| Course | MSM-6200 Leading Strategic Change |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | Discussion forum: initial response and two comments |
| Length | About 445 words |
| Format | Discussion post with APA 7 citations |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Science in Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSM 6200 Module 3
Module 3 Discussion: Who Gains, Who Loses and Who Decides?
Who Gains, Who Loses and Who Decides? The People Side of a Robot Pilot
Our diagnosis in Module 2 recommended reslotting, new training and pay, and a robot pilot in one zone. The technical plan is the easy part. Hayes (2022) emphasizes that change succeeds or fails on people issues: who supports it, who resists, who holds power and how leaders manage the politics. Research on readiness (Rafferty et al., 2013) shows it forms at the group level as well as in individuals, so the pickers' shared view will matter as much as any one person's.
I mapped our stakeholders by power and interest. Pickers have high interest and, collectively, real power, because turnover is already our weak point. They fear the robots will cut jobs. Shift supervisors have high interest and moderate power; they worry about running a zone half robotic and half manual. The general manager has high power and wants a visible result before the client's review. The client has high power and cares only about cutoffs. Our IT team has moderate power and fears integration problems with the warehouse management system.
Oreg et al. (2011) reviewed six decades of studies on how people react to change and found that reactions depend on the recipients' own traits, on the way the change is handled, including participation and communication, and what people expect to gain or lose from it. Our pickers' main concern is a harm, possible job loss, so communication alone will not help unless we can say something true about jobs. Because we are short-staffed, the honest answer is that the pilot will cost no picker a job; robots will cover the openings we cannot fill.
We will involve pickers directly: six experienced pickers will help set up the pilot zone, and their feedback will decide whether it expands. That also gives the informal leaders who hoard shortcuts a reason to share what they know. Supervisors will run the zone's first week with a vendor technician beside them, which answers their main worry, and IT will test the system connection before launch. For the general manager, the pilot offers a visible result within months, which aligns his interest with a careful pilot rather than a rushed one.
Comment on Marisol's Post
Marisol, your hospital merger has two medical staffs with very different power. Have you considered mapping the physicians separately from the nurses? In our case, grouping supervisors with managers would have hidden their specific worries.
Comment on Tom's Post
Tom, your school district's new schedule faces resistance from teachers who were not consulted. Oreg and colleagues found participation shapes reactions; even now, could a teacher committee review the schedule's details?
References
Hayes, J. (2022). The theory and practice of change management (6th ed.). Bloomsbury.
Oreg, S., Vakola, M., & Armenakis, A. (2011). Change recipients' reactions to organizational change: A 60-year review of quantitative studies. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 47(4), 461-524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886310396550
Rafferty, A. E., Jimmieson, N. L., & Armenakis, A. A. (2013). Change readiness: A multilevel review. Journal of Management, 39(1), 110-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312457417
MSM 6200 Module 3 instructions, in plain terms
The Module 3 forum asks how leaders manage the people issues in change: stakeholders, power, politics and reactions. Expect to map stakeholders in a change you know, explain their interests and power, and describe how leaders should engage each group. Use research on how people react to change to justify your approach, and be specific about what leaders can honestly promise. Reply to two classmates with suggestions that apply the module's ideas to their cases rather than simply agreeing. A simple power and interest grid helps organize the post, but explain each group's position in words, since the reasons matter more than the placement. Name what each group fears or hopes to gain.
Inside the MSM 6200 Module 3 example
The post opens by placing the people issues within the change already diagnosed. It maps five stakeholder groups by power and interest. A paragraph uses a research review on change recipients' reactions to identify what will drive pickers' response. A paragraph sets out an honest message and a plan to involve pickers. The two replies suggest separating stakeholder groups and adding participation, each linked to the readings so the comments contribute to the classmates' analyses. Each stakeholder's worry is matched with a concrete answer, such as a vendor technician for supervisors and a visible early result for the general manager, so the analysis ends in actions rather than labels.
MSM 6200 Module 3 rubric: what earns full marks
Mentors grade this forum on a substantive post that analyzes stakeholders, power and reactions with course concepts, use of research and replies that add value. Posts that distinguish groups by both power and interest, and that plan engagement accordingly, show understanding. Basing communication on what is true, rather than on reassurance, demonstrates the integrity effective change requires. Replies that offer a concrete suggestion grounded in research earn the most, and specific details make the analysis credible. Linking each group's concern to a specific response, as the post does for pickers, supervisors and the general manager, shows that the analysis can guide what leaders actually do next. Treating resistance as information about the change, instead of an obstacle to defeat, reads as more mature.
MSM 6200 Module 3 help: mistakes that cost marks
Students lose points by listing stakeholders without interests or power, by treating all resistance as irrational or by recommending communication that promises what leaders cannot deliver. Others write replies that only agree. Map each group's interests and power. Ask what each group could win or lose. Plan honest messages and real participation. Suggest something specific to classmates. Remember that every group, including leaders, has interests in the change; map them all, not only those likely to resist. Be careful with promises about jobs or pay; if leaders cannot keep a commitment, say what they can honestly offer instead. A free first sample on your own MSM-6200 Module 3 discussion is available on request.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More MSM 6200 and Master of Science in Management sample papers
- MSM 6200 Module 1: Discussion: Recognizing the Need to Change at a Carteret Warehouse
- MSM 6200 Module 2: Written Assignment: Diagnosing the Warehouse Before Choosing a Fix
- MSM 6200 Module 4: Written Assignment: Planning and Preparing the Robot Pilot
- MSM 6200 Module 5: Discussion: What Leaders Did When the Pilot Stumbled
- MSM 6200 Module 6: Final Project: A Change the Warehouse Should Make, and How to Make It Stick
- HRM 5300 Module 6: Final Paper: Delta's People as Advantage
- IOP 5100 Module 2: Written Assignment: Designing a Study of Whether Shift Bidding Cuts Absences
- PJM 5100 Module 3: WBS, Responsibilities and the Branch Schedule
- MAN 6300 Module 2: Annotated Bibliography Written Assignment
MSM 6200 Module 3 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MSM 6200 Module 3 sample paper?
A warehouse robot pilot's stakeholders, power and people issues, with two replies, are analyzed in the discussion above.
What is a stakeholder map?
A grid that positions each stakeholder by power and interest so leaders can plan how to engage them.
What shapes people's reactions to change?
Research points to their characteristics, the change process, including participation, and the perceived benefits and harms of the change.
Why does honesty matter in change communication?
Because reassurance that later proves false destroys trust and increases resistance.
How can leaders involve people in change?
By giving those affected real roles, such as helping design a pilot and deciding whether it expands.