Improvement Plan - 1423 Words

Quality Improvement Plan Part II Lizbeth M. Gà ³mez HCS/588 University of Phoenix Lynn S. Kiehne, Ed. D., MHA, FACHE April 2, 2012. Quality Improvement Plan Part II This paper attempts to explain some areas of potential improvement for the Veteran Affairs (VA) organization in a surgical department. Describe the data that needs to be collected and the tools to be use. Also, it will be identified and compared the types of information collected based on the different tools used. Presenting the Quality Improvements (QI) tools needed to accomplish the goal and describe the information obtained from it. In addition, establish how are these tools helpful for the health care organizations. Areas of Potential Improvements for the†¦show more content†¦This also provides flexibility in the analysis of the responses. On the other hand, standardized questionnaire items often represent the least common denominator in assessing people’s attitudes, orientations, circumstances, and experiences. By designing questions that will be appropriate for all respondents, it is possible to miss what is most appropriate to many of the respondents (Babbie, 1992). Some advantages of the self-administered survey are: Low cost. Extensive training is not required to administer the survey. Processing and analysis are usually simpler and cheaper than for other methods. The reduction in bias error. The questionnaire reduces the bias that might result from personal characteristics of interviewers and/or their interviewing skills. Greater anonymity, absence of an interviewer provides greater anonymity for the respondent. This is especially helpful when the survey deals with sen sitive issues such as questions about involvement in a gang, because respondents are more likely to respond to sensitive questions when they are not face to face with an interviewer. Some of the disadvantages are: Requires simple questions. The questions must be straightforward enough to be comprehended solely on the basis of printed instructions and definitions. No opportunity for probing. The answers must be accepted as final. Researchers have no opportunity toShow MoreRelatedPerformance Improvement Plan3536 Words   |  15 PagesOFT performance improvement Policy The OFT aims to ensure that there will be a fair and consistent approach to the enforcement of standards of performance throughout the organisation. The performance improvement policy and procedures help to promote fairness and consistency in the treatment of individuals and encourage improvement in individual performance. In many cases early intervention by a staff manager can prevent an issue escalating to a serious performance issue and this is therefore Read MoreImprovement Plan3018 Words   |  13 PagesFacilitate continuous improvement BSBMGT516C Improvement plan Assessment task 2 Sirly Engelbrecht My assessment is about seafood restaurant in Fremantle – Joes Fish Shack. I was working there for quite long time and I’m confident to do my assessment based on that restaurant. 1. Provide your organisation information: Joes Fish Shack’s vision is to be the market leaders in their business with a commitment to service, quality and value. To be a trusted, reliable partner in businessRead MoreEvaluation Of A Improvement Plan918 Words   |  4 PagesImprovement plan must be in place in order to decrease the likelihood of a reoccurrence of the outcome of the Mr. B scenario. The model for Improvement gives us the foundation and the frame work for doing improvement work. It is structured around several key components. There are 3 questions that are presented on this model. First question is what is your aim? We have also ask ourselves how good we want to be and by when we will like to achieve it. Second question is how would you know a changeRead MoreQuality Improvement Plan1529 Words   |  6 Pagesused to show if we are making improvements with the change. Run charts will be used to show if improvements are taking place over time and will help with improvements by depicting how well the handof f process is performing. They will help in determining when changes are truly improvements by displaying a pattern of data that we can observe as we make changes and give direction to our team. Workflow processes will also measure improvements that will show improvements with the process change. MethodRead MoreOrganizational Improvement Plan1722 Words   |  7 PagesOrganizational Improvement Plan Organizations need performance measures in order to reduce costs and increase efficiency in a laboratory. Performance measures are indicators that are used to gauge program performance. Performance measures can be either outcome or output measures. Outputs are the services an organization provides to other. In other words, a laboratory provides patients with testing and the results. An effective measurement system integrates initiatives, aligns organizationalRead MorePerformance Improvement Plan2537 Words   |  11 PagesHow to Guide How to Establish a Performance Improvement Plan A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), also known as a Performance Action Plan, is a great way to give struggling employees the opportunity to succeed while still holding them accountable for past performance. It is not always clear why an employee has poor performance. Did he or she not receive appropriate training? Does he or she not understand the expectations of the job? Are there unforeseen roadblocks in the way? Until you reallyRead MoreOperation Improvement Plan2875 Words   |  12 PagesOperations Improvement Plan XXXXXXX MBA6022 Strategic Operations Management Address: XXXXXXXXXXXXx E-mail: xxxxx Instructor: Dr. Zhimin Huang Abstract This operation improvement plan is to help improve the internal communication process at Toyota between their employees and management. There has been a loss of ideas and knowledge, which is a complete violation of their founding principles defined in the Toyota Way. With the suggested recommendationsRead MoreSchool Improvement Plan7953 Words   |  32 PagesDivision of City Schools City of Muntinlupa District of Muntinlupa SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN SOLDIERS HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SY 2010-2013 [pic] Muntinlupa I Division of Muntinlupa National Capital Region Division Region I. INTRODUCTION Soldier’s Hills Elementary School provides basic education to children in the pre-school, primary, and intermediate grade levels. It also caters to the instructional need of the hearing and visually impairedRead MoreAnalysis And Plan For Improvement Essay980 Words   |  4 Pages Analysis Plan for improvement: Through the developments of human civilization and technology, we have many choices in our economic society. Food is the one of examples of life advancement. In most country, people do not need to worry about the hunger, since our life fill with types of food included meats, vegetables, and fruits. However, some side factors, which food company put chemical products into food in order to increase the quantity and quality, also occur in the market. The health ofRead MorePerformance Improvement Plan For The Performance Plan925 Words   |  4 Pagesperformance progress review meeting on the active performance improvement plan you are currently enrolled. It’s been three weeks since HR and myself met with you to officially notify your enrollment to the performance improvement plan. Normally, the performance progress review meeting takes place within two weeks of your enrollment. However since you choose to take a full week vacation right after we informed you about the performa nce improvement plan, I had to push our meeting until the third week (04/08/16)

Social Workers the Warriors of Change Essay - 1271 Words

Most people in the world today have no idea what social workers are assigned to do, not many will ever understand the totality of the scope of the practice of social work. To take a deeper look at this field of people the veil unfolds on a group of true warriors for all of mankind. These people in sheer title are workers, and as workers they are given the task of ensuring that the job gets done. Their job may not be one that is saturated in enormous wealth, but when you can b ring about change in a direction of a nation, or move an entire community toward developing a better standard of living for themselves or the next generation to money is the least of your worries. In the twenty-first century the role of the social worker will be one†¦show more content†¦W.E.B. Dubois spoke of the social work that was being done as early as 1932 before the profession actually took upon a formal name or description. In that time it was those workers who set the stage for what we now know as the field of Social Work. The social worker may have many responsibilities or functions but one that will always stand out as paramount would be that of an enabler. In the enabler role the social worker works with the client to become capable of coping with situations or transitional stress. As a social worker one would convey hope, reduce stress, resistance and ambivalence, recognize manage feelings, identify and support personal strengths and social assets (Height 1). â€Å"In social work crisis intervention may be seen as a general technique for dealing with client’s problems† (Payne,103). The client is not always a singular person no indeed. Often the social worker will find that the client will encompass an entire community, a group of people who have a common issue, or a family that finds itself in a position that it can not get out of and wants to change the path they now find themselves walking. The core of the social worker profession is to come in and iden tify the issue then work to facilitate the change that is desired. Many look at the social worker as a profession that is laced with conversations, and little front line fights, but if one begins to take a closer more in depth look they will see social work at work inShow MoreRelatedThe â€Å"rightness† of Native American boarding school Essay1200 Words   |  5 Pagesideology. The idea for the boarding school first came through treatment of Cheyenne warriors. In the 1860s, Americans were in the midst of a major western migration. Settlers were moving into the western region, pushing natives off lands, and in some cases, killing livestock. Warriors then took revenge on settlers and soldiers. General Sherman called for â€Å"the extermination of the natives.† Groups of warriors were captured, arrested, and charged without a trial. Lieutenant Richard Henry PrattRead MoreThe Between Socialism And Communism908 Words   |  4 PagesEuropean liberal fascism and equality based Human Rights, alternatively, a return to the constitution. Not understanding leads to an inability to explain the difference between socialism and communism, or equality as an abstract. The well-fed social justice warriors of today have replaced the poverty class revolutionaries of yesteryear, with cultural Marxism, explained in an American context. The aims remain radical and utopic, as do the politicians behind the agenda. Failure to understand European ideologiesRead MoreInternational Relations And Forced Migration1618 Words   |  7 Pagescountries, triggering intervention, and sometimes providing a basis for warrior communities within camps that can form the source for insurgency, resistance, and terrorist movements† (p. 5). It is Newman and van Salem’s mention of warrior communities within refugee camps that elucidate the potential security threat refugees may impose on states and/or individuals. This essay illustrates how the militarization of refugee camps by â€Å"warrior refugees† who recruit within the refugee community and exploit humanitarianRead MoreWhat Are Invisible Wounds Of War?1411 Words   |  6 Pages What are invisible wounds of war? Compare and contrast the differences between PTSD and TBI. Discuss treatment for these two injuries, including the role of social workers. Ann Lee California State University, Sacramento Social work 191 Professor Lial March 12, 2016 Invisible wounds of war Invisible wounds of war are psychological and cognitive injuries; a deep scar that others cannot see or feel their pain. According to Pryce, Pryce, and Shackelford (2012), War produces undetectableRead MoreA Bug s Life, Sociology, Race, Social Stratification, Relationships1708 Words   |  7 Pagesusing their race as a way to place them all within a low-class category. Despite their manipulative ways and social stratification uses, the ants came out on top while the grasshoppers felt the wrath of ants who had finally come together as a family. Unleashing their power, as one big family, onto the grasshoppers and reclaiming their home island. Keywords: A Bug’s Life, Sociology, race, social stratification, relationships Movie Critique of A Bug’s Life Introduction â€Å"It s a bug-eat-bug world outRead MoreSocial Class As A Society Based On Social And Economic Status1554 Words   |  7 Pages Social class is a division of a society based on social and economic status. Why do we have social class in our societies? For what purpose does social class, even exist? From India, to the United States, many different societies have different social classes and systems. So why does social class and system differ from place to place? These are some essential questions that need to be answered. Amazingly, the Caste System in India has been around for thousands of years. The caste system placesRead MoreAncient China vs. Ancient India753 Words   |  4 Pagesand judges, Kshatriyas: the warriors, Vaisyas: the farmers and merchants, Sudras: the craft workers and laborers, and last the Harijans: the untouchables. This was considered to be the cast system to which Ancient India was run by. In Ancient China they were considered to be the Rulers: the Kings or other kinds of leaders, Nobles: the highest ranking class after the ruling family, Craftspeople: the bronze, jade, potters and stone workers, Farmers: largest class of workers taking care of the land, andRead MoreSuccess Of The Chicano Movement1600 Words   |  7 PagesWomen were a central part to the Chicano movement that aided in the movimiento’s success. Although Chicanas fought many times alongside men, they were still expected to fultfill their womanly role in every aspect of their life: as mothers, students, w orkers, politicians, and colored people. They had to fight three times as hard for Chicanos and Anglos to recognize them and their issues in education, the work place, political movements, and women’s issues. Regardless of the obstacles, the Chicana MovementRead MoreThe Tension Between The Individual And The Community1604 Words   |  7 Pagesmake them highly skilled warriors. If the boy was unable to complete the training for any reason they were seen as unable to be a Spartan and were usually seen as an outcast and removed from society. The Spartans, just like most other societies in ancient times, valued boys over girls. â€Å"Spartan parents often exposed female babies to the elements and leave them to die they also made decisions on male infants testing them and seeing if they would develop into a mature warrior and if not they wouldRead MoreNative American Stereotypes Essay1357 Words   |  6 PagesAmericans internalize the stereotypes that are forced upon them. I n a study conducted by Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, and Stone (2008), they found three common stereotypes of Native Americans in mass media: Spiritual people who are in tune with nature, warriors, or people with stereotypically bad outcomes, such as alcoholism. It is important to note that not all of these stereotypes are negative, and in fact a few of them are positive. What Fryberg et al. (2008) found, however, was that regardless if the

The Israelites Out Of Egypt - 2194 Words

For this assignment I have chosen to analyze the section from Exodus where G-d approaches Moses about leading the Israelites out of Egypt. I found this interesting as it begins the tale of the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt; one can argue that this was one of the most seminal and inspiring events in all of human history. In Exodus 3, 1-15 G-d chooses and recruits Moses to lead the Exodus. Moses’ leadership provided the inspiration for freedom seekers for generations; yet Moses questions his ability to carry out this task. In this paper I will explore the interactions between G-d and Moses when Moses is persuaded to assume this leadership role. Section 3. 1 begins with Now, Moses tending his flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian).Why is important for the Tanakh to tell us Moses’ profession and his employer? I can think of the following explanations, the role of a shepherd. Being a shepherd is an important role yet It is even more impressive because Moses performed this function for a priest. It shows that Moses was responsible because a shepherd is responsible for sheep which were likely major financial assets for their owners. A symbol of things to come. Could Moses’ role as a shepherd foreshadow how Moses would later be responsible for all those for which he was responsible? Shows the G-d’s power. Though being a shepherd is important, it does not involve speaking and leading people. This could mean that we are being shown G-d’s powers because withShow MoreRelatedThe World Behind The Text1204 Words   |  5 Pagestext. Historical Context This text is based in during the Israelite exile in Egypt over 400 years. In this exile the new kings of Egypt enslaved the Israelites in order to stop their population boom. Pharaoh Rameses made the Israelite’s slaves to build up the cities of Egypt as well as build the temples and shrines to Rameses and the Gods of Egypt. This passage was prompted but h slavery and conditions faced by the Israelites. The Israelites needed hope during this time that God (YHWH) was there toRead More Moses Essay1131 Words   |  5 Pagesbut even more importantly as a teacher and a lawgiver, Moses was the leader of the Israelite people 3,300 years ago during their journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom as a nation in the land of Israel. For 40 years Moses led the people through the desert on their way to Israel and helped shape them into a nation that could live under the laws of God. Moses oversaw the creation and development of the first Israelite systems of worship, the anointing of the fa mily line of his brother Aaron as priestsRead MoreThe Sitz Im Leben As One s Setting804 Words   |  4 Pagesupon in the book of Numbers. The Sitz im Leben in Numbers takes place in the wilderness; a desert like habitation. In the wilderness is where we see God’s chosen ones the Israelites stranded in the wilderness for forty years after being freed from slavery in Egypt. Some major themes in the book of Numbers are the Guidance into Egypt, the Guidance into the Arable Land, the Promise to the Patriarchs, the Guidance in the Wilderness, and the Revelation at Sinai. When looking at the wilderness traditionRead MoreIsrael s Relationship Between God And Israel1409 Words   |  6 Pagescomplex relationship with their God. Throughout the First Testament, Israel’s relationship with God seems to take several forms. Their relationship becomes more complex as the Israelites grow as the people of Yahweh. I will explore Israel’s relationship beginning with Abraham, continuing onto Israel’s story following Egypt and onto the interpretation of prophets Ezekiel and Hosea. Overall, the relationship between God and Israel seems to be a disproportional one of in which Israel attempts to obeyRead MoreTaking Jerusalem : A Victory1513 Words   |  7 Pagesof the promise that the Israelites spent forty years yearning for. The book of Joshua describes the time the Joshua takes over leadership of the Israelites after Moses has died, â€Å"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancesto rs to give them† (Joshua 1:6 NIV) He leads them across the Jordan river and begins seven years of conquest and seven years of settlement in the Promised land. During this time, the Israelites rained down judgment andRead MoreMoses and Campbells Journey of a Spiritual Hero Essay1335 Words   |  6 PagesMoses and Campbells Journey of a Spiritual Hero Long ago, in the desert of Egypt, Hebrew slaves known as Israelites escaped from the tyranny of the pharaoh. This story has a common theme that an unlikely hero leads people out of a wasteland and into a place of new life. The Israelites heroes name was Moses. There are several attributes that his quest shares with Joseph Campbells theme of the journey of the spiritual hero, found in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Departure, initiation, andRead MoreThe Birth Of Moses Moses985 Words   |  4 PagesFather-in-law’s flock and took it past the wilderness. A bush was set alight and was not being consumed. Moses went to look at this bush and God called out to him. Moses took of his sandals and hid his face from God as he was scared of him. God tells Moses he must go into Egypt and free the Israelite slaves. God proceeds to tell Moses to tell the Israelites he was sent by The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses question the Lord on how heRead MoreExodus Character Analysis1333 Words   |  6 Pagesis evident. In Moses’ case, his character in all three of the aforementioned qualities progresses as he matures. A man who had once killed an Egyptian and had little faith in God progresses to the man who is willing and capable to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. While he is certainly not perfect, he is a much more capable leader in touch with God when his story ends as opposed to when it began. To properly comprehend the character of Moses, the development of his moral, spiritual, and leadershipRead MoreMoses And The Old Testament937 Words   |  4 Pages2015 Introduction Moses is one of the most important if not the most important person in all of the book of Exodus and the Old Testament. Moses is a very important person in the book of Exodus because he helps the people of Israel escape Egypt and commits to a new covenant between God and the nation of Israel. This new covenant between God and Israel promises a land flowing with milk and honey if they obey God s laws and commandments. In turn Moses leads the people of Israel through a longRead More Promises To Keep Essay1279 Words   |  6 PagesBecause of a famine in Canaan, the Israelites moved to the â€Å"Land of the Pharaohs†, Egypt. Although the Israelites were not great in number yet, they grew tremendously as the generations passed. This period of time saw Egypt in their New Kingdom, where imperialism was a key focus. â€Å"It was Rameses II who reigned from 1290 – 1224 B.C.† (McKay, 25) They feared the Israelites would eventually outnumber and overpower the Egyptians. Therefore, they enslaved the Israelites and oppressed them greatly. For

Organizational Change Plan free essay sample

When executives and students of management talk about organizational change, they mean many different things. Introducing a new enterprise resource planning system in order to coordinate and standardize internal processes is an organizational change. So is shutting down a factory, selling off a noncore business, or laying off employees. How about introducing a new business model to meet innovative competitors, adopting a new pay-for-performance system to motivate individual effort or a stock option plan to encourage a shared sense of ownership in the company? Entering global markets, integrating acquired companies, and outsourcing nonstrategic activities—these, too, are examples of organizational change. In order to understand and analyze the dynamics of change, and particularly the requirements of effective change implementation, it is important to sort out and distinguish the various approaches an organization can take. This chapter will explore multiple paths to change, paying special attention to behavioral change. In particular, this chapter will: Identify the role of strategic renewal in propelling change Focus on the behavioral aspect of organizational change Analyze the dynamics of motivating employees to alter their behaviors Differentiate the three faces of change Understand the source of both employee resistance to and support for change We will start by looking at an attempt by the president of a small but prestigious local bookstore to improve financial performance in the face of competition from national chains as well as from Internet giant Amazon. Tales of Woe at Concord Bookshop * *David Mehegan, â€Å"Tales of Woe at Concord Bookshop,† Boston Globe, December 23, 2003, p. All rights reserved. It’s like a family quarrel that nobody wants and nobody knows how to stop. The Concord Bookshop, a 64-year-old independent store regarded as one of the best in New England, is beset by a bitter clash between owners and staff. The conflict puts pressure on the store at a time when independent booksellers are reeling from competition from chains and the Internet. ** **Concord, a prosperous suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, is the site of the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War. Its rich literary history dates back to the nineteenth century when it was the home of the transcendental writers, notably, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Eight of Concord Bookshop’s employees, including the trio of top managers, have quit or given their notice. The staffers’ years of service add up to 73. The three managers, including [the] general manager . . . have worked at the store for a total of 34 years. Meanwhile, a group of outraged local authors . The precipitating event was a surprise announcement last month by the owners—a group of three families represented by a board led by President Morgan â€Å"Kim† Smith of Concord—that a new general manager will be hired. No one was laid off, and no one’s salary was cut. Yet many of the staff were outraged at the de facto demotions, as well as by what they saw as the owners’ immovable stance. . . â€Å"We asked for a meeting with the whole board,† says [a departing staff member]. â€Å"We presented our concerns, and they thanked us for our input and said, ‘We’re going to do it our way, and if you don’t like it, each of you will have to make up your mind as to how to proceed. ’ Something in me died, the fragile alchemy that made it such a great place to work had died. They had made their plans, we were expendable employees, and we could take it or leave it. †. . . â€Å"We’re heartbroken about it,† says David Donald, professor of history emeritus at Harvard University . . . â€Å"These are people we deal with all the time. It’s a wonderful store, beautifully arranged. They are knowledgeable and are glad to look things up. † Adds Joanne Arnaud, director of the Boston Literacy Fund and a Concord resident who also signed the letter: â€Å"What makes the Concord Bookshop different is the people and their institutional memory and their memory for a customer. I can say, ‘I’m looking for a book for someone who liked the last book by Nicholas Basbanes. Can you help me? ’ They are so warm and welcoming. † The clash appears to be rooted in finances. Smith declined to give numbers but portrayed the store’s financial situation as dire. â€Å"Things have never been worse,† he says. â€Å"We are offering something important to the town of Concord, which is wonderful, but it isn’t profitable. † Smith praises the three managers but says, â€Å"The owners felt the three-way management was not working out. † The managers say finances aren’t so bad. They . . . issued a written comment: â€Å"In explaining to us the change in management structure, the owners told us they wanted to take the store in a different direction. We hold different opinions regarding the financial health of the store. We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish these past five years. † There’s no disagreement, though, that profit margins are tighter than ever, and that the past few years have been rough on independent bookstores, especially in the age of Barnes Noble, Borders, and Amazon. com. Smith believes some of the store’s programs should be reexamined, such as regular weeknight author appearances and signings, which require paying staff to keep the store open. â€Å"Increasingly, people are buying their books elsewhere and bringing them to signings,† Smith says. â€Å"We had 70 people at the Tracy Kidder signing, but we sold only 10 books. I discovered a guy coming in with five copies of the book that he bought [elsewhere]. We want to preserve the store, but we need to make the finances work. † There’s no dispute, either, on Concord’s national reputation in the trade. â€Å"It is one of the jewels of New England,† says . . . [the] executive director of the New England Booksellers Association. . . â€Å"They are the kind of store that’s on everyone’s A list. Publishers are interested in what Concord buys. They ask, ‘How is Concord doing with the book? ’ They are exemplars for reaching out to the community and in cultivating authors†. . . The conflict illustrates the special place a bookstore can have in a small community, especially one such as Concord, with its numerous authors and links to such literary giants as Emerson and Thoreau. The store is regarded as a community resource, not just a business. â€Å"This is Concord vs. Concord,† says Martha Holland, who is quitting after 18 years. â€Å"There were a hundred points where it could have been smoothed over. How it got so out of hand, I don’t understand. The owners have every right to run their business as they see fit. But if the staff goes, it’s just a bunch of bookshelves and carpets. † Strategic Responsiveness Morgan Smith’s attempt to bring financial discipline to the Concord Bookshop seemed quite sensible in the face of new competitive realities. Owners, employees, customers, and suppliers all agreed on the desirability of maintaining the store’s viability. Yet Smith’s approach to change implementation—the actions taken by organizational leaders in order to support strategic renewal and achieve outstanding performance—led to resistance, conflict, and resentment. Recognizing the need for change is a vital first step. Successful implementation, however, is required to translate that recognition into an effective strategic response. We live in a period of rapid and dramatic change: significant alterations in customer expectations and demands, new technologies, competitors with innovative business models, shifts in workforce demographics and values, new societal demands and constraints. Organizations need to respond to external dynamics in order to create and maintain outstanding performance. Theory into Practice Strategic responsiveness to a dynamic external environment demands organizational change. In response to those dynamics, organizational leaders often decide to engage in a process of strategic renewal. Strategic renewal refers to an alteration of an organization’s strategy with the intent of regaining sustainable competitive advantage. 1 Exhibit 1-1 provides examples of organizations whose leaders made a purposeful decision to renew their strategies. Some attempts have been more effective than others. Strategic renewal at IBM and Walgreens proved successful, while efforts to transform Enron’s strategy collapsed in failure. At different points in the text, we will explore and analyze the efforts of these companies to implement new strategies effectively. Exhibit 1-1 Strategic Responsiveness in Sample Companies. Company Altered Strategy Enron Move from energy production to energy trading GE Move from commodity business to high value-added products and services IBM Move from product to service/consulting company Marks and Spencer Move from a department store appealing to traditional, conservative adult British shoppers to a store appealing to young, trendy shoppers Renault Move from French-based to internationally focused automobile company Walgreens Move from store-based chain in order to capture growing Internet business Facebook Move from restricted, college campus-only social network to become a â€Å"universal utility† open to everyone Strategic renewal requires organizational change (see Exhibit 1-2). Strategic renewal demands â€Å"wide-scale invention, reinvention, and redesign of business processes and organizational structures. † 2 IBM pulled off strategic renewal as it moved from a product to a service/consulting company. Harley-Davidson managed a different but equally significant strategic renewal by redefining its relationship with its customers. Exhibit 1-2 Strategic Renewal and Organizational Change. Theory into Practice To implement a renewed strategy, organizational leaders need to engage in a change process. For strategic renewal to be effective, organizations need to do more than announce a new strategy. Leaders need to align internal processes, structures, and systems with the demands of that new strategy. New organizational capabilities—talents and skills possessed by employees—need to be built. Underlying all those shifts is the requirement to engage in discontinuous change: large-scale, long-term reorientation of most or all of the central aspects of organizational life. The goal is to create lasting alterations in patterns of employee behavior in order to support strategic renewal. Strategic Renewal through a New Business Model Apple Computer seemed well positioned to achieve a breakthrough into the corporate/business market. With the extraordinary popularity of its iPod and iPhone offerings, young customers were flocking to Apple products as never before. But successful penetration into the business market would require more than loyal customers and brand familiarity. Apple’s business mode would need to change. The company’s long-standing highly secretive culture (Steve Jobs enjoyed launching new products with high security prior to his grand announcements) would need to change. In the corporate world, customers expect to be treated as long-term partners, actually having a say in the development of new products. In order to extend its popularity among young, tech-savvy consumers into the corporate marketplace, Apple would need  to alter its business model. Business model innovation has become an increasingly common avenue for corporate growth. At its most basic level, a business model is the organization’s approach to generating revenue and making a profit. More specifically, business models involve the configuration of and the nature of the linkage between operations. 4 Start-up companies often gain a competitive advantage over long-standing market leaders by offering novel business models. Consider the following examples: Starbucks offered high-priced coffee specialty drinks in a relaxed environment. Amazon sold books online. Southwest Airlines provided an air service that competed with bus service and driving. Dell built computers to customer specifications. Zara placed low-cost high-fashion items on shelves with incredible speed. YouTube revolutionized the creation and distribution of video. Facebook integrated web-based interconnectivity with traditional school-based yearbooks. All of those companies had the advantage of building the innovative business model from scratch, â€Å"greenfield† as it is often called. They could harmonize their internal processes and employee competencies and behaviors with the requirements of their model. They did not face the challenge of nurturing a new business model within an existing, long-standing approach to generating revenue. Theory into Practice It is possible to gain competitive advantage through the creation of a new business model, but changing your existing business model will create special change challenges. Altering an existing business model, especially one that has been successful in the past, has proved much more challenging than a greenfield effort. Some organizations have been successful: Under Louis Gerstner, IBM transformed its business model for generating profits from the sales of hardware to generating profits from services and software. Lufthansa’s Jergen Weber moved the company from a centralized collection of functional stovepipes to a number of free-standing service offerings, including cargo handling, on-plane catering, and service maintenance. Carlos Ghosn changed the failing business model of Nissan by simultaneously centralizing product design and globalizing the company’s supply chain. Not all attempts to alter a company’s business model lead to success, of course. Michael Armstrong’s effort to move ATT from a long-distance phone company to a full-service provider of a wide array of offerings—cable, long-distance, local, wireless, etc. —proved disastrous. 6 Most notoriously of all, Jeffrey Skilling’s alteration of Enron’s business model—from energy provider to energy futures trader—disintegrated over the company’s inability to build sustainable profitability (and its leaders’ willingness to hide that fact from the public, investors, and employees). Corporate leaders believe that business model innovation will be the major source of growth over the next decade. 8 To achieve that desired growth, however, they will need to become effective change leaders. Because business model innovation alters the nature of linkages among employees, it disrupts existing patterns of behavior while demanding new competencies and skills. The failure of a company to engage in organizational change undermines a company’s capacity to innovate in their business model. 9 All business model innovation—that is, moving from the status quo to a new model—requires organizational change. Theory into Practice Adaptation of a new business model within a corporation will require organizational change. Behavioral Change Effective strategic renewal requires behavioral change that directly targets patterns of employee actions and interactions in order to meet the company’s strategy and to achieve and sustain outstanding performance. Theory into Practice If change interventions are to achieve significant and sustainable impact on performance, they must focus on altering patterns of employee behavior. Effective implementation depends on an alteration in patterns of employee behavior. Behavior refers to the actions employees take to enact their roles and responsibilities within the organization. Behaviors involve what employees do and how they do it, how much effort they bring to their roles, and how persistent they are in achieving desired outcomes. Behavior also involves the enactment of relationships: how employees interact with others (peers, subordinates, superiors, customers, suppliers, the host community, and so forth). It is this enactment of roles, responsibilities, and relationships that constitutes employee behavior in organizations. The collective enactment of those roles, responsibilities, and relationships—that is, the patterns of employee behavior within organizations—constitutes the target of behavioral change efforts. Behavioral change seeks more than a short-term alteration. New behaviors that are adopted for a short period of time and then dropped as employees return to old approaches will undermine strategic renewal. In order to support strategic renewal and outstanding performance, new behaviors need to be sustainable and adaptive to shifts in the external environment. The reason sustainability of new behaviors matters can be stated simply: the ways in which employees behave significantly impact the organization’s performance. Beyond products and market position, beyond plants and technology, employee behaviors affect the bottom-line performance of the organization. 10 Theory into Practice Organizational change seeks to create long-term, sustainable alterations in employee behaviors. Just how does that happen? How is it that patterns of employee behavior impact a company’s bottom-line performance? The key to understanding the relationship of behaviors to performance can be found in the idea of motivation. Motivation, in this case, refers to the degree to which employees are committed to the achievement of outstanding performance both for themselves and for their company. Employee motivation pays off in bottom-line performance. High motivation creates in employees the capability and willingness to work together to solve problems. Quality improves, customer responsiveness increases, and adaptation occurs. Chapter 4 will examine in detail efforts to redesign organizations to capture the benefits of enhanced employee involvement and commitment. For now, we can suggest that behaviors count. The competitive advantage delivered by behavioral change can be long term and sustainable. The manner in which work is organized, information is shared, decisions are made, coordination occurs, and problems are solved are all performance differentiators. 11 Furthermore, that performance edge is sustainable for decades, leading to significant and often staggering competitive advantage. 12 Theory into Practice The way employees behave impacts the bottom-line performance of the company. Sources of Behavior Effective change implementation needs to start with an appreciation of the source of an individual’s behavior. What is it that leads an individual to behave in a certain way? Individual psychology is important, of course: who the individual is, what values he or she brings to the workplace, even how that individual thinks and learns. But individual psychology can be difficult to assess and slow to change. A leader seeking leverage over employee behavior can start by focusing not on individual psychology but on the organizational context in which employees work. Theory into Practice Behavior comes from both the individual and the organizational context in which the individual works. Organizational context—the setting and circumstances in which employees work—exerts a powerful impact on behavior. Companies as diverse as Google, Nordstrom, MySpace, and Southwest Airlines endeavor to promote an organizational context that shapes individual behavior. They call upon organizational culture and values, the behaviors of leaders, as well as rules and procedures to define a context that shapes how employees enact their roles, responsibilities, and relationships. To appreciate the power of organizational context to shape behaviors, we can examine a specific example of an employee mistake. Sheryl Sandberg, an advertising manager at Google, made a mistake that cost the company millions of dollars. â€Å"Bad decision,† she admitted, â€Å"moved too quickly, no controls in place, wasted some money. † 13 Sandberg quickly informed Google cofounder Larry Page. Employees make mistakes, even occasionally big ones such as Sandberg’s. Leaders have an important opportunity to shape organizational context by the manner in which they respond to those errors. Quick and harsh repercussions—firing, for example, or demotion—will have one kind of impact on the organizational context in which employees work. That response may be justified and reasonable, but it may also work to stifle future risk-taking behaviors. Or perhaps employees will be less willing to admit mistakes, slowing down an organization’s response time. The boss may also respond in a less harsh and punishing manner. Listen to the reaction of Google cofounder Larry Page, to Sandberg’s admission: I’m so glad you made this mistake, because I want to run a company where we are moving too quickly and doing too much, not being too cautious and doing too little. If we don’t have any of these mistakes, we’re not taking enough risk. The point is not that Page’s response is the only â€Å"correct† or reasonable response to the admission of a mistake. Leaders have to determine what type of organizational context they seek to create. That context will need to be aligned with the company’s strategy and purpose. Page and Google cofounder Sergey Brin believe that mistakes can provide fuel for improvements, even innovation. â€Å"We’re willing to tolerate ambiguity and chaos,† says senior vice president Shona Brown, â€Å"because that’s where the room is for innovation. † Google’s leaders want a context that tolerates risk in order to generate innovation. Employee Participation and Resistance to Change Not all employees greet change with equal enthusiasm. It is useful, therefore, to examine the sources of employee resistance to change and the ways in which managers can overcome resistance. Resistance refers to action, overt or covert, exerted on behalf of maintaining the status quo. 14 Why Employees Resist Change You’re either for this change or you’re against it. That refrain may be familiar; it is not, however, accurate. Employee response to change runs across a broad spectrum, ranging from â€Å"commitment† at one end to â€Å"aggressive resistance† on the other.