Background

Students are asked to review Sarahs Snacks, case study and respond to 3 questions provided in the Instructions Section.

Rationale: This case is intended to help students apply the concept of organizational alignment in the context of an organizational change including:

1. Identify the components of an organization that influence behavior.
2. Apply Nadler and Tushmans model of organizational alignment to diagnose barriers to organizational change.
3. Explain the benefit of organizational alignment to performance.
4. Develop actionable recommendations to improve the effectiveness of organizational change efforts.

It is intended that this case study will you an opportunity to contemplate, research, and discuss different perspectives on Change Management within the context of this case study. It will also give you an ability to clearly and accurately summarize the key arguments of an article based on 3 questions provided. The assignment requires you to conduct research using Chapter 3 of the text and requires you to identify key points within Chapter 3 and succinctly and clearly summarize the key points within your response the 3 questions provided to respond to.

Instructions

1. You are encouraged to read the case study, Sarahs Snacks, in Chapter 3 of the text. The case study is on pages 97 to 99 of the text. This is a fictional case developed to capture the dynamics of organizational change as experienced by many companies across industries. The specifics are drawn from accounts of business process re-design activities at several leading companies.

Synopsis of the Case

Sarah Woodley, CEO of Sarahs Snacks, faces a decision about how to improve an organizational change effort that has failed to show its expected results. The maker of organic snack foods has responded to competitive and cost pressures that have reduced margins by embarking on a process re-design initiative aimed at improving supply chain effectiveness, increasing time to market for new products, and reducing costs. Beginning with a single process and then expanding to others, the company has created new work and information flows that integrate across functions. Doing so proved more challenging than anticipated. In addition, employees are resisting using the new processes, preferring the older ways of doing things. After 18 months of effort, the company has not achieved any of the expected outcomes. Woodley must determine why and what to do about it.

This case study is designed to illustrate Nadler and Tushmans Congruence Model. As a result, you are encouraged to read the information on Nadler and Tushmans Congruence Model, which is also in Chapter 3 of the text. Nadler and Tushmans Congruence Model include four components, which are: formal organization, work, informal organization, and people. The Nadler and Tushmans model can be used for organizational analysis as it links internal organizational components with performance. It is valuable for identifying organizational weaknesses and areas for intervention requiring an organizational change. It is also a useful framework for planning an organizational change.

2. You are asked to write a response to each of these three questions. The 3 questions are:

1. How well did Sarahs Snacks fit Nadler and Tushmans congruence model before it began its organizational change? Fit with Congruence Model
2. Why have the changes at Sarahs Snacks not produced the expected results? Failure to Achieve Results
3. What do you recommend Woodley do? Which of your recommendations can be implemented in the short term, and which are longer term solutions? Recommendations

As a guideline, the written summary to each question should be no more than 1500 words.