WOODLAND HALL CASE

Woodland Hall Case

Woodland Hall Case

Question 1

Force Field Diagram

Multiple Cause Diagram

Systems Map

Influence Diagram

Question 2

Woodland Hall should promote itself as a leisure complex offering special interest holidays including sports coaching, country-side activities, family weekends, and other facilities. For this purpose, Woodland should adopt the strategy of organizational development as the main driver for change management program.

There is always resistance to change amongst employees for different reasons. Whether it is a major change or a small change finding a proper way to bring new changes into an organization is imperative. Therefore, the management team must be careful in strategically planning the change(s). It is critical for upper management to communicate up and coming changes to employees early on as opposed to waiting until the last minute. This would be the first strategy used; bring awareness and keep the affected employees informed. The flow of information in an organization is its life force. To maintain and improve the strength of the organization, information must be shared upward, laterally, and downward. Regular communication is vital to a successful change process. Answering who what when where why and how the changes are going to take place must be clearly communicated to everyone involved in order for the process to be a smooth one. Support the team in the challenges related to the process. Implement a mechanism to quickly solve problems, knock down barriers and answer questions related to the change process.

Successful change is dependent on staff understanding, investment, and focus. A team needs to be supported through each aspect of the change process. Acknowledge employee and organizational successes. This is very important to acknowledge employee and organizational successes during the change process. This allows employees to know that their efforts are making a difference. People want to know that there is a meaningful purpose and a productive outcome resulting from their investment of time and energy. Leaders can easily make the mistake of focusing on what is left to do and not taking enough time to celebrate the gains that have been made. While understandable, this mistake can lead to a loss of staff investment in the change process. If staff begins to think that an objective is unachievable, or that the organization will never be satisfied, it can lead to a reduced intensity of effort and even loss of employees (Piurzek, 2008). Leadership styles play an important part in change initiatives. Because sponsorship and management support is a critical success factor, it is imperative that management take time to assess the leadership styles and power distribution within the organization. In many organizations, there are middle managers who have a high degree of control over their peers and employees. They are either strong leaders or feared by others.

These middle managers will play a significant role in the change process. If Woodland Hall was going to make a major change initiative the leadership style that would be most effective to ensure success would be ...