OTD Chapter 10 Flashcards
Organizational change
The process by which organizations move from their present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness.
Targets of change
HOFT
Human Resources
Organizational capabilities
Functional resources
Technological capabilities
Human Resources (organizational change)
Typical kinds of efforts directed at Human Resources.
- New investment in training and development activities.
- Socialising employees into the organizational culture.
- Changing organizational norms and values
- On-going examination of the way in which promotion and reward systems operate.
- Changing the composition of the top-management team
Functional resources (organizational change)
Transferring resources to the functions where most value can be created.
Technological capabilities (organizational change)
The ability to develop a constant stream of new/improved products.
Organizational capabilities (organisational change)
Changing the relationship between people and functions to increase their ability to create value.
Forces for change
Both internal and external.
Competitive forces, global forces, demographic and social forces, ethical forces.
Resistance to change
Mostly internal.
Organizational level
Group level (functional level included)
Individual level
Organizational inertia
The tendency of an organization to resist change and maintain the status quo. Remaining unchanged.
Organizational-level resistance to change
- Differences in functional orientation
- Organizational culture
- Mechanistic structure
- Power and conflict
Differences in functional orientation (Organizational-level resistance to change)
Functions and divisions seeing the source of a problem differently because they can only see an issue or problem from their own point of view.
Organizational culture (organizational level resistance to change)
An organization’s values and norms, when they are disrupted or changed, can cause resistance.
Mechanistic structure (Organizational-level resistance to change)
Mechanistic structure is more resistant to change (compared to the organic structure) because people are expected to act a certain way and do not develop the capacity to adjust behaviour to changing conditions.
Power and conflict (organization-level resistance to change)
E.g. conflict between two functional departments.
Group-level resistance to change
- Groups having developed strong informal norms that govern behaviour and interaction. When change is needed, it changes the task-role relationship, leading to disruption.
- Group cohesiveness: too much cohesiveness sniffles opportunities to adapt.
- Groupthink: faulty decision making. Even if a group is aware that their decision is wrong, they will continue to pursue it because they are committed to it.
Individual-level resistance to change
- Resistance due to uncertainty and insecurity: leading to absenteeism and un-cooperation.
- Resistance due to the focus on the influence of the change on their function/division.
- Resistance if there are few benefits/opportunities.
- Resistance due to habits: people prefer familiar actions. Difficult to break.
Lewin’s force-field theory of change
A theory of organizational change that argues that two sets of opposing forces within an organization determine how change will take place. To get an organization to change, managers must find a way to increase the forces of change and/or reduce the forces against change.
When the forces (for and against) are balanced, the company is in a state of inertia and does not change.
Evolutionary change
Incremental, emergent (Burnes). Change that is gradual, incremental, and specifically focused. Change happens over a period of time.
Revolutionary change
Bold stroke (Burnes)
Change that is sudden, drastic, and organization wide. Coming from upstairs. Revolution: turnaround, sudden, complete, radical.
Lewin’s three step change process
- Unfreeze the organization from its present state.
- Make the desired type of change.
- Refreeze the organization in the new desired state.
Action Research
A strategy for generating and acquiring knowledge that managers can use to define an organisation’s future state and to plan a change program that allows the organization to reach that state.
Steps in Action Research
- Diagnosing the organization.
- Determining the desired future state.
- Implementing action.
- Evaluating the action.
- Institutionalizing action research.
External change agents
Outside consultants who are experts in managing change.
Inside change agents
Managers from within the organization who are knowledgeable about the situation to be changed.
