2. QUESTIONS
1. ARE YOU THE KIND OF PERSON THAT LIKES OR FEARS CHANGE?
2. DO YOU THINK CHANGE IS GOOD FOR PEOPLE? WHY OR WHY NOT?
3. HOW MUCH CHANGE IS GOOD?
4. WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF CHANGES THAT A COMPANY CAN GO
THROUGH? HOW MANY EXAMPLES CAN YOU GIVE?
5. WHAT ARE SOME REASONS THAT A COMPANYMAYGO THROUGH CHANGES?
6. DO YOU THINK CHANGE SHOULD BE LOOKED AT AS AN OPPORTUNITYAS A
THREAT?
7. CAN YOU THINK OF ANY CHANGES THAT HAVE HELPED OR HURTCERTAIN KINDS
OF BUSINESSES? WHATABOUTWORKERS?
8. HOW HAS TECHNOLOGY AFFECTED THE WAY BUSINESSES WORK?
9. HOW HAS GLOBOLIZATION AFFECTED THE WAY COMPANIES OPERATE?
10. WHAT ARE SOME OUTSIDE CHANGES THAT CAN AFFECT A COMPANY?
11. HOW DO THESE CHANGES IMPACTTHE COMPANYAND ITS WORKERS?
3. TAKE A LOOK AT EACH OF THESE CHANGES. WHAT ARE SOME
REASONS THEY WOULD HAPPEN?
RELOCATION
NEW
MANAGEMENT
LAYOFFS OR
REDUNDANCIES
REORGANIZATION
ACQUISITION
NOW, THINK ABOUT THE EFFECTS THESE CHANGES WOULD HAVE ON
THE COMPANY AND IT’S EMPLOYEES.
RELOCATION
NEW
MANAGEMENT
LAYOFFS OR
REDUNDANCIES
REORGANIZATION
ACQUISITION
4. Changes That May Occur in the Workplace That
May Affect Employees
by Katie Jensen, Demand Media
Changes are unavoidable in life as well as in the workplace. Change has the potential for
positive growth and progress as well as for failure, according to Jerald Jellison, author of
"Managing the Dynamics of Change: The Fastest Path to Creating an Engaged and Productive
Workplace." Changes may be choreographed and expected, such as moving from one office to
another or a surprise to both upper management and line employees.
Physical Move
Moving to a new office building, changing offices or even just renovating office space impacts
employees the same way moving to a new home affects families. After the dust settles from the
move, nothing is in its familiar place. Productivity may decrease until workers acclimate to the
new location.
New Management or Supervisors
An old wife's tale in the government workforce suggests that no matter what your political
beliefs are, you always vote the incumbents to stay in office because you know what you'll be
getting. Change in management affects employees, even if the change is positive. The unknown
is frightening to some and exhilarating to others.
Workforce Reduction
When companies are facing a shortfall in income, they look to cost cutting and increasing sales.
Cost cutting is the more controllable of the two alternatives. Reducing expenses may begin
reducing the workforce. The cutting may be done by eliminating an entire department and
outsourcing the work or letting the less senior employees go across the board. Even after the
bloodletting is complete, employees who survived may feel anxious about their jobs and start
looking elsewhere for employment.
Litigation
Lawsuits, whether valid or not, may affect employees. Customer's lawsuits from alleged product
defects may put additional strain on manufacturing supervisors and quality and control
personnel. Lawsuits for sexual harassment may set off the requirement that all employees go
through training. Pending litigation also brings the company to the media's attention, which
could result in unfavorable publicity and embarrassment for the staff.
Reorganization
Companies grow and, when they do, the previous management hierarchy may not serve the
present business. Supervisors may find that they are responsible for a department that has
doubled the number of employees or that their department has substantially shrunk. Managers
may be responsible for functions they're not comfortable with. For example, a marketing
manager may now be responsible for the online presence of the company when they're not
familiar with social networking, bookmarking and search engine optimization.
5. Acquisition or Being Acquired
Companies are bought and sold on a regular basis. Subsidiaries are divested and new product
lines and their staffing acquired. These changes challenge employees. When two companies
merge, there may be two human resource departments, two accountting departments, and two IT
departments. The consolidated company only needs one of each. The acquiring company may
have different standards that the new employees are expected to live up to. Even the
compensation may change for those employees without a contract.
VOCABULARY CHECK
MEANING OR DEFINITION WORD OR PHRASE
A STRUCTURAL SYSTEM FROM HIGH TO LOW
EMPLOYEES MOST DIRECTLY IN CHARGE OF
THE MEETING OF COMPANY GOALS AND
OBJECTIVES
MAKE IMPROVEMENTS
PROBLEMS/MISTAKES
PLANNED OUT
EMPLOYEES
A DEFICIT
AFTER THINGS CALM DOWN
CORRECT
GET USED TO
IN PROCESS
EQUALLY FOR EVERYONE
DECREASE IN SIZE A GREAT DEAL
PEOPLE ALREADY IN OFFICE
INEVITABLE
VERY EXCITING
SOMETHING PEOPLE USED TO BELIEVE
REMOVING OF BLOOD TO BENEFIT A
PATIENT
SEND WORK TO AN OUTSIDE COMPANY
PRESSURE
A DAUGHTER COMPANY OWNED OR
CONTROLLED BY ANOTHER COMPANY,
CALLED THE PARENT COMPANY
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
MONEY PAID FOR WORK
WHEN TWO COMPANIES COME TOGETHER
6. GET RID OF A PART OF THE COMPANY TO
FOCUS ON THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE
BUSINESS
7. VIDEO 1: MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS
VOCABULARY
TO WRITE DOWN TO LAY OFF LAYOFFS
TO BLAME TO ADMIT TO STRUGGLE
QUESTIONS
1. HOW MANY JOBS ARE BEING CUT?
2. WHAT’S THE MAIN REASON?
3. WHAT IS NOKIA’S MARKET SHARE FOR THE SMARTPHONE MARKET?
4. HOW DEEP AND SERIOUS ARE THESE CUTS?
5. HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DOES MICROSOFT HAVE?
VIDEO 2: TOP 10 DISASTROUS MERGERS IN HISTORY
NUMBER COMPANY WHY IT WAS A DISASTER
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
8. VIDEO 3: CHANGE OF LEADERSHIP
VOCABULARY
TO GO THROUGH
CHANGE
NON-TRIVIAL UNDERESTIMATE
TO REORGANIZE TO PUSH A CHANGE BEFOREHAND
QUESTIONS
1. WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF CHANGE HE GIVES?
2. WHY SHOULD YOU WRITE DOWN ALL THE PEOPLE THAT MAY BE AFFECTED
BY THE CHANGE?
3. WHAT ELSE SHOULD YOU THINK ABOUT?
4. WHY IS UNDERESTIMATING THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY A
CHANGE A BAD THING?
5. HOW IS THE STRATEGY DIFFERENT IMPLEMENTING CHANGE IF IT’S A SMALL
GROUP VERSUS A BIG GROUP?
9. VIDEO 4: LEADING CHANGE
1. HOW CAN YOU BE AN AGENT OF CHANGE?
2. WHY SHOULD YOU EMBRACE CHANGE?
3. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING A LEADER CAN DO?
4. WHAT IS THE ONLY THING IN LIFE THAT’S CONSTANT?
5. WHAT’S A CALCULATED RISK?
6. WHAT OTHER ADVICE DO YOU HEAR?
VIDEO 5: DEALING WITH A DIFFICULT NEW BOSS
1. WHAT’S THE SITUATION THAT’S PRESENTED?
2. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH THE BOSS?
3. WHAT DO YOU DO IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS?
4. WHAT IS SAID ABOUT BEING HELPFUL?
5. WHAT DO THEY SAY ABOUT THE RIGHT MESSAGE?
6. WHAT DO THEY SAY ABOUT A GOOD SOLUTION?
7. WHAT DO THEY SAY ABOUT BEING THE BEST MESSENGER?
