QUAL8320

Assignment # 2 – Internal Change Agent vs External Change Agent

Scenario 1 – You are the Plant Manager in a large custom fabrication shop. Your shop has a
history of providing high-quality structural steelwork for the growing southern Ontario
market. However, due to domestic and offshore competition, you and your team made the
recommendation and received approval to automate your cutting and welding areas with
new CNC Machinery. This addition will increase capacity, productivity, and lower cost per
ton of structural steel produced. This project includes modifications to the plant, moving
and/or selling old machinery, plant modification to the electrical and control system, crane
modifications, and shop employees' training in the use of the machinery and software
programming. You have decided to create an Internal Change Team, assigned the Design
Engineer as Project Lead, and requested he makes his team members from current
employees. Everyone on the project will still be responsible for their existing roles and
contribute to this project. This project has a 4-month window and a $1.8 million budget.
Scenario 2 – Assume you are still the Plant Manager, but this time you will hire an experienced
Project Lead (consultant), from an external agency on a 6-month contract to lead the project.
Same requirements to create a team with current employees (everything else is the same as
Scenario 1).
Deliverables
(a) For Scenario 1, list the primary reasons why you have made this choice and list the barriers
to Internal Change that you foresee.
(b) For Scenario 2, list the primary reasons why you have made this choice and list the barriers
to External Change that you foresee.
(c) In your opinion, which scenario would be easier to implement in the real-world? Explain
your reasoning.
(d) If you were the Design Engineer or an employee that was asked to be part of the team,
which scenario would you prefer? Why?

Note: This is a group assignment as per assigned groups.

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Ensure to reference any material taken from lecture slides, course material, textbooks and any
other sources used to support this assignment.