Organizational Change - 13 Flashcards
What is so good about change?
Change can foster creativity
Stimulate new thinking Squash status quo
Pushes ppl to grow
What does change make people feel?
Overwhelming
Out of comfort zone
In unknown territory
Feeling scared
What is CRA short for?
Change Readiness Assessment
Why do Organizations Change?
Due to External sources of pressure and Internal sources of pressure
Examples of External sources of pressure
E & T issues
Global competition
Deregulation
Advanced tech
Examples of Internal sources of pressure
P issues
Lower productivity
Internal conflict
Strikes
High abseenteeism
Turnover
What does “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” mean
It’s the best strategy
no matter how great your strategic plan is, if people issues exist, then that will dominate & there will be problems
What doe organizations use to be effective & to exist?
Strategic and Structural change responses
Examples of strategic and structural responses we see org make bc of external/internal pressures
Department reorganizations
Mergers
Acquisitions
Buyouts
Downsizing or expansion
Restructuring
Launch of new products
Outsourcing of major organizational activities
Business model changes or new business ventures
What Can Organizations Change?
- Goals and Strategies
- Tech
- Job Design
- Structure
- Process
- Culture
- People
- Choose to strategize to become the biggest leader in the industry
- Moving from rigid assembly line to flexible manufacturing
- Increase breadth & depth, etc
- Mechanistic to organic structuring
- How things are done; forms of interdependence-sequential/recipricol
- Shift in beliefs/values; socialize our ppl diff
- Hire, performance manage development differently
What are the 3 important points about the areas org’s can change?
- Domino Effect : Change in 1 area often calls for changes in other areas
- Change in most areas require serious attention be given to ppl
- Change requires employees to learn new skills and change their attitudes
- E.g. Change policy affect how things are done elsewhere
- Never underestimate the culture eats statement. The biggest hurdle is going to be w people. E.g. Often resist change
- You have to get people on board. E.g. Learn new computer software
What is
Change
A variation or alteration…passing from 1 state or form to another
Change is nothing more then dissonance which can lead to resistance
THE IMPORTANT CHANGE IS NOT THE PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT, ETC, RATHER WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE A PERSON’S HEAD
Characteristics of Change
Change VS Transition
- Organization
- External
- Immediate
- Process/Structural
- Beginning
- No Resistance
“Ur fired, we’re downsizing, etc”
Organizational level word
Characteristics of Transition
Change VS Transition
- Individual
- Internal
- Takes Time
- Behavioural
- Ending
- Resistance
What goes on in people’s heads
What are the 5 Psychological Dynamics of Change (HOW we change)
- Sense of loss
- Lack of clarity
- Self Preservation
- Personal (in the gut then to head)
- Loss in the performance
What is meant by “Sense of Loss”
Psychological Dynamics of Change
“I’m losing something”
What is meant by “Lack of clarity”
Psychological Dynamics of Change
Always confusion when there is change
What is WIFM short for?
Psychological Dynamics of Change
“What’s In It For Me”
What is meant by Personal (in the gut then to head)?
Psychological Dynamics of Change
It’s better to qucikly to get from gut to head; negative to neutral to positive stress
What is meant by Loss in performance?
Psychological Dynamics of Change
J Curve
What is meant by “Don’t put lipstick on a bulldog”?
Don’t try to make something ugly look pretty
If you sugarcoat something, it will come back and hit you hard
What are the stages of transition of individual change
Unfreeze
Change
Refreeze
Who came up with the 3 Step Model
Lewin
What is Unfreeze
Lewin’s Three-Step Model
The recognition that some current state of affairs is unsatisfactory
Most freezing is reaction, most often crises or threat is what stimulates the unfreezing
Ex. Dramatic shift happened in the env & now we need to respond
What’s the difference between voluntary and involutary change?
Voluntary: When you kick your own ass and make change; hard
Involuntary: When change happens to you
Ex: When someone is followed - Involuntary
Difference between proactive and reactive behaviour?
Reactive: Waiting for the bad things to happen and then changing
Proactive: Changing before the bad thing happens
We rarely see proactive behaviour
Unfreezing ahead of time would be very wise (Proactive behaviour)
What is Change in Lewin’s Three Step Model?
The implementation of a program or plan to move the organization or its members to a more satisfactory state
Ex: Actually installing new tech, dealing with new customers/suppliers, etc.
80% of humans tend to get to a brick wall & go backwards (go back to old ways bc of unknown territory)
What is Refreeze in the Lewin’s Three Step Model
The condition that exists when newly developed behaviours, attitudes, or structures become an enduring part of the organization
How do you know you are in the refreeze step?
When organization/human doesn’t go backwards & start using the old behaviour.
You are in ur new normal
What would a covert passive resistor react to change
They are dangerous because they say “no problem, do whatever” but they don’t like the change.
They could commit sabotage
What would an overt active resistor react to change
They would yell but it’s better because you can change the negative to positive stress
Issues in Change Process
- Diagnosis
- Resistance
- Evaluation, Institutionalization
- Your collecting info on why the problem happened? Proactive - Whyd did this have to happen?
- Convert or overt failure by org memberes to support the change in effort
- Did the changes accomplish what was intended?
Change agent
Diagnostic work & make recommendations for change to client org using behavioural science knowledge
Causes of Resistance
- Politics and self-interest
- Low individual tolerance for change
- Lack of trust
- Diff assessments of the situation
- Strong emotions
- Strong org identification
- A resistant org culture
- Persoon might feel they could lost their job/power/status if you ask them to change
- Personality; some people are more ok with change
- They don’t trust the motives of what they are doing even if they understand that change must happen
- They resist because they think you read the env wrong
- Nothing to do w personality they just have strong emotions
- Ppl who identify strongly w an org often resist org change
- A strong culture org will often have resistance bc u’ve been giving them dog biscuits & now ur changing
What are the 4 different people in how they react to change over time
- Champions
- Doubters
- Converts
- Defectors
How do champions react to change over time?
Time and Resistance
Welcome change from the beginning and maintain change supportive perceptions over time
How do doubters react to change over time?
Time and Resistance
Resist change from the get-go and persist in their resistance
How do converts react to change over time?
Time and Resistance
Resistant at first but come to see the value of change
How do defectors react to change over time?
Time and Resistance
Have initial change-supportive perceptions but become resistant over time
What is Organizational Development?
A planned, ongoing effort to change organizations to be more effective and more human
OD focuses on interpersonal & group processes
What are the 4 classic OD interventions
- Team Building
- Survey Feedback
- Total Quality Management (TQM)
- Reengineering
What is the OD Team Building Intervention about?
Massive self examination
What is the OD Survey Feedback Intervention about?
Collecting data through questionnaires/interviews on understanding issues that exist in the org & outside - then making decisions on hwo to improve based on the data
What is the OD Total Quality Management about?
Everything you can do to improve quality
What is the OD Reengineering about?
Redesign of organization procesees so activities or work to achieve major improvements in time, costs, quality & service
What does OD work better for?
Supervisors/managers than blue-collar workers because their jobs/promotions within org has a lot to do with improvements
Innovation
Process of developing and implementing new ideas in an organization
What does innovation require?
Creative ideas and creative ppl
Good communication
Ppl who will fight for new ideas
Idea Champions
People who see the kernel of an innovative idea and help guide it through the implementation
Role is informal and emergent
Involves sponsorship and support
Knowing-Doing Gap
Managers know what to do, but many have trouble implementing the knowledge in the from of action
Why does the knowing-doing gap happen?
- Lack of skill
- They are afraid
- Lack of trust
- Fear of moving from theory to doing (M.U.M Effect)
- For the reasons of change they don’t trust it
