Please review the attached case/scenario. You are Bill. Feel free to \"read into

Question

Please review the attached case/scenario. You are Bill. Feel free to "read into" this scenario, especially as it relates to politics, symbolism, and the other four program coordinators. Pay close attention to who you'd want on your guiding coalition (advisory committee). Remember, you are Bill in this scenario.

Carol is a vice president for student affairs at a public university. She’s very charismatic, has been a vice president at another college, and likes to give favors, even if it creates an inequitable environment. Carol has decided to promote a “program coordinator” to a director level, with no change in duties or “direct reports.” This promotion and title change has increased both the program coordinator’s salary by over $10,000 annually, and their access to director’s meetings and status.

There are four other program coordinators in the student affairs division, each with similar levels of duties. One of these program coordinators has more direct reports, higher levels of risk, and a more advanced degree than the promoted “director.” Carol did not discuss this change with the other program coordinators and their respective supervisors, and has no intention of promoting the other program coordinators. Now there is “major grumbling,” and allegations of preferential treatment are evident within the division.

Bill is an associate vice president, supervises the one program coordinator with the advanced degree, and reports directly to Carol. He has recently earned a doctorate in educational leadership, is very astute with organizational dynamics, and feels obligated to quietly and privately bring his concerns for this situation to Carol.

During his weekly “one-on-one time,” Bill asks Carol if he can discuss his concerns for the recent promotion of the program coordinator. Carol agrees and Bill does his best to respectfully discuss the situation with Carol. Bill even starts out acknowledging the reasonableness of Carol’s attempt to get someone promoted and a higher salary. Partway through his discussion of the perceived inequities and repercussions of the promotion, Carol interrupts Bill and angrily accuses him of believing he knows more than her, now that he has his doctoral degree-which she describes as a simple “union card” to be qualified for upper administration. Furthermore, she reminds him she has over 29 years of student affairs experience and doesn’t need anyone telling her what to do.

Bill tries one more time, and asks Carol if she would like to hear his full recommendation on how to fix the situation. She proceeds to act totally offended, and responds, “I don’t need your advice or help, and if I did, I’d ask.”

Over a month passes, and unexpectedly (without any acknowledgment or apology to Bill), Carol announces, during a directors’ meeting, that for consistency, she is being required to work out a plan to promote the other program managers to director. Unbeknownst to Bill, several days after his attempt to give her feedback, HR had come to Carol and insisted she change the titles and pay of all the program coordinators. Furthermore, Carol has become consistently agitated around, and dismissive of, Bill in all public meetings and gatherings. During their weekly one-on-one meetings, Carol is abrupt, cool, and her body posture reflects a closed style in Bill’s presence.

Then, unexpectedly, Carol calls Bill into her office and directs him to lead the process of dealing with all the inequities (she caused), and working out a change plan for reviewing salaries and position descriptions, in preparation for promoting the other four program coordinators to director status.

Your charge is to perform an analysis of this situation using Bolman & Deal’s four frames. Once you have your analysis, create a draft/hypothetical planned change document using the first 6 stages of Kotter’s 8 stages of change. Include estimated timelines from instigation to completion in weeks/months.

Kotter’s 8-stage Change Management Process

Aug 22nd, 2007 by Transitions at Work editor

Harvard Business School professor John P. Kotter outlined an eight-stage change management process in his 1996 book, Leading Change. This framework has been embraced by many as an accurate representation of the steps needed to effect major change within an organization.

Kotter’s 8-stage Change Management Process

1. Establish a Sense of Urgency

Often employees do not take the need for change seriously enough; the organization is often very complacent. The effective change leader will educate the organization about the urgent need for change and the consequences of sticking to the status quo.

2. Create a Guiding Coalition

The change leader should assemble a group of people who support the need for change and have enough institutional clout to make change happen; the task is then to get this coalition to work together as a team.

3. Develop a Vision and Strategy

A change leader needs to present a picture (or vision) of what the organization will look like after the change and to propose strategies to move the organization to this ideal state. The goal of the vision is to get employee buy-in, so employee participation in articulating the vision is useful.

4. Communicate the Change Vision

The change leader must coordinate a communications effort that broadcasts the new vision and strategies. Management must communicate the vision of change to all relevant employees to further develop buy-in. Kotter believes that the guiding coalition should “model the behavior expected of employees.”

5. Empower Action

Management should remove barriers that impede change. Employees should know that acting in accord with the vision will be rewarded. Risk taking should be encouraged.

6. Generate Short-Term Wins

By breaking up the desired change into smaller steps, change leaders can create a feeling of progress as well as opportunities to reward employees for success. This progress should be communicated widely so it is recognized throughout the organization that change is happening.

7. Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change

Change leaders can use the increased credibility that comes with early “wins” to alter whatever in the organization doesn’t fit the vision. Recruiting and promoting those who can advance the change process (or perhaps even help lead it) is vital in continuing progress.

8. Anchor New Approaches in the Culture

Emphasizing the benefits of the change effort, and linking it to organizational success, is one way to help anchor the new approach. The idea is to have new practices replace the old culture. (This final step takes time; it comes last in the transformation process).

Kotter’s 8-stage Change Management Process

1. Establish a Sense of Urgency

Often employees do not take the need for change seriously enough; the organization is often very complacent. The effective change leader will educate the organization about the urgent need for change and the consequences of sticking to the status quo.

2. Create a Guiding Coalition

The change leader should assemble a group of people who support the need for change and have enough institutional clout to make change happen; the task is then to get this coalition to work together as a team.

3. Develop a Vision and Strategy

A change leader needs to present a picture (or vision) of what the organization will look like after the change and to propose strategies to move the organization to this ideal state. The goal of the vision is to get employee buy-in, so employee participation in articulating the vision is useful.

4. Communicate the Change Vision

The change leader must coordinate a communications effort that broadcasts the new vision and strategies. Management must communicate the vision of change to all relevant employees to further develop buy-in. Kotter believes that the guiding coalition should “model the behavior expected of employees.”

5. Empower Action

Management should remove barriers that impede change. Employees should know that acting in accord with the vision will be rewarded. Risk taking should be encouraged.

6. Generate Short-Term Wins

By breaking up the desired change into smaller steps, change leaders can create a feeling of progress as well as opportunities to reward employees for success. This progress should be communicated widely so it is recognized throughout the organization that change is happening.

7. Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change

Change leaders can use the increased credibility that comes with early “wins” to alter whatever in the organization doesn’t fit the vision. Recruiting and promoting those who can advance the change process (or perhaps even help lead it) is vital in continuing progress.

8. Anchor New Approaches in the Culture

Emphasizing the benefits of the change effort, and linking it to organizational success, is one way to help anchor the new approach. The idea is to have new practices replace the old culture. (This final step takes time; it comes last in the transformation process).

Explanation / Answer

Analysis of the situation:

Refer Bolman & Deal’s four frames namely Political, Human Resources, Structural and symbolic.

1. The situation can be considered more Political and structural here as the whole decision making was ambigous and unplanned. Political because it was also clear case of favoritism for the program coordinator promoted to the post of Director with same resonsibilities, duties and ndividual was given a better package without any logical duty change or responsibility enhancement.

2.Structural because the existing postions and responsibilities of other program coordinators was not taken into account. The total framework of the team was disturbed without any explanation or justification for promotion.

3. HR role was primary as they pushed Carol to take some serious actions/

Hence the intervention from Human Resorces has forced Carol to make a startegy to appease the 4 other program coordinators:

1. Establish a Sense of Urgency

The urgency has started with the discontent noticeable in the program coordinators not promoted. This was instigated by Carol 1 month back by promoting one coordinator without any discussion or brain storming

2. Create a Guiding Coalition (1 week after HR has forced for parity in structure of coordinators)

The change leader is Bill but he has no clout so he was not heard in the meeting. HR intervention resulted as the catalyst to push Carol to take the decision of creating changes which would affect the long term term structure of the team.

3. Develop a Vision and Strategy (1 month plus 1 week)

Bill presented a stategy to systematically assign new duties and responsibilties equally to all 4 program coordinators, this will be reinforce that all are being considered equally at time of promotions. The pay scale will also will be revised to make it at par.

4. Communicate the Change Vision ( 1.5 months after the first promotion)

The change leader will be Bill but backed by Carol who will present her view point by stating that duties of all have nbeen enhanced as she had first tried it on one individual to see the results and effect on work due to designation and salary change. She found her trial very sucessful so similar duties and promotions given to all other four too.

5. Empower Action

This action has recreated bonhomie and empowered all individual by making them Director. Carol has appeared just and fair, Bill has become the strategist and the visionary.

6. Generate Short-Term Wins (2 months)

The leadership has reworked entire framework and achieved good will. The jobs are enhanced and bonhomie reestablished in the ranks. The overall impact by taking corrective action has made a bad move to a positive move for organisation.

Carol should throw a tea party inviting all to announce the promotions as a symbolic gesture and to maintain sancity of her office.

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