Case Study Analysis Assignment Essay Instructions and Assessment Criteria

Dear / Sir or Madam

My name is... and I have essay based on analyzing a case study article from people management magazine. The magazine focus on Built to change . This essay is for 2000 words and I have to handed on..2009. I want to know if you can do this course work before...2009 if you can do let me know about the payment



Coursework (100% of the overall marks):

a) An individually written paper analyzing the set case study (100%);

Case study analysis

Spring Semester coursework

The individual written paper will be based on analyzing a case study article from People Management magazine advocating a built-to-change model. Which is in your module book? You will be required to use theory to support your case study critique throughout the essay. Your statements and theoretical support should be conventionally referenced throughout the essay. Always use quotation marks and citation where necessary: - Plagiarism is cheating.

Case study: The Rebirth of Change (Capital One Financial Services)

Title of essay: Using theory, criticize the ideas proposed, with reference to the impact upon motivation and say whether the Capital One model is empowering.

Word limit: 2000 words.

Ensure that you read and understand the assessment criteria provided below.

Student seminar notes, signature record and essay

These must handed in together on Thursday of week 13 (2009). Note that it is your responsibility to find out when the assessments office is open and to ensure you obtain a receipt for your work. You are also required to keep a copy of your coursework both of your essay and of your notes.

Assessment Criteria


The following are the criteria for the essay:
*answers that are relevant to the questions set
*coherent and logical structure
*clear analysis of the arguments, expressed in your own words
*evidence of wide reading and appropriate use of sources, including theory and case studies
*critical understanding of different theories and the ethical issues involved
*clear conclusion based on the analysis of the arguments and supported by the preceding discussion
*conventional referencing throughout and bibliography


A grade

Relevant answer
Coherently structured work which introduces key issues and concepts, leading logically to a well formulated conclusion
Evidence of wide reading
Appropriate use of theory and case study as evidence for arguments
Analytical and critical work
Clear conclusion
Fluent and persuasive style
Referencing throughout, bibliography

B grade

Relevant answer
Clear and coherent structure
Evidence of wide reading
Good use of theory and case study as evidence for arguments
Analytical rather than descriptive
Clear conclusion
Extensive referencing, bibliography

C grade

Relevant answer
Clear structure overall, but not as well linked as for A and B
Some reading
Some support for arguments using theory and empirical evidence
Analysis with descriptive sections
Clear conclusion
Some referencing, bibliography


Case Study

The rebirth of change
Organizations can cope with whatever crisis follows the credit crunch if they adopt built-to-change principles; predict Edward E Lawler and Christopher Worley

People Management magazine; 29 Jan 2009
The global financial crisis underlines the oft-made point that the days when businesses operated in a relatively stable and predictable environment are over. Most organizations have been slow to embrace this reality and adapt to it, just as we have all been slow to adjust to other seismic changes. Only after terrorism has struck do we ask: How can we be safer? Only after gas prices rise to nearly $5 a gallon in the US do we ask: What can we do to save on fuel costs? And only after global warming is well on its way to destroying the planet do we ask: How can we live in a more sustainable way?

To survive in a world that is changing increasingly quickly, businesses need to be able to anticipate change and to keep reconfiguring themselves. To do this, they need a built-in capacity to change continuously. Organizations that wait for an overwhelming mandate to engage in change efforts are very likely to be left behind and may struggle to survive. This is the situation facing General Motors, Ford and a host of other large companies that have failed to adapt.

We believe the only way for organizations to change rapidly enough is to design them so that they can adjust their strategic intents, structures and human capital deployments as a matter of routine. That means starting with a new set of core principles about what an organization should look like.

The first of these principles touches on how organizations develop strategies for dealing with the future. Existing business strategy processes in many organizations involve annual or biannual strategic planning meetings that review forecasts, lay out annual objectives and build budgets in support of a sustainable competitive advantage. However, in todays turbulent economic environment, not only is it dangerous to wait a year or two to revise business strategies, it is also unrealistic to think about maintaining some magical sustainable competitive advantage. That kind of thinking  which assumes the future will resemble the present was illustrated by the chief executive of a healthcare company who said recently: Our business and the market as a whole have been hit harder by the economy, related unit costs, and utilization trends than we have experienced in the past. We are now assuming that these trends will continue into 2009. But people and organizations who ask only how should I respond to todays situation are not likely to be successful for long. Sustained success requires the ability to think creatively about the future.

At Capital One Financial Services, a US-based firm that has, so far, weathered the global financial crisis better than most, strategizing is a continuous, forward-looking activity. First, each business unit expects its analysts to spend about 20 per cent of their time thinking about the future - an approach that led the firm to limit its exposure to the high-risk, sub-prime mortgage market. Second, Capital One employs a robust test-and-learn strategy to drive growth and a series of momentary competitive advantages. This involves identifying products, service, technological, and market positions that will create high performance over time under a range of conditions. The firm then uses the outcomes of this process to continuously adjust its activities and identify strategic imperatives capabilities the organization must develop to be ready for future competition.

Organizational structure is also important for sustained success, although there is no single arrangement associated with built-to-change businesses. Rather, there is an important principle that all flexible organizations embrace. That principle  maximizing the organizations surface area “ suggests that no employee should be more than one or two steps away from the external environment. Different companies apply this principle in different ways. Capital One, for instance, has a very flat structure that puts analysts in touch with the marketplace, call centers in touch with current customers, and executives in touch with regulators. Other built-to-change organizations use structures such as small, autonomous business units or networks as a way of putting employees in touch with the environment.

A maximum surface area structure needs to be complemented by systems that make business information widely available to the organizations members. Again, Capital One follows this principle. The joke is that the firm is so passionate about measurement that it uses a spreadsheet to calculate the ratio of tables to chairs in the cafeteria. There is a strong belief in the value of sharing information about competitor moves, market conditions and financial performance with all staff through web-based portals, communication outlets and management processes based on the understanding that it is difficult for individuals to plan and accept change if they don't€™t know how the business is doing and what needs to happen for it to succeed.

Built-to-change organizations also manage talent in different ways from their traditional counterparts. They are less likely to use job descriptions, with their outdated promise of stability, certainty and predictability. Instead, they use frequent goal-setting reviews, along with a system of cascading goals to ensure alignment from the top to the bottom of even the most complex structures.

Capital One's policies reflect this more flexible approach. Although the firm still uses job descriptions, it has a clear process that rotates new recruits through different assignments and bosses. This rotation sets an expectation that people should understand the business well enough to be able to contribute whenever and wherever they are needed. It also supports the notion that what gets resourced gets done and builds flexibility into the workforce.

Another characteristic of built-to-change organizations is their tendency to seek individuals who relish change, are quick learners and have a desire for professional growth. Capital One asks potential recruits to describe a time when they led a change effort. It looks for individuals with change-orientated career paths. Other built-to-change organizations offer employment contracts that are very different from those based on the traditional, long-term relationship model. They stress that employment depends on individuals willingness to accept constant change, learn new skills and perform at high levels. We believe that businesses need to go further still and state that they cannot always promise to offer the training and support needed for individuals to keep pace with the changes that have to be made. As a result, some individuals may end up with outdated skills and may no longer be employable by the organization.

Built-to-change organizations also use performance management systems that steer clear of the annual appraisal/merit-based compensation model. In fast-changing environments, work needs to be controlled in a more dynamic and interactive way. For this reason, Capital One has implemented a highly flexible process where individuals agree with their boss what their goals will be and the kinds of development experiences they'll need to contribute to the business in the future. Some 50 per cent of managers appraisals are based on results and 50 per cent on the extent to which they have acquired and applied the skills and knowledge required to lead in the future. The company ties rewards, in the form of bonuses, to the achievement of both kinds of objectives.

Perhaps the best way to summaries the employment relationship in built-to-change organizations is as a combination of serial monogamy and traveling light. By this we mean that individuals are expected to be committed to the business as long as they are working for it, but neither party's commitment is seen as permanent or even long term. We use the term travel light to emphasize that organizations often cannot afford to provide employees with extensive development when individuals with the skills they need can be found in the labor market.

Lastly, building an organization that can adapt to a changing environment calls for a shift from thinking about leadership as an individual trait to a view of leadership as an organizational capacity. The model of the great leader at the top suggests that chief executives are in a unique position to sense change and help companies to adjust to environmental and marketplace shifts.

The problems with this approach have become all too apparent over the past decade. It's now clear that change is too complex for a single individual or a small group to lead. Instead, organizations need a shared leadership model that encourages managers at all levels to take advantage of leadership opportunities the moment they occur. This suggests that leadership training and development should be offered to people throughout the organization, not only those at the very top.

The current financial crisis raises important questions about organizations: why didn't they see this crisis coming and why have they been so slow to respond to it? In our view, there is one answer to both questions. Organizations that are not built to change are likely to miss the signals that they need to do things differently and be ill-equipped to manage the shifts required of them. Built-to-change organizations, by contrast, have strategizing, organizing and learning processes that lower their chances of being surprised by environmental disturbances, while greatly enhancing their ability to adapt.

How to create a built-to-change organization
- Don't assume that the future will be like the present.
- Ensure no employee is more than one or two steps from the external environment.
- Share business information with staff.
- Use frequent goal-setting reviews, rather than job descriptions, to manage talent.
- Stress that individuals employment depends on their willingness to accept change and learn new skills.
- Encourage managers at all levels to take advantage of leadership opportunities.
Edward E Lawler is distinguished professor of business and Christopher Worley is a research scientist at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. Their book, Built to Change“ How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness, is published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley

This article:- http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2009/01/the-rebirth-of-change.htm
Free CIPD podcasts on HRM issues http://www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts/
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See the Chartered Management Institute website:- http://www.managers.org.uk/

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