Resistance to Change:Overcoming Individual and Structural Barriers to Change

Case 2

Sam Palmisano became the Chief Executive Officer in 2002 and aimed at getting different parts of the company working together in for IBM to offer to its customers integrated solution hardware , software services and financing at a single price ( HYPERLINK "http /www .ibm .com /software /success /cssdb .nsf /CS /JSTS6AHT3U ?OpenDocumen t Site software http /www .ibm .com /software /success /cssdb .nsf /CS /JSTS6AHT3U ?OpenDocument Site software . He asked all IBM employees world wide to think about a new set of shared corporate values . The debate gave birth to a set

of values that were meant to direct operational decisions made by employees of IBM

It was evident that there was to be a shift from re-engineering to re-invention . One of the proposals was the On-demand concept whose effort was to transform how businesses use technology . The focus was on growth and innovation as powerful ways to manage and measure progress

CASE 4

The national Aeronautics and space administration is the agency charged with the responsibility of carrying out space research and exploration It was faced with disaster on February 12 , 2003 when its space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas as it entering the Earth 's atmosphere . An investigation team called the Columbia accident investigation board (CAIB ) was instituted and came with several findings and recommendations . The findings showed that there were immediate and also organizational causes of the accident . The immediate causes were mechanical while organizational were through the act of ignoring some mechanical problems and thus failing to predict with precision the degree of risk

CAIB came up with the following recommendations

Forum from external tank should not break free

Pre-flight inspection to be intensified

Increase the quality of images available of shuttle during ascent and on-flight

Recertify all shuttle components by 2010

Institute on independent technical engineering authority to deal with technical requirements

President George Bush in the year 2005 gave a vision on space exploration . He committed US to long-tem human and robotic program to explore the solar system . They were to begin with return to the moon in to explore Mars and other destinations . His vision was based on the CAIB 's recommendations that were seen as being able to ensure safer space exploration

Leading the agency towards the realization of President Bush 's vision is Chief Griffin . He proposed the retirement of shuttle orbiter which is too expensive , too logistically fragile and insufficiently safe (www .msnbc .msn .com /id /7159657 . To succeed Griffin must first make sure that he deals with problem of the size of organization . The organization is very large and decision making becomes problematic in that the makers cannot embody all information

CASE 3

The assessment of CAIB date and findings was organized and executed well . The outline of how it was done is as follows

External Environment - change occurred in the external environment i .e the accident and this prompted the need for the investigation

Mission and Strategy - these were affected by the accident

Leadership - a...