Chapter 14, Module 3: Organizational development and change.

Question 1

Orginizational change

Answer 1

Organizational change refers to the process, the goal or both;
- The process refers to the different stages that can be recognized or identified when organizations are undergoing a transition.
- The goal is to establish growth or an improvement in critical organizational processess..

The necessity to change can be found in internal and external forces.

Question 2

Change can be defined as;

Answer 2

• To transform or convert into…
• To pass gradually into…

These different definitions also relate to two different types of organizational change that can be recognized.

Question 3

Two types of organizational change;

Answer 3

1. Episodic change/radical change: Stability is the rule, change is the exeption.
2. Continious change/incremental change; change is the rule, stability is an exception.

Question 4

Episodic/Radical changes

Answer 4

Changes that transform, discontinue, are sudden, and non-linear.
Revolution

Question 5

Continious/incremental changes

Answer 5

Gradually, step by step, linear, slowly optimizing, reformation.

Question 6

Characteristics of episodic change

Answer 6

• Infreqent, discountinuous and intentional
• Focused and time-urgent
• Can be very stressing and upsetting for employees.
• Initiated by the management.
• Tends to occur in distinct periods
• The change is dramatic.

Question 7

Lewin’s model; 3 stages in the process of change

Answer 7

1. Unfreezing; Preparing the organization to accept that change is necessary, which involves breaking down the exisitng status qua befor you can build up a new way of operating.
2. Changing; Where people begin to resolve their uncertainty and look for new ways to do things. People start to believe and act in ways that support the new direction.
**3. Refreezing; **When the change are taking shpae and people have embrased the new ways, the organization is ready to refreeze. Making sure that the changes are used all the time; and that they are incorporated into everyday business.

Question 8

Resistance to change

Answer 8

People and or groups do not willingly accept any form of change. They will resist…“change fatigue”

Question 9

Status qua bias

Answer 9

SQB is an emotional bias. It is a preference for the current state of affairs. The current baseline is taken as a reference point, and any change from that baseline is perceived as a loss.

Question 10

Orginizational resistance

Answer 10

Structural and work group inertia; threats to the power balance, expertise, resource allocations.

Question 11

Individual resistance

Answer 11

Ingrained habits; fear for losing one’s job; fear for other tasks, colleagues and social relations.

Question 12

How to cope with resistancd to change

Answer 12

• Gain support of powerful individuals in organization.
• Educate the workforce
• Involve employees in the change initiative
• Provide regular feedback
• After sucessful chage, shift focus.

Question 13

Some characteristics of continuous change

Answer 13

• A progressive process, unfolding over time, and cumulative
• Not planned or intended
• Change is barely noticeable. A pattern of endless modifications..
• Driven by organizational instabilities and reactions to daily contingencies.

Question 14

Adapted change model

Answer 14

1. Refreezing; Momentarily stop all changes
2. Rebalancing; Reframing and evaluate what happend
3. Unfreezing; With new insights getting back to continuous change.

Question 15

New for of organizational resistance

Answer 15

Few or non; risk due to nonchalance and late reactions

Question 16

New individual resistance

Answer 16

Few or none; risk due to nonchalance and late reactions; letting people slowly adapt to new changes.

Question 17

Politics in organizational change

Answer 17

Change processes are politically charged events in an organization. Both managers and employees thry to benefit from the situation. Political games can slow down the organizaitonal change, process significantly, or even let it fail.

Question 18

Organizational development (OD)

Answer 18

Refers to the tool-box of various menthods for initiating and guiding organizaitonal change processess.
A series of planned intervention techniques, that do not only aim to improve the efficiency and effectivity of the organization, but also the well-being of employees.

Question 19

Organizational development techniques for work groups

Answer 19

• Team building
• Intergroup development
• Appreciative inquiry (AI)

Question 20

Team building activities;

Answer 20

• Goal setting and prioritizing
• Develop of interpersonal relations
• Analyzing everyone’s role and responsibilities
• Analyzing the team process.

Question 21

Organization-wide development techniques

Answer 21

• Total Quality Management (TQM)
• Six Sigma systems
• Lean Production (LP)

Question 22

Six Sigma Systems

Answer 22

A quality management method. Provides training in strategical analysis, project management, and problem solution methods in order to reduce the production errors to its bare minimum.

Question 23

Lean production

Answer 23

Emphasize the reduction of waste in every form;
- Just-in-time (JIT) production
- Detailed following of materials and production
- Involving both suppliers and clients in the process.
- Often require radical redesign of HRM-system in order to be successful.