Change Management Case Studies & Practical Application 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A manufacturing company is automating its assembly line, displacing 200 workers. Which change management action should the leadership team prioritize FIRST?
- Announce layoffs immediately to reduce uncertainty
- Develop a transparent communication plan with reskilling options (Correct answer)
- Halt the automation project until all concerns are resolved
- Delegate all communication to the HR department
Correct answer: Develop a transparent communication plan with reskilling options
Transparent communication paired with reskilling opportunities addresses employee concerns and reduces resistance before it escalates.
Question 2: During a post-merger integration, two organizations with very different cultures are struggling to collaborate. The MOST effective first step is to:
- Impose the acquiring company's culture on all employees
- Conduct a cultural assessment to identify gaps and common values (Correct answer)
- Ignore cultural differences and focus only on process alignment
- Replace leaders from the acquired company immediately
Correct answer: Conduct a cultural assessment to identify gaps and common values
A cultural assessment identifies specific friction points and shared values, providing a data-driven foundation for integration planning.
Question 3: A hospital implementing a new electronic health records (EHR) system finds that nurses are reverting to paper-based processes. What does this resistance most likely indicate?
- The nurses lack the intelligence to use the new system
- The change was not aligned with frontline workflow needs (Correct answer)
- The EHR system is technically flawed and should be abandoned
- Resistance is inevitable and should simply be ignored
Correct answer: The change was not aligned with frontline workflow needs
Reverting to old habits typically signals that end-user workflows were not adequately considered or that training was insufficient.
Question 4: A retail chain rolling out a new POS system across 300 stores uses a pilot program at 5 locations first. This approach is an example of:
- Lewin's unfreeze-change-refreeze model
- A phased or incremental change strategy (Correct answer)
- Kotter's Step 8 — anchoring change in culture
- Force field analysis in action
Correct answer: A phased or incremental change strategy
Running a pilot before full rollout is the hallmark of a phased/incremental change strategy, allowing learning and adjustment before scaling.
Question 5: An organization's change initiative fails despite strong executive sponsorship. The MOST likely root cause is:
- Too much communication sent to employees
- Lack of middle management engagement and buy-in (Correct answer)
- Insufficient budget allocated to the project
- Choosing a change model that is too complex
Correct answer: Lack of middle management engagement and buy-in
Middle managers are the critical link between strategy and execution; without their buy-in, initiatives stall at the implementation level.
Question 6: A software company is shifting from waterfall to agile development. Several senior developers openly criticize the change. The change manager should:
- Remove the critics from the project immediately
- Involve the critics as agile champions to leverage their expertise (Correct answer)
- Proceed without acknowledging the concerns
- Revert to waterfall to avoid conflict
Correct answer: Involve the critics as agile champions to leverage their expertise
Converting influential skeptics into champions is a proven tactic that builds credibility for the change among their peers.
Question 7: A government agency undergoing digital transformation measures success only by go-live date. This approach risks:
- Over-investing in change management activities
- Ignoring adoption and benefit realization metrics (Correct answer)
- Completing the project ahead of schedule
- Satisfying all stakeholder expectations
Correct answer: Ignoring adoption and benefit realization metrics
Focusing solely on delivery date ignores whether users actually adopt the system and whether the expected business benefits materialize.
Change Management Case Studies & Practical Application 2
A manufacturing company is automating its assembly line, displacing 200 workers.
Which change management action should the leadership team prioritize FIRST?