Ashford Every Leader Must be a Change Agent or Face Extinction Article Question

Answer the 3 questions below and reply to each student.

Student Reply must be over 200 words.

Make sure all student replies you start it with Hello (Student Name),

Please upload each question in different word documents.

******Question 3 must be APA format and i have attached the GRADING RUBRIC. *************

Question 1:

Read the Forbes article: Every Leader Must be a Change Agent or Face Extinction (Links to an external site.). Given that change is interwoven in organizations today, a leader must be prepared for change in order to multiply growth opportunities. How can leaders remain ready for change and motivate their employees to embrace those changes? Respond to two classmates’ posts.

Student Reply 1: Heather Kemp

When it comes to change it is inevitable when you work for an organization. As generations are evolving, so is our technology and business in today’s society. After reading the article, I thought it had some really good view points and applies to what I have been going through since last week with the layoffs at my company. A leader’s job is to lead people while also motivating and taking the initiative on what the objective and goals are. Llopis, G (2014) stated “Today’s leaders must be bold, articulate and courageous visionaries that are not afraid to speak-up and change the conversation and/or introduce new ideas and ideals.” I think this statement is very true as that is a leader’s responsibility which is to in vison the future and how they can grow and be successful as an organization. Being the leader means you have to be ready for anything that comes your way whether it be good or bad. I think the number one thing that a leader can do in order to remain ready for change is to always prepare for the worst but hope for the best. I think if the leader is transparent and honest with their employees that is the best way to gain their trust. Once a leader can be trusted then it is easier for the leader to motivate their team to embrace change. Since the leader has built that trust it is easier for the employees to embrace any changes that may come their way.

With my current job situation, last Tuesday the entire company had an urgent video meeting. I work for a nonprofit university at a ground campus. The CEO informed everyone that the new vision was online and that we would no longer be enrolling any students on the ground campus any longer. They also let go the entire admissions department at every ground campus that Friday. A lot of employees felt betrayed and frustrated with the way things happened. As for the other departments besides admissions, they would continue to work at the ground campuses until all the students are gone and graduated. So I was able to keep my job for no until eventually in the next couple of years won’t be needed then will be laid off. The incentive that they offered was they would pay whoever stayed on with the company to fulfill their duties until they aren’t needed, 20% of their annual salary. As the CEO is making this huge change and wants everyone to embrace it, it has been very hard for the remaining employees to trust him. In this situation I think it could have been handled way better and went about another way. Now a bad taste has been left in a lot of people’s mouth and will probably be hard to embrace these changes.

References:

Llopis, G (2014) “Every Leader Must Be a Change Agent or Face Extinction” Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/03/2…

Student Reply 2: Laura Lawson

For leaders to remain ready for and promote change, they need to be informed.

Being ready for a change requires that leadership is keeping in contact with those above and below them on the company hierarchy. This readiness ensures they can more readily identify areas that need improvement within an organization. Within my current organization, the presented change initiatives are not surprising to employees. On our level, we are very aware of the changes needed within our company to continue to grow and improve. When these changes come through, most of the time, my fellow peers are ready for these changes and excited for the prospect of developmental opportunities. Individuals within the company must be aware of the goals and initiatives the company is driving towards, to more easily predict what changes will be coming there way. It provides them change to prepare for the oncoming changes.

However, even if companies are transparent with their direction, they may not be clear with the process. As Llopis (2014) stated, “Unfortunately, many leaders don’t take the time to define their strategy for change.” When leadership and employees are not aware of the implemented strategy to achieves the predicted changes, this can cause many issues, including barriers to completing change. Bierema (2014) advises that change readiness is “influenced by clear management communication and employee confidence in management’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively implement the change.” When communications are clear, covering the reason for the change, the actions to change, and the proper attitude towards the move, an organization can have a smoother transition.

Bierema, L. (2014). An introduction to organizational development. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Llopis, G. (2014, March 14). Every Leader Must Be A Change Agent Or Face Extinction (Links to an external site.). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/03/24…

Question 2:

Referencing this week’s lecture, assess the changes you have made in your personal or professional life and evaluate how well you maintained the change. Do you agree with the argument that change is easier to make than maintain? Why or Why not? Respond to two classmates’ posts.

Student Reply 3: Tirza Gonzales

As I assess my personal and professional lives, I know that change is easier to make than maintain. I feel the change is just one decision, but the maintenance is many continuous decisions. For example, in my personal life, I had to make the decision to return to school after many years to pursue a degree I never obtained. I was forced to decide because I had an opportunity to promote and I needed a degree. I made the decision that going back to school was important and registered. That was a hard decision, but it was just one step. Now, I must maintain that decision, taking many steps each week. The academic work is difficult and takes a lot of effort and time management, continuously.

I believe the maintenance comes down to the readiness for change. “Propensity to accept change depends on the perception that the change is necessary and achievable, and one is willing to support the efforts” (Bierema, 2014, Section 5.1, par. 2). Once you decide that the change is necessary, you accept the change, and do it. The maintenance is ongoing and requires non-stop effort.

References

Bierema, L. (2014). An introduction to organizational development. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUBUS370.14.1

Student Reply 4: Robert Beckley

Lewin’s model for change indicates for change to be effective one has to unfreeze from the old way, execute the change and then refreeze and sustain the new way of doing something (Bierema, 2014). In my opinion, it is much easier to make a change than it is to maintain change. For example, in the area of a process change; a situation may present itself where an employee is working within the parameters of the change, but when he or she experiences a roadblock they are unable to find a resolution to the problem and may consult with their manager, who also may not have a resolution. At this point, it is easier to go back to the old way of doing things until the “bug” is worked out. This was the scenario at the last company I worked, an overlay was added to the order entry system that was intended to expedite the frontline agent’s work; however, there were numerous problems with the overlay that could not be fixed at the moment and required another departments involvement. As more questions arose and the frontline was required to revert back to the old entry system, it was not long before they began to stop using the overlay altogether.

Even though everyone was on board with working more efficiently, it was challenging to “refreeze” the new change because the process was flawed.

Reference

Bierema, L. (2104). Organization development: an action research approach. Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/

Question 3:

Write a three- to four-page paper (not including the title and reference pages) describing the concept of a Force Field Analysis (FFA) and then creating an FFA on an issue in your life that you would like to change. Describe how the restraining forces impede your progress and develop an intervention strategy to enhance the driving forces to make change possible.

You must use at least two scholarly sources, in addition to the text, and format your paper according to APA style guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (.Attached) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.