Chapter 16 - Organizational Structure and Change Flashcards
what is organizational design
process of setting up organizational structures to address the needs of an organization
organizational development
label for a field that specializes in change management
OD specialists draw on social science to guide change processes that simultaneously help a business achieve its objectives while generating employee well-being
two types of organizations and what they are
- formal
= officially defined set of relationships, responsibilities, and connections that exist across on organization - informal
= invisible network of interpersonal relationships that shape how people actually connect and carry out their activities
= emergent –> evolve over time
central assumption of the bureaucratic model
developed by Max Weber
= organizations will find efficiencies when they divide the duties of labor, allow people to specialize, and create structure for coordinated efforts (hierarchy)
five elements of bureaucracy
- specialization
- common and control
- span of control
- centralization
- formalization
specialization (bureaucracy element)
degree to which people are organized into specialization subunits
command and control element of bureaucracy
the way in which people report to one another or connect to coordinate their efforts in accomplishing work
span of control element of bureaucracy
scope of work that any one person in the organization is responsible for
centralization element of bureaucracy
how to manage the flow of resources and information in an organization
highly centralized org = concentrates resources in only one or few locations/ individuals
formalization element of bureaucracy
degree of definition in the roles that exist throughout an organization
mechanistic bureaucratic structure
strongly hierarchical (usually very vertical)
generates high degree of standardization and control
organic bureaucratic structure
relies on ability of people to self-organize and make decisions without much self direction so that they can adapt to change quickly
common to see horizontal structure (fewer levels of hierarchy)
2 different functional structures for organizations
- product structures (subunits organized based on product)
- graphic structures (subunits organized geographically)
disadvantages of bureaucratic structure
- people can become so focused on their own part of the organization they fail to understand or connect with broader org activities
- can alienate workers from one another
what is the matrix structure and how does it help overcome the negative effects of the bureaucratic struture?
- sets up multiple reporting lines of authority
–> employees report to multiple lines to keep them woke
3 types of organizational change
- structural change (change in formal relationships)
- technological change (implement new tech)
- culture change (most difficult change to create, involve reshaping/ reimaging core identity of organization)
4 stages of the organizational life cycle
- entrepreneurship
- survival and early success
- sustained success
- renewal or decline
explain the life cycle of an organizaiton
- org starts small and fragile
- begins to scale up and find success
- expands and hierarchy deepens, tension may emerge over how to find balance in the org structure
- expansion to the point where operations far-flung and need to operate somewhat autonomously, tensions between mechanistic or organic inclinations may be out of balance
3 dimensions of change
- scope of change
- level of change
- intentionality
3 scopes of change
incremental change
- small refinements in current practices
- do not challenge, but build on
transformational change
- significant shifts in system that may cause significant disruption to underlying aspect(s) of org, structure, processes, etc.
- can be invigorating or stressful
strategic change
- either incremental or transformational
- necessary to stay competitive in current market or organization
examples of methods of incremental change
six sigma
LEAN
different levels of change
- individual level
- group level
- organization level
–> higher level change often impact change on lower levels
two aspect of intentionality
- planned change
- intentional activity to create movement towards a
specific goal or end
- intentional activity to create movement towards a
- unplanned change
- result of informal organizing
- may or may not serve aims of whole organization
- may be completely spontaneous or occur as a
byproduct of planned change process
important questions to ask as a manager figured out which model of change to use
- is the organization in a state of deficiency or is it highly functioning (is there a problem)?
- deficit-based or abundance-based change - assumptions about how to create change?
- top-down change or bottom-up
- rule of thumb: more complex = greater need to involve employees in planning - what are our fundamental beliefs about people and change?
- conventional mindset or positive/ appreciative mindset
deficit-based change
change that comes from perception that an organization may be in some state of dysfunction
may require transformational change
abundance-based change
change that comes from perception that organization is highly functional
leaders assume employees will change if they can be inspired to greatness
top-down change
rely on mechanistic assumptions about the nature of an organization
relatively small group in organization design process and instruct others how change will unfold
formal org must drive the legitimacy of the change
emergent or bottom-up change
relies on belief that employees will be more invested in change if they play some role in designing it
“participatory management”
conventional mindset about people/ change
leaders assume most inclined to resist change and need to be managed in a way that encourages them to accept change
sees people as objects/ obstacles that need to be overcome
positive or appreciative mindset about people/ change
leaders assume that people are inclined to embrace change when they are respected as individuals
employees seen as partners or champions of change
4 common change models and the two categories
models that rely on mechanisms of formal organizations
1. Lewin’s Model
2. Kotter’s Model
models that are designed to promote informal organizing and emergent change
3. Cooperrider’s Appreciative Inquiry Model
4. Olson and Eoyang’s Complex Adaptive System Model
Lewin’s Change Model - 3 steps
organizational change happens in three phases
1. unfreeze –> existing customs interrupted
2. move –> changes introduced
3. refreeze –> reinforce the new customs and practices
==> most people like a stable, predictable organization, so common routines need to be disrupted
==> stability gives way to instability
top-down or bottom-up approaches
deficit-based or abundance-based
Kotter’s Change Model - 8 steps
8 steps
1. managers establish sense of urgency
2. managers form powerful coalition
3. coalition creates vision of change
4. managers communicate vision
5. managers remove obstacles to reduce resistance
6. managers create small wins to encourage change
7. managers consolidate improvement
8. managers anchor changes as new norm
challenge = employees may resist if they had no say in shaping the plan, especially if urgency isn’t understood
generally aligned with mechanistic structure
top-down process
(tends to be used when leaders hold deficit-view and are generally inclined to go top-down)
what is one of the most widely used change models?
Kotter’s
Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider/ Eoyang) - 5 stages
broadly defined = can be question-focused, participatory approach to change
5 stage
1. define (objective for change)
2. discover (look for ideal existing change)
3. dream (explore ideas of change)
4. design (decide change)
5. destiny (implement change)
explicitly designed as a positive, abundance-based and bottom-up approach
Complex Adaptive Systems - 3 considerations
process of having conversations expands the social capital of the organization, or the ability of the people to work effectively together
builds on assumption that all organizations are complex adaptive systems (CAS) –> relies on people’s ability to self-manage and adjust based on local circumstances
things to consider with this method
1. to what degree do people feel empowered to act as change agents?
- how connected are people to one another in the organization?
- what extent are flow of information and energy passing through the connections that exist between people? (formal/ informal feedback loops)
ways in which self-organizing structures can be altered:
- boundary conditions
= establishes the limits for emergent activity
= more undefined boundaries = more self-organizing - introduction of disturbances to system
= example: helping employee learn about tension that can exist around self-organizing
= ex: nearly always significant differences in perspective among subunits –> help them have convos with other subunits (intro positive disturbance) - pay attention to flows and connections that exist among employees
= need to create healthy connections!
are the models of change mutually exclusive?
no. many can be used together
Kotter’s = can be seen as an overall framework for designing a long-term change process
appreciative inquiry model can be used in certain parts of Kotter’s process
= example: creation of a guiding coalition or creating a vision for change
different types of CAS approaches
open space
whole systems change
future search
