Case Study Analysis

1: Introduction

The most effective approaches to organizational change happen when there is a collaborative effort to initiate planning in a way that engages all stakeholders affected by it (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).  Engagement at every level of the change in question is integral to its success. Failure to engage brings even the largest organizations down when they don’t take appropriate steps within the parameters of maintaining healthy organizational development and change. Reflecting on the article by McMurtrie, (2017), the case of UC Riverside and viewing it through the scope of an organizational development consultant, there were some clear failures in the effective implementation of organizational development principles that would have guided even rapid efforts to implement improvements across the campus (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).

According to McMurtrie, (2017) “some of Riverside’s problems are unique to the campus, but they stem broadly from the kinds of challenges, pressures, and aspirations that shape decision making at campuses across the country.” The tensions that now exist are the result of lack of proper planning from the organizational side and not just regarding the logistics in question (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).

The ambitious and fast-paced expansion plan may have stoked tensions, but it is the very structure of the way that UC Riverside operates that is the main problem. Chancellor Wilcox and the Provost had a combined viewpoint, which led to significant differences with the faculty.  The differences further stem from the organizational change that did not include the majority, in a planned strategy for change. According to Hodgson, (2011), “organizations do need to adapt to rapid social and technological changes; however, planned change in firms should be piecemeal, experimental, and cautious (p. 9). In the case of UC Riverside, the chancellor or the provost did not do this efficiently which led to the division (Allen, Smith, & DaSilva, 2013).

2: Driving and restraining forces with faculty

Several internal causes are directly affecting UC Riverside. One major cause for uproar is dealing with the lack of space. According to the article by McMurtrie (2017), the fallout between the chancellor, the provost, and the faculty stem from a hiring strategy that was designed however the design did not accommodate for new space. According to Hyde (2012), why change is undertaken is a key determinant of the degree of success or depth of changes experienced (p. 436). The provost had tunnel vision and focused solely on the need of hiring more faculty/staff and did not consider that the increase in staff would lead to the further need of space (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).

Lack of communication between administration and faculty has led to tensions and caused various problems for the students as well. Finally, a lack of connection between the vision of the university and the expansion plan also contributed to the overall issues. Since the organizational change has already taken place, a reflection on how a field of analysis would have assisted the in plan prior should be evaluated (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).

Driving Forces	Restraining Forces
The need for more faculty/staff	No space
Decreasing state funds, and communication among administrator and faculty	Lack of communication regarding plan for change

One of the most important tenets of organizational development is to understand how to apply theories of management to an organization for its larger benefit. In such circumstances, UC Riverside has an issue with management style. An autocratic management style was the chancellor or other administration direct faculties on what to do yet don’t incorporate practical leadership skills in doing so. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs is Santa Clara's chief academic officer who is responsible for overseeing all graduate and postgraduate programs and ensure the reliability of academic support functions (Kezar, 2012).

They work to enhance the intellectual vibrancy of the faculty, students, and curriculum and provide leadership in different matters such as faculty affairs, information services, and academic affairs. If this is business as usual, then this is part of what needs to change moving forward. It is apparently what the faculty demands. Part of the reason for a change in management style in this situation is because autocratic management styles are unable or unwilling to respond to the emotional nuances of change effectively (Kezar, 2012).

Emotions during changes, especially ones as massive as the expansion plan, are common and to be expected (Huy, 2002). Given this, a consultative style of management might be appropriate for this institution. With this style of management, employees are solicited for feedback before any major decisions are made. Before the expansion plans were put in motion, the faculty should have been consulted, since they were most likely to be impacted by the decisions being made (Ziek, & Smulowitz, 2014). 

It is important to note that a consultative style of management does not seek input on every possible decision made at the executive level. Instead, it is a way for management to ensure that decisions that impact the larger organizational community have a breadth of feedback that ensures the decisions being made are sound. Academia is an area of organizational development that requires a more collaborative approach than other industries. That is because the decisions made by institutions impact the faculty often more so than any other stakeholders involved. Thus, it makes sense that an approach to managing an institution of higher learning would be one that values feedback from faculty and seeks it at appropriate times (Ziek, & Smulowitz, 2014). 

Moving forward, UC Riverside should create a management approach that focuses heavily on faculty involvement in major planning and decisions. Faculty members are best suited to help with these decisions because they both contribute to what the university represents in academia (any reputation garnered by the institution is as such because of the quality of faculty, which guides the quality of everything else) and because they are the daily mechanisms of the institution (Ziek, & Smulowitz, 2014). UC Riverside’s daily function comes from the work of the faculty. Thus, they should be an integral part of any planning process. Their feedback should be solicited and used in a way that utilizes the value offered by UC Riverside’s dedicated and talented group of faculty members (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).

3: Views, scale, depth, and of levels of change

One of the most important aspects of organizational change is the ability to communicate with staff about what changes are coming and why (Myers et al., 2012). This is important not only because it breeds better understanding of the necessity of change, but also because it is the only way to truly control how the changes are being implemented (Myers et al., 2012).

If the staff does not understand the parameters of the change, then they are left without the necessary direction for how to enact it (Myers et al., 2012). Thus, among the challenges for UC Riverside was the fact that faculty was not consulted in the creation of the expansion plan. It was simply foisted upon them and then they were expected to respond accordingly. Part of the tension was due to frustrations associated with being left out of the proverbial loop to give voice to the changes in question (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).

Faculty members may have been able to make suggestions regarding the expansion plan that were more common sense in approach, since they not only work with students daily, but one another. Communication about the expansion plan should have started with a survey from the faculty on which components of the plan seemed most likely to be implementable. This could have had a deadline attached to it, so that UC Riverside could maintain an aggressive schedule for implementation. This survey would, have at least provided feedback on the pros and cons of the existing plan (Kezar, 2012).

For example, the part of the plan that focused on hiring was particularly fraught with tension because of the physical limitations already in place. “Hoteling” is fine for a business (using office space only as needed), but for faculty members, their office space is often used for everything from meeting with students to conducting research. They contribute to the university in myriad ways, so being guaranteed office space is an important part of that contribution (Kezar, 2012).

Hiring more people without space in which to put them poses a significant problem. Had the administration asked the faculty what they thought of that idea, the feedback might have shown that it was not possible to effectively implement that part of the plan as of yet. The mounting frustrations and division stem from the lack of communication from the administration on what was happening and why. With plans already in motion, the division was bound to continue. Facilitated change relies heavily on clear, decisive and open communication (Myers et al., 2012) which was not provided. Without effective plans for organizational development, things can easily go awry, and an organization can lose its biggest and most important asset is staff (Allen, Smith, & DaSilva, 2013).

Moving forward, UC Riverside must engage in a campaign of communication that is comprehensive and consistent. When the campus administration plans for changes that impact the campus – even in small ways – these plans should be communicated in enough time for faculty to gain insight on feedback from that communication. The faculty is the eyes and ears of the administration; they should be consulted, and their views on matters should be considered. Written and verbal communication should be initiated to ensure that faculty members receive the intended information (Allen, Smith, & DaSilva, 2013).

The administration should consider a virtual team approach to communication that allows for faster dissemination of information to faculty. A virtual environment fosters growth and contributes to the more frequent completion of projects at a more rapid pace than traditional forms of communication (Ziek, & Smulowitz, 2014). In other words, had UC Riverside already had such a program in place before rolling out its expansion program, this would have likely taken a much different direction because the response from faculty would have been considered, thereby offering the necessary feedback to make this a team-oriented process (Allen, Smith, & DaSilva, 2013).

4: Change agent emotions

One of the issues that made this crisis worse was a lack of conflict resolution between staff and administration. Thus, an improved level of conflict resolution is necessary as well. When tensions rose between the faculty and the administration, a swift plan of action should have been put in place to address rising tension before they got to a boiling point. It is always important for institutions to remember that the faculty is the backbone of any educational institution. Institutions aren’t beholden to individual happiness among faculty, but when there is a broad movement afoot to respond to change, and that movement is not positive, the institution should take notice and respond in a way that shows a willingness to collaborate (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).

Anytime that there is conflict within the institution between faculty and staff, it is important for both parties to listen. A meeting with the faculty should have been initiated, to give the administration an opportunity to hear what the faculty had to say and then vice versa (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012). Acknowledging that mistakes have been made, the next step would have been to stop further expansion plan implementation to determine how to bridge the divided with feedback from both sides. The administration did take steps to stop hiring within the cluster strategy, which was a given on their end. Working together to resolve tensions in situations like this one requires that both sides offer flexibility. Thus, representatives from the administration and the faculty must sit down to determine a better course of conflict resolution moving forward (McMurtie, 2017).

Part of the vision of the university is to provide a place of higher learning that focuses on student success, research, and prestige in achievement among faculty and students alike. The expansion plan put in place should correlate with that vision. Anytime that there is a break between action and vision, the institution can become off track.  In moving forward, the best thing to do is scale down the expansion plan to those elements that best correlate with the vision of the institution (McMurtie, 2017).

Questions posed include: What is going to contribute to student success? What is going to ensure that faculty members have the means to which to engage in ongoing and pertinent research in their respective fields? What will bring the institution prestige? Any components of the plan that are not aligned with the answers to those questions in a very broad and obvious way should be eliminated from the plan or should be put on hold indefinitely to focus on those components that actually align with the vision of the institution (Kezar, 2012).

This not only keeps UC Riverside moving towards the objectives associated with its core vision but also allowing the institution to better sell faculty on certain components of the expansion plan. Creating an expansion plan that does not align with the values of the institution only creates opportunities for distraction, which may be part of why so many members of the faculty did not support the plan once they learned more about it. After all, some of the very tenets of the institution that attracted them to it as a means of employment were countered in this new expansion plan (such as the cluster hiring). (Kezar, 2012)

Continuously going forward, UC Riverside needs to look through each aspect of the plan and determine where the priorities of the institution lie in contrast to the tenets of the larger plan. The institution should not shy away from removing elements that are a source of controversy and ultimately not important to the goals of the organization (Ziek, & Smulowitz, 2014). That will not only help to ease tensions with faculty, but it will assist in getting institution back on track. It is accurate to note that being competitive is the only way that institutions survive in academia (Allen, Smith, & Da Silva, 2013). As such, UC Riverside was likely trying to engage in ambitious and over-reaching ways in which to make their existing structure and program offerings more competitive (Ziek, & Smulowitz, 2014).

The fundamental idea of a re-structuring through the expansion plan was not a bad idea; in fact, every institution should – at some point – take the time to make large-scale improvements in the areas where they have determined they are weakest. Organizational change can make even the best organizations better (Hyde, 2012). Thus, the institution should not shy away from the desire to implement change, even if it has proven to be difficult in this situation. The dynamics of higher education are driving the demand for an entirely new and innovative set of capabilities and skills for future leaders. It is accountable to a dizzying array of constituents and stakeholders on campus and off campus. Parents who get involved in everything may influence university’s role in students’ lives. Thus, they should avoid doing so and focus more on developing a friendship with their children (Allen, Smith, & DaSilva, 2013).

5: Sensemaking and sensegiving

According to Myers et al., (2012), change always involves people in the challenge of understanding what is happening (p. 84). Reflecting on the needed change that relates to UC Riverside, one concrete way that Chancellor Wilcox can engage in sense-making with academic personnel is to ensure that everyone understands the change process/strategy that will be utilized and why. By first establishing sense-making (through conferences or meetings with faculty consultations), the Chancellor can “create plausible explanations” linking up the actions and beliefs to what is planned to occur during the change process that he is proposing (Myers et al., 2012, p. 92).  

This process creates a dialogue with and between the administration and faculty personnel so interactions can be linked to the planned actions/patterns prior to the change taking effect. According to Kezar (2012), deep changes in higher education require people to undergo a meaning construction process and rethink existing understandings (p. 764).  Allowing personnel to be actively involved to assess and address issues prior to the change taking place creates an environment/relationship that is cohesive in the overall change process (Allen, Smith, & DaSilva, 2013).   

Sensemaking and sensegiving are used as major theoretical constructs to signify interests in meanings—both how they are constructed through deliberate efforts to understand events (sensemaking) and how they are sold to target audiences (sensegiving). In this perspective, there’s limited number of roles for leadership, one of which is characterized as less heroic (Kezar, 2012).

6: Psychological contract and how it applies to the case

The psychological contract can be defined as the unwritten set of expectations of the employment relationship as distinct from the formal and codified employment contract. Both the employment contract and the psychological contract are capable of defining the employer-employee relationship. The fact that UC Riverside and the chancellor included numerous tenets of the plan was not a mistake in theory; the institution was attempting to address (all at once) the various aspects they felt were weakest and kept them from being as competitive in academia as they could and should have been. However, it was the implementation of the plan and the fact that the organization moved faster than its structure allowed (Kezar, 2012).

Though tensions may be running high, this is not an issue from which UC Riverside cannot come back. Through making changes from an organizational perspective, the faculty is likely to work closely with the institution once again to improve working conditions and foster growth through efficient and effective approaches to change. That includes the tenets above as well as flexibility on both sides that recognize that both entities simply want what is best for UC Riverside and its continued success and prestige (Myers, Hulks, & Wiggins, 2012).

Work Cited:

Hodgson, G.M. (2011). Organizational evolution versus the cult of change. Corporate

Finance Review, 16(1), 5-10.

Huy, Q. N. (2002). Emotional balancing of organizational

continuity and radical change: The contribution of middle managers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(1), 31-69.

Hyde, C. A. (2012). Organizational change rationales: Exploring reasons for

multicultural development in human service agencies.  Administration in Social

Work, 36, 436-456, DOI: 10.1080/03643107.2011.610431

Kezar, A. (2012). Understanding sensemaking / sensegiving in transformational change

processes from the bottom up. Higher Education, 65(6). 761-780.

McMurtie, B., (2017). “In California, Tensions Over Growth

Divide A Campus.” The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Myers, P., Hulks, S., and Wiggins, L. (2012). Organizational change: Perspectives on theory and practice. Oxford, UK: Oxford university Press. ISBN 978-0-19-957378-3

Allen, S.L., Smith, J.E., DaSilva, N., (2013). Leadership style in relation to

organizational change and organizational creativity: Perceptions from nonprofit organizational members. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 24(1), 23-42.

Ziek, P. and Smulowitz, S. (2014). The impact of emergent virtual leadership

competencies on team effectiveness. Leadership & Organizational Development, 35(2), 106-120.

An Online Jeanswear Brand

When it comes to buying Jeanswear from the internet, all clients want the store owner to make genuine efforts to acknowledge and assist them. As a customer, if my time is wasted on conventional designs and styles, I will definitely move on to another store with better ratings and customer reviews. With lots of physical and online retail options available these days, it is difficult for a customer to make the right selection. Greeting them is not enough since we would have to provide our clients with quality Jeanswear at reasonable prices. For this, the store will be divided into different sections ensuring that all main designs, sizes, and styles are displayed.

If the store representative appears rude and grumpy and doesn’t greet the customers properly, then we can never expand our network and increase the sales. Thus, it is important to welcome the men to our store with a smile on face. While building and renovating the store, we will take maximum advantage of the walls behind the counters and create engaging and interesting displays. Furthermore, we have decided to attract men towards our brand and jeans by offering them special discounts. We have also planned to implement a referral program, which will allow the teenage boys and professionals buy the right kind of products at fairly reasonable prices.

We want our customers to leave the store with lots of products, and we don’t want the merchandise to be the only driving motivation that brought shoppers to our store. Our products would definitely be a souvenir of a great and unforgettable shopping experience -- an experience they would love to repeat and remember. Not only this but also we want them to refer or recommend our store to their friends and family as it is an outstanding idea to expand the business. Encouraging last-minute or impulse purchases by stocking different items is a good idea and is part of our plan. Meanwhile, we don’t prefer putting too many jeans in the display as this could leave a negative impression on the minds of our customers. Instead, we have built different shelves at our stores, where multiple jeans will be displayed. So, the men would have easy access to all of them and would be able to select the most suitable and appropriate jeans according to their budget, expectations, and requirements. We are going to train our store in-charge and salesmen so that they could play their significant role in store’s success.

It’s safe to mention that the physical environment has to be user-friendly, peaceful, calm and excellent. That’s why we have decided to opt for light shades for the walls, and the shelves would be of bright colors, ranging from orange and red to green and purple. On the other hand, store owners who are educated, informed, well-trained and experienced have greater job satisfaction and confidence. The aim is to maximize the sales and attract more and more men towards our store. They will be provided with deals according to their mood, and our store in-charge or salesmen will not impose anything.

Lastly, we are aware of the fact that providing customers with discounts is not enough – they should be given quality products, and we will not compromise on quality at any cost. The first impression customers get as they walk through the doors of our store comes from the sales team, so we will train them well and will prepare them to be competitive.

Christopher Marlowe Doctor Faustus Act 4 Scene 1 and Cleopatra

Just like all other famous historical figures, Cleopatra is a reputable person and her opinions and portrayals dominate the ways we interpret other female characters. Television and cinema have stereotyped Cleopatra to entertain the audience in an exotic and romantic way (Marlowe, 2003).

Her character in these clips emphasizes Cleopatra’s determination and interest to win favor with both Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. Plutarch has portrayed Antony as a seductive and beautiful person, while Caesar is known to be controlled and manipulative by the mates and family members. In contrast, Cleopatra is a woman with lots of spirit, dedication, and stamina. She was able to captivate the two great Romans of her time, and Plutarch states that Cleopatra’s personality is not of that incomparable kind which quickly captivates the beholders. However, her presence has always been irresistible for anyone (Clapson, Dobbin and Waterman, 1998).

Plutarch’s words depict that Cleopatra was not necessarily a beautiful woman; she didn’t have a great sense of humor, but these clips show that Cleopatra was a remarkable lady with an impressive and adorable personality. She possessed all the features and characteristics that could make her win everyone’s heart in no time (Vlastos, 1991).

In early times, the presence of the women was considered annoying, but Cleopatra was able of casting a spell over the youngsters, and that’s evident from these clips. Her traits were utilized perfectly and efficiently by 20th Century Fox when Elizabeth Taylor happily played the character of Cleopatra in a popular movie. In 1963, Taylor depicted a more complicated version of Cleopatra and won the hearts of global audiences in no time (Clapson, Dobbin and Waterman, 1998).

It’s safe to mention that Cleopatra is one of the richest and most famous female characters of all time. As a lover, she is amorous and fierce and gets angry instantly. Her character in the clips is far different from her depiction by Plutarch, and that’s evident from the fact that Cleopatra is quite passionate about her beloveds. For Antony, she has lots of love in her heart, and she would love to die without him rather than living alone (Vlastos, 1991).

Furthermore, Cleopatra is a powerful woman and has ruled Egypt for several years. She is widely known for her unique sexuality and had relationships with the most powerful and hottest men in the world. Shakespeare believes that Cleopatra is the woman who cannot live without sex. Plutarch does not highlight anywhere whether Cleopatra considers sex as a testament to her glory or not, but these clips reveal that she has always been in love with men who want to sleep with her (Ellis, 1995).

As a sensual and earthy lady, Cleopatra represented Egyptian culture and introduced new trends to engage her audiences. Her death was not the death of a body and a soul but was the end of a lifestyle and culture in Egypt (Marlowe, 2003).

The image of Cleopatra tumbling out of an unfurled carpet has always been dramatized in all films about her, from the black-and-white movies to the latest TV miniseries. Even Plutarch did not speak about Cleopatra’s talent from the moment she ruled Egypt as a leader, but Cleopatra was a great lady and possessed all the features and traits to dominate the world (Ellis, 1995).

Also, these clips clarify that Cleopatra was a bold and beautiful lady; she had all the abilities to attract men and was able to make them fall in love with her anytime, anywhere. Christopher Marlowe’s play titled Doctor Faustus belongs to the Renaissance in its fusion and depicts both Christian and classical ideas. Years ago, Renaissance Christians believed that Christianity was the only truth of humanity and the Renaissance literature drew on the Roman and Greek classics to reinforce the Christian messages (Marlowe, 2003).

Though the sources share a single story of a scholar selling himself for power and knowledge, Marlowe has complicated the story with unique ideas and has incorporated contemporary debate about knowledge, power, human interests, and faith. Just like Shakespeare and other similar contemporaries, Marlowe has included different references and allusions to support his arguments in the Roman and Greek literature (Vlastos, 1991).

To enhance the play in this extract, Marlowe has shed light on the fact that humanism (an intellectual and cultural movement) had rejected medieval scholasticism and did not favor the Roman and Greek philosophy. Some productions of this play depict Mephistophilis as an evil thing, but Marlowe’s text highlights that Mephistophilis is an ordinary demon who is tasked to collect the souls from different bodies (Vlastos, 1991).

Furthermore, Mephistophilis is condemned by his choice to follow Lucifer in a fight against God. First of all, he warns Faustus about the negativity and terrors of hell; and then he acts as a companion of Faustus and grows ill till the end. Thankfully, Marlowe has depicted everything concisely and beautifully and has emphasized on the fact that Mephistophilis always appears empathetic to Faustus’s suffering and fear (Clapson, Dobbin and Waterman, 1998).

Marlowe has certainly pushed back the boundaries of the play. His depiction of different characters, challenges, and behavior of God has been outstanding.  At some points in Doctor Faustus, Marlowe’s ideas have echoes of Chaucer’s Pardoner’s Prologue and Tale from The Canterbury Tales, such as the questions asked at the end, the names of different characters, and the language used throughout the play (Clapson, Dobbin and Waterman, 1998).

In order to enhance the play in this extract, Marlowe has compared Heaven to Hell and has clarified a lot of new concepts and things. He has also talked about Elysium, a listless and faceless afterlife and has compared it to the Christian concepts of Paradise. He has used very simple and user-friendly language to suggest that Faustus is actually a Stoic rather than a renaissance or medieval Christian. Also, Marlowe’s descriptions of Hell and Mephastophilis are similar to the ideas of St John Chrysostom, a fourth-century Christian preacher who stated that God was separated from Hell. Most of Marlowe’s audiences are aware of the blasphemous parody of the Gospels (Ellis, 1995).

The way that Marlowe has introduced Doctor Faustus and the play’s protagonist, both are significant as they reflect a commitment to the Renaissance values. The European Renaissance of 15th century emphasized on literature and painting and saw interest in classical learning. In short, Marlowe has said everything clearly and has helped lay the foundation of modern culture and literature. Unlike Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei, Marlowe has contributed to history and culture (Ellis, 1995).