Managing and Leading Strategic Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managing and Leading Strategic Change - Essay Example to the company (and later taking on the post of COO and President whereas Bethune would remain the CEO and Chairman), introduced a â€Å"Go Forward Plan† which had four parts, aimed at putting the company back on track in 1995. The four pats were the market plan: â€Å"Fly to Win, The Financial Plan: Fund the Future, The Product Plan: Make Reliability a Reality, The People Plan: Working Together.† The plan was to implement all these changes simultaneously, since they would create a multiplier effect (Hartley, pp. 78-84, 2010). Implementation and Leading this Strategic Change (Go Forward Plan) Bethune knew that despite this plan was approved by board of directors with all the trust, confidence and enthusiasm, employees would view this plan with all possible suspicion and mistrust. Therefore, the first thing, which Bethune did, was to open the doors of the executive lounge of Continental, which had been protected from any visitors since many years like some castle. Employ ees now need only to show their IDs and gain entrance into Bethune’s office. After opening the doors for employees, Bethune initiated a new ritual of arranging open houses at the end of each month at the Houston headquarters. Just to ensure that employees feel comfortable around executive, the concept of causal Fridays came into being, except for the employees who had direct dealings with customers (Palmer, Dunford & Akin, pp. 284-285, 2008). One of the previous managements of Continental had tried to repaint all the planes but failed to complete the same due to limited financing and immense pressure for cost cutting. As of late 1994, the planes were in the same condition, not painted uniformly. Bethune felt that repainting the planes would send a message of revival, newness, and better operations to the... Managing and Leading Strategic Change Since 1983, nine different CEOs who came in with the slogan of change, tried their luck and as the figures show, they were not very successful. Not only the company was in trouble from the financial side but as it has been mentioned above, that the company was surrounded by trouble from all directions. High turnover, infighting between employees and departments, employee absences, use of sick time, customer complaints, and highest number of mishandled baggage reports, ranking last in terms of on time arrival and others would just be a glance at the terrible conditions in which â€Å"Continental Airlines† was still somehow surviving. It was in February 1994, when Gordon Bethune took the charge of the company as the Chief Operating Officer and President and later in that year as the CEO as well, he knew that the company needed a hardcore strategic change and strong implementation of that change as well. Quite understandably, it was his responsibility to do the same. Important here to note is that the whole change process that Bethune implemented at Continental was in line with eight steps of change presented by John Kotter, professor of leadership at Harvard Business Review in Boston. This is one those strategic change implementation models, which has been praised and acclaimed by many different authors in their writings and analysis. Let us a have a brief analysis of the same. Kotter’s first step is about creating urgency for change.

Conversion Testimony Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Conversion Testimony - Assignment Example But as a young man who had more independence, I did not feel obliged to attend services. And only on extreme occasions, such as to attend burial services did I join relatives and friends, such occasions which to me were social events. Without that religious bent, I really thought I was simply being practical, making the most of life and the opportunities it gave me. The biggest change in my life was when the television sermon of Rev. Robert Schuller accidentally caught my attention. Much as I wanted to switch channels, I could not do so, since I found him to be a powerful speaker. Giving straightforward explanation of the Gospel, he pointed at its concrete application in modern life. And as I felt drawn to regularly listen to Rev. Schuller’s TV sermons, slowly, I also felt drawn to the Person of Christ. Yes, Jesus Christ was Rev. Schuler’s focal point in all his sermons. Rather than the seemingly mythical character in the Gospel, Jesus Christ now appeared to me as a rea l person, someone who is timeless, someone who transcends the time and place he once lived on earth. In time, I discovered that possibly it was not really the power of Rev. Schuller’s rhetorical language which drew me to Christ. As a true Christian preacher, Rev. Schuller exhorted his audience using words of the Bible, and this really did the trick, because as I found out later and became fully convinced: The word of God is like a two-edged sword, so sharp that it can cut the heart and spirit of those who hear it (Hebr. 4:12). Realizing the power of the Written Word, I now took time to privately read the Bible. But finding much of it too mysterious and difficult to grasp, I started to read slowly and reflectively. I didn’t realize that this was really the key to profitable Bible reading: the reading of not many chapters and stories, but much of the Word, relishing and reflectively reading as in savoring food slowly to relish and enjoy it. . Then I felt that through the Word, God was personally speaking to me, teaching me how His Son Jesus Christ serves as His messenger Slowly, the life of Jesus and his words dawned on me with greater and greater clarity to lead me to a relationship with Him—God’s way, truth and life. I am now a regular Bible reader, not really devoting long hours for reading, but spending regular 10-15 minutes a day to read slowly, to reflect on what, how, why these Words were written, and after each reading to pray silently, and to dialogue with God or Christ. What happened to me can happen to anyone of us. After all, God’s call is for all of humanity, And the saving grace His Son won through His life and death is for all times, and for all of us. Constantly and patiently, God always leads us to the love of his Son and the victory His Son Jesus won for us. . . Recovery Story Even as a Bible reader, I found out later that I was not immune from problems or struggles. Something happened which could happen to an yone. I lost a close friend. He was a boyhood friend with whom I shared much in play, study and work. Our attachment was real as we found alike temperaments and interests in hobbies and games. At 28, he was a bachelor although I know he had healthy relationships with girls. But one day, I got word he was brought to the emergency hospital and I reached him in his last moments at the Emergency Hospital Room where he suddenly slumped on a chair and lost consciousness. Under Intensive care, blood tests showed he had leukemia, and