Case Study 15.1: Organizational Change and Structure at General Electric (GE) Neck et al. Chapter 15

Google is an excellent example of an organization that implements changes to stay competitive. Its advocacy for change has been at the forefront of its success in becoming a global technology giant. Like Google, organizations must be both agile and adaptive to deal with the pressure of continual transformation. Implementation of change inside an organization, however, requires careful planning, hard work, cooperation, and excellent communication. Change management has been around for more than fifty years.

Nevertheless, studies show that almost 70% of initiatives fail, despite considerable investments in training and education. What are the reasons for these failures? One theory proposes that too many organizations hire outside consultants or experts to design the change projects rather than assigning the responsibility to the leaders within the organization. This lack of “ownership” means that those impacted by the alternations never embrace fully the adjustments; thus, only a weak ability to be active agents of change exists.

Following a careful review of the assigned course materials for this unit, read Case Study 15.1: Organizational Change and Structure at General Electric (GE). The case is in Chapter 15. Then, draft a formal academic composition in which you respond to the questions posed at the end of the reading.

The responses should reflect higher-level cognitive processing (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation). Students should consider the demands made of decision-makers, as their choices can impact stakeholders within the organization and in the external marketplace. No minimum number of references exists for this assignment, but appropriate business (no Investopedia, Wikipedia, etc.) and scholarly sources must be utilized to support the analysis. Opinion is insufficient to demonstrate a graduate-level understanding of the course materials and topics.