1.

If you were Silva, what would be the nature of your internal debate about taking the
job or not? What are your pros and cons? What questions would you ask yourself?

Taking the job as the major change agent for a company is a huge pressure for Silva. That

is why the internal debate about taking the job constitutes the doubts on his capabilities to handle

the change management. The lack of experience of Silva casted the doubts on his capability

despite the fact that he is a student at a top university in the world because the execution of the

theories taught at Columbia still remain skill. The pro of taking the job is that it is a great

opportunity for Silva to turnaround a startup company which, if successful, will be an impressive

addition to his portfolio. Meanwhile, the con of taking the job is that there is a very large risk of

failure because of his inexperience and the complexity of the change process. If I were Silva, the

questions Ill ask myself are Am I ready to take this challenge? and Am I equipped with

enough skills to take such challenge?.

2. What are the 7 elements of Silva's change plan?

As stated above, the process of change in an organization is a very complex one. This

means that there are numerous considerations and steps which must be thought through before

executing or repercussions must be expected. Accordingly, there are numerous elements of a

change plan which Silva may use in his endeavor with the company including: (1) Strategy; (2)

Structures; (3) Systems; (4) Shared Values; (5) Style; (6) Staff; and finally, (7) Skills. These 7s of

the change management which enumerated its requirement was formulated by McKinsey. The

idea of this plan is that it must all be coherent and that no element will be taken for granted in

order for the process of change to thrive.

3. What are the typical features of start-up businesses? What makes them different from
traditional organizations?

A startup business usually maintains a casual attitude towards the workplace. This is

because the company, during such stage, seeks for the most appropriate work attitude and that

they are setting the mood for the workplace. Meanwhile, the financial resources of a startup

company may be either abundant or scarce. If it is abundant, then the company managers are

having trouble in utilizing such financial resources coming from the interested investors. On the

other hand, if it is scarce, then the company is struggling to look for investors. Finally, a common

feature of a start-up business is that it exhibits very rapid growth rate. This is different from other

traditional organizations because the latter have reached the point of maturity and its

capitalization are already well structured.

4. Assuming you took the job, how effective is Silva's plan of action? Is it likely to succeed?

What would you do to improve his chances of success?

The plan of action which was proposed by Silva seem to be effective because it focuses

mainly on the human resources of the company. The solution which was proposed by him is a

patchwork solution to the very obvious problem of the company regarding the separated culture

between the founder of the organization and its employees. It must be noted that most strategies

of the companies are now centered on its human resources and its success are proven. Therefore,

this plan is more likely to succeed. In order to improve the chances of success, the change

management in the organization must be taken gradually so that the shift from a status quo to

another will not be brutally implemented leading to frustrations on the human resources.