3 - scope of change

Question 1

Institutional theory

• Organizational isomorphism
• Key question institutional theory
• role environment

Answer 1

• A situation in which the structures of organizations across industries and countries are similar
• Why do all organizations look the same? what processes/ mechanisms cause these similarities
• environment provides templates for action, that organizations are pressured to adopt

Question 2

Institutional theory

- why do organizations adopt formal structures

Answer 2

Formal structures increase organizational legitimacy, which increases survival

Question 3

-
-

Answer 3

• Carriers of Coercive pressures
• Carriers of Normative pressures
• Carriers of mimetic pressures

Question 4

Institutional theory:

Carriers of Coercive pressures

Answer 4

• (Inter)National laws
• Threat of legal cases, actual legal cases
• Law professionals

Question 5

Institutional theory:

Carriers of Normative pressures

Answer 5

• Certification and accreditation
• News, Media, and social Media
• Professionals, e.g. HRM experts

Question 6

Institutional theory:

Carriers of Mimetic pressures

Answer 6

• cognitive templates for action
• Scientific texts
• organizational examples
• Organizations providing data on future trends
• Professionals defining “what’s out there”

Question 7

Institutionalism:

trends

Answer 7

• Old institutionalism
• New institutionalsim
• Neo institutionalsism

Question 8

Old institutionalism

Answer 8

o Issues of influence
o Coalitions
o Competing values
o Power & informational structures

Question 9

New institutionalism

Answer 9

o Legitimacy
o Embeddedness of organizational fields
o Centrality of classification, routines, scripts, and schema

Question 10

Neo institutionalism

Answer 10

The coming together of the old and the new system

Question 11

G&H - Institutional theory

• What does it explain
• Why interesting for OC
• Weak points

Answer 11

o Explanation of similarity and stability of organizational arrangements

o Usually not regarded as a theory of organizational change

o According to article: excellent basis for an account of change

 - Provides convincing definition of radical change
 - Signals the contextual dynamics that precipitate the need for change

o Weak in analyzing internal dynamics of organizational change. Therefore silent why some organizations adopt radical change and others do not, under the same pressures

Question 12

G&H - Radical organizational change

Answer 12

o Also known as “frame bending”
o Busting loose from an existing orientation
o Transformation of the organization
o Change between templates

Question 13

G&H - Convergent organizational change

Answer 13

o Finetuning the existing orientation

o Change within template

Question 14

G&H - Evolutionary change

Answer 14

Slow and graduate pace of upheaval and adjustment

Question 15

G&H - Revolutionary change

Answer 15

Swift pace, affects almost all parts of the organization

Question 16

G&H - Interpretive scheme

Answer 16

• Ideas, Beliefs and Values provide the pattern of organization’s structure and systems

Question 17

G&H - Structure of the institutional context:
When is change radical
- the tightness of coupling,
- the sectoral permeabilitry

Answer 17

• Tight coupled institutional fields has less radical change, when it does it is revolutionary
• Loosely coupled fields have more radical change, and is evolutionary
• Fields closed or not exposed to other fields (impermeable) have low rates of radical change, and is revolutionary
• Permeable fields have higher radical change rates, and it’s evolutionary

Question 18

G&H - Framework for understanding organizational change

Answer 18

• Exogenous dynamics: market- and institutional context
• Endogenous dynamics: interest dissatisfaction, value commitments, power dependencies, capacity for action
• Output of the model would become input for exogenous dynamics

Question 19

G&H - Precipitating & Enabling dynamics

Answer 19

Precipitating dynamics: causes or triggers the start of change

• Interest dissatisfaction
• Value commitments

Enabling dynamics: makes the change possible

• Power dependencies
• Capacity for action

Question 20

G&H - Pattern of value commitments

Answer 20

• Status quo commitment: all groups are committed to the prevailing institutionalized template in use
• Indifferent commitment: groups are neither committed nor opposed to the template in use
• Competitive commitment: some groups support the template in use, others prefer an alternative
• Reformative commitment: All groups opposed to the template in use

Question 21

G&H - Precipitating dynamics and radical change

Answer 21

o Radical change will occur if the pattern of value commitments is competitive or reformative, irrespective of context

o Interest dissatisfaction will lead to radical change only in it is associated with competitive or reformative value commitments. Otherwise convergent change

o Reformative or competitive pattern of value commitments are more likely to occur in peripheral rather the core organizations, organizations with a complex portfolio of products/services, loosely structured institutional contexts

o Reformative commitment > revolutionary change
o Competitive commitment > evolutionary change

Question 22

G&H - Power dependencies

Answer 22

• Favorable power dependencies are used to promote own interests
• Operation of values and interests can be conceptualized and understood in relation to the differential power of groups, reciprocal relationship between the two
• Templates give power to some groups and not to other groups, therefore people in power often promote the template
• In a situation with competitive commitment, radical change is unless people in positions of power are in favor of change or dominant group recognizes the weakness of current template
• Radical change will only occur with an enabling pattern of power dependencies, combined with reformative or competitive value commitment pattern
• Market pressure influences power dependencies
• Institutional context influences power dependencies, not necessarily consistent with market pressures

Question 23

G&H - Capacity for action

• What is it?
• Three aspects of capacity for action
• How does it affect change

Answer 23

• The ability to manage the transition process from one template to another.

1 Understanding of the new conceptual destination
2 Having the Skills and competencies to function in the new destination
3 The ability to manage how to get to the new destination

• Recent experience with changes increases capacity
  for action
• It’s an enabling mechanic. Without it no radical
  change, by itself no motive for change
• High capacity for action is positively associated
  with revolutionary change and negatively associated
  with evolutionary change

Question 24

From what perspective does G&H view organizations?

Answer 24

System perspective: (Organizations resemble machines (simple) or natural organisms (complex) that adapt to their environment)

Question 25

Change according to T&C

Answer 25

• Organizational change unfolds through modification of cognitive categories of individual members of the organization, driven by interactions with oneself and interactions with others
• Change is an endlessly shifting flux of reality
  > have to be experienced/ studied from within

Question 26

What perspective does T&C have on organizations?

Answer 26

Routines and practices perspective

Question 27

1960’s to 1980’s

1980’s and later

Answer 27

1960-1980: M-form: Growth by acquiring in unrelated lines of business

1980’s: Firms focussed on their core competencies

Question 28

Scientific possitivism

Answer 28

• Causa Remota
• Why did it change? What are the ultimate causes?
• What natural laws made caused the change?

Question 29

Scientific realism

Answer 29

• Causa proxima

- How did change come to be? What are the mechanisms