The process of change to implement a functional management structure at Home Depot

During the 2000-2006 period in which CEO Robert Nardelli was leading the Home Depot, change was imposed on the employees of the organization and was met with resistance from all levels of the organization. This top down approach of mandating change was unsuccessful in this organization and can be used as a model of what not to do in a culturally rich organization when looking to promote organizational change. This project examines modern notions of change from both the cultural and process perspectives. It is designed to explore how these models can be implemented in a retail setting at the Home Depot as it supports a functional management restructuring which has been proposed by leaders of the organization. The goal of this study is to determine strategies which can be utilized at the store level and provide leaders with an understanding of what enables successful change. The background information and models for this study are gained from recent publications, periodicals and journals on the subject and uses sixteen pertinent articles on the subject of change and cultural re-engineering. Recommendations are directed to Home Depot senior management seeking means and methods to ensure that the culture in the Home Depot support network can facilitate functional restructuring initiatives.