Objectives

The aim of this assignment is provide learners with an opportunity learn more about the overall target of a large scale change initiative. It helps you to understand the answer to a broader concern and that is – what are the desired outcomes of a change initiative??

Instructor Comments

So why do organizations change? Most often it is to improve performance and improve how they do things. Often this takes the form of different processes and structures. In many instances decision makers wish to make these entities less bureaucratic.  This assignment leads off with a series of readings that suggest some ideal outcomes of large scale transformations. It is interesting to note that most large scale change efforts do not achieve their objectives and the efforts themselves are often years in duration. This is an important concern given that in many instances their competitive environments change so dramatically as to make the intended alteration obsolete. Just think of the great mining boom of 2003 – 2008. Growth strategies soon turned to exercises in downsizing in this industry with many small mining firms on the brink of bankruptcy. Nevertheless, change efforts occur for a reason and this final assignment helps readers to understand where many of these initiatives are headed.

Assignment

You should base your responses to the following questions on the insight found in the following four readings:

• Galbraith, J. 1982 Designing the Innovative Organization. Organizational Dynamics.

• Goffee J. and Jones, G. 1996. What holds the modern corporation together? Harvard Business Review. November-December.

Please answer the following questions:

• For each paper, please use one paragraph to summarize the main ideas.

• Please use one half page to summarize the ideas that are similar among all of these papers.

• What are the desired outcomes of a change initiative?

Please limit your response to this assignment to three single spaced, typed pages. Please cite your sources in the text and please reference them at the end of your assignment. Please end your write-up with one paragraph that summarizes what you think is the importance of this assignment.