Change Management Questions and Answers

Change management questions and answers
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Part A
Question 1 (618 words):
Kotter argued four reasons that lead people to resist change at the workplace, the case of
Continental Airlines employees' resistance to change could be directly linked to their low
tolerance for change. Kotter and Schlesinger (2008), as cited in Tsoka (2013), argued that
employees could resist change due to their fear of losing the opportunity of developing new
skills that add knowledge to them. Also, they might fear their inability to cope with the
requirements of the new situation that takes place after implementing change.
Change could be radical that requires people to quickly respond to it. According to Peter
Drucker, organizational growth requires managers' ability to change their attitudes as fast as
their organizations require. People who recognize that change will bring them benefits will be
appreciated and will support the change compared to others who realize that the change will
minimize their roles within the organization. Despite this, the new job will require different
behavior and new relationships. If the changes are significant and the employees' tolerance is
high, they would support the change and act as change agents as well (Kotter & Schlesinger
2008, p.134).
Low tolerance for change describes why the managers and employees at Continental Airlines
did not resist change and the change plan of Brenneman fully succeeded. Employees'
empowerment and involvement in meetings motivated them more and more until they were
fully engaged in the change implementation of the "Go forward" change plan.
Continental Airlines is described to be the best follower to Kotter recommendation for
change management in the transition period. The implemented strategies by the company will
be discussed according to Tsoka (2013), as follows:

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 Education and communication: Managers are required to communicate and provide
necessary training to the employees about the change before implementation. The
company change vision should be communicated to employees at all levels to be
effective. Employees have the rights to clearly understand the strategic logic that led to
change. That is why Continental Airlines initiative to provide training programs that
develop the chief executives' skills and improve customer services was a highly
appreciated step.
 Participation and involvement: Peoples' participation in the change plan is likely to
foster their positive attitude towards the significance of the change. Continental Airlines
gave the chance to its managerial staff and employees who will be affected by the change
to participate in the change process and provide their creative ideas to be implemented.
Peoples' acknowledgment of reforming efforts accelerated the change process and
resulted in fruitful outcomes.
 Facilitation and support management: Managerial support towards change
management is a critical issue that requires well-trained managers to implement it.
Managers play a crucial role in advising employees who resist the change as a result of
the adjustment problems. Managers at the Continental Airlines hosted measures to track
and guide key levers of the company performance that required employee cooperation,
communication and well understanding of the efforts towards change. Managers played a
major role in facilitating the process of change implementation to help the employees to
fulfill the organizational goals. Employees' ability to cope with fear and anxiety was
successfully managed during the transition period.
 Negotiation and agreement: Employees who feel that they will not find a room for them
due to the organizational change are more likely to reveal high resistance to change. In
this case, negotiation could be a powerful tool that convinces them to accept change and