Table of Contents s110

Student Guide

for

MHR 3055:

Conflict and Change Management

Management and Human Relations

Trevecca Nazarene University

333 Murfreesboro Road

Nashville, TN 37210

Table of Contents

NOTE TO STUDENTS (PLEASE READ!) 3

COURSE DESCRIPTION 4

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 4

WEEKLY SCHEDULE 5

SUGGESTED INTEGRATIVE PROJECT/PAPER 8

SUGGESTED WEEKLY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 10

Textbooks:

Dana, D. (2001).Conflict Resolution. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780071364317

Kotter, J. (2012).Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press. ISBN: 9781422186435

NOTE TO STUDENTS (PLEASE READ!)

This guide does NOT contain the official list of readings and assignments for your course. Please refer to the syllabus provided by your instructor for the specific readings and assignments for your course (which may or may not be the same as the ones listed in this guide).

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Students will understand the challenges, techniques, and problems associated with initiating and implementing changes within organizations.Specifically, students will understand the roles and stakes of all entities involved.Given that conflict often accompanies change, the course will also examine sources of conflict and identify effective resolution and negotiation techniques.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

After completing the course, students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an ability to analyze decision situations and determine the stakes of entities involved.

2. Analyze all aspects of a decision or change situation to determine the best course of action.

3. Conduct a negotiation to solve a decision problem.

4. Analyze the steps necessary for implementing effective organizational change.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Week One – Types of Change & Lewin's Model

1. Student Learning Outcomes:
a. Demonstrate an ability to analyze decision situations and determine the stakes of entities involved.
b. Analyze all aspects of a decision or change situation to determine the best course of action.
c. Analyze the steps necessary for implementing effective organizational change.

2. Reading:
a. Types of change – Read pages 16-30 of the following:
http://us.macmillan.com/uploadedFiles/PalgraveTrade/Non-Menu_Items/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Change%20Management.pdf
b. Articles on Lewin's change model:
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/lewins-3-stage-model-of-change-unfreezing-changing-refreezing.html
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_94.htm

c. Kotter's book – Chapters 1 & 2

Week Two – First Four Steps in Kotter’s Change Process

2. Reading and videos:
a. Kotter's book – Chapters 3 – 6

b. Video on creating a sense of urgency:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD8xKv2ur_s

c. Video on resistance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdroj6F3VlQ

d. Video on vision:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA1a0khcuKo

e. Article on why people resist change:

http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/2012/09/ten-reasons-people-resist-chang.html

f. Article on how to overcome resistance:
http://opwl.boisestate.edu/wp-content/uploads/news-A_Marker_Handling_Resistance_to_Change_v4b.pdf

g. Articles on communicating change:

http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/06/19312.html

http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/09/10/ten-commandments-for-communicating-change-effectively/

h. Video on communicating change:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGVe3wRKmH0

Week Three – Last Four Steps in Kotter’s Change Process

2. Reading:
a. Kotter's book – Chapters 7 – 12

Week Four – Definition of Conflict, Types of Conflict, Conflict Styles, and Mediation

1. Student Learning Outcomes:
a. Demonstrate an ability to analyze decision situations and determine the stakes of entities involved.
b. Conduct a negotiation to solve a decision problem.

2. Reading:
a. Dana's book – Chapters 1 – 7
b. Article on defining conflict:
http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/onlinetraining/resolution/aboutwhatisit.htm#whatisconflict

c. Article on conflict styles:
http://www.negotiations.com/articles/negotiation-conflict-profiles/

Week Five – Negotiation

1. Student Learning Outcome:
a. Demonstrate an ability to analyze decision situations and determine the stakes of entities involved.
b. Conduct a negotiation to solve a decision problem.

2. Reading and videos:
a. Articles defining negotiation and explaining the different types:
http://www.negotiations.com/articles/negotiation-types/

http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/negotiation

http://www.negotiations.com/articles/negotiating-phases/

http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/distributive-bargaining

http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/interest-based-bargaining

b. Video on conducting effective negotiations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCmvMDrCWjs&feature=related

SUGGESTED INTEGRATIVE PROJECT/PAPER

The following project/paper that spans the entire course is recommended as a major assignment for the course.

Week 1

1. Provide some background on the organization in which the change will take place. Feel free to use your employer, church, civic organization… You may withhold the name of the organization if you desire.

2. Describe the needed change in depth.* Identify the specific department/location within the organization, those who will be most affected by the change, the timeframe for bringing about the change, and any resources that might be needed to effectively implement the change.

*It is also acceptable to analyze a change that has already been made that you believe could have been implemented more effectively.

3. Using the information from the following article, clearly specify the type of change that is being proposed for your organization:

Read pages 16-30 of the following:

http://us.macmillan.com/uploadedFiles/PalgraveTrade/Non-Menu_Items/The%20Theory%20and%20Practice%20of%20Change%20Management.pdf

Week 2

Using the weekly material (book, articles, and videos), discuss specifically how you would FULLY implement the first four steps in Kotter’s change process as they apply to the change you presented in your Week 1 paper:

1. Establishing a sense of urgency (be sure to discuss some ways in which you would minimize resistance)

2. Creating a guiding coalition (be sure to discuss the qualities/skills that you would want represented on the guiding coalition)

3. Developing a vision and strategy

4. Communicating the change vision

Week 3

Using the weekly material (book), discuss specifically how you would FULLY implement steps five through eight in Kotter’s change process as they apply to the change that you analyzed in Weeks 1 & 2:

5. Empowering employees for broad-based action

6. Generating short-term wins

7. Consolidating gains and producing more change

8. Anchoring new approaches in the culture

Week 4

Using the weekly material (book and articles), FULLY discuss the following; be sure to provide specifics and details:

-The types of conflict that you might encounter in implementing the change and why they might arise (discuss at least three).

-How you might use mediation (as described in the Dana book) to deal with each of these conflicts?

Week 5

Using the weekly material (articles and video), FULLY discuss the following; be sure to provide specifics and details:

-How might you use negotiation (interest-based and/or distributive) to deal with EACH of the conflicts identified in Week 5?

SUGGESTED WEEKLY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

It is recommended that students complete some or all of the following questions prior to each class. Having the students think about these topics prior to class is a great way to get them to engage the material and critically examine it. Another option is to use these as discussion questions in class each week.

Week 1

Topic 1: The Week 1 material stresses the importance of disconfirming our previous attitudes and beliefs. In other words, we cannot effectively change until we are ready to let go of the old. The same is true in our walk with Christ (John 15: 18 & 19 is one example of many). What are some areas of life that individuals are often reluctant to release? Why?

Topic 2: Read the following two articles describing Lewin’s model for change:

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/lewins-3-stage-model-of-change-unfreezing-changing-refreezing.html

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_94.htm

Provide an example of an organization that tried to bring about change before properly “unfreezing” current beliefs and attitudes. Explain.

Topic 3: How can an organization most effectively “unfreeze” current beliefs and attitudes?

Topic 4: What means of unfreezing would work best if someone was trying to prepare you for a change?

Topic 5: Some have argued that there is no time to refreeze since organizations are in constant states of change. Do you agree? Explain.

Topic 6: It is assumed that individuals will tend to resist large, transformational changes more so than small, incremental ones, but this is not always the case. Why can small, incremental (seemingly insignificant) changes sometimes encounter such stuff resistance? Provide an example from your own experiences.

Topic 7: Why are reactive changes (i.e., those changes that become necessary after a problem or crisis of some kind) often easier to make than anticipatory ones?

Week 2

Topic 1: The Week 2 material examines why individuals resist change. The Bible is full of examples of individuals who resisted change even in the face of overwhelming evidence contradicting their beliefs (Luke 16: 19 – 31 is one example of many). Have you ever been reluctant to make a change even when all of the evidence pointed in a different direction? Why?

Topic 2: Read the following article on why individuals resist change: http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/2012/09/ten-reasons-people-resist-chang.html

In your opinion, which of these would typically lead to the strongest and weakest resistance? Explain.

Topic 3: Read the following article on why individuals resist change: http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/2012/09/ten-reasons-people-resist-chang.html

This list of reasons is not exhaustive; what others reasons would you add to the list? Explain.

Topic 4: Read the following article on overcoming resistance to change:

http://opwl.boisestate.edu/wp-content/uploads/news-A_Marker_Handling_Resistance_to_Change_v4b.pdf

In your opinion, which of these techniques would be most and least effective? Explain.

Topic 5: Which would be more likely to “create a sense of urgency” in you (from Chapter 3): 1. The good that might come from the change (e.g., increased profits and/or salary); or 2. The bad that might occur if the change is not made (e.g., the company might lose money and have layoffs)? Explain.

Topic 6: Chapter 4 of the Kotter book, Creating a Guiding Coalition, discusses the importance of having a strong team leading the change. Page 59 lists four characteristics that are useful to have on the team. Assume you were constructing a seven person guiding coalition and that each individual would only possess one of the four characteristics, describe your ideal team composition in terms of the four characteristics.

Topic 7: Read the following two articles on communicating change:

http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/06/19312.html

http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/09/10/ten-commandments-for-communicating-change-effectively/

From either of the articles, which two suggestions for communicating change do you believe are the most important? Explain.

Week 3

Topic 1: What are some of the potential reasons that a manager might be reluctant to “empower” an employee?

Topic 2: What are some potential reasons that an employee might not desire to be empowered?

Topic 3: Share a time in your life when a “short-term win” provided you with the motivation and encouragement you needed to take another step.

Topic 4: Kotter encourages managers to “generate (or manufacture) short-term wins.” What are some potential dangers in this strategy?

Topic 5: In Chapter 9 of the book, Kotter asserts that leaders need to “consolidate gains and produce more change.” In other words, once the change effort and guiding coalition have some credibility, push through more change. What are some potential dangers in this stage?

Topic 6: Is it possible to “consolidate the gains and produce more change” without having experienced success in the previous step (generating short-term wins)? How could a leader convince others to go along with additional change when the initial change steps have not yet shown signs of success?

Topic 7: In the final step, Kotter notes that the new approach must be anchored in the culture. Unfortunately, many organizations are guilty of having leftover practices and procedures that are inconsistent with the newly implemented change. What are specific areas that organizations often overlook when trying to align the organization?

Topic 8: It has been argued that changing an organization’s culture can take from 20-30 years. Why so long? That is the approximate length of time it takes to replace all of the current employees. In other words, some believe that the values and beliefs of current employees are so engrained that they cannot be changed. Do you agree with this assertion?

Week 4

Topic 1: Many view conflict from a win-loss or win-win standpoint. Specifically, it is human tendency to always want to get a “win” and get our way. Christ presented a very different model (see Luke 6:27 – 36). Is Christ’s model applicable to the situations we encounter in the workplace? Explain.

Topic 2: On page 13 of the Dana book, you will find a Conflict Analysis Worksheet that can be used to assess the scope/size of a conflict. Briefly describe a conflict that you have experienced at work or elsewhere and determine which score it would get.

Topic 3: Chapter 2 of the Dana book describes the costs associated with conflict. Briefly describe a conflict that you have experienced at work or elsewhere and describe the costs that were associated with it. Are these costs still being felt today?

Topic 4: Chapter 3 of the Dana book describes three ways of resolving conflict: power contests, rights contests, and interest reconciliation. He argues that interest reconciliation is the ideal method to use. Can you think of situations in which using power contests and/or rights contests might be more appropriate? What are potential long-term complications that can arise from using these two methods?

Topic 5: *Do this question BEFORE you do the next one. Read the following article: http://www.negotiations.com/articles/negotiation-conflict-profiles/

Which conflict style do you think best describes you? Are there any potential problems that could arise from using this particular style?

Topic 6: *Do not do this question until you have already done the previous one. Take the following assessment:

http://www.nctc.edu/Libraries/AdminServicesRecordsRetention/Confict_Style_Assessment_ANGEL_1.sflb.ashx

Do you agree with the assessment’s results? Explain. Does the style it identified match what you thought in the previous question?

Week 5

Topic 1: Do you believe that conflict is inevitable within organizations? Would it be possible to have a “conflict-free” organization? Explain.

Topic 2: The Week 5 material focuses on negotiation. What steps could a leader take to minimize the likelihood that conflict will occur and that negotiation would be needed?

Topic 3: Read the following two articles that discuss integrative (interest-based) bargaining:

http://www.negotiations.com/articles/negotiation-types/

http://www.beyondintractability.org/bi-essay/interest-based-bargaining

While this type of negotiation is often viewed as ideal, it is not always effective. In what types of situations might it not be appropriate? Provide an example.

Topic 4: Thinking back to Kotter’s eight steps, discuss the steps in which conflict management (mediation and/or negotiation) might be most needed.

Topic 5: Discuss any major areas in which your thinking has been changed or expanded over the past five weeks. Explain.