Leading and Managing Change 2013Evaluation of change implemented in Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC)

The following report pretend to discuss the change occurred at WSSC in 1999. In the first place, we will look at what changes were performed and the scope of them. Secondly, we will discuss the risks that these proposed changes may have provoked. Third, we will evaluate the success of the transformation implemented in the company. And finally, we will point out what are the key activities that must be taken into account to make change occur effectively and suggest some recommendations to move forward.

Extent of change initiated

WSSC was formed in 1918 as a public company with the duty of maintaining water and sewer services for residences and business in Maryland's Montgomery and Prince George's Counties (Edmondson, 2003).

Company enjoyed a great success based on its monopolistic situation and the market growth. This context made the company to rely on rates increase for profits growth and to ignore customer complaints.

Ups and Downsizing

English: Tacit knowledge vs. Explicit knowledge Ro...

WSSC Truck Handle, Dale Drive (Silver Spring, MD)

Eventually, slow industry growth and increased customer dissatisfaction raised a discussion to privatize the company and transform it into an efficient corporation. WSSC then realized that its strategy was not effective anymore. If the company wanted to survive, they must perform like an efficient private company. In 1999, John Griffin was hired as general manager to implement the required change. The goals were to improve efficiency and maintain high-quality standards, while reducing its workforce by 30%.

The strategic plan implemented at WSSC ranged from business strategy to individual growth. One of the changes developed was a firm restructuring in order to avoid redundancy in the workforce and become more efficient. The restructure proposed was a merge of functional teams. WSSC was organized into functional silos: planning, design, construction and maintenance. This type of structure...