Assignment 1: Stories of Change All organizations must go through a change. Change will not always be accepted. It may take time before all the pieces have been ironed out; however, communication should always be open and honest. This paper will evaluate three significant errors made; suggest recommendations for each organizations change, attribute a change image to the leading managers or directors and recommend different strategies for managing each change story.
Identify Errors All the change stories possessed its own challenges. The three main challenges faced were the following: allowing too much complacency, underestimating the power of vision, and failing to create short-term wins. The first error of complacency is easily done by most. As humans we tend to become comfortable with what maybe going on. Change whether drastic or minimal can be a hard pill to swallow for many. It is up to management to ensure that a plan of action is in place in order to be prepared for any issues. A sense of urgency should be implemented at all times whenever change is involved. No one can guarantee the actions or reactions of others. Tenured employees always have the slowest reaction to changes. They believe change will occur on their time; however, change must happen when presented. Underestimating the power of vision is key to the success of any role. If the organization doesn’t possess vision then how will it make it to its goal? The sense of direction in place must be communicated to the employees. Failures to communicate the organizations vision make employees feel alienated. This is a feeling that no one should have to feel. Everyone should be considered a part of the team. Each employee’s role is critical to the drive and success of the company. No one should be left behind. Failing to create short-term wins prevents the company from seeing progress along the way. The journey of change can be lengthy and would be in the company’s best interest to set smaller attainable goals that lead to the overall objective. It is easy to get stuck in the hype and only have vision of one thing. Visions should be broken down just like the initial strategy. Overall these errors caused loss of consumers, money and trust. Unfortunately as a business owner this is the risk you take and not knowing what to anticipate.
Recommendation for Change Hewlett-Packard change story could have improved had Carly Fiorina not separated certain departments. By doing this she made it difficult for customers’ needs to be met. All companies should be user-friendly. Customers don’t want to feel as though it’s a hassle to get what they want. When this becomes the case customers will begin to search for services elsewhere. It would be best for the organization to ensure when merging companies together that they work quickly to bring alike products together to make it user-friendly for all customers. There should be no lag time for customers especially those who run businesses. A lag time could affect the day to day operations. IBM team initially didn’t know how to embrace the new era of the internet. The initial turn down was a bad move on their part. Thankfully David Grossman and John Patrick and team put in the countless hours to make IBM a success by making its presence known. It seems though whenever something new comes about we are quick to judge negatively on why it wouldn’t be a good fit opposed to how it would actually promote the organization. If IBM had of jumped on the opportunity from the beginning its exposure would’ve be broader. In addition, the amount of work that was put in wouldn’t have had to occur. As a business, there will be risks that need to be taken and this was certainly an example of one that should’ve been taken advantage of. Kodak’s change story of having to reduce the amount of square footage for facilities worldwide and reduce the amount of employees was two significant factors that unsettle people. Reduction of facilities is common in most businesses. It simply means to consolidate or simply transfer business to other existing locations. Relocation of jobs may not seem as detrimental but the reduction of the workforce definitely is an eye opener. This change made employees consider where this would leave them. The new technology world was quickly advancing. This advancement demonstrated growth for other businesses but unsure of how it would impact a company who was known for providing a servicing that has been needed for so long. Depending on the business it’s hard to hold onto employees when what the business offers is becoming obsolete. Change is all about moving to the future in order to make a difference. Nothing will last forever and many great things will have to just become memories. In Kodak’s case, I believe their situation was handled the best way they saw fit. McDonalds change story referenced them not embracing healthier options to their menus until after a study had been completed by independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. Spurlock challenged himself to eat McDonald’s three times a day, every day for a month. The result of fast food splurge resulted in him gaining at least 25 pounds and cholesterol rising from 168 to 230 (Managing Organizational Change p7). Once the research had been completed , McDonald’s was then ready to embrace the change that competitors such as Burger King and Wendy’s had already implemented. I would have recommended and expected McDonald’s to be leader. They had always been the most popular fast food chain. Why risk losing loyal customers over something that should be implemented in order to help reduce the high rates of obesity? Attribute Change Image Hewlett-Packards attribute would be when CEO Carly Fiorina and CFO Bob Wayman negotiated with the team at Deutsche Bank in order to vote yes for the merger of HP and Compaq. This label is appropriate because Fiorina did her job and didn’t pass it off to someone else to ensure the deal was made. In the case of IBM David Grossman and John Patrick went above and beyond the call of duty in a management role to ensure that everything was brought together and executed as flawless as possible. In many cases if the employee isn’t part of the management team, they generally won’t take lead unless instructed to. This was a great way to know when to go above and beyond the call of duty to help the organization. In the case of Kodak, the leader David Carp held onto the reigns for as long as possible and guided the company down a path that wasn’t too detrimental. Although thousands of jobs were lost, it didn’t occur at one time which could’ve been a domino effect in other ways for the economy. McDonald’s sudden change of heart came due to the efforts and sacrifice of Morgan Spurlock. Not too many people can say that would be willing to complete this challenger for an entire month. To even take the risk of gaining additional weight or even gaining health issues that were present before says something about an individual. This person meant businesses and simply wanted to reduce obesity.

Different Managing Strategy Hewlett-Packard could’ve had a set plan in place of how they were going to combine the two companies in order to provide services to customers. First impressions are lasting impressions. Simple instructions on how to make things easier for all to accept should’ve been communicated to employees so they would know how to relay to existing and future clients. IBM strategy should have involved senior management being involved with the start-up the exposure of the internet. It was great to have an employee initiate such a change; however, some form structure should’ve been put into place to assist to ensure everything ran smoothly. The adjustments that were made by Kodak I believe were sufficient. This change could’ve occurred more drastically. The only suggestion is to have hired an individual who was creative enough to produce a product that would’ve kept them in the running. This individual would’ve created a product that would meet the needs of society. In the case of McDonald’s I believe it would’ve been best to have asked the consumers what it is they wanted. I believe without customers there would be no business. Although McDonald’s is geared to be a fast food provider, it must be willing to provide a healthier avenue. The healthier avenue will be their demonstration of keeping up with the needs of society.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the four stories of change with Hewlett Packard, IBM, Kodak and McDonald’s used Kotter’s model to describe their errors when it came to change. Change within any organization will always be a challenge. It is imperative that the organization has a back-up plan or even a detailed strategy on how the aftermath should occur. Too often management becomes complacent with doing things their way and not considering the needs of the consumers or employees. These very same individuals are the ones who keep the company going and know more about it than upper management. As with anything, all four organizations could’ve done something differently that would’ve improved the overall outcome. These examples can just be looked as learning lessons and moved on from.

References
Kotter, J. (2012). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.