423c

Large Group Interventions

Case Assignment

First and foremost, remember to go very carefully through all of the required materials before starting this assignment. There are two short videos and two short articles, plus two in-depth book chapters to go through. There are also some optional readings in the background materials that you can use for your paper. It is important to make sure you understand the ins and outs of Open Space Technology and Future Search before starting on this assignment, so make sure to go through the readings and videos carefully before you start on this paper.

For this assignment, you will be going through four scenarios. For each scenario, cite at least two of the readings from the background readings to support your answer. You need to cite at least four of the readings total for your paper—these can include both required and optional readings listed in the background materials. Your paper should be 4–5 pages in length:

1. The XYZ Corporation has been growing rapidly for the past 10 years but recently has hit a plateau and is not growing much anymore. The CEO wants to make some large-scale changes, and senior managers of the major departments all agree that major changes should be made. However, there are large differences of opinion among the senior managers of the different departments about what changes should be made . The CEO would like to get the top senior managers to agree on some specific changes, and there are about 50 total senior managers that she would like to involve in the process. Should the CEO use Open Space Technology, Future Search, or neither? Explain your reasoning and justify your answer using at least two of the readings from the background materials.
2. The new CEO of a large and successful Internet company has just been hired. This CEO is highly experienced, but being new to this company he really wants to get everyone’s opinion about a large range of issues. The CEO is humble and doesn’t want to make any key decisions until he’s heard a wide range of opinions and knows what employees think. The CEO would like to have input from all 500 employees. Should the CEO use Open Space Technology, Future Search, or neither? Explain your reasoning and justify your answer using at least two of the readings from the background materials.
3. An accounting company has three main divisions: tax, auditing, and accounting information systems. Employees in all divisions are hard-working but quiet. They always give thoughtful answers whenever they are asked a question, and usually provide a lot of data to support their answers. However, they rarely give an opinion and usually stay quiet during meetings unless they are directly asked a question. The CEO would like employee input on what major strategic initiatives to take and would like input from a wide range of employees and managers, and is planning a large group intervention. There are about 40 senior managers and 300 total employees. Should the CEO use Open Space Technology, Future Search, or neither? Explain your reasoning and justify your answer using at least two of the readings from the background materials.
4. A CEO initiates an Open Space Technology conference. At the start of the conference, the CEO provides a list of topics he wants covered and also gives his opinion on what kind of outcomes he wants from the conference. He also makes attendance at the conference mandatory. When the conference starts, participants all volunteer to give sessions on the topics proposed by the CEO. A few participants propose to give sessions on other topics not mentioned by the CEO, but very few employees come to these sessions and instead go to the sessions covering topics suggested by the CEO. At the end of the conference, the CEO is presented with a carefully worded summary of the conference and given conclusions that the CEO wanted to hear. However, after the conference ends and employees go back to work they are very slow at implementing the recommendations from the conference. What do you think went wrong? Which major principles or concepts of Open Space Technology do you think the CEO violated? Explain your reasoning, and cite Leith (1996) and at least one other source on Open Space Technology to support your answer.

Assignment Expectations

• Answer the assignment questions directly.
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
• Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred. If you use articles from the Internet, make sure they are from credible sources.