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Guiding Coalition: Scenario Analysis

Scenario

You are a business development manager reporting to the vice president (VP) of business development at one of the largest life sciences organizations in the Midwest. Their latest venture is producing a new cancer drug. The recent clinical trials of the organization’s flagship product have shown great success and the owners are considering their options for the future. While the organization has shown constant growth and profitability since its inception in 1999, the owners have decided that it is time to sell. Given the current uncertainty in global markets, the board of directors is not convinced that this is the right approach.

While work is underway to find a potential buyer, the VP has called on you to join the strategic planning team to assess the organization’s exit strategy and make recommendations to its board of directors. As part of the strategic planning team, you have been asked to make some initial analyses and help plan for the sale of your organization.

Your first task is to build a guiding coalition; that is, identify the people in the organization who can shape, guide, and sustain the change effort of selling the organization. You will send your recommendations and rationale to the VP.

Identifying people who can effectively lead the change initiative is an important first step. These individuals have the leadership and social skills to ensure that the change effort is communicated throughout the organization; as well, they will report back to the team what employees are saying about the change.

Prompt

Use the organizational chart and the employee personas provided to guide your selection of the guiding coalition for the organization in the scenario. (A text-only version of the organizational chart is available: Text-Only Organizational Chart.)

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. Recommendation: Use the organizational chart and the personas to identify people who should be part of the guiding coalition. Review the personas to identify the individuals who have the influence and commitment to make a positive impact while providing guidance for the change initiative.
2. Rationale: Justify your choice of guiding coalition team members. Your responses should address the following for each individual you recommend for the coalition:
   1. What is the person’s title and how many people do they manage?
   2. How long has each person been with the organization?
   3. What area(s) of the organization does this person influence?
   4. What is your rationale for choosing the person? Consider the person’s characteristics for your rationale.
   5. What role will each person fulfill as a member of the guiding coalition?
3. Team-building strategies: Describe activities and strategies you will introduce to build a well-functioning team. Your response should address the following:
   1. What strategies will help the members align with the change initiative of the organization in the scenario?
   2. What steps or actions will you take to establish a sense of urgency within the team?
   3. How do these activities and strategies help build trust?