Business Case for Change: Report and Presentation
In order to make the material come to life, and make the theoretical concepts and empirical findings more meaningful, you will be required to apply the issues raised in the text and lectures to real world scenarios. The criteria for doing well on these assignments will be based on your ability to think critically (i.e., justify your answers, use of examples, etc.), integrate material from the course, and communicate your ideas in a clear concise manner. You will act as an external consultant and prepare and present a business case for change. Your goal is to convince the board of the need for the change.
As internal consultants with the organization youve selected, you are charged with strategically guiding change to ensure the company can survive over the long term (any topic listed on the syllabus can be the focus of a change effort). To ensure the success of your next change effort, you will need to acquire the support from your board of directors, who have a staunch resistance to change. Your goal as consultant is to convince the board of directors to agree to and proceed with the proposed change initiative. Any of the topics listed in the learning schedule may be chosen for the proposed change initiative.
Requirements:
Each “consultant” will develop a report that summarizes their proposed change effort. The report must be written in a professional manner in the form of an Executive Summary. Consultants must provide an organizational demographic summary including business name, type of industry, size of industry, number of employees, years in business, approximate annual revenue and a brief organizational description. The paper must convey useful, detailed, and understandable information about recent research in I-O Psychology, and must be written in a way that is understandable to a well-educated but non-technical professional reader (e.g., a human resources manager who has never taken a course in psychology!)
You are to select your own topic. You identify any organization of your choosing, state the problem(s) you believe they are having related to human capital- do not try to change the product. Then develop a recommendation(s) to address the problem based on Organizational Psychology concepts. You should have no more than 4 recommendations (1-3 is the average). Any more is difficult to justify within the allotted time frame. I stop watching after 8 minutes, whether you’re finished or not!
Your recommended change(s) can address such things as :
Culture
Structure
Diversity
Hiring policies (e.g. change personality and/or skills hired for)
Job satisfaction
Communication
Team dynamics
Leadership
Training
Human resource procedures, etc.
The goal is to solve organizational problems without changing the product/service and without increasing salary. If in doubt, just contact me with your recommendations for review. I will let you know if they do not meet the needs of the assignment.
There is no one way to compose an Executive Summary, however the reader should be able to identify the key components you’re presenting easily. This document is not an essay. Think of the succinctness of a resume when, formatting your document. I should be able to garner the key points within 2 minutes of viewing your document. Consider using bold, underlines, and bullets to make your points stand out.
To best prepare for your presentation, the consultants should not only thoroughly research the change initiative topic but also any literature/information pertaining to resistance to organizational change. Students are advised to use all of the resources at the students disposal for this project (working knowledge, real- world experience, Internet, text, library, journal articles, business periodicals, etc).
The session should include (but should not be limited to) a background of the organization, potential competitor activity, urgency of change, the process and framework of the change, the justifications and benefits of the change. A level of conceptual integration is required beyond naming and listing of basic information; such integration reflects a more sophisticated level of understanding.
Questions you should answer:
What are the basic demographics of the organization?
What are the problem(s) you have identified?
What are your recommendations?
What benefits should be expected from implementation of your recommendation?
What are the negatives associated with waiting to address these issues?
What type of backlash could management experience from employee resistance?
Summarize/conclude your position. (What is the take away)
Make certain to use Organizational Behavioral/Psychological concepts/theories to support your presentation.
The Change Project Executive Summary Report and Presentation will be evaluated on the following criteria:
a) Demonstration of a comprehensive understanding of the change process
c) Demonstration of a thorough understanding of the change topic
b) Creativity and applicability of solutions to the proposed change
c) Use of proper grammar, spelling and punctuation of the Change Report
d) The clarity, conciseness and organization of the Change Report
e) Ability to verbally present the Change Project
f) Ability to professionally defend the Change project
g) The professionalism/thoroughness of the Executive Report.
Consultants are required to give a 5-8 minute oral presentation via recorded video detailing the proposed change initiative.
