Assignment Content
Read the following Case Study: Closing a Plant in Ch. 12, “The Effective Change Manager: What Does It Take?,” of Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach:
Case Study: Closing a Plant
Aaron De Smet et al. (2012, pp. 4–5) describe the following example of a change manager faced with a particularly difficult challenge. What is an assessment of his approach? Could one use this open and “authentic” style in another organization? Or would one consider this approach to be difficult and risky?
Pierre was managing a plant in France during the darkest days of the global financial crisis. His plant was soon to close as demand from several of its core customers went into a massive and seemingly irreversible tailspin. The company was in a tricky spot: it needed the know-how of its French workers to help transfer operations to a new production location in another country, and despite its customers problems, it still had €20 million worth of orders to fulfill before the plant closed. Meanwhile, tensions were running high in France: other companies plant closures had sparked protests that in some cases led to violent reactions from employees. Given the charged situation, most companies were not telling workers about plant closures until the last minute.
Pierre was understandably nervous as he went through leadership training, where he focused intently on topics such as finding the courage to use honesty when having difficult conversations, as well as the value of empathic engagement. After a lengthy debate among company executives, Pierre decided to approach the situation with those values in mind. He announced the plant closing nine months before it would take place and was open with employees about his own fears. Pierres authenticity struck a chord by giving voice to everyones thoughts and feelings. Moreover, throughout the process of closing the plant, Pierre recounts, he spent close to 60 percent of his time on personnel issues, most notably working with his subordinates to assist the displaced workers in finding new jobs and providing them with individual support and mentoring (something other companies werent doing). He spent only about 40 percent on business issues related to the closure.
This honest engagement worked: over the next nine months, the plant stayed open and fulfilled its orders, even as its workers ensured that their replacements in the new plant had the information they needed to carry on with work. It was the only plant in the industry to avoid violence and lockouts.
Write a 500- to 650-word paper that:
- Describes the use of evidence-based (data-based) analytics in Mr. De Smets approach to decision making regarding the future of the plant.
- Distinguishes between managing change as discussed in Wk 2 versus leading sustainable change as illustrated in this case study.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines, including a title page and reference page. Review the APA sample paper and the two APA-formatted templates below. Please use one of the templates provided if you do not have a firm grasp on APA formatting. Read the writing tip document for miscellaneous tips on APA formatting and grammar. See the templates and writing tips under the Week 1 assignment.
Write in third person for all academic assignments; do not use personal pronouns.
Submit the paper to the Grammar Writing Tools found in the Center for Writing Excellence under the Library tab to help you with your writing.
Spell check and proofread the paper carefully.
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