Term Paper on "Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets: The Change"

Quoted Instructions for "Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets: The Change" Assignment:

This assignemt is broken down into a module 1 case and module 1 Session long project.I need a paper written for both assignments. Thanks!

Organizational Change:

Why Change Happens

Module 1 Background Information only

There is an enormous amount of material on the web concerning organizational change. One recent Google search of resistance to change alone yielded over 500,000 hits! That is one reason why metasites can be so helpful, they tend to filter out the less useful information and concentrate a collection of more useful sites in one place. Throughout this course you will want to refer to the section on Change Management in the Free Management Library. Take a minute to look at this site now and you will be impressed by all the great information you can find there.

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Change Management 101:

A Primer

This article from organizational consultant Fred Nickols is worth reading. Click Here It provides a very thorough overview of the organizational change process and strategies for effecting change successfully. Nickols' work centers on improving individual, system, unit, process and organizational performance. Generally speaking, he focuses on performance, productivity, systems, work and working, management, organizations and, above all else, learning and problem solving.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter is the Class of 1960 Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She is former editor of the Harvard Business Review, a consultant to major corporations around the world, and author of 13 books, including World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy and, most recently, Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the Frontiers of Management.

Please read:

THE ENDURING SKILLS OF CHANGE LEADERS

by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Kanter, Rosabeth Moss "The Enduring Skills of Change Leaders" Leader to Leader. 13 (Summer 1999): 15-22.

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The SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership promotes the growth of women-owned businesses through programs that address business training and technical assistance, and provide access to credit and capital, federal contracts, and international trade opportunities. With a women's business ownership representative in every SBA district office, a nationwide network of mentoring roundtables, women's business centers in nearly every state and territory, women-owned venture capital companies, and the Online Women's Business Center, OWBO is helping unprecedented numbers of women start and build successful businesses.

Please read this article from the OWBC Management Institute titled Change Management -- It Starts at the Top

Finally, John A. Challenger discusses the tremendous systemic changes that have taken place concerning the American workforce over the past 20 years. He also offers some projections of what the future workplace is likely to be like. Read "The transformed workplace: How can you survive" which appeared in The Futurist in Nov. 2001

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BUS 503

Organizational Change:3 Pages needed

Why Change Happens

Module 1 Case Assignment (a paper is due using this case assignment below)

Change at 3M Company

Read the article below about how CEO W. James McNerney, Jr. is addressing change at 3M Company. Then, drawing on the material in the background readings, answer the four questions posed after the abstract. Be sure to cite which background readings you are using to support your answers. Your paper should be 3-5 pages long, free of grammatical and spelling errors and follow Touro Guidelines for well-written papers (Click here if you are unsure of what those guidelines are.)

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IN THE LEAD: How Leader at 3M Got His Employees To Back Big Changes

By Carol Hymowitz. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition).New York, N.Y.: Apr 23, 2002

The article.

Abstract

W. James McNerney Jr., chief executive of 3M Co., has learned this lesson. Eighteen months ago, when he took over the manufacturing company that makes everything from Scotch tape to fly-fishing gear and pharmaceuticals, 3M's sales were anemic and it hadn't launched a blockbuster product in several years. Mr. McNerney, an 18-year veteran of General Electric who had been in the race to succeed Jack Welch, quickly shook things up with one tactic after another from the GE management book.

Mr. McNerney, the first outsider to run 3M in its 100-year history, soon found that what was routine at GE was alien at 3M. He was the only one who showed up at meetings without a tie. His blunt and probing questions, rapid speech and insistence on seeing lots of financial data before making decisions jolted many 3M managers.

WHILE MR. MCNERNEY, who is 52, talked about return on investment and the use of best practices across diverse businesses, 3M managers, accustomed to free rein in running their departments, talked about commercializing new inventions. Determined to find a common language with middle management, Mr. McNerney took 15 top executives to a two-day, off-site meeting to reformulate 3M's core values. Their list included phrases such as "chart the course," "energize and inspire others" and "deliver results."

Full Text (733 words)

Copyright Dow Jones & Company Inc Apr 23, 2002

NO MATTER HOW intelligent a leader's strategy for change, it will fail without the dedicated support of the rank and file. Winning that support often requires more effort than devising the strategy itself.

W. James McNerney Jr., chief executive of 3M Co., has learned this lesson. Eighteen months ago, when he took over the manufacturing company that makes everything from Scotch tape to fly-fishing gear and pharmaceuticals, 3M's sales were anemic and it hadn't launched a blockbuster product in several years. Mr. McNerney, an 18-year veteran of General Electric who had been in the race to succeed Jack Welch, quickly shook things up with one tactic after another from the GE management book.

He pared costs, cut the work force by almost 10% and introduced Six Sigma, the process-management system that breaks down every task into increments measured against a perfect model.

Mr. McNerney, the first outsider to run 3M in its 100-year history, soon found that what was routine at GE was alien at 3M. He was the only one who showed up at meetings without a tie. His blunt and probing questions, rapid speech and insistence on seeing lots of financial data before making decisions jolted many 3M managers.

"This is a homegrown place with a collegial atmosphere where the emphasis on being nice to each other means issues haven't always surfaced in an honest way," says Bob Burgstahler, senior vice president of business development and corporate services, and a 34-year veteran of 3M.

WHILE MR. MCNERNEY, who is 52, talked about return on investment and the use of best practices across diverse businesses, 3M managers, accustomed to free rein in running their departments, talked about commercializing new inventions. Determined to find a common language with middle management, Mr. McNerney took 15 top executives to a two-day, off-site meeting to reformulate 3M's core values. Their list included phrases such as "chart the course," "energize and inspire others" and "deliver results."

He set an ambitious goal of increasing sales and operating earnings by at least 10% each year -- nearly twice the rate of the past decade. But he resisted barking orders and set about trying to win the hearts and minds of employees. "You can't order change," he says. "After all, there's only one of me and 75,000 of them."

Mr. Burgstahler says about the numerous meetings with employees: "Jim doesn't say, `You've got to do this.' Instead he says, `3M has this tremendous reputation and global presence and great technology, and I see all these opportunities we can leverage if we get on the same page and help each other.'"

Since Mr. McNerney's arrival, 3M has begun pooling supply purchases on a global basis to get lower prices, and shifted some manufacturing to lower-cost sites abroad. He also asked 3M managers to rank on a curve every employee reporting to them -- a system long used at GE but which backfired at Ford under former CEO Jacques Nasser.

MR. MCNERNEY AND his top lieutenants had to gain acceptance for the new grading system. They reminded employees that in past surveys they had complained that underperformers were too protected at the company. For example, all managers above a certain level at 3M were granted stock options each year. Now, options will be granted only to those with better-than-average performance grades. "3M had a tendency to overvalue experience and undervalue leadership," says Mr. McNerney.

Aggressive young employees applaud the new system. In the past, they had to prove themselves in a series of narrowly defined jobs. Now, they are encouraged to step out of their niches, and even leapfrog veteran employees.

It has been a difficult balancing act: boosting growth through cost-cutting, acquisitions, and concentration on leading products and big markets, but preserving 3M's hallmark creativity.

The company's top-notch engineers used to be left alone -- with ample funding -- to do research. Today, top executives specify where R&D money is spent. Over the next several years, the company will likely shrink its list of 50,000 products to the most profitable.

"3M people wake up every morning thinking about what new product they can bring to market," says Mr. McNerney. "Innovation is in their DNA -- and if I kill that entrepreneurial ***** I will have failed. My job is to build on that strength, corral and focus it."

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After reading the Article above; In a 3 page paper, answer the following questions.

1. State the change problem that Mr. McNerney is facing at 3M.

2. Is this a "how", "what" or "why" problem? Defend your answer.

3. What strategy or combination of strategies do you think Mr. McNerney is using to create this change?

4. Do you think he will be successful? What specific changes would you recommend to his strategy?

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BUS 503

Organizational Change:1 page needed

Why Change Happens

Module 1 Session Long Project.(Use the company Walmart)

The purpose of the SLP is to get you to apply your conceptual knowledge to a real organization with which you are familiar. This builds your skills at applying knowledge from one context to another. Therefore, in this module, I want you to pick a company (Walmart)

Isolate a major change that has occurred.

Throughout this course you will be developing your thoughts about this change. It could be

• a new CEO or other manager

• new personnel

• new technology

• new competition that forces change

• etc....

In this first assignment I would like you to isolate the change and explain it to me. What happened? What is the issue for the future? What is the problem?

write it out in a one page paper