To confront the reality of organizational change, one of the most fundamental steps involves recognizing the barriers to change. Then, once these impediments have been identified, consideration can be given to ways of overcoming them. This exercise is designed to help you practice thinking along these lines while working in groups.

Questions for Discussion

1. For each of the situations, were the impediments to change similar or different?
2. Were the ways of overcoming the impediments similar or different?
3. How might the nature of the situation confronted dictate the types of change barriers confronted and the ease with which these may be overcome?

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Directions 1. Divide the class into groups of approximately six and gather each group around in a circle. 2. All groups should consider each of the following situations. Situation A. A highly sophisticated e-mail system is being introduced at a large university. It will replace the practice of transmitting memos on paper. Situation B. A very popular employee who's been with the company for many years is retiring. He will be replaced by a completely new employee from the outside. 3. For each situation, discuss three major impediments to change. 4. Identify a way of overcoming each of these impediments. 5. Have someone from the group record the answers and present them to the class for a discussion session.