Part -1:
1. Develop and articulate a critical knowledge and understanding and analysis of change and the management of change situations.
2. Demonstrate the ability to apply relevant change theory to practice using appropriate techniques of inquiry.
3. Analyse and critically evaluate aspects of change and leadership theory and practice under investigation.
4. Effectively communicate an appropriate solution to a particular change management and leadership case under investigation.
PFIZER IN A NEW KIND OF STRUCTURE
Admit it. Sometimes the projects you're working on (college, work or both) can get pretty boring and monotonous. Wouldn't it be nice to have a magic button you could push to get someone else to do the boring, time consuming stuff for you? At Pfizer such a button is a reality for a large number of employees.
As a global pharmaceutical company Pfizer is continually looking for ways to be more efficient and effective. The company senior director for organizational effectiveness, Jordan Cohen, found that the "Harvard MBA Staff we hired to develop strategies and innovate were instead googling and making power point." Indeed internal studies conducted to find out just how much time valuable talent was spending in menial tasks was startling. The average Pfizer employee was spending 20% to 40% of his or her time on support works (creating documents, typing notes, doing research, manipulating data and scheduling meetings) and only 60% to 80% on knowledge work (strategy, innovation, networking, collaborating, critical thinking). And the problem wasn't just at lower levels. Even the highest-level employees were affected. That's when Cohen began looking for solutions. The solution he choose turned out to be outsourcing numerous knowledge-processes to companies based in India.
Initial tests of outsourcing to support tasks didn't go well at all. However, Cohen continued to tweak (squeeze) the process until everything worked. Now Pfizer employees can clock the OOF (Office of the Future) button in Microsoft outlook, and they are connected to an outsourcing company where a single worker in India receives the request and assigns it to a team. The team leader calls the employee to clarify the request. The team leader then emails back a cost specification for the requested work. At this point, the Pfizer employee can say yes or no. Cohen says that the benefits of OOF are unexpected. Time spent on data analysis has been cut sometimes in half. The financial benefits are also impressive. And Pfizer employees loved it. Cohen says, "it's kind of amazing. I wonder what they used to do."
Source: FAST COMPANY by A. Cohen. Copyright 2008 by Mansueto Ventures LW
Assessment Requirements:
1. Describe and critically evaluate what Pfizer is doing.
2. Discuss the concepts of organizational structure and critically analyze the structural implications (in terms of dimension) utilized by Pfizer.
3. Analytically apply and evaluate what relevant theory on leadership style and behaviour practiced by the senior director of Pfizer in its accomplishment.
4. Prepare an innovative plan for continuous change management and organizational effectiveness at Pfizer. Present the tabular plan with significant explanation. (Follow the format specified in Annex A)
Part -2:
Starbucks: A Strategic Change and Management Perspective By maleek49 I May 2012
Starbucks Coffee Company's success in the coffee business echoed resoundingly across the globe. The company was able to attract many customers despite its overpriced coffee. The coffee-chain managed to draw the attention of investors as well, as they saw in the Starbucks a profitable investment. Starbucks is best known for its overpriced coffee and its excellent stores adorned with comfortable couches and wonderful music. Starbucks marketed itself as the "Third Place" - a place where people can go aside from home and the workplace.
The rapid growth of Starbucks has become a success story in the business world and many people are bewildered by the company's business strategy. Who could have imagined that a coffee outlet, selling overpriced coffee with fancy Italian names, can persuade people to buy its products, and can make these people happy? Why are financiers lured into investing in the company? Why do investors put their money in Starbucks stocks? What's in Starbucks that made it very successful in the coffee business, selling its products at grossly high prices and yet been able to attract both the buyers and the investors?
For sure, the speedy success of Starbucks is a mystery in the industry of coffee business. Starbucks' rivals were not able to match the rapid growth of the company. In a span of less than two decades, Starbucks was able to open tens of thousands of stores across the globe. The value of its shares in the stock market also increased rapidly, evidence of its attractiveness to investors.
However, the Starbucks "miracle" ceased to become a miracle. The fast-paced growth that the company experienced had gone to a sudden stop. Starbucks posted a 50% decline in profit by the end of the 2008 fiscal year. The company's stocks fell sharply to $9.44 at the end of 2008, from a high of $38.45 in mid-2007. Currently, the coffee store is undertaking a major organizational retransformation. Starbuck has always associated itself with high customer satisfaction level. In the recent survey carried out by the marketing department found out that Starbucks was not meeting its customer's expectations in terms of customer satisfactions.
This disturbing new finding has concerned Starbuck and through analysis of key indicators it was necessary to find out what has caused customer satisfaction level in Starbucks to fall.
Assessment Requirements:
1. Write a critical review of the article above. Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the opinions of the author and discuss both the positive and negative points based on your overall judgment.
2. Discuss your own point of view on how change can be implemented based on your evaluation. Relate your critical analysis to any of the theoretical models of change.
3. At least 3 references
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Part 1 : 2000 words minimum, Part 2: 800 Minimum