Managing change
Write a memo to the department heads of Pegasus to describe
the goals of the change initiative, which is the reorganization. In this memo
you must gain the trust of the department heads by a clear explanation for the
need for change. Briefly outline the steps you may use to facilitate this
process and how you would like to involve the department heads with this
process.
Scenario:
You are an internal consultant directed to plan the
reorganization for Pegasus Company, a large aerospace research and development
company. You work in the Human Resource Development (HRD) Department and have
three direct reports. Your team has never experienced reorganization, and you
will be responsible for coaching them as well as facilitating the
reorganization itself. The goal for you and the HRD team is to help Pegasus
remain effective and efficient in today’s competitive marketplace.
Pegasus is widely known for its wind tunnel research
technology. Scale models of new products (plane, helicopter, jet, space
shuttle, outer space voyagers of various sorts, etc.) are tested for
imperfections, safety, and practicality. Pegasus is comprised of engineers,
computer aided design (CAD) designers, scientists, model makers, and
administrative staff. The company started out small and has grown rapidly over
the past few years. With that group came organization into departments, by
skill group (e.g., engineering, design, R&D). By now, people in different
skill groups do not communicate to each other except to pass along designs,
projects, and other pertinent ideas to complete project goals. This has caused
many problems in the past because each type of worker has his/her own language
for his/her subculture of the organization. Therefore, projects take a long
time to complete due to mistakes in the plans, redoing the mistakes, and
failing to take into account the specifications of the scientists and engineers
by the CAD designers because they have not been clearly communicated. The
administration and leadership of the organization lack good skills in
interpersonal communications due to their heavy science background, and they
also need leadership training in the form of management and executive
development.
The culture of the organization has been what has kept most
people there, not the compensation. In the past, the organization was open,
non-hierarchical, and it enabled employees to pursue their professional
passions. The main piece of the culture of Pegasus that has always led to
retention of employees is that the employees feel as though their jobs are
their life and that they have accountability for their part to the greater
whole of whatever project on which they are working.
Many employees feel like the company is disintegrating due
to the difficulties in communication which, in turn, makes it more difficult to
get the projects completed in a timely manner. This is leading to rumblings
among the staff about leaving Pegasus. Since Pegasus is located in a highly
concentrated technical area of the country, there are other companies that pay
better and seem to be more competitive for contracts. The leaders of Pegasus
are afraid of losing their best and brightest employees and feel the pressing
need to streamline their organization to remain effective, efficient, and
competitive.
You, as the lead internal consultant, are first tasked to
restructure the organization. This may mean a reduction in force (RIF). You
hope you can restructure without a RIF. You will also need to bring the various
teams of employees together and teach them communication skills, process
skills, and leadership skills that can hold the company together. You have your
work cut out for you.
