Learning Goal: I’m working on a management discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Welcome to the Week Five Roundup Discussion Forum. After you review the materials for Week Five (chapter(s), Ted Talk(s) and PowerPoint) please:

• Pick one of the end-of-chapter(s) discussions below and share your answers in this forum by clicking on Reply, typing in your response and then post. Your answers should be well researched using the book and other reliable resources. You should also add your own experiences with the topic as part of your analysis. Your answer should be between 250 – 500 words and include your sources.
• Your initial discussion is due Wednesday before midnight.
• Respond to one other classmate’s posting in a second reply/post. I expect that you will add substantially to our learning in that response. “Me, too” or “Great answer” are not acceptable for points. If you can, feel free to bring in your own experiences.
• Comment about something that you found interesting in the Ted talk(s) for this week in a third reply/post.
• Finally, at the end of the course outline you will find two rubrics. One is for discussion. I will grade based on this rubric.

Week Five Discussion Questions:

1. What symptoms of resistance to change have you observed? Have you observed both active and passive forms? Have you as a recipient resisted change? Have you experienced resistance while responsible for initiating and managing a change? In your experience, what are the most common causes of resistance to change? (Chapter Eight)
2. When senior managers resist change at the strategic level, they can cause more damage than employees resisting change at an operational level. Have you worked in an organization where you believe that there was management resistance to change? As a manager, what actions would you take to prevent this? (Chapter Eight)
3. Do you model the change behavior you desire? Whose interest do you serve when you engage in change? Is your approach value-laden or value-neutral? If value-laden, can you articulate what these values are? Are you comfortable with them? (Chapter Nine)
4. Can you identify different sense-making activities going on during organizational change? What ability do you have to influence these? Do you exercise power in your attempts to influence the interpretations others have of change situations? With what success? What are the implications of this? (Chapter Nine)