BAD 64160 Fall 2010 Smas

SYLLABUS

B AD 64160

LEADERSHIP / ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

PROFESSOR: JIM SMAS

FALL 2010

CLASS MEETING TIME:  TUESDAY, 6:15 – 8:45 PM

HOURS: W  5:00 – 6:00 PM

E – MAIL: mjsmas@kent.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is an attempt to develop structure and process for leaders to understand and manage organizational change. This subject is often viewed as trivial or mere behavioral babble by those who are more oriented towards data crunching and financial metrics. Your instructor however, has experienced many cases where people issues related with change have derailed major corporate initiatives and/or acquisitions or mergers. Let’s all agree up front that organizational change in this fast paced world of ours is a vital necessity if organizations are to remain competitive. The question is change to what? And how do we change organizations that have been steeped in their own culture for decades or even centuries. This is not an easy task. Yet, CEO’s must face these very challenges daily as in the cases of Hewlett Packard (HP) and IBM. Carly Fiorina of HP was removed for moving to change HP’s culture too fast in a stodgy engineering environment. Louis Gerstener of IBM however, totally revamped IBM from a mainframe organization to service company and saved the business from bankruptcy. Why did Louis Gerstener succeed and Carly failed? What is Carly’s successor facing?

The design of the course is taken from the Organizational Processes Course taught at The Massachusetts Institute of technology, School of Business. The principal author of the text, Deborah Ancona led in the formation of the course and the modules of which this book is made.  The key hypothesis of the course is that managers who are attempting organizational change must deal with change from three perspectives or lenses, the strategic, the political, and the cultural lenses. In my estimation, this is the best approach I have ever seen in this field, and is the reason I am using this framework in this course.

You will also be doing a variety of assessments in this course which will help you We will also be focusing on specific skills that are needed by managers to understand and manage organizational change. Skills like negotiation and issue selling are keys to persuading resistant cultures to move to structures that are more conducive to competitive excellence.

My objective here is to facilitate learning, not to make your life miserable!  Thus, exams will be take home exams on the reading materials to sharpen your focus and facilitate learning not to facilitate grading on my part. The point is to learn from each other as much as possible. Please feel free to bring in your experience and understandings to the class and do research on other approaches that have been tried in this field. Your work on projects and assessments and role plays will also be major grading criteria for this course.  Because we need a great deal of cooperative effort in teaching each other, grades will not be competitive. Grade competition reduces learning and creates a culture of individualism. It would be corrupt to preach teamwork and friendly work environments, and then make grades a competitive, individual venture. So I hope you find this refreshing from this perspective. At this level, you are expected to get an A in this class and I will do my best to see that your hard work will be rewarded. Do the work, and do it well and your grade will not be an issue.

REQUIRED TEXT:

Ancona, et. al., Managing for the Future, Organizational Behavior and Processes, 3e, Thomson / Southwestern Publishing, 2005.

ISBN: 0-324-05575-7

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADING:

The grading for this course will consist of the following:

Exams (take home)                                                                                     600 points

Participation                                                                                      200

Final Project                                                                                     200

Total                                                                                                   1000 points              

Exams:

There will be three take-home exams, essay type, consisting of questions covering the materials in the modules as specified in the class schedule.  The questions should be answered thoroughly but concisely. I do not wish to grade a thesis on each question and will deduct points for padding. Exams should be typed, normal spacing, and should be neat and presentable.

Participation:

This will be an evaluation of your contribution to the learning in the course throughout the semester. Shrinking violets need not apply here.  You are expected to contribute.

Final Project:

There are several possibilities here:

o   Do an analysis of a corporation undergoing change, using the perspectives of this course and the tools used to analyze class material. This should be a company you are familiar with and have access to.

The paper should be a minimum of fifteen (15)  typed pages not including exhibits or references. Neatness is a must and the case analysis methodology should be used for the project as well.  The key to any OC effort is in the implementation. In most reports, this section usually gets short changed. Do that here and you will lose valuable points. It is  perhaps the most import section in the project, how will you manage the change effort?

CLASS SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENTS:

A rather complete and detailed attachment to this syllabus will outline for you all the things we will be doing and when they are due. Late means half credit. You don’t want to discount your grade by being late.  If you have dire circumstances such as illness, death in the family, or other calamities, see me and I will work with you on resolving the issue. Do not come to me with the story that your fourth quarter budget is due and you can’t participate or turn in your assignment.  Manage your time and deal with it in a professional manner.

GRADING:

I will use plus / minus grading this semester. Thus the grading for the course is as follows:

925 – 1000 POINTS                                                A

891 – 924                                                                  A –

860 – 890                                                                  B+

825 – 859                                                                  B

791 – 824                                                                  B-

760 – 790                                                                  C+

725 – 759                                                                  C

691 – 724                                                                  C-

<690                                                                           D

<590                                                                           F         

According to new University Guidelines the grades are converted to your grade point average by the following rules:

A   = 4.0

A-  = 3.7

B+ = 3.3

B   = 3.0

B-  = 2.7

C+ = 2.3

C   =  2.0

C-  =  1.7

D+  = 1.3

D    = 1.0.

F    =  0.0

The Following Policies Apply to All Students in this Course

A.   Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisite risk being deregistered from the class.

B.   Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Web for Students) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Friday, January 29, 2010 to correct the error with your advising office.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the semester for any class in which you are not properly registered.

C.   Academic Honesty:  Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.

D.   For Fall,  2010, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 7, 2010.  Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.

E.   Students with disabilities:  University policy 3342-3-01.3 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these through Student Accessibility Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/  for more information on registration procedures).

LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE / B AD 64160 /FALL, 2008

Class assignment and content by date.

The following assignments are due on the day listed for the assignment. IE, you must do these prior to the indicated session!

Session One / Aug 31

Module 1: The “New “Organizations: Taking Action in an Era of Organizational Transformation.

·         Read Class Notes:

o     The “New” Organization: Taking Action in an Era of Organizational  Transformation

o    Reading the Business Press

·         Read The Press:

o    A Sampling of Analysis of the New Organization… and Some Skeptical Voices

o    The Search for the Organization of Tomorrow by Thomas A. Stewart

o    Management by Web by John A. Byrne

·         Fill out one page questionnaire in module entitled Mapping Your Organization,” and prepare to discuss the following questions about the exercise:

1)       What specific structures or processes in your organization led you to rate it as you did on each of the five features of the new organization?

2)       What skills and knowledge were most important for you in working effectively in that organization? What skills do think were most important for the person who was your manager?

Session Two / Sep. 7

Module 2: Three Lenses on Organizational Analysis and Action

·         Finish the LSI Assessment and be prepared to discuss your findings with your team and the class.

• Read: The first part of Module 2, The Strategic Design Lens.

• Read: Case, Strategic Design at Dynacorp.

• Prepare responses to these issues:

1)       If you were on the Dynacorp task force, what would be your first choice for an alternative design? What would be your second choice?

2)       Which of the problems of the current design would your chosen design address? What problems (if any) would it not address? Are there new problems to which it might lead?

3)       What linking and alignment mechanisms would you propose to make the “grouping” of your first choice of design more effective?

Session Three / Sep 14

• Read:  Second part of Module 2: The Political Lens

• Read The Press: Informal Network: The Company Behind the Chart, by David Krackhardt and Jeffrey R. Hanson

• Using the role plays scenarios given to your team, be prepared to play the part of the character assigned to your team.

• Be prepared to discuss the following topics:

• Think about the organizations in which you have worked. Who were the most powerful individuals or groups, and why?
• Think about your own class. Who are the individuals or groups that have the strongest influence, and why? What are the key indicators of influence?

Session Four / Sep 23

·         Read: The third part of Module 2, The Cultural Lens.

·         Read: Article by Edgar Schein, Organizational Culture.

·         Be prepared to participate in a cultural diagnostic exercise of a particular org. culture, most likely Kent State University, Graduate School of Business. You should assemble some artifacts of this culture prior to class.

·         Finish the OCI Inventory of a company you are familiar with.

·         Read: Fourth Part of Module 2, Applying the Three Lenses

·         Read: Case, Dynacorp Revisited

·         Be prepared to do further analysis of the Dynacorp Case using each of the three lenses and the following issues:

1)       For each lens, what are the key indicators you would look for?

2)       What are action steps that you might take in an organization, in terms of each lens?

3)       Read the transcript of the script for the Dynacorp video.

4)       What are the key sources of Dynacorp problems in implementing its new customer organization in terms of the strategic design lens? The cultural lens?

• Turn In Exam 1

Session Five / September 28

Module 4: Diverse Cognitive Styles in Teams

• Do the Cognitive Style Assessment in Module 5 and bring to class next time.
• Turn In Turnaround SimulationClass Note: Mapping Multiple Perspectives

• The Press:
• Managerial Mapping
• Personal Work Styles
• Work Preferences
• A Basis for Self-Understanding
• Give Me an E. Give Me and S. Dan Goldman

Session Six / October 5

Module 5: Team Processes

• Be prepared to discuss your Meyers – Briggs Cognitive Styles Assessment which you should bring to class with you.

• Be Prepared to participate in an  analysis of “12 Angry Men”

• Read:
• Class Note: Team Process Observation Guide
• The Press: The Trouble with Teams
• The Press: Virtually There?
• Doctors: Not Just Cheaper, Smarter
• Developers: Even Better Than the Real Thing
• Consultants: New Behaviors for New Technologies
• Bankers: Less Paper Means More Backers

Session Seven / October 12

Module 6: Teams in Organizations

·         Read: Module 6

• Class Note: Outward Bound Linking Teams to Their Organizations
• Case: Aston – Blair, Inc.

1. What are the problems facing Bacon at the end of the case?
2. How did these problems evolve?
3. What actions would you take at the end of case? Why?

Session Eight / October 19

Module 7: Workforce Management: Employment Relationships in Changing Organizations

• Read: Class Note: Managing a Changing Workforce in Turbulent Times
• Read: The Press

• The Changing Social Contract for White-Collar Workers by Charles Heckscher
• Building Competitive Advantage Through People by Christopher A. Barlett and Sumantra Ghoshal
• What’s Wrong with Management Practices in Silicon Valley? A Lot. By Jeffrey Pfeiffer
• In Silicon valley, Loyalty Means Paying a High Price by Alex Berenson

• Read: Case:

• The Part  - Time Partner (A)
• The Part - Time Partner Redux (B)

• Read: The Press

• Integrating Work and Family Life by Lotte Bailyn, Robert Drago, and Thomas A. Kochan
• Addressing the Crisis in Confidence in Corporations by Thomas Kochan

Session Nine / October 26

Module 8: Managing Change in Organizations

• Read Class Note : Organizational Change: An Overview
• Turn In Exam 2
• Read Case: The Strategy That wouldn’t Travel

o    Prepare the following questions for the case:

1.       Where would you place the Wichita change initiative on the four dimensions of change initiatives described in the reading (class note)

2.       What were the main problems at the Wichita facility that Jimenez’s change initiative addressed? Why was the initiative successful at Wichita?

3.       What are the problems at Lubbock? Why is the change initiative not as successful at the Lubbock facility?

4.       What actions should Jimenez take immediately? If you were brought in to advise Jimenez, what actions would you recommend to here to move the change initiative forward at Lubbock? Within the company as a whole?

• Read: Elective Readings
• The Life Cycle of Typical Change Initiatives
• The Leadership of  Profound Change by Peter Senge
• Culture Change at General Electric by Jacquie Vierling-Huang

Session Ten / Nov. 2

Module 9: Organizational Actions in Complex Environments

• Read  Class Note: Organizations  and Their Environments: Sets, Stakeholders, and Institutional Fields

• Read Case: RU- 486
• Prepare answers for the following questions

1. Do you think the Edouard Skiz, did a good job or  poor job of handling the decision about marketing RU-486 in France? Do you see him as effective or ineffective in this environmental context?
2. What aspects of the environment do you think were ( and should have been ) the most important in making the decision about RU- 486 in France?
3. Is the environment for RU-486 in the United States significantly different from what it faced in France? Can the company’s leaders “manage” this environment?
4. What general “lessons” can you draw from this case? Give other examples of complex and contradictory pressures an organization might experience.

• Turn in Exam Two

Session Eleven / November 9

Module 10: Learning Across Borders: Disneyland on the Move

• Read Class Note:
• Disneyland in US of A
• Disney Goes to Tokyo
• Disneyland Goes to Paris
• Disney Goes to Hong Kong

• Read The Press:
• The Smile Factory by John Van Maanen
• Excerpts from Displacing Disney: Some Notes on the Flow of Culture by John van Maanen
• Mouse Trap, by Peter Gumbel and Richard Turner
• The Ever-Expanding, Profit-Maximizing, Cultural Imperialist, Wonderful World of Disney, by Jonathan Weber

*Turn in Final Project Design

Session Twelve / November 16

Module 11: Managing Cultural Diversity

• Read Class Notes:
• Managing Cultural Diversity: From Understanding to action
• Bystander Awareness: Skills for Effective Managers

• Do Exercise: Bystander Scenarios: What Would You Do?
• Read The Press:

• Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity by David A. Thomas and Robin J. Ely

Session Thirteen: November 25

Module 12:  Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

• Read Class Note:  Negotiation and Conflict Resolution: An Introduction
• Turn in Exam 3
• Read The Press:
• Dealcrafting: The Substance of Three Dimensional Negotiations by David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius
•  Breakthrough Bargaining by Deborah Kolb and Judith Williams

• Be prepared negotiate in your assigned roles. Use the materials in Module 12, especially the questions.

Session Fourteen / Nov 30

       Module 13: Change From Within: Roads to Successful Issue Selling

• Read Class Note: Issue Selling from Within
• Read Case: Inex
• Work Exercise: Issue Selling
• Read The Press:
• Dinosaurs or Dynamos? Recognizing Middle Management’s Strategic Role by Steven W. Floyd and Bill Woolridge

Session Fifteen / December 7

Module 14 Leadership

• Turn in Final Project

• Read class note: Leadership in the Age of Uncertainty
• Read the Cases
• Re-engineering at MIT: How President Charles Vest Put MIT Back on Track
• Carly Fiorina: A Story of Leadership Development
• Be prepared to answer the following questions:
• What is Chuck Vest and Carly Fiorina actually do to get chosen to lead MIT and HP?
• What did they do after they started their jobs?
• How would you describe the overall style of Chuck Vest and Carly Fiorina in terms of how they made change happen?
• How are these  two leaders different? How are they similar? How does each mode of leading ”fit” the organization that they are leading?