HRM Ch 8 Try It Mini Sim on Change

Having worked closely with the R&D department before when new products were brought to production, you know that the department has not seen much change in the last ten years. The exiting head of R&D was more of a researcher than a manager. One of the things you feel you need to tackle is getting the department moving in the direction of being more innovative. You have several ideas, but want to bring only three to the CEO for implementation. You are looking for the three best ideas to send forward.

- Increasing communication- Less formalization in the structure of the department- Increasing resources

The CEO is considering your recommendations, and it will take time to make some of these changes. However, you know that it's not just the structure of the department that is stifling creativity. You believe that the culture could be significantly improved, and you want to start working on these issues ASAP. It will be a slow process to make some of these changes, but the time to get started is now. You have a lot of ideas, but only a few should be implemented initially. Which three do you think should be started immediately?

- Use positive feedback.- Promote a tolerance for conflicting ideas.- Focus on the ends, instead of the means.

Now that you have made these changes, you know that you must help your employees to deal with them. What is the best strategy to help facilitate these changes?

Hold a two-day off-site meeting with the new team, in which you explain the change and the reasons for it, and provide opportunities for team members to get to know one another.

You hold a two-day off-site meeting to discuss the changes with the new teams. Overall, the teams report satisfaction with their experiences. A month later, most of the teams are doing well. However, employees from one of the units that took over some of the previously contracted products are taking many sick days, missing deadlines, and engaging in conflicts with other team members. How do you diagnose the problem, and how would you address it?

These members of the team are suffering from stress. You should address this to alleviate the problems.

You talk further with team members and learn that they are unsure of their new roles and fear that they will be laid off. Some of the employees believe that they do not have the knowledge necessary to work on products from other areas. What is your best response?

Work with the new marketing team director to clarify roles and educate team members on new products.

You consider several potential strategies you could recommend to the CEO and the Board of Directors. Some will necessitate sweeping changes, while others take into account the volatile situation facing Holden Evans and are a more measured approach. What is the recommendation that you send forward?

You recommend the company improve quality control by terminating the contracts with outside contractors and bringing all production back to the United States. You are certain that with enhanced manufacturing technology, you can make up some of the cost savings of having the product produced overseas.

The CEO and Board approve of your plan. They agree that it is the appropriate step to take in this volatile situation. You decide that structural changes must be made at Holden Evans immediately to deal with the additional product lines. Equipment and employees will have to be moved around to optimize production of all of the products in house. This shouldn't be too difficult because many of the vitamins and supplements are produced using similar processes. You have several options available to help facilitate this process. Which of the following methods do you think is the best choice?

You select several trusted managers to help facilitate the transition of operations from overseas. These individuals can help gather information and also smooth any rough spots that may occur.