Change Management Task

This task requires you to analyse the responses to change within an organisation. The information you need can be found by researching in the office and searching the internet or libraries.

You will work within your forum team to research and answer the task questions, and then collate and present your feedback.

Story

What if someone at Antz heard about the planned changes before they were announced? The situation might unfold like this...

Eve is walking along the corridor, and as she passes Ben's office she hears Imelda mention the new machinery. This doesn't mean much to her, but she thinks it might interest her friend Whiri, who works in the dispatch area. Eve tells Whiri what she has heard.

Whiri has been working for Antz for about six months, and he's not getting on too well with his supervisor, Ana. She is in her sixties and feeling a bit anxious about this - she needs the money and is keen to keep working, but her boss has begun to hint that her performance is dropping and she might like to consider retiring. Ana has been taking it out on Whiri a bit. She is looking forward to the advent of the new machinery - she knows what's coming and that it will be installed soon. It's an opportunity that might get her out of the rut she feels she's in.

Whiri is a bit of a dreamer. He gets quite excited when Eve mentions the new machinery. Whiri sees all sorts of possibilities - he almost convinces himself that he could be in line for promotion and so get away from Ana. Eve senses Whiri's excitement and is convinced by what he says! When she gets back to work, she talks to her other workmates about the changes and the opportunities that Whiri could have.

By the time word gets back to Ana, it is generally expected that Whiri will be leaving her team and moving on to the new machinery. The person who tells Ana is quite sure that Whiri has already been offered the promotion.

Organise your forum team

You need to organise your forum team. You can nominate yourself for positions or suggest other team members. Your forum team needs to:

• choose a facilitator to direct discussions within the team
• decide how the members of your team will work together to research the task questions and deliver feedback (you need to agree on who will research each question)
• choose a reporter to collate and write up the team's findings.

Plan your research

When researching the information, you need to address these questions:

1. How is Ana feeling about the change and what are the effects for her?
2. How is Whiri feeling about the change and what are the effects for him?
3. What are the positive effects of this change?
4. What are the negative effects of this change?
5. What should management think about now?
6. What might stop this type of rumour spreading?
7. What should management do in this situation?

Have any of you been in a similar situation to the one described? It might be interesting to share your thoughts on this.

Present your team's completed feedback, to your tutor. This is a collaborative task - share with each other and do the best you can.