Bow River Hospital is a large urban multi-site hospital with a longstanding presence in the region. However, like all hospitals at present, it is being scrutinized by the provincial government as part of a restructuring of the healthcare system. In order to secure its future, the Hospital recently held a major strategic planning session in which the senior executive identified the need to implement a modern information technology system to increase efficiencies.

The new IT system will mean significant change for most, as it will require reengineering many work processes. As the key to its effectiveness depends on maintaining an up-to-date, coordinated database across departments, it will also mean that much more collaboration and teamwork will be necessary. Bow River Hospital hopes that new developments in technology will also help it better serve patients.

In the past, Bow River Hospital has encountered difficulties implementing its strategic initiatives and is determined to do better this time. The senior executive has agreed that a change process would be useful in guiding the organization through this transition and is meeting to decide on what actions and interventions to put in place as part of this process. Staff resistance to the new technology is expected to play a major role in whether or not the change project is successful. You are a member of this group and are charged with planning this implementation.

The Board of Directors of Western Energy Inc. has just approved the acquisition of a gas pipeline system from US based Sierra Power and Energy. Members of the Board and the Executive Committee are cracking open several bottles of good champagne in celebration. Nevertheless, their jubilation is tempered by the awareness of widespread research and anecdotal evidence proving that fewer than 50% of mergers or acquisitions in their industry actually result in the expected financial and other outcomes. If this merger is to be one of the successful cases, the transition will have to be managed well. And they will be handing over the implementation details to a carefully chosen Integration Steering Committee next week after the deal is announced formally. Western Energy wants this acquisition to overcome the odds and become a great success - a lot is riding on it.

A few months ago the CAO of the City came to the conclusion that a reorganization of the City's administrative structure was necessary. A recent recession has resulted in lower tax revenues and a sudden halt to both residential and commercial development in the area. The CAO is concerned that the present organizational structure is causing bureaucratic delays and generating extra costs at a time when City revenues are falling but citizen expectations are still rising. In addition, a new City Council was recently elected on a promise of cost containment. This means that raising taxes or fees for service would be difficult to sell, if not impossible. The City Council is also aware that many municipalities have begun a fierce competition to attract development, and low taxes play a big role in this rivalry.

To respond to these issues, the CAO and the five Commissioners comprising the Senior Planning Group (SPG) held a couple of day-long meetings to discuss a possible new city structure. Following vigorous debates and some background research on other cities, a majority of the SPG agreed that a streamlined structure was unfortunately necessary. Raising taxes or fees was proposed by some, but the majority disagreed with this option. The SPG could not come to consensus on a final organization structure but the CAO and a majority agreed in principle on the draft of a new design.

Now the challenge is to implement this new structure within the City. What should you do?

a) Downsizing in a credit union
b) Downsizing municipal government
c) Downsizing in an automotive manufacturing plant
d) Downsizing in a hospital

Each of these cases addresses the specialized change issues involved in a downsizing. While many of the same advice that works in other types of change situations is applicable to downsizing initiatives, there are other key success factors to be aware of in this very specialized and delicate organizational change.