Unit 3: Considerations and Case Studies in Organizational Change Management
Now that you understand leadership change management and have reviewed the various change management methods, reviewing some of the failures that have occurred over the years in change management can be helpful. It is important to study the failures in business because we can see some of the pitfalls that organizations have already attempted and not only avoid those failures but analyze why they failed in the first place.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 7 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- interpret failures of change management to better understand change in the organization;
- examine the reasons organizations fail to change;
- compare ways to motivate employees through the change process;
- analyze how to avoid change process failures in a given organization; and
- differentiate between the positive and negative effects leadership has on the change process.
3.1: Why Is It Important to Analyze Failures in the Change Process?
Analyzing past business failures is important so that you may understand why a business failed, what they could've done to prevent the failure, and how to prevent similar issues in your own organization. Case studies about these failures are useful to analyze for these reasons.
Some organizations are uncomfortable with change and may fear the unknown when it comes to change. Some leaders may not completely understand the organization's goals or may disagree with the goals and are unwilling to make the changes needed to move forward and be successful. Some leaders may not have the skills or are incapable of enacting change and following through with the needed changes. In addition, employees who have not been fully apprised of why change is needed may fight the change and be unwilling to follow through with proposed changes. This theory of change video addresses a non-profit business, how change occurs, and why it may fail.
As mentioned above, there are numerous reasons that an organization fails at implementing change. The culture of the business may not be matched with the change management system chosen to facilitate change. Employees may not buy into the change or may not be trained properly. Additional funding may not be available when it is needed. This page addresses the reasons some small businesses may succeed when large organizations fail to do so. Be sure to answer the concept check questions at the end of the section.
This short video explains a different understanding and focus of business today. Many businesses focus on making money, while in reality, any profit should go back into the business to help further develop the business.
A lack of teamwork, employee buy-in, and engagement can create chaos and disorder at the department and business levels. Teams must work well together to effect change.
The restaurant industry is one of the leading industries when it comes to business failures, and most businesses fail in their first five years. This video addresses the failures of restaurants and the reasons that most close within a few years of opening.
When your team lacks accountability, follow-through, or structure, chaos can ensue. The organization must have structures set in place that will follow up on assignments to ensure the team as a whole meets its commitments. Setting clear expectations and following up to ensure accountability occurs, the more successful a business can be as they move forward. This video has a step-by-step guide to keep accountability and ensure structure in each department and the company overall.
3.2: Examples of Businesses That Failed in the Change Management Process
There are numerous case studies of businesses that have failed in the last few decades. Even today, we can see businesses struggling to find their place in the market and move successfully forward. This section will cover a few of those well-known business failures and why they did not change or why the change they attempted did not work.
This page shows Kodak's company history, why the business failed, and how a new resurgence has occurred over the last decade. Read this page to better understand how this company failed to keep up with changing times.
The Hummer brand of SUVs is another example of a business failure. The extra-large tank-like vehicles were extremely popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, but as gas prices continued to rise, the massive gas-consuming SUVs had difficulty finding a market. Read the History section on this Wikipedia page.
Blockbuster Video may be the most famous business failure in the last few decades. The large video chain has numerous reasons for its failure, and most people believe that it was Netflix that created problems for this video/DVD renting chain, but Netflix and its DVD mailing and online streaming were only one of the reasons the company failed. Over the last few years, the last Blockbuster Video in the world has once again created some buzz over the fact that they are the last of the video chain stores. Several documentaries have been made about Blockbuster, and a new comedy show on Netflix has made the video chain popular again. This video explains the rise and fall of Blockbuster Video.
Read this case study about Netflix and disruption. How would you answer the three questions at the end?
Sears is another company that survived for over 100 years and could not keep up with change. Their mail-order catalogs were one of a handful of companies that did a successful business for decades. But with the development of the internet, they could not compete and filed for bankruptcy.
3.3: Leadership and Change Management
By now, you should better understand why businesses fail and how important good leadership is during change implementation. Leaders help to facilitate change and can be their reason for success or failure. In this section, we will review how leaders can make a strong impact on the success or failure of a business and what we can learn from organizations that fail.
A good leader will naturally take the change needed in their department or business and communicate it to employees, who will then lead it. Read this section about why good management is essential and what might occur when it is not, and be sure to answer the concept check questions at the end.
As reviewing these case studies of failed businesses shows, we can learn from the mistakes of companies that, for one reason or another, did not change. This also shows why it is so important for organizations to change and keep up with the rest of the business world. Keep in mind that businesses that are successful today will also be challenged in the future and will also be forced to change or become obsolete. As technology advances further and further, organizations need to keep pace with those changes. This is why it is so important to effectively use change management. This video addresses why business transformation fails for so many and what a good leader can do to prevent that change from occurring.
Conclusion
This unit covered why businesses may fail and the importance of positive, effective change in business today. By reviewing case studies of failed businesses, we may be able to better foresee issues in the future and discover how imperative it is that businesses change as the world around them changes.
Unit 3 Study Resources
This review video is an excellent way to review what you've learned so far and is presented by one of the professors who created the course.
Watch this as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.
- Unit 3 Review Slides File PDF document
You can also download the presentation slides so you can make notes.
We also recommend that you review this Study Guide before taking the Unit 3 Assessment.
Unit 3 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.