Organization design (dealing with resistance to change) - Assignment Example

Organizational Design Organizational Design: Dealing with Resistance to Change Bonneville Power Administration is a power companyin Oregon that creates and supplies power reliable power to the Pacific Northwest. The company obtains its power creation and supply authority from the US government, which is protected by the constitution. The company has been involved in various employment scandals, some of which have been presented to the U.S Department of Energy. This essay explores the resistance to change in a far as veteran discrimination is concerned in this company, which has been experienced by the company since it was first reported in 2013.

In this essay, we will focus on the lifecycle of resistance to change to establish the stage at which Bonneville is, at present, with its change strategies. Part 1: Change IntroducedIn 2013, Bonneville was first reported to have involved in a discriminative hiring scandal of two veterans. After a conclusive investigation, the U.S Department of Energys Inspector General released its report confirming the scandal (Ted, BPA: Feeds Release Damning Investigation of Bonnevilles Hiring Practices and Management Culture 1).

The investigative report stated that, the Portland-based power marketing agency was found to have consistently manipulated the rankings of applicants as well as failing to disclose the inappropriate behavior that led them to discrimination against veterans and other applicants. Going further, the company did not bother to initiate any corrective measures aimed at offering a remedy to the problems. With this report, the pressure to change was mounting and increasing through the courts and warnings of the Department of Energy.

Part 2: Forces IdentifiedAfter the issuance of this report, the public realized about the scandal and the prohibited practice of this company. At this stage, most of the BPA officials tried as much as they can to distance themselves with the allegation and the DOE procedures (Ted, BPA: Feeds Release Damning Investigation of Bonnevilles Hiring Practices and Management Culture 2). They considered that such procedures and processes were an unnecessary administrative burden. This situation, as we remember, is what led to prohibited personnel practices and went ahead to prevent their disclosure.

At the moment, the flaws of BPA had been identified and made public. Part 3: Direct ConflictAfter two whistleblowers had reported BPA for their flawed and discriminative recruitment practices, both the court and U.S Department of Energy issued strong punishment to the company with warnings to see that they comply with the employment regulations. The veterans have a preference to employment as established in the U.S constitution. The company (BPA) was stripped their hiring authority by the U.S DOE and the courts for failing to comply with the hiring regulations.

At the same time, BPA officials have been reported to retaliate against the whistleblowers, and the DOE has taken charge to protect them against such retaliatory attacks. Part 4: Residual ResistanceIn as much as GPA had been warned against discriminative hiring scandals, they still went ahead, in 2014, to discriminate against two more veterans (Martin 1). The two, Timm Johnson, and Madonna Radcliff filed a lawsuit, suing BPA for discriminating against them. The two demanded wages of $1million each for compensatory damages and attorney fees.

When the allegations were validated, two of the agency officials tendered their resignation citing discriminatory hiring practices as their major reasons. Phase 5: Change EstablishedBPA finally reported having reached a confidential agreement with the four veterans who filed whistleblower complaints against it. To this moment, BPA admitted to having committed a mistake and promised to make hiring process more efficient (Ted 2). BPA, however, still faces lawsuits against retaliatory attacked against the whistleblowers.

However, the situation has been controlled by BPA establishing an agreement with the whistleblowers. BPA is currently seeing the sense to change their management culture and practices that work towards discouraging hiring of veterans. BPA has begun doing so by firing the officials that were involved in the retaliatory attacks against the whistleblowers. Work CitedMartin, Kidston. "2 Veterans Sue BPA over Discriminatory Hiring Practices." Missoulian (2014): 1. Web. .Ted, Sickinger. "Bonneville Reaches Settlement with Four WhistleblowerS in Hiring Scandal.

" The Oregonian (2015): 1-3. Web. .—. "BPA: Feeds Release Damning Investigation of Bonnevilles Hiring Practices and Management Culture." The Oregonian (2013): 1-5. Web. .