University ABC has been operating for 30 years, offering classes in two modalities including inperson and Online. The University is headquartered in Portland, OR and has 10 partner universities across the globe that offer its programs/classes. Over the last two years, the University has been struggling financially because of multiple factors, such as economic fluctuations, new immigration laws impacting international students, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a dramatic increase in commercial lease rates in downtown Portland where the Universitys main campus is located. To reduce the costs, the Universitys president is considering a transition from in-office into remote work business model. This shift represents a major organizational change. The president knows that the success of any organizational change, even if well planned and implemented top-down, depends significantly upon gaining employee buy-in and involving them in the decision-making process. You have been hired as a consultant by the president to gather data on various aspects and implications of the above large-scale organizational change. Data collection can be a force that sparks interest in change; it can bring organizational members together on a common definition of the situation that they can then agree to change. Your task is to select at least two data gathering methods to acquire helpful insights from employees (i.e., stakeholders at different levels) about the proposed change that could inform and guide the presidents decision-making about transitioning into the remote work model. Each method of data gathering that you select must be relevant to a specific focus area (problems/opportunities) and lead to useful, valid information about the proposed change and its implications.

The following outline can help you organize your work:

Introduction: Include a paragraph to provide some background information about the central concept for this assignment and a clear statement of purpose followed by a breakdown of the key sections of your paper.

Focus areas: Informed by the nature of the proposed organizational change, identify key focus areas for data collection (e.g., the Universitys technical capabilities to support Online education). The insights gathered for each focus area should significantly inform and facilitate the presidents decision-making by presenting a more complete picture of the change in relation to University ABC. It is critical that you know exactly about the type of information that could help the president; therefore, to properly identify the focus areas, dedicate some time to dissecting and analyzing what transitioning into remote work might entail along with its implications for different stakeholders and departments.

Determine and announce the data gathering methods: Select proper data gathering methods for the focus areas and identify the associated stakeholder cluster. As part of this selection, it is important to target the correct group of stakeholders with respect to the type of information that you intend to collect from them. The alignment between the specific focus area, data gathering method, and targeted stakeholder will determine the quality of your work. Please be sure to justify and shed light on this alignment. To properly select the stakeholders for data collection, conduct research to familiarize yourself with a typical organizational structure of a university (e.g., positions, roles, responsibilities, functions, and departments).

Prepare for data collection: In this section, provide additional details about the selected data collection methods. You are NOT required to fully develop the process for each method; you should explain the key steps that you will take to prepare for implementing each method. In your textbook, there are tips for each method (e.g., how to reduce bias); please be sure to review these tips as you work on this section of your paper. Here are some key considerations: o If you select interviews, focus groups, or surveys, identify WHO would participate and HOW, and present some sample questions you would ask.

o If you select observations, describe whom you would observe, for what length of time, and in what setting. o If you select unobtrusive measures, describe what data you wish to collect and how you would do so.

Justification and conclusion: In 1-2 paragraph(s), explain and conclude how your proposed data collection initiative and its results will facilitate transitioning into the remote work model with maximized stakeholder support and with helpful intelligence for the president to successfully plan and implement this major change