Managing the People Side of Change
Dr. David Lehman dwlehman@nus.edu.sg
BIZ1 #08-46
6516 5002
This class focuses on the people side of change in organizations. We will use theories from the fields of management, psychology, and sociology to help us understand (a) why people and groups of people in organizations do the things they do (b) how we can initiate change in organizational behaviors and manage resistance to these changes and (c) how we can design organizational structures and policies so that we can make ongoing changes to them, experiment with them, and even learn from our mistakes along the way.
Most of the things we will discuss will seem obvious on the surface but complex at their root. The course will thus be highly interactive in order to uncover and wrestle with some of this complexity. Some days we will have the opportunity to make money. Some days we will have the opportunity to debate. Some days we will have the opportunity to role play. Some days we will have the opportunity to play a game. Every day we will have the opportunity to interact, to have fun, and to learn from each other along the way. In order for us all to get the most out of the course, it is very important for each person to come to each class fully prepared and ready to be actively involved.
The grading for the course is consistent with the expectation for it to be highly interactive in nature. It is comprised of three components:
1.
Individual case write-ups and class participation (30%): Attendance is obviously the bare minimum since it is difficult to participate if you are not in class. Everyone is expected to come to all the classes given the shortened nature of the course. Your ticket in the door is a short (i.e., one page or less) write-up to the case questions. These questions are intended to trigger your thinking about the case so as to ensure a lively discussion. There are no “right or wrong” answers but preference will be given to creative and insightful responses. Please turn these in at the start of class and bring an extra copy for you to refer to during the class. In terms of class participation, quality, not quantity, is the key.
You are encouraged to look for ways to stay on track with the existing discussion by offering insightful responses to questions and building off other comments. Try to avoid repeating other people’s comments or derailing discussions. This requires that you be actively involved in the discussion even when you are not the one talking.
2.
Individual reflection paper (30%): This will be assigned on the last day of class and will be due the following week. This paper is not intended to be a burden (it will be quite short) but instead to provide an opportunity for you to look back through the lens of this course at your own experiences with change initiatives.
3.
Group project presentation (40%): This will be assigned on the second day of class and will be due on the last day of class.

On the following pages is a tentative schedule and list of readings. (In other words, a couple of the cases may change. A final list of readings will be available before the start of the class.) Don’t be alarmed by the length. The only required reading for each day is the case.
(The assigned write-up questions are listed below each case title.) The supplementary readings can be read at your own pace if you choose to read them at all. Based on past experience and conversations with previous students, the supplementary readings usually become most useful after the class rather than during it. I’ve tried to put together a list of readings that are interesting and fun; I hope that it will be useful now and will also serve as a good reference guide later in your career. The list includes some chapters from popular press books as well as management articles from Harvard Business Review. Enjoy!

Session
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Overarching question
Case Assignment
When do people seek change?
How do people search for solutions to problems?
Supplementary Readings
Gunfire at Sea: A Case Study of Innovation
Individual case write-up questions:
1.
How would you describe Sims’ proposed changes?
2.
How would you describe Sims’ change strategy?
3.
Why did this strategy fail for so long?
1.
What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo
Wrestlers Have in Common?
(Freakonomics)
2.
When Winning is Everything (HBR)
3.
Change for Change’s Sake (HBR)
eHarmony
Individual case write-up questions:
1.
Does eHarmony have a competitive advantage? If so, what is it? Where does it come from?
2.
How serious is the competitive threat to eHarmony?
(Check out these sites before coming to class: eharmony.com, chemistry.com, and match.com.)
1.
The Scandal of Prediction (Black Swan)
2.
Sense and Sensibility (The Art of
Choosing)
3.
Decisions Without Blinders (HBR)
How can we cast an effective vision for change?
USA TODAY: Pursuing the Network Strategy (A)
Individual case write-up questions:
1.
How would you critique Curley’s vision statements?
2.
Why does his staff respond with indifference?
(For both questions, focus primarily on Curley’s actual statements, i.e., quotes.)
How can we manage resistance to change?
Donna Dubinsky and Apple Computer, Inc. (A)
Individual case write-up questions:
1.
How would you grade Donna’s behaviors? Why?
2.
How would you have behaved in her position?
(Be specific and describe how you would have behaved at each stage in the story.)
1.
2.
3.
1.
3.
What Sticks? (Made to Stick)
The Vision Thing (HBR)
Leading Change: Why Transformation
Efforts Fail (HBR)
Choosing Strategies for Change (HBR)
2.
The Real Reason People Won’t Change
(HBR)
Change Through Persuasion (HBR)

Session 5
How can we make the environment more conducive to change?
The 36-Hour Workday
Individual case write-up questions:
1.
Who are the stakeholders involved in this case?
2.
How much power does each stakeholder possess?
(Rate each stakeholder on a scale of 1 to 10.)
Session 6
How can we learn from the changes that we implement?
Children’s Hospital and Clinics (A)
Individual case write-up questions:
1.
What would you say to Matthew’s parents?
2.
How would you expect them to respond?
(For both questions, be specific. Provide a dialogue.)
Session 7
What have you learned about change?
None – Group presentations
1.
Choice Architecture (Nudge)
2.
The Three Rules of Epidemics (The
Tipping Point)
3.
Why Change Programs Don’t Produce
Change (HBR)
1.
The Damage Done: Why Every
Workplace Needs the Rule (The No
Asshole Rule)
2.
The Competitive Imperative of
Learning (HBR)
3.
Evidence-Based Management (HBR)
None – Group presentations