Read the material at the sites listed in the Week 5 Lessons folder to help guide you in identifying impacts of the solutions to the management problem you are exploring. Complete a 2-4 page paper discussing the impacts to the client relating to the management problem and solution(s) you are studying.
Week 5 Lessons
Have you been in a situation and ever said “hind sight is 20/20?’ This week, you have several resources to explore to help avoid getting caught saying that phrase. The resources will give you different views of how to identify impacts, how to think about those impacts, and how to narrow your choice to the best solution; the one with the greatest possibility of success with the least risk of negative impact to the organization.
The purpose of an impact analysis is to identify the potential effect or outcome of the solutions when implemented. Analyzing the impact provides clear vision to forecast potential pitfalls. Consider this example from Western Union. William Orton, president of Western Union was invited to buy the patent for the telephone for $100,000. William Orton responded to the invite with this statement: “Mr. Bell, after careful consideration of your invention, while it is a very interesting novelty, we have come to the conclusion it has no commercial possibilities….What use could this company have for an electrical toy?”
Our first resource from Ready.gov defines Business Impact Analysis (BIA). Also, there are sections that provide details for considering the impact, timing, and duration of disruption, conducting the BIA and scenarios that describe business scenarios. BIA are important to avoid interruption or delay in service or efficiencies.
The second source is from Mind Tools called Identifying the Full Consequences of Change. Several of you have included training or professional development as a solution. This Mind Tools describes Impact Analysis as a “structured approach for looking at a proposed change so that you can identify as many of the negative impacts or consequences of the change as possible.”
Several of you selected to focus on training or professional development as a solution to help increase efficiencies. Our next resource, A Simple Tool for Measuring Training Impact, introduces Donald Kirkpatrick’s four levels of training evaluation. This evaluation process has been an industry standard since 1979 and measures the success of training.
Finally, Let’s take a look at a great fable which illustrates change. Some of you may have read this popular business book. It is a video providing a book review of Who Moved My Cheese, by Dr. Spencer Johnson. This story includes four mice, Scurry, Sniff, Hem and Haw that live in a maze. They are living great with their huge clock of cheese until one day they see the cheese start to decline. Two mice decide to have the courage and take the risk to look for more while two others want to cling on to the current pile of cheese. Watch this video to determine what considerations you may need for your case study. Each of you will be producing change rather small or large, and this fable is a reminder why change is essential.
As you do your analysis, consider both short term and long-term impacts and how employees, clients, and stakeholder will respond to the potential changes in the business environment. Identifying the short and long – term consequences can help make the necessary adjustment to your plan.
Submission Instructions: Upload the paper to your Week 5 Assignment folder.
As you do your analysis (BIA), consider both short term and long-term impacts and how employees, clients, and stakeholder will respond to the potential changes in the business environment. Identifying the short and long – term consequences can help make the necessary adjustment to your plan.
