HRM 587 Week 6 Course Project; Company Change Analysis

force they say occurred across the organiza琀椀on. Emerson states in his ar琀椀cle that Heather Cianfrocco Optum’s CEO discussed how UnitedHealth views its virtual health capabili琀椀es within the context of broader challenges facing the healthcare system at the United Healthcare investor conference in November of 2023. He quotes her saying “There’s no shortage of companies that are working to change these experiences for the be琀琀er, but this dynamic only compounds the challenge,” she said. “There are hundreds of digital proper琀椀es o昀昀ering alterna琀椀ves for everything, from advice and bene昀椀ts to treatments and virtual care. Consumers are overloaded or overwhelmed with op琀椀ons, and we’re struggling with point solu琀椀ons as we try to customize, compare and choose”. (Emerson, 2024) Just a year later, Optum announced that Heather Cianfrocco will be replaced by “Dr. Patrick Conway, M.D., current Optum Rx CEO, will become Optum chief execu琀椀ve o昀케cer.” (UnitedHealth Group, 2025) OptumRx announced its pharmaceu琀椀cal distribu琀椀on contracts with Cardinal Health will not be renewed and “In January, Optum and St. Louis-based SSM Health terminated their administra琀椀ve partnership. The partnership was announced in October 2021 and was formed with goals of improving inpa琀椀ent care management, digital transforma琀椀on and revenue cycle management.” (Newi琀琀, 2024) The changes that Optum and UnitedHealth Group took take a director approach. This controlling, top-down approach doesn’t account for the changes that come later. In our book: Managing Organiza琀椀onal Change: A Mul琀椀ple Perspec琀椀ves Approach states: “It is also apparent that changes in one domain may have “knock-on” management. They identified two broad approaches to managing change. We can visualize change management as controlling the change. We can also think of management as shaping the change. Further, these broad approaches can be classified under the type of outcomes they produce: 1.Intended, 2.Unintended, or 3.Partially intended (Mishra, 2021) Controlling (Activities) This perspective views management as a top-down process focused on directing and overseeing specific activities. It aligns with traditional management theories, such as Henri Fayol's principles, which emphasize planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. In this image, the manager's role is to dictate actions and ensure compliance to achieve predetermined objectives. Shaping (Capabilities) In contrast, shaping images adopts a more participative style of management. Its core focus is on improving the inherent capabilities of people within the organization. Rather than merely controlling activities, managers operating under this image aim to foster an environment where individuals and teams can develop their skills, adapt, and contribute to change through empowerment and growth. (Palmer et al., 2008, p. 243-251) References Emerson, J. (2024, April 25). Beckershospitalreview.com. beckershospitalreview.com. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/disruptors/optum-shutting-down-telehealth- business/ Mishra, A. N. (2021, May 21). Images of change managers. Management Weekly. https://managementweekly.org/images-of-change-managers/