Good afternoon,

I’m currently enrolled in Strayer University, Managing Organizational Change (HRM560) course. Attached you will find instructions and rubric of Assignment 2. I have also attached Assignment 1 that I did last week showing the company that we have taken interest in. Also, attached is the same Assignment 2 from a great friend of mines that took the same class that we could go by without using the same wording as SafeAssign will pick up. However, we could use the references and any other references that you might want to include. I will need to turn this assignment in by Saturday, February 1, 2020. Really hoping that you can assist as I will be posting 3 other assignments after this one. Thank you.

Daniel

Running head: ASSIGNMENT 1 1

ASSIGNMENT 1 2

Assignment 1

Selecting a Company

Daniel Hernandez

HRM560-Managing Organizational Change

Strayer University

Dr. Zakia R. Batchelor

January 21, 2020

Sears became a household name in the early 1970s. Richard Sears, the owner, started a mail-order Watch Company in Minneapolis in 1886. Shortly after his arrival, he placed an advertisement in the local newspaper seeking to hire a watch repairer. Alvah Roebuck answered the ad and was instantly hired, and a partnership developed. Sears, Roebuck, and Company, a catalog sales organization selling watches and diamond jewelry, started in 1887. The company later changed its name to Sears. Richard opened the first Sears retail store in 1925; 300 more stores opened over the years in several states. This paper will complete an analysis and provide a recommendation on necessary changes to Sears Employee Performance Plan.

The company implemented procedures and policies that are embedded in business practice management. Sears have developed a combination of strategic management and operations planning in communicating the company’s vision and mission statement to the employees. Over the years, Sears have managed employees and stakeholders with a clear view of the company’s values, purposes, and goals. This organization utilizes a competitive strategy approach to keep employees engaged in the company’s business model (Sears Corporate, 2017).

The change from annual reviews to Performance Enablement came about in 2013. Sears decided to appraise employees by their performance instead of yearly evaluations. The management team realized that employees benefited more from tools that enabled them to perform in the scope the business intended them in (Sears Corporate, 2017). This method proved to be interactive as it offers feedback to leadership on employee’s performance and an action plan for remediation or appraisal (Guest Contributor, 2015). My recommendation will include changing the existing policy to the 360 Employee Performance Programs as they provide continuous feedback and offers encouragement and motivation from senior leaders.

References

Guest Contributor (2015). HCM Essentials. Sear Holdings Replaces Annual Performance Review with Fluid Dynamic Feedback. Retrieved from

http://www.aberdeenessentials.com/hcm-essentials/sears-holdings-replaces-annual-performance-review-fluid-dynamic-feedback/

Sears. (2012). Sears History, 1886. Retrieved from http://searsarchives.com/history/history1886.htm

Assignment 2: Diagnosing Change

Due Week 4 and worth 140 points

Using the organization that your professor has preapproved, synthesize the organization’s readiness for change. Evaluate whether or not to implement your new program, policy, practice, or procedure. Use a tablet, smartphone, laptop, desktop, or traditional video recorder to record a maximum of a five to seven (5-7) minute dynamic video on the topics detailed below. Alternatively, you may submit a four to six (4-6) page paper instead of the video submission.

Note: If you are using a tablet or smartphone, you will need to email the video file to yourself, then save it to a computer in order to upload to Blackboard. You may want to upload your video to a file sharing service, such as Dropbox, if your email will not let you send a large video file. Dropbox is accessible from all smartphones and tablets from the Dropbox app.

Please use the following naming convention in the popup window for your video once it is finished uploading:

Title: Your First Name, Your Last Name – Managing Organizational Change

Tags: HRM560, Organizational Change

Description: First Name, Last Name – HRM560 Assignment 2 (Date Uploaded ex. 11-14-2014)

Prepare and present a video that is a maximum of five to seven (5-7) minutes OR write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

1. Describe the company in terms of industry, size, number of employees, and history.

2. Analyze in detail the current HR practice, policy, process, or procedure that you believe should be changed.

3. Formulate three (3) valid reasons for the proposed change based on current change management theories.

4. Appraise the diagnostic tools that you can use to determine an organization’s readiness for change. Propose two (2) diagnostic tools which you can utilize to determine if the organization is ready for change. Defend why you believe the diagnostic tools selected are the best choice for diagnosing change in the organization.

5. Using one (1) of the diagnostic tools you selected, assess the organization’s readiness for change.

a. Provide results of the diagnostic analysis

b. Explain the results

6. Interpret whether or not the organization is ready for change. Substantiate your conclusion by referencing current change management theories.

Note: If you choose to submit a video presentation, please also submit a one (1) page summary of your presentation.

If you choose the written paper, your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

· Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

· Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

· Evaluate an organization’s readiness for change.

· Analyze diagnostic models relevant to various aspects of the change management process.

· Use technology and information resources to research issues in managing organizational change.

· Write clearly and concisely about managing organizational change using proper writing mechanics.

Rubric

Running head: DIAGNOSING CHANGE 1

ASSIGNMENT 2: DIAGNOSING CHANGE 7

Assignment 2: Diagnosing Change

xxxxxxxxxx

Strayer University

HRM560-Managing Organizational Change

Dr. xxxxxxxxxx

October xx, 2020

Describe the company in terms of industry, size, number of employees, and history.

Sears is an American chain of department stores in the retail industry. In 1886, Richard Sears started Sears Watch Company in Minneapolis. A years later, he moved to Chicago and ran an ad for a watch repairer in the Daily Newspaper. Alvah Roebuck answered the ad. In 1888, Sears and Roebuck combined forces and launched their first catalog; the catalog only featured watches and jewelry. Sears sold his watch business in 1889 making him a $72,000 profit (Meyer, 2017). In 1894, he and Roebuck published a catalog that sold everything from watches to appliances. Sears grew rapidly, and in1924, Sears and Roebuck opened their first retail store in Chicago.

Today, Sears employs over 140,000 employees, and is “the 10th-largest retailer in the U.S. based on revenue, and the fourth-largest “broadline” merchant behind Wal-Mart, Costco Wholesale Corp. and Target Corp” (Sweeney, 2012, para. 68). According to Statistic.Com (2011), as of 2017, Sears has decreased from 3500 stores to 670 stores. The once successful retail giant is on a breathing machine seeking a miracle to regain a competitive edge in today’s global marketplace.

Analyze in detail the current HR practice, policy, process, or procedure that you believe should be changed.

The current assessment of Sears Human Resource programs is as follows:

Sears has implemented policies and procedures that are based upon best practices in management procedures. Additionally, their vision and mission statements have clearly explained the company’s goals and objectives. Further, Sears developed and combined a competitive strategy with associated operational goals that has been communicated effectively to help employees to achieve set goals (Sears History, 2012).

In 2013, Sears made a decision to approach their employee’s performance program in a

different way. They changed from an annual employee’s performance review to a program called “Performance Enablement.” Leadership described the new program as a better way to approach performance management. The main objective of their new approach was to help employees reach set company goals by using a set of processes and tools that would allow them to deliver more value every day in terms of daily performances (Sears Corporate, 2017). Furthermore, the new set of processes and tools enable employees to receive feedback from individuals they report to, who report to them, who they partner with, and from customers (Guest Contributor, 2015). After assessing the performance enablement program, I would recommend changing the program to a “360 Employee Performance Program.” My recommendation would provide continuous feedback and development in which employees are engaged in learning to deliver the best customer service possible. Additionally, the program will increase employee performances by rewarding short-term goals, and developing employees into high performers by building self-awareness and self-confidence.

Formulate three (3) valid reasons for the proposed change based on current change management theories.

The change that I proposed was based upon three (3) of Kotter’s Eight Step Process for Success Organizational Transformation. The current management theories are as follows:

1. Form a guiding coalition: Convince employees that change is necessary and how it will benefit them. Also, getting those in leadership roles to lead the change will be important because employees need to see management supporting the change first. Leading by example is always a win for change. This is step 2 in Kotter’s change theory.

2. Generate short term wins-This is one of the main reasons that I recommended changing Sears current Employees Performance Program because it did not include short-term rewards. Kotter’s step 6 focuses on easy to achieve goals. Employees need to be rewarded on short-term accomplishments because it motivate them to achieve long-term goals.

3. Anchor new approaches in the culture-This approach incorporates change within the culture of the organization. Reinforcing the value of the change in the organization is necessary. This is Kotter’s step 8 for leading change.

Appraise the diagnostic tools that you can use to determine an organization’s readiness for change. Propose two (2) diagnostic tools which you can utilize to determine if the organization is ready for change. Defend why you believe the diagnostic tools selected are the best choice for diagnosing change in the organization.

I proposed the following two (2) diagnostic tools to be used to determine if the organization is ready for change:

1. COPS- According to Hodges and Gill (2015), “COPS framework can be used for scanning an organization internally to establish how healthy the organization is and whether the different elements are aligned with one another” (p. 151). COPS stands for the culture, organization, people, and systems within an organization.

2. Seven-S framework-This diagnostic tool focuses on the interaction of the different parts of an organization. This particular model was enhanced by Peters and Waterman in 1982 and is also known as Mckinsey’s Seven-S Model. The main premise of this model is that successful change is based on strategy, structure, systems, staff, style, shared values, and skills (Hodges & Gill, 2015).

I believe that the two diagnostic tools that I have selected would be best in determining the readiness for change within an organization because both are focused on all parts of the organization, and the best approaches to making change successful. Each selected diagnostic tool have their limitations; yet, each is adequate at identifying the need, and projecting the future of change by interacting with teams and individual groups at different levels within the organization (Hodges & Gill, 2015).

Using one (1) of the diagnostic tools you selected, assess the organization’s readiness for change. a. Provide results of the diagnostic analysis b. explain the results

There are several strategic approaches that can be used to assess an organization’s readiness for change. For example, an organization’s macro and micro levels of readiness are most relevant as means of diagnosing change. The Seven-S diagnostic tool can be utilized to evaluate the organization’s ability, the actual readiness, and employee’s individual perception of change. Additionally, the Seven-S tool focuses on shared beliefs and how these beliefs will influence employee’s attitudes and behaviors. The organization employee’s beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and intentions must be in alignment with the organization’s vision. When employee’s perception of justice toward change has been perceived as fair, they are now ready to support the change because they are convinced that the change is necessary for the continued success of the organization.

Interpret whether or not the organization is ready for change. Substantiate your conclusion by referencing current change management theories.

Sears is ready for change based upon Kotter’s Eight Steps for leading change. By assessing the current state of Sear’s Employee Performance Program and the desired state is evidence that they are ready for change. In addition, the confidence of the organization to be ready to implement change, and their belief that they can accomplish the change is an indication that change is necessary. Once management has convinced employees that change is necessary and they lead the change, they have formed a coalition for leading change successfully.

In conclusion, when diagnosing readiness for change, an organization must analyze their own strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and examine every part of the organization that will be affected by the change. They must also analyze how these changes will affect the daily operation of the business before implementing change. There are four questions that an organization should ask to determine if change is need: 1.How can the organization understand complexity, interdependence and fragmentation? 2. Why do we need change? 3. Who and what can change? 4. How can we make change happen? Using these four basic questions as a guide can be extremely helpful in determining an organization’s readiness for change. As a final point, an organization’s assessment of readiness for change should be guided by and through an organization’s openness, trust, flexibility, and the degree in which employees are influenced positive, their perception of justice, and their adaptable to new ideas (Hodges & Gill, 2015).

References

Guest Contributor (2015). HCM Essentials. Sear Holdings Replaces Annual Performance Review with Fluid Dynamic Feedback. Retrieved from

http://www.aberdeenessentials.com/hcm-essentials/sears-holdings-replaces-annual-performance-review-fluid-dynamic-feedback/

Hodges, J., & Gill, R. (2015). Sustaining Change in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Meyer, Z. (2017). Timeline: Sears’ rise and fall of nation’s top retailer. Retrieved from

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/03/22/sears-timeline/99488226/

Sears. (2012). Sears History 1886. Retrieved from

http://searsarchives.com/history/history1886.htm

.

Sears number of stores in the United States from 2011-2016, by type. (n.d). Retrieved from

https://www.statista.com/statistics/293036/number-of-sears-stores-united-states/

Sweeney, B. (2012), Sears- where America shopped. Retrieved from

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120421/ISSUE01/304219970/sears-where-america-shopped