| Course | LDR 321 Modern Leadership (LDR/321) |
|---|---|
| Week | 5 |
| Paper type | Change and empowerment plan |
| Length | about 1,005 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Business |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for LDR 321 Week 5
Handing the Rides to the Crews: A Change and Empowerment Plan for a Positive, Inclusive Work Environment at a Pennsylvania Amusement Park
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
LDR/321: Modern Leadership
Week 5 Final Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Pinecrest Park, its people and its plan are composites written for a model paper.
Four papers have studied leadership in the ride department of Pinecrest, the invented Pocono park. Week 1 showed that individual attributes, not group labels, predict performance. Week 2 introduced plain-language communication and a protected stop-the-ride rule. Week 3 found that supervisors who shared leadership handled storms and heat best. Week 4 showed that mixed, inclusive crews coordinate better. Each finding points the same way: crews perform better when they have clear information, safety to speak, authority to act and respect for each member's contribution. Rides manager Alicia Gomez wants to make that the normal way the department works. This paper presents a change and empowerment plan.
Team Empowerment
Kirkman and Rosen (1999) surveyed teams in four companies and described an empowered team as one that believes it can succeed, finds its work worthwhile, has room to choose how to work and sees that its efforts make a difference. Teams that scored higher on these four qualities got more done, took more initiative, served customers better and kept happier, more loyal members. Leader behavior, production responsibilities, team-based human resource policies and social structure were associated with empowerment.
Directive Versus Empowering Leadership
Lorinkova et al. (2013) compared teams led by directive and empowering leaders over time. Teams with directive leaders performed better at first, but teams with empowering leaders improved more over time and eventually outperformed directed teams, through greater team learning, coordination, empowerment and mental model development. The study suggests starting with direction where teams are new and moving toward empowerment as they learn.
Competencies for Implementing Change
Battilana et al. (2010) studied managers implementing planned organizational change and found that different leadership competencies mattered at different stages: task-oriented competencies for communicating the need for change and for organizing implementation, and person-oriented competencies for mobilizing people. Effective change leaders matched their behavior to the stage of the change.
The Desired Change
By midseason, each ride crew will manage its own rotations, breaks and routine problems, such as a jammed gate or a lost child report, within clear safety boundaries. Supervisors will shift from directing every decision to coaching, checking safety and handling escalations.
Stage 1: Direct and Prepare, Opening to Mid-June
New crews need direction, as Lorinkova et al. (2013) found. Supervisors will train operators on rides, communication codes and the stop-the-ride rule, and will identify lead operators, one per ride, based on reliability and judgment rather than tenure or group.
Stage 2: Transfer Decisions, Mid-June to July
Decisions will move to crews in steps. First, lead operators will set rotations and breaks. Next, crews will handle routine problems using playbooks from Week 3. Supervisors will remain present and coach, reviewing decisions at the end of shifts.
Stage 3: Empowered Crews, August to Season's End
Crews will run their rides with supervisors circulating, focusing on safety checks, coaching and escalations. Crews will hold brief end-of-week reviews to suggest improvements.
Supervisors will not stop leading; they will stop deciding everything, which is a harder kind of leadership.
Choosing and Preparing Lead Operators
Lead operators are the hinge of the plan. Supervisors will nominate candidates after the first three weeks, using reliability records, guest feedback and peers' views, and Alicia will review the list to make sure every group is represented. Lead operators will receive a half-day of training on rotations, playbooks and coaching newer operators, a small hourly differential and a badge that guests can recognize.
What Empowerment Looks Like on a Busy Day
On a crowded August afternoon, an empowered crew at the log flume notices the line growing past the shade structure. The lead operator moves one operator from the exit to the queue to hand out water and update guests on wait times, adjusts the break rotation so no one works more than 30 minutes in full sun and logs a jammed exit gate for maintenance. The supervisor, passing by, checks restraint procedures, thanks the lead and moves on.
Boundaries
Some decisions stay with supervisors and maintenance: any safety question, ride inspections, injury response and staffing changes across areas. Writing these boundaries down prevents confusion and protects guests.
Supervisors' New Role
Supervisors may resist losing control. Alicia will involve them in designing the stages, train them in coaching and recognize supervisors whose crews grow most. Their evaluations will include crew development, not only daily operations.
Inclusion and Communication Within Empowerment
Empowerment must include everyone. Lead operator roles will be open to all groups, and mixed crews from Week 4 will continue. Plain-language communication and check-backs from Week 2 will support crews making their own decisions.
Communicating the Change
Alicia will explain the plan at preseason orientation, emphasizing why it matters: crews know their rides best and decide faster. Supervisors will repeat the message in huddles. Midseason, a short survey will gather feedback, and adjustments will be shared.
Recognizing Progress
Crews that show growing independence will be recognized at the weekly supervisor meeting and in the staff newsletter, with examples of good decisions crews made on their own. Celebrating crew decisions, not just ride counts, tells everyone what the change values.
Measures
Measures include team empowerment survey items adapted from Kirkman and Rosen (1999), guest loading times, delays, guest complaints, incidents, operator retention and supervisor time spent on escalations versus coaching.
Risks
No plan of this kind works perfectly in its first season. Risks include crews making poor decisions early, supervisors slipping back into control and uneven readiness across rides. Staged transfer, clear boundaries and weekly supervisor meetings address these.
Conclusion
Research shows that empowered teams perform and serve customers better, that directive leadership helps early while empowering leadership pays off over time and that change leaders need different competencies at different stages. Pinecrest's plan moves ride crews from direction to empowerment over one season, with clear boundaries, new supervisor roles and the communication and inclusion practices from earlier weeks, building a positive environment that respects every operator and runs the rides better.
References
Battilana, J., Gilmartin, M., Sengul, M., Pache, A.-C., & Alexander, J. A. (2010). Leadership competencies for implementing planned organizational change. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(3), 422-438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.03.007
Kirkman, B. L., & Rosen, B. (1999). Beyond self-management: Antecedents and consequences of team empowerment. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1), 58-74. https://doi.org/10.5465/256874
Lorinkova, N. M., Pearsall, M. J., & Sims, H. P., Jr. (2013). Examining the differential longitudinal performance of directive versus empowering leadership in teams. Academy of Management Journal, 56(2), 573-596. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0132
What the LDR 321 Week 5 instructions ask
LDR 321 commonly ends with a plan in which change management and empowerment are used to build a positive, high-performing work environment, integrating earlier topics such as individual attributes, communication, adaptive leadership and teamwork and inclusion. Expect to describe the desired change, explain empowerment and how it will be introduced, plan for resistance, communication and support, and set measures. A strong paper uses research on empowerment and change leadership, sequences the change realistically, recognizes that empowerment requires preparation and support and connects each element to evidence from earlier weeks. Cite scholarly sources in APA format.
How this LDR 321 Week 5 example is built
Pinecrest's rides manager wants crews to run their rides with less supervisor control: setting rotations, solving routine problems and deciding when to call for help. The paper begins with research showing that team empowerment, built on potency, meaningfulness, autonomy and impact, relates to productivity and customer service. A longitudinal study finds that directive leadership produces better early performance, while empowering leadership produces stronger improvement over time, which suggests a staged approach. Research on change implementation shows that leaders need different competencies at different stages. The plan moves crews from directed to empowered over the season, with training, lead operators, clear boundaries, communication and measures that connect to the course's earlier findings.
LDR 321 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go
Final change and empowerment plans are graded on integration, research support and realism. Instructors look for a written list of which decisions move to crews and when, and for a supervisor role that is redefined rather than removed. High marks require a clear description of the change, an accurate account of empowerment and its effects, a staged approach that prepares people before giving them authority and plans for communication, resistance and support. Graders look for connections to earlier topics, such as inclusion and adaptive leadership, and for measures that track both the change and performance. Reviewers also look for honesty about what could go wrong. A plan that a manager could carry out, with stages, roles and checkpoints, shows the applied leadership the course aims to develop and distinguishes the strongest final papers.
LDR 321 Week 5 help: mistakes to avoid
Final plans often promise empowerment immediately, giving authority before people have skills or clear boundaries. Research suggests directing first and empowering progressively. Stage the change. Another frequent problem is treating empowerment as a slogan without defining which decisions move to whom. List them. Some papers ignore supervisors, whose roles change most and who may resist losing control. Plan their new role. Others forget earlier weeks; empowerment works only if communication is clear and crews are inclusive. Show the links. Check that the plan's stages match the season's calendar. Finally, define measures for performance as well as for empowerment, since the goal is a better-run operation, not only a better feeling.
Related LDR 321 sample papers
Other LDR 321 week samples
- LDR 321 Week 1: Understanding Individual Attributes
- LDR 321 Week 2: Communication Strategies for Leaders
- LDR 321 Week 3: Adaptive Leadership
- LDR 321 Week 4: Teamwork, Inclusion and Performance
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LDR 321 Week 5 questions, answered
What does LDR 321 Week 5 usually cover?
It usually covers change management and empowerment in a final plan that builds a positive, inclusive, high-performing work environment and integrates the course's earlier topics.
Where can I find a free LDR 321 Week 5 sample paper?
The final change and empowerment plan for ride crews at a composite Pennsylvania amusement park is posted above in full.
What is team empowerment?
Team empowerment is a team's shared belief that it is capable, that its work is meaningful, that it has autonomy and that its work has impact, which relates to higher performance.
Is empowering leadership better than directive leadership?
Research suggests directive leadership can produce better early performance, while empowering leadership leads to greater improvement over time, so many leaders move from one to the other.
How do you implement empowerment in a team?
Prepare people with skills and clear boundaries, transfer decisions in stages, change supervisors' roles to coaching, communicate the reasons and measure both performance and team confidence.
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