Introduction
The root problem/key issues facing Dupont are closing of the Orlon Plant without creating a change management rubric that would frame the changes being made. Management did not meet with the employees to obtain feedback as to how the changes would affect them and causing management to miss the language and culture already established by its workers.
Case Questions
1. To what extent are the following approaches to change embedded in the DuPont story (justify your answer, provide specific examples): a. OD b. Appreciative inquiry c. Sense-making a. OD – Organizational Development speaks to the focus of the interpreter or coach change manager in this case. The coach as change manager concentrates more on the capabilities of the individuals in the organization, than on the specific processes (Palmer, I., Dunford, R., Akin, G. 2009). Tom displayed coach change manager characteristics when he sought out the academic community to assist in introducing DuPont’s managers to new ideas and rebuild its work culture. This revealed Tom’s commitment to a systematic diagnosis, of the whole organizational system and puts the focus on humanistic, democratic, and developmental aspirations (Palmer, pg 209). b. Appreciative inquiry – a method of problem solving that was pioneered by David Cooperrider in the mid 1980’s speaks to reviewing what is going well within in an organization and builds upon them. This approach recognizes and values the current contributions as well as explores and discovers new possibilities within the current corporate culture.( http://www.mindtools.com). An example of this is when managers discovered that workers were using a NASCAR metaphor as the created culture and language that they worked by. This discovery helped mangers realize that there was a set of norms and teamwork that already existed that they were not able to see