Read the following case and answer the questions that follow. The management of Company ABC have just notified the employees that their jobs are going to change because of the introduction of a new, computer-controlled manufacturing technology. Using the old technology, employees stationed along a moving conveyor belt performed a clearly defined set of operations to assemble the computers. The new, computerised technology makes it possible to produce many different models of computers simultaneously. To operate the technology effectively, employees have to learn new, more complex skills, and they also have to learn how to work in teams because the new technology is based on the use of flexible work teams. In the new work teams, the employees themselves, not a supervisor, will be responsible for product quality and for organising work activities. The new role of the supervisor will be to facilitate, not direct, the work process. Indeed, a major part of the change to flexible work teams involves introducing a total quality management program to improve quality and reduce costs. Questions (a) Explain the main barriers to change at the individual level that the internal change agents are likely to encounter as they introduce the new system. (b) Discuss some ways to overcome resistance to change in order to help the organisation move to its future desired state. (c) With examples, explain how the management can refreeze the situation to support the change initiative once the change has been implemented.
Read the following case and answer the questions that follow.
The management of Company ABC have just notified the employees that their jobs are going to
change because of the introduction of a new, computer-controlled manufacturing technology.
Using the old technology, employees stationed along a moving conveyor belt performed a clearly
defined set of operations to assemble the computers. The new, computerised technology makes it
possible to produce many different models of computers simultaneously.
To operate the technology effectively, employees have to learn new, more complex skills, and
they also have to learn how to work in teams because the new technology is based on the use of
flexible work teams. In the new work teams, the employees themselves, not a supervisor, will be
responsible for product quality and for organising work activities. The new role of the supervisor
will be to facilitate, not direct, the work process. Indeed, a major part of the change to flexible
work teams involves introducing a total quality management program to improve quality and
reduce costs.
Questions
(a) Explain the main barriers to change at the individual level that the internal change agents are
likely to encounter as they introduce the new system.
(b) Discuss some ways to overcome resistance to change in order to help the organisation move
to its future desired state.
(c) With examples, explain how the management can refreeze the situation to support the change
initiative once the change has been implemented.
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