BISHOPS UNIVERSITY

Change Management
Case: 4
Bob Galvin and Motorola Inc.
Cameron Swinton 002131573

Presented to Professor Robson for BMG 322

What impact do you think Galvins officer meeting will have?

Galvins officer meeting is likely to confuse surprise and possibly promote a feeling of fear
among the managers he addressed. This is evidenced by managers moving out of the room
confused about the meaning of Galvins speech. This may cause them to further entrench their
position with the organizations status quo, and/or be surprised by and actively resist a change
effort due to the confusion created by Galvin with regards to the extent of the change. Due to the
participative management culture and the culture that emphasized service length and
management succession, some employees may feel unfairly treated. Due to the unilateral nature
of the speech, some of the chief management may also feel unfairly treated and alienated. These
factors contribute to a lack of management buy-in. Galvin also failed to create a sense of urgency
for change creating resistance due to a yearning for the status quo. Although he may have been
deliberately vague, this vagueness contributed to the uncertainty and fear felt by managers,
possibly undermining his credibility. In spite of these possible outcomes, Galvins speech may
prove to be an effective catalyst for supporters of change as they now have support from a
critical member of senior management.
What should Galvin do next? What should human resources do next?
Galvin failed to establish the need for transformative change, and foster the required urgency so
that key managers and employees bought into the need for transformative change. Galvin should
be more specific with regards to why he believes substantial change is necessary, and how his
proposed changes will enable the organization to address the reasons for change. He must also
clarify the ambiguity concerning the degree of change he is proposing the commitment from his
senior leadership team, who would be the key change agents and how such changes will affect
different elements of the organization. Overcoming resistance stemming from the people based
culture that emphasizes long service, and the culture among the management with regards to
managerial succession would also be critical for implementing the changes Galvin is proposing.
Overcoming the status quo mentality with regards to the organizations management and
productivity measures will also be something Galvin and his leadership team will need to
address. These issues can be addressed in a series of follow up meetings among key management
personnel and employees to clarify a vision which can subsequently be communicated to all
employees. These meetings should also focus on implementation, and the implications of the
vision for the organizations culture, and strategy. Once of the primary concerns from the human
resources department overcoming resistance for the proposed changes through communicating a
clearer, more focused vision. Overcoming cultural resistance with regards to the key assumptions
and values of organizational members is also critical for human resources. With regards to HR,
the cultures emphasis on seniority, and the security brought about by long service are of
particular concern as they could prevent them from competitively sourcing human resources. The
mentality of doing things themselves and the mistrust of systems and bureaucracy are also key
obstacles. HR questions Galvins structural focus for change and elements of the culture he had
helped build. HRs position of importance within the organization will enable it to participate
actively and meaningfully in the aforementioned process. HR should put most of its efforts into
designing an action plan to implement the change structurally as well as culturally.
Companywide education and training programs, such as those implemented by British Airways
may prove effective.
Is Galvins leadership philosophy and practice a model for visionary leadership?

A vision may be defined as an attempt to articulate a desired future state of an

organization that stretches the imagination and motivates people to rethink what is
possible. A vision provides a conceptual framework for understanding the organizations
purpose and includes a roadmap, and has the emotional appeal to motivate people and
promote identification with the vision and organization.
To accomplish this, vision must be:
o Clear, concise, and easy to understand
o Memorable,
o Exciting and inspiring,
o Challenging
o Excellence centered
o Implementable, and tangible
o Stable, but flexible.
Visionary CEOs are critical to formulating, articulating, and motivating the
implementation of the vision throughout the organization. Inspiring a shared vision is a
key element of visionary leadership. Visionary leaders appeal to a common purpose,
communicate expressively, and sincerely believe in what they are saying.
Although Galvins leadership philosophy and practice clearly enabled him to search for
ideas and concepts to formulate a vision by making contact with, and attempting to
understand the concerns of employees at various organizational levels, Galvin failed in
clearly articulating the vision in a manner that integrated the organizations strategic
direction and culture. This is evidenced by the overly ambiguous manner in which he
articulated the vision, leaving many members of the organization confused with regards
to the meaning of the vision and Galvins sincerity concerning changing the organization.
Galvin also failed to motivate key managers and employees as the manner in which he
articulated the vision lacked urgency. He also failed to adequately relate the vision to a
reason for being for each employee as evidenced by the uncertainty with regards to what
the vision meant and how it applied to their cares concerns and work.
Galvins unilateral action with regards articulating the vision was inconsistent with the
organizations culture, which emphasized participation as well as length of service. The
unilateral nature of his actions also created doubts with regards to the degree of
commitment of the two other key executives. The strategic emphasis of the company on
technology development, and the emerging threat to the companys competitive position
were not addressed in the vision.
As a result of these various elements Galvins leadership philosophy and practice falls
short of being visionary.