Building Successful Organizations That Endure


Assignment:

Learning from Our Crisis

Darleen is worried but she is still confident that Highpoint Industries are on the right track. In examining the recent sales figures, it appears that the downward trend has continued, but the steep decline appears to have stopped. In other words, the last two months represent a continued loss of revenue— but the fall from grace appears to be slowing.

In talking about this issue with Darleen, you both have come to recognize the fact that at this point, the leaders in the organization have begun to embrace the lessons that you have been teaching and have come to realize that they are in a moment of crisis. Darleen has planned yet another half day retreat with the C team. While there are some members of the team that appear to be on the verge of panic, Darleen sees this as an entirely teachable and perhaps transformational moment. She has asked you to run this meeting and for this activity you are to present a meeting plan which will help to prepare this group to embrace this challenge and begin the process of transforming their way out of this deficit. This meeting plan should contain the following components.

  • Component 1: Introduction – How would you start the meeting? What would you say to get the C team ready for the discussion at hand?
  • Component 2: Embracing the Crisis – What would you do with the team to get them to recognize what you have learned in this module— which is the fact that in many cases transformation can result if crisis is handled appropriately. How would you articulate this? While you can be creative with your approach, you are asked to use scholarly references in explaining how you would make your case.
  • Component 3: Differentiating Between Change and Transformation – For this training you must also teach your team the difference between what might be a surface level change versus a more substantial and important systemic transformation. How would you explain a more transformational change? How would you get them to think about embracing it?
  • Organization & Conclusion: In conclusion, what challenges would you issue them in terms of learning the meeting and getting ready to take this crisis and turn it into transformation? What could you leave them with that would get them ready to seize the day?

Please ensure in executing this assignment that you make specific references to the readings provided as well as the utilization of at least three outside references which can be used to support your ideas presented. The use of outside sources is important because even though the materials provided for this course are excellent, as a graduate student you are expected to be able to consult a variety of sources regarding a given topic and synthesize that scholarly input into a thoughtful set of recommendations, conclusions, etc.

The essay should be 1850 – words and should include at least three (3) citations. The sections should be clearly marked with headings so that your instructor knows which points you are addressing. Follow the guidelines for APA writing style. The title page and references page do not count towards the minimum word amount for this assignment.