Blog

Audrey recently graduated from college with a degree in management and is working as a Human Capital Consultant for a multinational professional services network. Her first assignment is to train employees at Company A on a new system. She soon finds that many of the employees at Company A are resisting the new system. The following points are among the major reasons that employees tend to resist change, EXCEPT:

Nasser’s office, consisting of mostly Penn State alumni, has an objective “to raise $4,600 for THON.” Considering the model for setting objectives, this statement is an effective objective.

Layan’s company is planning to extend its existing business in Asia. In Europe, the company is dominant, so they plan to make only slow and gradual changes in that market. However, their efforts to establish market share in North America have not been successful, so they plan to liquidate those assets and redirect them elsewhere. Considering this scenario, what type of corporate-level strategy is in use?

To his surprise, Jose was recently assigned to an important advertising campaign for the firm’s new client. Although he studied advertising and public relations in college (20+ years ago), he has not engaged in any advertising campaigns or projects since college. Instead, he has been serving as the lead campus recruitment manager, including overseeing the firm’s internship program. Because Jose lacks knowledge of the current trends in advertising, and he does not have time to necessarily get up to speed, he fears he might ruin the advertisement and create a bad name for the company. Considering the major reasons that employees resist change, Jose is resisting this change due to the prospect of having to learn something new (or having to relearn something). This situation illustrates fear of loss.

A new work policy requires all employees to work in the office every day of the week. Justin has been working from home for more than five years and is enjoying his work arrangements. Many of his co-workers have returned to the office, but Justin believes that there is no way he will be one of the employees that needs to return to the office. Considering the change process, Justin’s beliefs represent the denial stage.

Rejat is an upper-level manager at a Fortune 500 company. The board of directors feels like the company is outdated and they want to recreate its image and go in a different direction. What kind of planning will Rejat use to develop a new mission and long-range objectives?

To improve its overall output, a bottler of fresh spring water purchased a new conveyor belt system to move the bottles more effectively and efficiently from one part of the facility to another part of the facility. What type of change does this scenario illustrate, namely as it relates to the new conveyor belt system?

Lila works in the dining commons on campus. She has worked there for the past two years; she has grown to love her job and her co-workers. Recently, though, there has been talk among the staff that some of the employees in the dining commons may be transferred to another dining commons location. Lila is worried that Lauren, her co-worker who also started with her two years ago, will be one of the employees moving to the other dining commons. She hopes that both she and Lauren will stay at the same dining commons. What is Lila’s reason for resisting change?

Company One is a leading multi-brand luxury goods company. Company Two, one of the largest manufacturers of sunglasses and optical frames, has a _________ for the production and worldwide distribution of branded eyeglass frames and sunglass collections for Company One.

A fast-food chain plans to sell a $5.00 meal bundle (e.g., a hamburger, fries, and drink for $5.00), as it seeks to hang on to cost-conscious customers. Using the SWOT analysis, how would you classify the company’s efforts to boost traffic and offer new promotions to bring back fast-food customers?