Module 1 – Case

ORGANIZATIONAL RESISTANCE TO CHANGE (AND WHY GOOD COMPANIES FAIL)

Assignment Overview

In the Module 1 Case Assignment, you will write a 5- to 6-page paper in which you analyze in-depth the reasons that good companies fail due to their reluctance to respond to changes in the internal company and the external environment.

Case Assignment

To begin the Module 1 Case assignment, read the following article:

Butt, J., & Ivanov, S. (2017). Study of a large office supply retail organization: How good companies slowly go out of business. International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 9(4), 100-116. Retrieved from EBSCO – Business Source Complete.

After you read the foregoing article, visit the library, and consult IBISWorld (download the IBISWorld Academic Overview). Search for “Office Supply Stores in the U.S.” Scan through the various pages associated with the large office supply retail industry, noting key areas of opportunity, key areas required for success, and key threats. Then, in a well-written 5- to 6-page paper (not including Cover and References pages), respond to the following:

1. Based on your research, what are the key drivers for success in the large office supply store industry? This section should be at least 2 pages in length.
2. What were the reasons for the failure of the Fortune 500 office supply company as discussed in the Butt and Ivanov (2017) journal article? Are these reasons consistent with the reasons for organizational failure as identified by Sheth & Sisodia (2005)? What other reasons, if any, have you identified? Are there any practical difficulties that served as barriers to needed organizational change? (This section should be at least 2 pages in length).
3. What recommendations would you have given the leadership of the foregoing Fortune 500 company relative to how the company may have avoided organizational failure? (This section should also be at least 2 pages in length).
4. Conclude your paper by identifying the key lessons you have learned from Module 1 (as taken from both the Background materials and the Module 1 Case assignment) concerning the need for ongoing adaptation on the part of the organization and the need to avoid organizational inertia and resistance to change. This section should be at least 1 page in length.

Assignment Expectations

1. Minimum length requirements for the Module 1 Case assignment are 5–6 pages (not including Cover and Reference pages).
2. Be sure to cite your sources using APA Style.
3. Upload your paper to the Case 1 Dropbox before the assignment due date.

COURSE MATERIALS/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Module 1

Required Reading

Company Man. (2017, June 21). The decline of Blockbuster: What happened? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sMXR7rK40U

Company Man. (2017, May 15). The decline of Kmart: What happened? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1__Qg1toSSs

Judge, W. (n.d.). Focusing on Organizatonal Change. Retrieved from http://www.oercommons.org/courses/focusing-on-organizational-change/view
Read pages 13-17.

Iverson, L. (2010). The science of change management: The 7 phases of change & breaking through resistance to change. [Books24x7 version]. Available in the Trident Online Library.

Sheth, J., & Sisodia, R. (2005). Why good companies fail. European Business Forum, 22, 24-30. Retrieved from ProQuest.

Sull, D. (1999, July/August). Why good companies go bad. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1999/07/why-good-companies-go-bad

Optional Reading

Pasmore, B. (2015). Leading continuous change. Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Retrieved from EBSCO—eBook Collection.

Llopis, G. (2014, Jun 30). Change management requires leadership clarity and alignment. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/06/30/change-management-requires-leadership-clarity-and-alignment/#468dc1813e3c

PLEASE NOTE*** We have found a suitable replacement for Brown’s (2002) Easy Step Guide, with the following Link and sections:

“ Resistance to Change”, “Change is Inevitable”, “Life is a Process”, and “Managing the Phases of Change Phases 1-5” of:

Iverson, L. (2010). The science of change management: the 7 phases of change & breaking through resistance to change. [Books24x7 version] Available from http://library.books24x7.com.ezproxy.trident.edu:2048/toc.aspx?bookid=54174.

This will cover why people resist, how we manage change internally, our life processes in change, and the phases of change. It is a little different from Brown (2002) but does cover the same material of barriers and resistance.