| Course | LDR 535 Leading Change (LDR/535) |
|---|---|
| Week | 1 |
| Paper type | Change leadership analysis |
| Length | about 1,204 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for LDR 535 Week 1
When Federal Funding Ended: Leadership Theory and the Case for Change at a New Mexico Public Radio Network
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
LDR/535: Leading Change
Week 1 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
High Desert Public Media, its stations and its finances are composites written for a model paper; the 2025 federal rescission is described in general terms.
High Desert Public Media is a composite nonprofit public radio network based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It operates five stations: a flagship in Albuquerque, a news and music station in Las Cruces and three small rural stations serving towns in the northwest and on the eastern plains, including communities on and near the Navajo Nation. The network employs 64 people and had an annual budget of about $9.8 million, funded by individual members, about 38 percent; business underwriting, about 22 percent; a federal operating grant, about 14 percent; foundations and major gifts, about 18 percent; and events and other income, about 8 percent. In 2025, Congress rescinded federal funding for public broadcasting, ending the network's federal grant of about $1.37 million a year. The rural stations, where membership is small, relied on that grant for roughly half their budgets. President and chief executive Rebecca Tso must lead a change that keeps the network financially sound while continuing to serve communities that depend on it for local news and emergency information. This paper examines the case for change, the stakeholders involved and the leadership theories that apply.
The Forces Driving Change
The immediate force is financial: a sudden loss of 14 percent of revenue. Longer-term forces were already at work: radio listening has declined among younger audiences, who use podcasts and streaming; underwriting revenue has flattened as local businesses shift to digital advertising; and rural transmitters need costly upgrades. The funding loss turned slow pressures into a crisis.
Rethinking Planned Change
Burnes (2004) re-appraised Kurt Lewin's planned approach to change and argued that it has been widely misunderstood. Lewin's work included field theory, group dynamics, action research and the three-step model of unfreezing, moving and refreezing, and these elements formed an integrated, participative approach focused on resolving social conflict and helping groups learn. Burnes concluded that critics who dismissed Lewin as simplistic had attacked a caricature, and that planned change remains valuable, especially when combined with an understanding of emergent change.
Episodic and Continuous Change
Weick and Quinn (1999) separated two rhythms of change: bursts that arrive rarely and deliberately, often after a shock, and a steady drift of small adjustments that accumulate without any single starting point. Leaders of episodic change act as prime movers who create change, while leaders of continuous change act as sense makers who redirect change already underway. Many organizations need both.
Managing for Stakeholders
Harrison et al. (2010) argued that firms that manage for stakeholders, allocating more value to a broad set of stakeholders and attending to what each group values, can develop trust and information advantages that lead to competitive advantage. They suggested that stakeholders value not only economic returns but also fairness, recognition and influence. For a nonprofit, this view is central: success is measured by value delivered to listeners, communities, staff and funders.
Stakeholders and the Value at Stake
Listeners in Albuquerque and Las Cruces value national and local news, music and cultural programming, increasingly through streaming and podcasts. Rural listeners value local news, school closures, weather and emergency alerts, often with no other local source. Members and major donors value a mission they believe in and a voice in its direction. Underwriters value reaching engaged audiences. Staff value meaningful work and job security. Tribal and community partners value programming in Navajo and Spanish and respect for their communities. The board values sustainability and mission.
The Rural Stations in Detail
The three rural stations illustrate what is at stake. Each has two or three staff who report local news, announce school closures and road conditions and run community calendars. During a 2022 wildfire, one station stayed on the air for 36 hours straight, relaying evacuation orders when cell service failed. Membership in these areas is small because incomes are lower and populations are scattered, so the stations have always relied on the network's share of federal support. Their value is high but hard to express in revenue, which is why a purely financial analysis would rank them first for closure.
The Network's Financial Position
The network entered the crisis with modest reserves equal to about three months of expenses and no debt. It can absorb part of the loss for one year while it restructures, but not indefinitely. Membership revenue rose about 9 percent in the months after the rescission as listeners responded to public appeals, a sign of goodwill that may not last without a clear plan.
Who Could Lose
The easiest financial response, closing the three rural stations, would save about $1.1 million but would remove the only local news and emergency source for about 60,000 people. Cutting newsroom staff would save money but weaken the network's core service in all markets. Any change must weigh these losses.
The cheapest way to balance the budget would take away the most valuable thing the network does for the people with the fewest alternatives.
What Kind of Change Is Needed
The network needs episodic change in the short term: a new budget, new revenue and possibly new partnerships within a year. It also needs continuous change over the longer term: a newsroom and culture that adapt to digital audiences without abandoning broadcast where it matters most. In Weick and Quinn's terms, leaders must act first as prime movers and then as sense makers.
What Kind of Leadership Is Needed
The change requires leaders who can act quickly and decisively on finances while involving staff, communities and members in redesigning the network. Lewin's participative approach, as Burnes (2004) describes it, fits: people affected by change should take part in diagnosing and solving problems. A stakeholder orientation keeps value for rural communities and staff visible alongside financial goals.
Leadership Capacity
The leadership team includes Rebecca, a chief operating officer, a news director, a development director and a chief engineer. They share deep commitment to the mission, but Week 2's diagnosis will examine whether they have the habits of fast, shared decision making a crisis requires. The board, composed largely of donors and community leaders, has supported the staff but has rarely been asked to make hard choices.
Problem Statement for the Course
How can High Desert Public Media's leaders lead a change that restores financial sustainability after the loss of federal funding while preserving, and where possible increasing, value for rural communities, listeners, members and staff?
Early Evidence From Staff and Communities
Initial listening sessions with staff and two rural communities revealed strong support for keeping rural stations and willingness to help, along with fear about layoffs and frustration that staff learned of the funding loss from news reports before leadership explained its effects.
Conclusion
The loss of federal funding is a shock layered on long-term shifts in how people listen. Research shows that planned change is richer than its popular summary, that organizations need both episodic and continuous change and that managing for a broad set of stakeholders creates value. For High Desert Public Media, the challenge is to lead change that balances the budget without abandoning the communities that depend on it most, and later weeks will diagnose the organization, apply leadership approaches and develop a change plan.
References
Burnes, B. (2004). Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: A re-appraisal. Journal of Management Studies, 41(6), 977-1002. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2004.00463.x
Harrison, J. S., Bosse, D. A., & Phillips, R. A. (2010). Managing for stakeholders, stakeholder utility functions, and competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 31(1), 58-74. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.801
Weick, K. E., & Quinn, R. E. (1999). Organizational change and development. Annual Review of Psychology, 50, 361-386. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.50.1.361
What the LDR 535 Week 1 instructions ask
The first LDR 535 assignment usually asks graduate students to analyze a needed organizational change and the leadership concepts that apply to it. Expect to describe the organization and its environment, explain the forces driving change, identify stakeholders and the value the change should create for them and review leadership and change theories, such as planned change, emergent change and stakeholder approaches. A strong paper uses current and classic research, distinguishes the kinds of change involved, connects leadership to stakeholder value rather than to profit alone and sets up a problem the rest of the course will address. Cite peer-reviewed sources in APA format and write at a graduate level.
How this LDR 535 Week 1 example is built
High Desert Public Media lost about 14 percent of its budget overnight when federal support for public broadcasting ended, and its rural stations depended on that support most. The paper first describes the network, its five stations and its funding mix. A re-appraisal of Kurt Lewin's planned approach shows that his model was more participative and nuanced than its popular unfreeze-change-refreeze summary suggests. A review of organizational change distinguishes episodic change, triggered by a shock, from continuous change, built into daily adaptation, and argues that leaders of each play different roles. Research on managing for stakeholders shows that firms which consider stakeholders' interests broadly can gain advantage. The analysis defines the change, maps stakeholder value and identifies the leadership the network needs.
LDR 535 Week 1 grading rubric: where the points go
Graduate papers on leading change are graded on analytical depth, use of research and clarity about stakeholder value. High marks require an accurate account of the forces driving change, a nuanced treatment of change theories that goes beyond slogans, a stakeholder analysis that identifies who gains and loses and a clear statement of the leadership the change demands. Graders look for evidence from the organization, such as budgets, audience data or staff input, and for a problem statement that guides the rest of the course. The strongest submissions recognize that a single crisis can require both rapid action and longer-term continuous change.
LDR 535 Week 1 help: mistakes to avoid
A common weakness is summarizing Lewin's three steps as if they were the whole of change theory. Research shows the model is richer than its summary, and that change can also be emergent and continuous. Treat theories critically. Another frequent problem is framing change only in financial terms, when the course asks about value for stakeholders. Identify how each group gains or loses. Some papers describe the external shock and stop, without connecting it to leadership. Explain what leaders must do differently. Others list stakeholders without priorities. Rank them. Finally, end with a focused problem or question, since later weeks build diagnosis, leadership approaches and a plan on this foundation.
Related LDR 535 sample papers
Other LDR 535 week samples
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- LDR 535 Week 3: Servant Leadership in Change
- LDR 535 Week 4: Transformational Leadership in Change
- LDR 535 Week 5: Implementing Change and Resistance
- LDR 535 Week 6: Change Leadership Plan
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LDR 535 Week 1 questions, answered
What does LDR 535 Week 1 usually cover?
It usually covers applying leadership concepts to an organizational change, including the forces driving change, theories of planned and emergent change and the value the change creates for stakeholders.
Where can I find a free LDR 535 Week 1 sample paper?
The Week 1 change analysis of a composite New Mexico public radio network facing a funding loss is posted above with references.
What is the difference between episodic and continuous change?
Episodic change comes in deliberate bursts, usually prompted by a crisis, while continuous change builds up quietly from everyday adjustments made across the organization.
Is Lewin's change model still useful?
Scholars argue that Lewin's planned approach, including field theory, group dynamics and action research, remains useful when understood as a whole rather than reduced to a three-step formula.
What does stakeholder value mean in leading change?
It means judging a change by how it serves the interests of all groups affected, such as customers, employees, communities and funders, not only owners or the budget.
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