13 Jan Take-aways related

Week 5 Learning Activity

Learning Activity #1–Critical Thinking Activity

Case Example:

Based on your impressive accomplishments on new initiatives, positive attitude, flexibility, problem solving strengths, and support of your organization’s rapid growth and nearly overnight success, your VP has selected you as an internal change consultant-in-training and member of the Transition Management Team (TMT). The timing is great since you are well into BMGT 465, and reasonably knowledgeable about OD intervention strategies, and have material at your finger tips on methods and tools designed to evaluate how well the interventions are working. To further help you prepare for your TMT role of internal consultant you will attend an OD practitioners conference where you will have one-on-one access to several OD evaluation experts. To optimize the expert coaching sessions you have decided to create two informed, penetrating, meaningful questions, annotated with additional details about your organization as you see fit to imagine and add, that will better educate you to evaluate the effectiveness of the change interventions to date.

An example question follows:

I have several questions about the practical guidelines for evaluating OD interventions proposed by Alzahmi, Rothwell, and Woocheol in their March 2013 article. I work for a software company that custom designs e-appraisal systems for HR departments. Our business has tripled in the last two years. The number of stakeholders involved in new product design, training, help and maintenance, and business development, not to mention customers, is well over 250 now. For example, we’ve hired five training contractors, on the road most of the time, working with clients in their offices. So, here’s my specific concern: As I think about Step 2, identifying key stakeholders and decision makers, how can I find out who wants the evaluation information, why they want it, what they will do with it, and when they will need it? If my reading of William Bridges’ ideas on successful change and transition management is accurate, I need to make sure that stakeholders understand what will be different—or changed—and what they need to do, or not do, to make the changes work. What should I know or keep in mind to accomplish the latter?

Use the following headings to organize and format your Response:

Question 1

Question 2

Analyze data, information, and ideas from the Week 5 readings and other resources listed in the Course Schedule. Create a Response evidencing and citing at least three required readings/resources, primarily from this week’s schedule (note that sources may be identified creatively in place of standard in-text citations). Also, identify, analyze, and integrate at least one well founded, credible outside source. Integrate and use bold font for at least three organizational change concepts, methods, theories, strategies, principles, or practices Use examples to support your claims. Cite all reference sources using APA format. Use in-text parenthetical citations, for example, (Cummings & Worley, 2005, p. 17)—please include page number(s), or other location such as chapter and section heading, or URL—within your Response content, and full citations at end (see Content/Using APA). Review the Discussion Guidelines to clarify expectations for successfully completing this question. Refer to the Week 5 Overview to reinforce the course learning outcome(s) and key concepts addressed in this week’s conference.

Learning Activity #2–Workplace Application Activity

Identify and discuss at least three take-aways (aka significant learnings) from the readings this week on OD evaluation methods and tools, and OD interventions. Focus your take-aways on potential challenges, problems or issues—based on your work experience—that you believe you might encounter if, as described above, you were to assist evaluating OD interventions. Include specific applications to your career goals.

Use the following headings to organize and format your Response:

Take-aways related to potential challenges, problems, or issues

1.

2.

3.

Review data, information, and ideas from the Week 5 readings and resources. Create a Response evidencing and citing at least two required readings/resources, primarily from this week’s schedule. Also, identify, analyze, and integrate at least one well founded, credible outside source. Integrate and use bold font for at two organizational change concepts, methods, theories, strategies, principles, or practices (at least one per factor/aspect). Use examples to support your claims. Cite all reference sources using APA format. Use in-text parenthetical citations, for example, (Cummings & Worley, 2005, p. 17)—please include page number(s), or other location such as chapter and section heading, or URL—within your Response content, and full citations at end (see Content/Using APA). Review the Discussion Guidelines to clarify expectations for successfully completing this question.