Change Management Case Studies & Practical Application 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A financial services firm is rolling out a new compliance framework. Employees say they understand the change but continue to follow old procedures. This gap is BEST described as:
- A communication failure
- A knowledge-to-behavior transfer gap (Correct answer)
- A sponsorship deficit
- A project scope creep issue
Correct answer: A knowledge-to-behavior transfer gap
When employees understand the change intellectually but don't act differently, the issue is translating knowledge into new behaviors, not awareness.
Question 2: During a restructuring, a change manager discovers that 40% of employees score in the 'active resistance' category on a stakeholder assessment. The recommended response is to:
- Proceed with the change without addressing their concerns
- Conduct one-on-one conversations to understand and address root causes (Correct answer)
- Transfer resistant employees to other departments
- Reduce the scope of the change to avoid conflict
Correct answer: Conduct one-on-one conversations to understand and address root causes
Direct dialogue uncovers specific concerns that can be addressed, converting resistors into neutral or supportive stakeholders.
Question 3: An energy company merges two legacy IT systems into one platform. The project closes on time and on budget, but user adoption is at 30% six months later. The MAIN lesson is:
- The project was fundamentally a failure of technical execution
- Change management and adoption planning must be integrated from project inception (Correct answer)
- Adoption rates naturally improve without intervention over time
- The 30% adoption rate is acceptable for a complex IT change
Correct answer: Change management and adoption planning must be integrated from project inception
Low adoption despite technical success illustrates that change management must be planned alongside the technical work, not added as an afterthought.
Question 4: A nonprofit organization is implementing a new donor management system. The executive director is only available to sponsor the change for 1 hour per month. A change manager should:
- Accept the limited sponsorship and proceed
- Educate the executive director on the impact of insufficient sponsorship (Correct answer)
- Assign sponsorship to the IT project manager instead
- Scale down the initiative to match sponsor availability
Correct answer: Educate the executive director on the impact of insufficient sponsorship
Insufficient sponsorship is one of the top predictors of change failure; educating the sponsor about their role is the change manager's responsibility.
Question 5: A logistics company adopts a new route optimization algorithm. Drivers initially take longer routes despite the system's recommendations. This behavior is BEST addressed by:
- Mandating strict compliance and disciplining non-compliant drivers
- Engaging drivers to understand their concerns and refining the tool based on feedback (Correct answer)
- Replacing the algorithm with a simpler version
- Ignoring the behavior as temporary adjustment
Correct answer: Engaging drivers to understand their concerns and refining the tool based on feedback
Frontline workers often have practical knowledge that reveals gaps in new tools; involving them improves adoption and the solution itself.
Question 6: A university switching from semester to trimester scheduling faces faculty opposition. The provost announces the change as non-negotiable. Which risk does this approach create?
- Faculty will immediately comply and adopt the change
- Underground resistance and workarounds that undermine implementation (Correct answer)
- Accelerated adoption due to clear authority
- Increased faculty engagement in the planning process
Correct answer: Underground resistance and workarounds that undermine implementation
Announcing a change as non-negotiable without involvement typically drives resistance underground, resulting in passive non-compliance and workarounds.
Question 7: After a successful ERP implementation, a company's change manager recommends a 'lessons learned' session. The PRIMARY purpose of this session is to:
- Assign blame for parts of the project that went poorly
- Capture knowledge to improve future change initiatives (Correct answer)
- Formally close the project budget
- Satisfy an audit requirement
Correct answer: Capture knowledge to improve future change initiatives
Lessons learned sessions exist to institutionalize what worked and avoid repeating mistakes, building organizational change capability over time.
Change Management Case Studies & Practical Application 3
A financial services firm is rolling out a new compliance framework.
Employees say they understand the change but continue to follow old procedures.
This gap is BEST described as: