project team who needed to make this change happen and manage the day to day processes and Jemima, a change recipient (sales representative who needed to adapt to VLOD and was also a change generator1). I will also reflect on my own experiences as a change implementer. Figure 1 shows how these change agents positively influenced organisational change through their own actions and through influencing the actions of others by adopting different skills at different stage, also congruent with Kanter’s (2005) enduring skills for change masters1.

Kanter’s (MC 2011, pp. 1–24) Chagne agent

skills AND Balogun’s roles of change

interpreter (MC 2011, pp. 1–17)

1. Jim sensed the need for a new CRM because of a changing external

environment and enlisted Sam to find a solution

(Sensemaking)2. Sam gathered various employees

from across ACME to hear about CRMs from various vendors. A team approach selected the best fit CRM. Focus groups were held to further improve the chosen

CRM (Sensegiving)

3. Jim and I conveyed the vision to sales & supporting functional

groups of a new CRM and the opportunity to understand &

share customers on a different level (Sensegiving)

4. Sam formed a group of VLOD super sales users (individually highly regarded amongst colleagues). They were trained 3 months prior to VLOD deployment to

general field force (Sensegiving)

5. The VLOD super users had 3 months to play with the new CRM thereby enhancing

their support. They were backers of the CRM & their expertise was used during general training amongst their peers (Sensegiving)

6. Training to the general team occurred over 2.5 days. It was technical, hands on and

fun and strongly enlisted the support of the VLOD super users. Following training much persistence and perseverance occurred with

additional training and technical gliches

7. I try to support my team through coaching.

Celebrating accomplishments and making everyone a hero has not occurred and will be explored

in Improvement planning

Appendix 4: “A change quote” 1

Upon reflection, rigorous diagnosis of this problem was largely absent. A wide angle diagnostic view of the problem was that the previous CRM was inefficient and it would be expensive to integrate the mandated compliance requirements. Jim and Sam shared with me a senior management SWOT, Value Chain analysis and Why-Why diagram that superficially identified this problem but these were never communicated with the wider organisation nor did they involve the employees who ultimately this change would affect. According to Jim “...as is typical in ACME we see something, enough people complain about it and we spend a bucket load of money for a quick fix solution to appease sales”. This is reflective of the shadow side of ACME2. Bolman and Deal’s (MC 2011, pp. 2–15) political and structural frameworks were adopted, “we wanted to calm sales complaints down and integrate the functions and customer insights” Jim. The 5Ws weren’t used to generate a clear problem statement and a set of root causes through a fishbone diagram wasn’t utilised. Senior leaders’ intuition or gut instincts and superficial application of diagnostic tools drove the diagnosis. However, as Murningham and Mowen (2002) in MC 2011, pp. 3–37 suggest perhaps they are senior leaders because of their wisdom.

“We’re fantastic at going into solution mode, it’s what we do best”, Jim*. Sam mentioned that he conducted a three hour brainstorming session with a relatively homogenous internal team and an external facilitator. This facilitator was used to generate creativity and lateral thinking (MC 2011, pp. 3–12) and through divergent thinking (MC 2011, pp. 3–5), a How-How diagram was used to generate a solution. Sam, commented “if I had another shot at it, I would involve more sales colleagues as they ultimately use the end product” highlighting that greater group diversity was required in the solution generation phase (MC 2011, pp. 3–13). Sam said “after the three hours we had a laundry list of ideas and we ranked these by voting on them”. Convergent thinking (MC 2011, pp. 3–5), with focus groups containing a cross section of ACME employees and myself resulted in the top ranked solutions being evaluated through a decision matrix (MC 2011, pp. 3–19), in which various cultural fit questions and functionality items were accessed. A weighted decision matrix was not used (MC 2011, pp. 3–20).


All four change agents explored in this analysis could easily answer all of Rotem’s three key indicators for change readiness (1981) in MC 2011, pp. 3–25, indicating that this change could be initiated with a high probability of success (MC 2011, pp. 3–26). Further to this, Sam mentioned that he tried to avoid resistance to change by actively attempting to enrol the organisation using Walton’s model (1995) in MC 2011, p. 3–27 and gaining commitment from certain managers who would generate a critical mass (MC 2011, pp. 4–3). Sam also asked managers to purposefully enrol innovators, early adopters and importantly laggards to act as change champions, the Super VLOD users. As Sam said to me “I knew that if I got them on board then the change was more likely to succeed”.

What hasn’t occurred with this change is the assessment of group commitment, review and analysis of the change especially people’s emotional reaction to change and celebrating success. So much so, that some of the change recipients are wanting the FLIM back!

iii. Improvement Planning – A more considered approachThe macro factors of customer orientation, regulatory compliance standardisation and competitiveness (Mintzberg 1979 & Dunphy and Stace 1990 in MC 2011, pp. 2–22) warrant the conceptualisation of the diagnostic tools, application of problem solving tools and assessing readiness of change from various perspectives to initiate and manage any change that is truly needed. Table 1 explores how I would improve the change.

Approach Specific Action

STEP 1 • Observe and catch up with people for a coffee asking open ended questions about the usability of FLIM

• Conduct interviews with Business Unit Managers, functional groups such as compliance and external customers to see if there is an issue

• Conduct an online survey asking people to be candid about FLIM and opportunities for improvement

• Look and use FLIM myself to determine its competitive advantage or not and whether it could be improved.

Diagnose if there is a problem through data collection

STEP 2 • With a cross functional team undertake a SWOT analysis and a value chain analysis. The value chain analysis is important in this particular instance because many functional departments interact with external customers without sharing customer information. To provide detail to the WhyWhy carry out a fishbone analysis and this diagram will then provide a communication tool that is readily understood and compact allowing all issues of a topic to be seen and the vision be realised.

Understand the issue more fully to clearly identify and define the problem


Approach Specific Action

STEP 3 • Conduct a series of workshops with various functional colleagues to brainstorm blue sky ideas allowing thinking time and trying to generate Cognitive type conflict. Look at other industries for more divergent thinking.

Solution generation with a diverse group

STEP 4 • Use Cohen’s (2005) in MC 2011, pp. 3–29 model level of enrolment because it’s specific and you can easily determine who you need to focus on and what level of commitment is needed

Assess readiness for change

STEP 5 • Use Nadler and Nadler’s (MC 2011, pp. 4–11) 12 winning hearts and minds strategies to build commitment

• Use persuasive language with champions so that the critical mass effect starts and convey a compelling vision of the future state that there is so much better than the current state. Don’t let people forget Rotem’s 3 key indicators of change readiness.

Build commitment to the change

STEP 6 • Use behavioural coping strategies as a change implementer in MC 2011, pp. 4–19 & 4–22.Emotionally help people

through the change


References

Kanter, R. M. 2005, Leadership for change: Enduring skills for change masters, Harvard Business School, Nov 2005

Tate, W. 2005, Working with the shadow side of the organisations, Developing HR Strategy, May 2005, pp. 22–25


Dear

Here are my comments on your first assignment, the Action Learning Review, together with the grade.

FORMATTING

Needs to be improved. Diagrams and tables occupy more than the permitted 20% and there is not prescribed indent. Also not that you do not have to leave extra spaces between paragraphs. Your referencing technique is generally good but the referencing still needs deeper details for it to properly demonstrate your good understanding of how the course applies to the material. The course and the Nadler and Nadler reading are not included in the references and there is no citation of the Amason reading when I think it should have been.

OBSERVATION

Elegantly written making good use of the space available and sticking to the key points. I might have been a little clearer as to the problem by the end of the “event” and I was not too sure what you mean by the macro factors on p3.

ANALYSIS

This works well but be careful to interpret your diagrams – this should not be left to the reader.

Nice introduction and use of the process reference to support your work approach. Moreover you drill down well to talk about the tools used and how they were partially misused. Also bringing in the Kanter reference sets the scene well but you might also show greater acknowledgement of biases and framing of issues.

In some ways the analysis does suffer from a lack of focus – this is consistent with my comment at the end of the “event” section.

IMPROVEMENT PLANNING

The improvement plan does well to firmly link the course material to the problem but you could do better to have specific actions that should lead to success. I like how you have provided concrete examples in your table of what actions should be undertaken. Should you have flexibility?

Why do you change style of reference for Heifetz and Linsky?

Nice use of a table to present solutions but more on obstacles and measurement of success is needed.


OVERALL

A good piece of work resulting in a credit. Very strong in parts with great style in presentation but lacks focus through the sections such that it was not immediately clear why there was a problem and therefore how it could be addressed. I hope all this is useful to you.

And whilst Tables are effective in summarizing information, remember that there is a need to interpret it within the text. Do not leave this job to the reader!

Let me know if you would like to discuss my comments or the grade.

Regards,


Appendix 4

Interview with a change agent.


Interview with a change agent

Change RoleXYZ, the World’s most multicultural and multilingual television broadcaster began in the 1970’s. Its most recent ‘brand identity’ was shaped in 1991. Seventeen years later, not only had the media landscape changed dramatically but the Australian .public’s understanding of multiculturalism evolved.

Jemima Smithson commenced as the newly appointed Director of Marketing in 2006__ and was surprised to learn that many staff could not explain the ‘purpose’ nor the ‘identity’ for XYZ. The identity had organically manifested throughout the years but now there was a need to create a more ‘contemporary brand expression’ — one that better aligned with how audiences related to their world. This was not just Jemima’s personal view but one which was generally shared by the executive team, staff as well as viewers identified in many research programs. Jemima initially acted in a Change Strategist (Kanter, Stein and Jick 1995) and/or Change Generator role (Ottaway 1983)and later as Implementor as she set about devising a plan to orchestrate the change to define and articulate XYZ ’s brand position. This was articulated in XYZ’s Corporate Plan 2007 as two brand-related goals:

1. StimulateaudienceinterestinXYZservices—“Express a powerful, clear, dynamic brand position for XYZ” and

2. Fosterapositiveculture–“Instil X YZ ’s purpose, values and brand engagement throughout the organisation”

Jemima was aware of the complexities with implementing change programs as per findings by Porras and Robertson (1992), Carr (1996) and Nohria and Beer (2000)however she felt she was ready to take on the challenge for these reasons: 1. Her extensive experience in leading branding change initiatives throughout her career at 3Foxtel and Triple J; 2. Previous change programs allowed her to build competencies in content, control and process agendas as per Buchanan and Boddy findings (1992),3. She is an advocate for Kotter’s ‘Leading Change’(1996) book which she reads’ annually.

Appendix 4: Interview with a change agent 1

Change agent’s effectivenessJemima’s first task was to garner support from the CEO who “was totally into the idea” as there was already a change momentum at XYZ with the injection of new staff who made up 50% of the 800 strong workforce. Similarly, the executive team C)consisted of managers who reflected the face of the modern XYZ ~ ie. half had been U}there for years and the remainder were new recruits eager to ‘make things happen’. At this stage, our change agent used subversion by networking to achieve her goal while presenting a change that was based on recognized issues (Martin Clarke &Mike Meldrum 1999). Another interpretation is Frohrnan’s study (1997) where ambitions incorporated a desire to be ‘someone who made a difference’.

Consequently, the scoping process was shared by the leadership team (who acted as the change demonstrators and patrons) lead by the CEO but orchestrated by Jemima. cox)“It was important to have his public seal of approval as it made all the difference to the successful outcome”, she commented. Unbeknownst to Jemima, one long-term C executive who felt that she was the ‘only real ethnic with strong multicultural ties’ set out to discredit the project to anyone who would listen. While Jemima’s frame of reference (Bolman and Deal 1997) was coming from a place of energized-marketing-person-determined-to-make-a-difference, the long term executive was resisting change potentially feeling a ‘loss of face’ as she had been there for years. Jemima chose to take the matter to the CEO who took action by pulling the renegade exec into line. hindsight, Jemima could have assessed the shadow side of XYZ (Egan 1994) from the outset and planned for the resistance. Furthermore, the use of frameworks such as Walton’s (1995) encourages a practitioner to identify innovators on one end through to laggards at the other. A Force-field analysis (Lewin 1951) could also be utilized as it analyses differences across the organisation but includes a wider range of factors such as attitude which is appropriate in this case.

Moving through to the Diagnosis stage, the leadership team recognised it was time to modernize XYZ but they needed a compass to guide them as to how. Even though they were confident that they had a solid understanding of the issue, Jemima cast the net wider by commissioning extensive research to find out about multiculturalism, media behaviour, and what people thought of XYZ. The result was great news — what the staff and management of XYZ aspire for the organization aligned with audience expectation. From the findings, the issue was clarified: We need to person?), a more exciting and contemporary version of multiculturalism to grow both as a medium and in influence Jar the good in Australia’. The research revealed observations from audiences which was circulated across marketing and ad agency teams in order to come up with a creative


solution. At this time, Jemima extended the team by recruiting a Brand Manager to assist in the implementation. Months of brainstorming followed using divergent and convergent thinking (Guildford 1950) until the ideas were filtered down to the one: <>... Diversity, global, inclusive, stories are the heart of entertainment and education, forward moving, always searching for more stories. Simultaneously, the executive team splintered off and conducted sessions with staff about what the XYZ brand meant to them. A consultative participation approach (Dunphy and Stace 1990) was adopted to assess and build readiness for change. With the creative completed, it was time to up the ante on building readiness as this was a rare and precious opportunity to reenergize the whole organization through a new rallying cry. XYZ had to incorporate the new expression across the television network, radio, website, corporate stationery, signage as well as get various stakeholders excited. Throughout the process, Jemima held regular informal meetings over coffee with the CEO to provide updates. As Mintzberg (1979) and Dunphy and Stace (1990) identify “there are many macro factors that may influence organizational effectiveness...”. As XYZ is a public owned entity, Jemima made sure that the CEO ‘prepared’ ethnic groups and the Minister of Broadcasting so there would be no surprises. It was now time to present the modernization of the brand to staff and this is the area where Jemima excelled as change agent and implementor. Firstly, she created a “Strategy for Building internal engagement with the XYZ brand” – a 9 page report which explained the how, what, where and why relating to Understanding the Brand idea. The document was initially used by the leadership team who were encouraged to “be positive advocates”. Jemima engaged in sense making and sense giving activities throughout the process (Balogun 2003). One example of the latter: A series of pre-launch emails were circulated for staff to join forums to discuss ideas as to how the new brand could be integrated into their work. Jemima’s efforts in building readiness was meticulous and used elements from frameworks by Armenakis et at (1993), and Nadler and Nadler (1998). The launch included a week long extravaganza of events preceded by a visual presentation titled ‘XYZ Brand Project’ which explained the Purpose, Objectives, Industry pressure, Trends, Issues facing XYZ in 5 years if there is no change, Why brand is important, Research findings, examples of what Audiences Think about XYZ, What we want to keep about XYZ, What we need to leave behind, the ‘refreshed’ logo, Brand Communication action plan. The points listed above were used by the CEO and Jemima to create readiness—an effective example of using proactive attempts to influence the beliefs, attitudes, and ultimately behaviour (Coch & French 1948). Data from the research was fed back to staff so they would have an easier time accepting and understanding the reasons for change (Cummings & Worley 2005). In addition, the presentations were held in the atrium casual area of XYZ 30 times in Sydney and 6 in Melbourne – forums were conducted on relevant


issues such as Multiculturalism, Brands etc. Another example revolves around a pre-launch concept whereby a biographer documented staff is personal stories which was collated as part of an internal ‘big beautiful book’. The concept ties in to the new brand expression <> where the stories were reduced to a few words and appeared on each staff’s modernized business card. This simple exercise engaged 300 out of 800 staff who use business cards however all had the chance to record their stories for inclusion in the launch presentation. Jemima believes that this resulted in high morale and an incredible buzz which is a good indicator of evaluating the success of the change. Measuring performance will ultimately be assessed in terms of profits in years to come however initial target was to instil awareness in the new brand. Research was conducted pre and post the new brand to fantastic results. It will be followed up with the annual brand benchmark program which measures awareness as well as a formal employee opinion survey in January 2009 to substantiate the opinion that the brand change has been a success. In Summary, Jemima spent a lot of time managing the organizational environment. Her individual ambition played a role in her motivation, however, it appears that the credibility gained through the implementation of the change and the subversion tactics adopted assisted in a successful outcome. Due to the low level of resistance for this change, the Dunphy and Stace (1990) strategy Type 1 participative evolution was utilized by Jemima as systemic adjustment was achieved by collaborating with staff.

Lessons / Action planThe two most important lessons from the interview that I could put into practice in my own work centres around the Building Readiness for Change area. Referring back to the 360 degree Managing Change profile, my direct staff highlighted improvement is required in two related areas: I. ‘Provide ac/ear vision of the change’ and 2. ‘Engage others with the need for change.

These lessons are important for me as they provide ideas as to how 1 can broaden my skills in this critical area of driving and managing change. I am in awe of Jemima’s ability to switch between the strategist and implementor roles while adopting both management and leadership styles to ensure success (Nadler & Tushman 1990). The most impressive aspect of this project from my perspective was the level of substance contained in the two reports and presentations “Strategy for Building internal engagement with the XYZ brand” and “XYZ Brand Project” as they allowed Jemima to communicate not only the vision but all the reasons why the change was needed and how it was going to be achieved. It’s a very powerful strategy in influencing people and reinforces my interpretation of Schein’s theory


(1987), “the process of research and diagnosis can be used as a powerful ‘unfreezing’ intervention tool in its own right”.

To implement these lessons at work, I would expand on the learnings made in my Action Learning Review by focusing on thorough Diagnosis to ensure adequate execution of Building Readiness for Change. twill start with a wide angle view in order to resist quick fixes and take into account my biases and perceptual filters which have affected events in the past. I can appreciate the benefits of adopting Theory E and the ‘softer’ Theory 0 simultaneously to bring about change as I recognize that you need a balance of the two methods.

Once again, I need to consider my intuitive approach with rational analysis and I am in favour of the Nadler and Nadler (“the hearts and minds”) framework for building readiness and commitment to change. Firstly I would utilise Pfeffer’s (1992) seven point plan as a thorough method of determining appropriate course of action when trying to understand the political landscape. Depending on the scale and breadth of the change required, I would finetune the 12 stops of the Nadler and Nadler (1998) process and start by building the support of key power groups in an informal way targeting essential people at the outset to participate. There are always staff who gain in times of change so I would offer incentives in the form of promotions and/or extra responsibilities early in the process to win support from a small core group.

Although I habitually use role models to encourage innovation or success, I need to expand my practise by using ‘fair process’ as a method of identifying staff whom I may have not considered in the past. For example: staff different to my personality style (Crom & Bends 1999). It’s also imperative for me to improve my understanding of people’s reaction to change as sometimes resistance is a benefit (ie. they may have a useful argument in why change is inappropriate).

At the same time, I would ensure that the leadership team as well as myself model appropriate behaviour to promote widespread support. At this stage, I would develop a report with my collaborators similar to the one that Jemima created for XYZ which would outline in detail the objectives, vision and implementation plan for the change. This report would be improved along the way and adapted for different stakeholders. I can appreciate the benefits of using symbols and language to identify a specific change as I can see that it’s an influential strategy. For example: Creativity can be used here for effect by using specific styles of music, visual image or logo. Defining points of stability and creating dissatisfaction with the current state would be reinforced by the report which would eventually be presented to stakeholders. As per the XYZ example, I would work with my core team in order to build participation as well as encourage fresh


thinking. Moving through the steps, I would personally be hesitant with offering straight out incentives as they rarely work (in my experience) bull wholeheartedly agree with Step 8 of providing people time and opportunity to disengage from the old. Pizzas and beer around the games area could be one idea. Step 9 of developing and communicating a clear image of the future state is an important touchstone and 1 would create a presentation clearly articulating the vision. I would utilise a variety of forums — one on ones, small meetings, company-wide presentations and initiatives to engage staff pre, during and post change. Meetings would be reinforced by the use of internal marketing practises such as well crafted emails, progress updates via intranet. Depending on the scale of the change, I would make certain transition plans are prepared in advance and that the information is accessible to all involved. The final step of collecting and analysing feedback is an important one which would provide a blueprint for ongoing issues to be ironed out. Moreover, as my position is on par with others in the executive team, I will focus on Expertise and Task allocation as my source of power and adopt Rationality and Consultation as my influence strategies to ensure a successful outcome Yukl (1998) and Schein (1985).

In conclusion, the abovementioned frameworks complemented by my practical experience will assist in addressing my need to improve in ‘Providing a clearer vision’ and ‘Engaging others’ with respect to change. Finally, 1 concur with the observation made by Abraham, Crawford and Fisher 1999: “active management support for change was critical, while clarity of vision, participation by employees, cultural communication and resource support were all important.”


References

XYZ Branding Update research, July 2008.

XYZ Media Release July 2008, XYZ Brand Resonates with audiences ‘Most liked television logo’

Managing Change 2008, Units 1–7, AGSM MBA Programs Graduate Certificate in Management.

Armenakis. A. A., Harris, S. G. & Mossholder, K. W. 1993, ‘Creating readiness for organisational change’, Human Relations, Vol. 46, No. 6, pp. 681–703.

Clarke, M. & Meldrum, M. 1999, ‘Creating Change from below: early lessons of agents of change’, The Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 70–80.

Nadler, D. & Tushman, M. L. 1990, ‘Beyond the charismatic leader: leadership and organizational change’, California Management Review, Winter, pp. 77–97.

Nadler, D. A. & Nadler, M. B. 1998, ‘Winning hearts and minds: overcoming the obstacles to change’, Champions of change: how CEOs and their companies are mastering the skills of radical change, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, pp. 83–108.

Chan Kim, W. & Mauborgne, R. 1997, Fair Process... Managing in the Knowledge.


Many thanks for submitting your second assignment and for giving me the opportunity of reviewing it. My comments are meant for self-development so please do take the opportunity to reflect on them.

The change and the roles of the Change Agent Great choice of change as it is more of an abstract kind of change than a structural or crisis change which many of the other reports cover. I wonder though if you should not have drilled Jemima’s evidence for change being needed as what is commonly known may not in fact be the case. I think you gloss over this in your assignment.

Although I think you are clear in your writing style, I was left unclear about what you mean by “subversion by networking”. What do you specifically mean by this? Despite reading a few times, I remain a bit puzzled by this.

I was pleased that Jemima then went on to conduct extensive research to come up with a modernization plan. And of course it is one that most of us are familiar with.

It seems that this is very much an on-going change in which all major stakeholders had to be consulted. I wonder how much the change program had to be adjusted to meet all these differing perspectives.

Finally, I was pleased to see that you report on the ways in which change can be measured and the importance attached to such measurement.

Lessons learnt Both the lessons you learn are quite generic, yet you manage to generate specific action plans resulting from them. The grade for the Assessment is a Distinction.

You write clearly and present a detailed argument whilst interweaving the literature in your work in a wise way. Good work! I would in some ways have liked to see you more critical and less accepting of Jemima’s change program.

Your referencing needs further attention. Remember to reference ac-cording to the rules and only include material in your reference list that you have read.

Let me know if you want to discuss any of my comments or the grade.

Regards,


Appendix 5

Sample Integrative Change Project Report.


Sample Integrative Change Project – An Information Management Change

Scope

Background

All organisations manage valuable assets, e.g. employees, property, etc. but often fail

to manage information. Even so, the accurate and rapid delivery of information can

lead to fast, accurate decision-making giving an organisation an advantage in the

modern environment. Like others, BGI has systems and processes in place for storing

information; however these have been implemented “piece meal” with little

consideration of information duplication, resulting in managers being overwhelmed

with (often contradictory) data on which decisions are made.

This piece meal implementation has caused a number of issues where incorrect

document versions have been sent to clients, development teams have used the

incorrect versions of design documents, etc.

The information management programme is intended to benefit all employees in BGI

by introducing a refined document management system and set of processes. As

such, the scope of this change project is all business units of the organisation.

Vision

The vision of the change project is:

BGI will provide an easy to use system for the accurate storage and retrieval

of company documents to all levels of the organisation.

1Appendix 5: Sample Integrative Change Project Report 1

This vision has been agreed by the project sponsor, project manager and Chief

Executive Officer.

Objectives

The key objectives of the change project as defined by the project sponsor are

described below.

1. Identify issues with the current management of documents.

2. Define a solution that improves document management across the

organisation.

3. Undertake the implementation of the technology solution, if relevant.

4. Identify organisational skills gap, and an action plan to address.

In addition the implemented document management system will have the following

characteristics:

• Retained information supports business objectives.

• Staff and stakeholders can access information they require, subject to security

and utilisation policies.

• Ease of use

• Industry standards guide implemented decisions.

• Data is an asset that has value and is managed accordingly.

• The quality, integrity, and sharing of data is managed.

• Project team defines the reporting structure and accountabilities of the project

team, including sponsor and project manager.


Diagnosis

Methodology

The following sections describe the methodology that has been used to diagnose the

issues with document management in BGI.

Interviews

Individual interviews were held with the following key stakeholders to determine

their issues:

• Chief Executive Officer

• Programme Director

• Business Development Director

• Development Director

• Tax Business Centre Director

From the interviews, it was determined that:

• All supported the change

• Most had trouble finding the information they wanted and kept “personal

stores” on their hard disks

• Security of information stored is critical

• The adopted solution must be easy to use and reliable

All staff survey

As BGI is of relatively small size, a survey was sent to all employees to ascertain their

perceptions of document management. The questionnaire for this survey has been

reproduced at X0X. From this survey, the following was ascertained:


• Employees cannot easily find the right version of a document to use;

• Employees do not generally know how to correctly name a document;

• Respondents were unsure the right location to store documents;

• The executive team’s preferred document storage system (DocStore) is not

used widely by others as it is considered difficult to use.

Overall, there was a high level of dissatisfaction with how documents are looked after

in BGI. More detailed results for this survey are contained in X0X.

SWOT

Using the information from interviews and surveys, a SWOT analysis for the current

information management systems that are used in BGI was conducted.

Strengths WeaknessesBeen with the organisation since its inception.

No naming style for documents No consistent storage location Preferred system difficult to use and hardly used No formal processes defined

Opportunities ThreatsOrganisation accepts the need to change the status quo

Incorrect information used for decisions Outdated information sent to clients

It can be seen that there are no real strengths to the organisation with the current

document management tool and processes; in contrast there are multiple weakness

and very serious threats to the organisation with it. The major opportunity is that the

organisation is keen to replace the current system!


Fishbone diagram

A fishbone analysis was also undertaken to help diagnose all possible issues that

could affect why document management is an issue, based on the interpretation of

survey results. The diagram below shows this, using Ishikawa’s (1969) 4Ms for

defining the categories.

Methods Materials

No way of assuring correct documents

used

Manpower Machines

Not all skilled in tools

Wrong tools used

No processes defined

No naming standards

No search tool

Inconsistency

Impossible to track different versions of the same document

It can bee seen that there are weaknesses in all aspects of the document management

system. The problem solving stage will aim to address these identified issues.

Use case modelling

The final tool used during the diagnosis phase was the use of “use case” diagrams to

document the current steps used for the following activities:

• Creating a new document;

• Creating a new version of an existing document;

• Finding an existing document.


These models are reproduced at X0X. It was found that the processes for creating

documents and new versions are fundamentally sound, but there needed to be some

education on issues identified by the survey. The process for finding a document will

change with the new system implemented.

Problem definition

Using the diagnosis methodology above, the following problem statements have been

defined:

Issue ImpactThere is no naming convention for documents

Inconsistent naming increases the chance that multiple documents on the same issue are created.

Confusion exists over where to store a document

Employees store documents in manner locations, picking a favourite location which makes it hard for someone else to find the same information.

Mandated tool is difficult to use and unpopular

People use alternatives that do not offer version tracking, meaning that there is no record of document history.

Tracking document versions is inconsistent and difficult

Lack of traceability of document versions. Potential loss of historical corporate information that is critical.

Searching for a document is difficult

Employees waste time trying to find the right document or give and “make do” with a close alternative, potentially making incorrect decisions.

Local hard disk (C:) is sometimes used for storage

Failure of an employee’s hard disk will lose valuable corporate information, which could be catastrophic for the organisation.

People not skilled to use appropriate tools

Employees either “fudge the process” to get the tool to work they want, or avoid using it altogether.

Assumptions

As configuration manager, my frame of reference (Bolman and Deal 1997) is

influenced towards the issues around the tracking of version history against artefacts

stored. Such a bias may lead to a diagnosis where not all aspects have been


considered (usability, skill levels, etc). By using a variety of diagnosis tools, plus the

involvement of team members from other parts of the business, the chances of this

occurring should be reduced. Nevertheless, the following assumptions were made:

• All staff answered honestly in the survey;

• No shadow side (Egan 1994) pertaining to document management exists in

BGI following surveys and interviews;

• Project team perceptual biases are minimised by diversity;

Common mistakes made when diagnosing a problem are reproduced below, along

with the mitigating action taken.

Mistake MitigationMistake symptoms for problems The use of a variety of diagnosis tools

mitigated the risk of this occurring. Ignoring the problem in different parts of the organisation

The survey to all staff gave them the opportunity to respond. Note that all parts of the organisation did respond to the survey.

Unfinished diagnosis The scope of tools used ensures that the diagnosis is of sufficient scope and is completed.

Failure to clarify purpose The problem has been well-defined by the executive and project teams.

Source: Kubr (1996)

Solution design

Methodology

Generating

The first phase of solution generation was to define how the problem will be resolved.

A how-how diagram was used for this initial phase, reproduced below.


Improve document

management

Re-engineer existing

processes

Implement document

management system

Continuous improvement

of processes

Define requirements

for system

How? How?

In order to define the requirements of a document management system, a

brainstorming was held. This is reproduced below, with key requirements identified.

During this brainstorming session, a number of possible technological solutions were

mentioned that met the criteria for a document management system, key requirements

are identified by the use of a symbol. During this session, a number of technology

solutions were defined, which are evaluated below.

Requirements evaluation

The table below evaluates the requirements that were generated during the

brainstorming session; the final column defines whether the requirement is selected

for the solution.

8


Area Requirement CommentWeb-based Being web-based will make it easy to

administer and deploy. Easy to use

Customisable A customisable solution will allow BGI to modify it, as requirements change over the future.

General users Training for general users should be available to ensure consistency of use across the organisation.

Administrator The selected administrators will need to attend appropriate training.

Training available

Developers Training for those that undertake customisations must be available.

Instant messaging Online chatting is a popular pastime, but is not currently justifiable in a business context.

Shared editing The ability for a number of users to modify the same document should lead to faster document creation.

Collaboration

Team work areas Team areas will allow common documents to be stored, reducing confusion.

Commercial solution

Commercial solutions can be expensive, but offers better support of issues experienced.

Open source solution

Open source is an unproven concept for commercial software.

Cheap

Internally developed

Developing internally will cost more in the long-term, and will take resources away from the primary business.

All documents All documents in all formats must be storable. Additionally, multimedia files (video, pictures, etc) are desirable.

Search system

Easy to use An easy to use search system using English search terms is required.

Restrict access Access to specific areas must be controlled so not all can access (e.g. the Executive team area)

Different security roles

Different users will have different roles (administrator, user, etc.).

Secure

Reliable As critical data will be stored in this system, the chosen system must be reliable.


Tools evaluation

The brainstorming session identified three systems that could be used for a document

management system. These are:

• Microsoft SharePoint

• Documentuum

• FileNet

All the tools satisfy the requirements identified above; however the costs are

somewhat different: Documentuum and FileNet both retail at between $50k and $70k,

whereas SharePoint is a free. Additionally, it should be remembered that

Documentuum and FileNet are intended for large organisations, whereas SharePoint

is for small businesses. As such, SharePoint has been chosen as the document

management tool to be implemented.

Use cases

As previously stated, it is believed the current processes are sound so no new use

cases were created. It is envisaged that the processes will be refined over the future,

this is addressed below.

Organisational readiness

Rotem (1981) defined a model to assess change readiness in an organisation; the key

indicators and BGI’s position are reproduced below.

Indicator PositionHow significant & important do people believe the discrepancy is?

The survey conducted showed that employees agree with the discrepancy.

How meaningful or valued is the desired outcome?

Employees are eager to use a new document management system.

Who is taking responsibility for the A project team will undertake the


Indicator Positionchange? implementation. What are the stakeholders’ critical priorities?

The interviews conducted identified the critical priorities.

Is a solution possible at this time? The technology exists and employees are keen to change from the current system.

Are the change agents sufficiently skilled?

The team members have a variety skills, including project management.

It is considered that BGI is in a high state of readiness for the change, with a high

probability of success.

Implementation plan

Overview

Beer and Nohria (2000) propose that change agents use “Theory E” for structural

changes to an organisation, and “Theory O” for changes from the bottom up. As this

change is effectively in two parts, the technology change and the human skills change,

this approach will be used.

The implementation of SharePoint will be managed by the project team and will

consider how the system is implemented in terms of:

• Team work area structure

• Access rights and security

• Look and feel

This initial implementation is intended as a baseline from which the organisation can

grow in the future.


To support the technology change, there will have to be a change to the document

creation processes. However, in order to make the transition for employees easy, the

current processes will be used. A team will be set up that has responsibility for

driving change to the processes through employee participation and involvement; this

is described in the post implementation review section.

Technology change

Gates (1999) introduced the concept of a digital nervous system, which “comprises

the digital processes that closely link every aspect of a company’s thoughts and

actions”. The components of such a system are shown below:

Basicoperations

Strategicthinking

Customerinteraction

Business reflexes

DigitalNervous

System

Source: Gates (1999)

It is envisaged that the implemented system will contribute to the basic operations,

business reflexes (the speed that the organisation conducts business) and how BGI

interacts with customers to form part of the digital nervous system. As other systems


(databases, etc) are implemented, these will be integrated as part of the digital nervous

system.

Skills development

Training in the use of SharePoint will be split in to three categories:

• General user: normal formal training courses for the use of SharePoint, so

training will be provided to all users by the project team.

• Administrator: BGI has two people already skilled in SharePoint

administration. Other employees will be identified to select for SharePoint

administration training as backup.

• Developer: For this financial year, it is not anticipated that any employees

will be sent on SharePoint developer training, as it is non-core. This situation

will be reviewed in the next year.

The training plan is retained by the project team.

Project milestones

The project milestones shown in the table below are derived from the project schedule

reproduced in X0X.

Milestone Description Date Project roles defined All roles within the system defined, as well as

project team roles. 5 Oct

Security defined How security is implemented in the system. 7 Oct Training strategy defined How training for employees and administrators will

be conducted. 20 Oct

Planning complete Achieved, when all the above milestones reached. 20 Oct Deployment complete When SharePoint has been implemented and is

ready for use. 16 Nov

Project completion Following launch, and post-project review. 30 Nov


Post-implementation review

Six-monthly review

In addition to the standard post-implementation review, six months from the project

“go live” date, a post-project review will be undertaken. The objective is to compare

the state of the organisation against the intended project objectives. This will

determine whether the project has been successful in creating long term change.

Continuous improvement

Continuous improvement requires a commitment to learning (Garvin 1993) in order

for it to occur. One tool to enable this is Action research (French & Bell 1984), which

is a cyclical research process. It is participatory in that employees may contribute

ideas, solutions, etc. to evolve the action. It is shown diagrammatically below:

Situation

Group feedback Goals &

assumptions Actions

Options Data

Source: Bennet & Oliver (1992)

In order to support this, an “employee contributions” section will be created, where

suggestions to improve the process are submitted. A review committee will meet on a


quarterly basis to review all suggestions for consideration for implementation. The

review committee consists of:

• The programme director

• The office manager

• The SharePoint system owner

Before meeting, any data required will be collated by the system owner. At any point,

the submitter of a suggestion may be asked to attend the committee.

In order to encourage the submission of ideas, it is recommended that a reward and

recognition policy be introduced for the best ideas submitted.


References

Beer, M. & Nohria, N. 2000, ‘Cracking the code of change’, Harvard Business

Review, vol. 78, no. 3, pp. 133-141

Bennet, R. & Oliver, J. 1992, ‘The essentials of action research’, Leadership and

Organization Development Journal, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 8-20

Bolman, L. G. & Deal, T. E. 1997, ‘Integrating frames for effective practice’, in

Reframing organizations: artistry, choice and leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco,

chapter 15.

Egan, G. 1994, ‘Working the shadow side: a guide to positive behind the scenes

management’, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

French, W. & Bell, C.H. 1984, Organization development, Prentice Hall, Englewood

Cliffs, New Jersey

Garvin, D. A. 1993, ‘Building a learning organization’, Harvard Business Review,

vol. 71, no. 4, pp. 78-92

Gates, W.H. 1999, ‘Business @ the Speed of Thought’, Penguin Business, New York

Kubr, M. 1996, Management consulting: a guide to the profession, 3rd edn,

International Labour Office, Geneva

Rotem, A. 1981, ‘Developing creative solutions: Theories, research, and techniques’

in Behavioural decision making, ed. R.N. Taylor, chapter 3, Scott, Foresman and

Company, Glenview, Illinois


Appendix A Project team structure

A.1 Organisation chart

Programme Director

(Project Sponsor)

Configuration Manager

(Project Manager)

Office Manager

(Project Member 1)

Test Team Leader

(Project Member 2)

A.2 Roles & responsibilities

Role Project Sponsor Responsibilities Provide funding for project

Obtain approval for project proposals Provide feedback/mentoring to project manager and team where required

Accountabilities Reports to BGI executive regarding project status

Role Project Manager Responsibilities Delivering information management solution for BGI

Maintaining stakeholder relationships Developing project schedule Reporting to project sponsor regarding project status Assigning project activities to team members Establishing feedback mechanism for BGI staff

Accountabilities Reports to Project Sponsor on matters of budget, resources, time

Role Project Member 1 Responsibilities Assisting the project manager throughout the project

Stakeholder for BGI operations group Accountabilities Reports to Project Manager for the project-related activities

Role Project Member 2 Responsibilities Assisting the project manager throughout the project

Stakeholder for BGI development group Accountabilities Reports to Project Manager for the project-related activities


Appendix B Questionnaire to all employees

Section A: Document storage

(Please complete all questions by circling the appropriate response)

1 Please identify all locations where you store documents C: drive Other drive

(please identify) DocStore

2 I store my emails Personal Business Both

3 My emails are stored in Outlook Outlook data file Don’t know

Section B: Systems awareness

(Please complete all questions, stating how much you agree with the statement made. There is no right or wrong answer!) Statement Strongly

agree Agree Disagree Strongly

disagree

4 I can find any document I need easily □ □ □ □

5 I know the right version of a document to use at all times □ □ □ □

6 I know how to name a document I create □ □ □ □

7 I know how to identify a new version of my document □ □ □ □

8 I know the right location to store my document □ □ □ □

9 DocStore is only used to store program code □ □ □ □

10 DocStore is very easy to use □ □ □ □

11 Documents stored on C: drive are just as safe as anywhere else □ □ □ □

12 If I accidentally delete a document, I know how to get it back □ □ □ □

13 The document management tools we have are good □ □ □ □

14 My productivity is not hindered by our document management tools □ □ □ □

Section C: Your role

Executive team

Customer delivery team Operations 15 Please identify which part of the

organisation you work in

Development team

Business development team

Tax business centre


Appendix C Survey results

C.1 Breakdown of respondents

Number of staff sent to: 42 Respondents: 29 % Return: 69%

The table below shows the number of respondents by business group.

Executive team

1 4

Customer delivery team

9 9 Operations 3

4 Development team

9 16

Business dev. Team

4 6

Tax bus. centre

3 3

29 42

C.2 Breakdown of responses

1 Please identify all locations where you store documents C: drive

Other drive (please identify)

DocStore

2 I store my emails Personal Business Both

3 My emails are stored in Outlook Outlook data file Don’t know

Statement Strongly agree

Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

4 I can find any document I need easily 0 1 10 18

5 I know the right version of a document to use at all times 0 0 8 21

6 I know how to name a document I create 1 2 17 9

7 I know how to identify a new version of my document 0 1 12 16

8 I know the right location to store my document 0 3 19 7

9 DocStore is only used to store program code 0 19 10 0

10 DocStore is very easy to use 0 1 6 22

11 Documents stored on C: drive are just as safe as anywhere else 0 5 6 18

12 If I accidentally delete a document, I know how to get it back 8 21 0 0

13 The document management tools we have are good 0 0 4 25

14 My productivity is not hindered by our document management tools 0 3 26 0


Appendix D Use case design

D.1 Creating a new document

Document author

Document need

Create new document

Store in document system

Controlled document

D.2 Creating a new version of an existing document

Document author

Need to change a document

Checkout of document system

Make modifications

Controlled document

Return to document system


D.3 Finding an existing document

Current process

Document author

Required document

Determine storage location

Navigate through storage location

Retrieved document

Improved process

Document author

Required document

Enter search criteria

Retrieved document


Appendix E Project management

E.1 Project schedule

The Microsoft Project schedule is shown below. The latest version of this is retained

by the project team.

E.1 Risk management

Risk MitigationLoss of project team member Having three team members reduces the impact of

losing one. A succession plan for the team has been defined.

Incorrect requirements defined Requirements captured via stakeholder interviews, staff survey and comparison with industry best practice.

Incorrect solution defined Solution will meet requirements as defined. Change provides no gain to the organisation

Assessment of the organisation 6 months after implementation will assess gain. Continuous improvement process will give opportunity for long-term gain.

No user commitment Engagement of users and stakeholders through project communications and training.


Instructor’s comments

Congratulations on a reasonably full and thorough project report. I hope the change implementation is going smoothly and proving useful for the organisation. Here are some comments on your report and suggestions for how it could be strengthened.

Length – You have exceeded the limit for this assignment, and I haven’t read beyond the 14-page limit. Always use Appendices with care – if the information is important enough to your report then put it (or summarise it) in the main text. If the information is marginal in value then consider leaving it out.

Scope – You have outlined a nice clear scope here. The nature of the project is well defined, and the reach of the project is clear. You have also provided meaningful justification as to why this project is needed. A good start. One potential drawback is that the project, being company wide, could be quite large. It might have been difficult to attend to all the details within the confines of this assignment. You state later in the report that the organisation is small which would allay these fears, so some data to support this might help put the reader at ease that the project is feasible.

The numbered points in the ‘Objectives’ section are process-oriented and in a sense are really the overview of your methodology. Perhaps this information might have been integrated within the methodology section and you could have saved some page count.

The dot points in the ‘Objectives’ section are also important as they identify the evaluation criteria of the project. Perhaps this section might have been strengthened by specifying the points a little more. For example, what does ‘managing quality and integrity’ really mean? Also, since you have mentioned the evaluation criteria up-front, it would be important to come back to these elsewhere in the document, for example in the solution evaluation stage (see below) or at the end of the document in the ‘Post-implementation review’ section and ensure that you identify how each of these will be measured.

Diagnosis – The diagnosis section is thorough, however more could be done to pull out some useful insight from the tools you have used. The information in the SWOT and fishbone tools is useful but doesn’t really help us get to a core issue. You could, for example, say which of the ‘spines’ on your fishbone has most impact on the issue in the ‘head’ of the fish and then focus the change project on that core issue, or root cause. As a result we end the diagnosis section with a long list of problem statements, rather than one clearly defined one, and the change issue is much the same as the broad problem at the beginning of the paper. Remember that the idea of the assignment is not to use as many tools, or as much theory, as possible.

Appendix 5: Sample Integrative Change Project Report 23

Rather it is to use only those concepts that really help you to provide structure for your thoughts so that you may gain insight into the issues. In this case, the SWOT certainly provides structure, but no new insight. It is great to see you using a number of diagnostic tools in order to try to get at the underlying causes of the problem. I think you lost a bit of meaning here by not integrating the results from the various tools.

It might have been interesting to explore a little more information in relation to the role that you played as a change agent. For example, how did you sell the change to the CEO? Which of Esper’s (1990) competencies did you employ? How did you plan for and structure your interviews, e.g. did you use any of Seidman’s (1988) tips?

It is interesting to note that the participation rate in the survey was low for the Executive Team and the Development Team. I am wondering if this suggests anything about resistance and whether perhaps this might affect implementation? This is a similar point to the comment above regarding drawing meaning from your use of course concepts. In this case, it would have been interesting to see you draw meaning out of the data.

The section on your assumptions is great to see. Again more could be done to pull out the implications of this for this project, or consider leaving it out to save page count, if it doesn’t really add insight.

Solution generation – Because of the lack of clarity in the diagnosis section the problem being addressed (‘Improve document management’ on the left hand side of the how-how diagram), is quite broad. It would have been better to pick one of the narrower problem statements identified earlier, and explore that. A consequence of having a broad issue to solve here is that you haven’t really been able to generate multiple solutions to the issue. The issue as stated is ‘improve document management’ and the solutions suggested are all around the properties of a new piece of software. Another obvious solution to the issue that hasn’t been explored here is better training for employees in the current system, or improving policies and processes around the existing system. The human element of managing documents has been overlooked. You identify earlier that a re-engineering option might also be possible, however you do not mention this again. So it reads as if you have closed in too early on a technological solution.

Solution evaluation – The table on ‘Requirements evaluation’ is helpful and thorough. You could tie this to the characteristics of the document management system that you identified earlier.

Scope – Objectives section of the paper? Also, the main criteria used to make the decision about which software to use is cost. If this is such a key criteria perhaps it could be stated earlier in this section.


Readiness for change – the use of Rotem (1981) to assess readiness is clear and valuable. To strengthen this section even further you could say what the consequences of this assessment are, i.e. if readiness is high are there any strategies that you don’t need to pay much attention to, or parts of the change management process which can be skipped? Also, there is nothing in the report on processes to manage readiness for change, i.e. change leadership, building commitment to change, Hambrick & Cannella’s (1989) tools for implementing change. Are we to assume that because change readiness is high at the outset there will be no resistance and no need to maintain readiness as the change initiative runs its course?

Implementation plan – Starting with Beer & Nohria (2000) sets the scene nicely for this. However it is not clear what the implications of this concept are for your plan. You say ‘As this change is effectively in two parts … this approach will be used’. Which approach? Theory E or Theory O? It isn’t clear how exactly Beer & Nohria (2000) would apply to your discussion on implementation. Value could be added here by drilling down to pull out and apply the theory more specifically.

The Gates (1999) model is a nice overview although to an outside reader, and perhaps more importantly to you as the change agent, it is not immediately clear what specific action steps will be taken to ensure this all happens.

Action steps – there is some useful information on which action steps need to be taken, i.e. around skills development. More detail could be provided on who does what to ensure the new software is used. I’d like to see a clearer breakdown of change agent roles.

Also, there is no consideration of the obstacles to the implementation plan and action steps. Since marks are assigned for this element, this has been a costly omission for you.

Project evaluation – this section is done quite well. Some suggestions would be to include specific measurement tools to use in evaluating project success. How will you compare the state of the organisation against the intended project objectives?

Use of course concepts – The course concepts you have chosen are appropriate, though there could be a few more across the course, e.g. change agent competencies, change leadership, systems thinking etc, and they could be integrated more, rather than used in isolation of each other.

Also, you could use the concepts more to drive your analysis, rather than putting them in to show you’ve read them. For example, rather than simply putting in the Bennet & Oliver (1992) diagram on action research you could say in the following text how, specifically, you can implement this model to enable continuous learning. Who takes ownership to make sure

Appendix 5: Sample Integrative Change Project Report 25

this happens? Who is in the ‘group feedback’ group? What kind of data will be collected? How will you reach agreement on what the new actions are? Don’t leave the marker to try to fill in the blanks for you. Also ensure there is internal coherence in the report. This is usually achieved by the writer ensuring that the links are made, and that the ‘story’ rather than the theory, is always at the centre.

So overall its obvious you have put a lot of work into this assignment and it shows in the progress made in the project. You also demonstrate a sound knowledge of course concepts and covered a range of theory to support your approach to this project. At times I did feel that the theory became an end in itself, rather than a problem-solving tool by which to explore, analyse and gain insight. While you used a variety of diagnostic tools, I didn’t believe you obtained the best value out of them in terms of answering the ‘so what’, ‘how so’, ‘why-why’ questions. So there are some improvement areas, but this is a solid, valuable project. More course material would have been welcome.

Your grade is a credit.


Appendix 6

Assignment writingby James Carlopio & Rose Trevelyan


Assignment writing

Because assessment in this course relies on essay-like assignments, here are some guidelines in how to write a good essay.

Plan your assignment. This is the essence of the writing process. This is the point at which you craft or create your assignment. You should start your outline by considering the assignment requirements. The way you ‘cut up’ the assignment question or requirements can suggest a natural structuring for your essay.

If you think that essay or report writing is an excessively long and laborious task, it is likely that you are not sufficiently organised beforehand. Your thinking and creating should be done upfront in the form of a rough plan leading to an outline. If this is done well, writing the first draft becomes a matter of simply expanding on the outline and getting it all down on paper. We must always begin with the end in mind. Therefore, it is critical that you fully think through your arguments and the flow of the essay before you begin writing the first draft.

Your outline should flow from the central theme of your assignment. Remember, your instructor does not want you to describe the content of the units as he or she has already read them! Your assignment should not be a description of ‘what happened’ so far in the course or in the case. It should be a fully supported argument for a certain point or perspective. It has to be supportable based on the information in the course materials.

This is the point to ask yourself ‘Why do we care about what I am saying? What is the relevance, the major point?’. Ask yourself, ‘So what?’ after you have written your outline. This point or perspective (i.e. your answers to these questions) is wherein you add value over and above what you have heard and read in the course. This is where you illustrate what you have learned by providing evidence that you have thought about the issues and have something intelligent to say in relation to them. This is your opportunity to relate it to the real world, to your work experiences, or to some expected future situation.

Write a first draft of the assignment, following your outline. Do not worry about anything except getting the content down on paper. At this point in the process it is perfectly okay to use abbreviations, incomplete sentences, grammatical nightmares, whatever. Leave all this other stuff until the next step. For now, concentrate on the specifics, the content, the data etc.

Edit the first draft. After you have written your complete first draft, it is time to edit the first draft, concentrating no longer on content but on the writing process. If you have done the previous steps well, you should have most of the content issues taken care of by this point. It is now time to

Appendix 6: Assignment writing 1

craft your communication attempt. An assignment is an attempt by you to communicate to the reader(s). You must make the write-up well organised, well written and well formatted. Look for ways to best communicate to the audience your ability to appreciate and apply the content.

Style. Everyone has their own writing style. There is no need to try and write any other way. However, the more time you take to craft the communication attempt, the more effectively you will make your points. Even the world’s best writers, in the process of getting the first draft together, manage to write some clumsy expressions, some passages that do not hang together, some long-winded or repetitive sentences, and some grammatical mistakes. Everyone does this; only the best take the time and effort to change them.

Structure. Titles, sections and subsections can be used to help communicate the structure you have in your mind to the reader. Be sure to use sections and subsections to provide structure to the essay.

Present the major theme(s) in the introduction of your essay. Then, in the main body of the essay, discuss these themes, interweaving the course content. At the end, come to some kind of conclusion or synthesis, and be sure to ‘bring it home’ with discussions of what you have learned and the implications for you as individuals and as managers.

Flow. Writing that flows and weaves together a coherent argument involves and captivates the reader. Involve and captivate us, please! For example, instead of starting two sequential paragraphs or sentences like this: ‘Weick (1979) said X, Y, Z... On the other hand, Jones (1990) said...’, you should try to say something like: ‘One of the main issues illustrated was the inherent contradiction between the more traditional view of the situation, based on the work of Jones (1990), and an analysis taken from a less mechanistic perspective based on the work of Weick (1979)’. The essay that follows this later form will probably use most of the same content as the former. However, it adds value as it makes a point and focuses, not on simply reporting from the readings, but on a conceptual argument.

Avoid repetition of words and ideas. You have a strict word limit to each assignment. Therefore, when you say something, say it once. Do not repeat an idea two or three times to further illustrate or clarify it. Also, as you reread your first draft, notice any repetition of words within the same or neighbouring sentences. A thesaurus is particularly helpful in this regard. For example, ‘The group thought that the group did well on the group exercise, yet as individuals the group members did less well’. There are too many ‘groups’ and the word ‘well’ is also repeated. Instead, try something like, ‘The members of the syndicate thought they did well on the exercise as a group. As individuals, however, they had lower scores’.


Bullet points. These can be used, but should be used sparingly. Lists do not allow you to craft an argument. They do not flow or enable you to add any value as they usually do not say anything; they simply list. If you find you have lots of points in your list, think about how you can group those points and discover the important theme that underlies the group. This is what you should be trying to communicate. Instead of using bullet points to create a list, use bullet points to separate a few points which all relate to the same question or issue. After the bullet point title use a sentence to summarise the point and then elaborate on it. Explain the point further. Why is this point significant? What insights can you draw from it?

Referencing. Citations are points in the text at which you refer to, or cite, the work of someone else. The best way to get a sense of how to use citations is to be aware of them in the course materials and readings. Citations are important to those of us who mark your assignments, because they signal that you have done the readings and that you have been able to understand and apply them. Your assignment should include a reference section at the end which gives full citations. For more information on this, please refer to the Managing Your Learning booklet.

Some common problems in assignment writing• Overusingwordssuchas‘however’and‘thus’.

• Beginningsentenceswiththewords‘but’or‘and’.

• Usingabbreviationswhicharenotdefinedattheirfirstuse.Ifyouare writing about management by objectives (MBO), once you have defined it, as we just did, you can save some words by using the abbreviation later on.

• Usingwordsthataretoounusual.Ifyoutryandusecertainwordstopositively impress your readers with your intelligence, you will probably have the opposite effect. Your object should be to communicate, not to try to impress us with your vocabulary. You will impress us when you communicate successfully.

For more assistance with essay writing you may like to visit the Learning Centre at The University of New South Wales, which can put you in contact with a Writing Assistant for help with writing assignments. Its website address is: http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au.

Appendix 6: Assignment writing 3

Appendix 7

Referencing in assignments.


Referencing in assignments

Below is a digest of advice provided in Managing Your Learning. For further guidance, I recommend that you read the more detailed advice provided in Section 8 of Managing Your Learning.

BRACKETED CITATIONS IN THE TEXT

Citing the course

If you are using an idea that is attributable to an AGSM MBA Programs course rather than to a named author, you need to cite the name of the course in brackets in the text, with the publication date and a page number indicating where the idea is to be found.

You can abbreviate the name of the course in bracketed citations, as follows:

Source: (MC 2010, p. 4–16)

When mentioning the course outside a bracketed citation, you should write ‘Managerial Skills’ in full in the first mention, followed by the bracketed acronym. For example:

“An underlying theme in Managing Change (MC) is ....”

In subsequent mentions of the course, you can then abbreviate to ‘MC’.

Citing an authored publication that you have read

If you are using an idea that is attributable to an authored publication that you have read (which includes readings at the end of units), you need to cite:

• ‘the name of the author(s) in brackets in the text

• the date of the publication

• a page number (or numbers) indicating where the idea is to be found.

For example:

Source: (Kanter 2005, p. S)

Citing an authored publication that you have not read

If you are referring to an author and publication that are cited in the course materials and you have not read the publication, you must cite the author and publication in one of the following two ways:

“As a result of the strong focus on the control agenda (Buchanan & Boddy 1992, in MC 2010, p. 1–26) .....”

Appendix 7: Referencing in assignments 1

Or

“Examining the change program in terms of Buchanan and Boddy’s three change agendas (1992, in MC 2010, p. 1–26), the strong focus on the control agenda resulted in”.

In this way you will make clear that you are referencing the course author’s interpretation or summary of Buchanan and Boddy’s ideas about change agent agendas.

REFERENCES LISTThe References list at the end of your assignment is the list of all the books, journal articles and other sources to which you have referred in your assignment and which you have read. Publications that you have not read should not appear in your reference list.

Note that, if you have cited a publication that is a reading in the course materials, details of the publication need to be included in your References list.

The course If the course has been cited in your assignment, it must be included in, the References list, as follows.

Managing Change 2011, AGSM MBA Programs, Graduate Diploma in Management

Note that the References list item for the course does not include Unit or page numbers. The page numbers in your bracketed citations will indicate the location of the course ideas that you have used in your assignment

Publications cited in your assignment that you have read Full details of each of these publications should appear in your References list, following the referencing conventions illustrated in the References lists at the end of the units in the course.

Publications that you have not read If, for example, you have drawn on the course account of Buchanan and Boddy’s change agent agendas in your assignment but have not read the publication in which these ideas appear, the Buchanan and Boddy publication should be cited in the text (following the guidance above) but should not be included in the References list.
