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.
Top-down change
Change implemented by managers at high levels within the organization.
Bottom-up change
Change implemented by employees at lower levels in the organization that gradually rises until it is felt throughout the organization.
Bottom-up change is easier to implement than top-down change, because it provokes less resistance.
Organizations that have time to engage in bottom-up change are generally well-run organizations that pay attention to change, are used to change, and change often.
Poorly-run organization (rare change) > top-down restructuring > revolutionary change.
Well-run organizations (common change) > bottom-up restructuring > evolutionary change.
Tactics that managers can use to reduce resistance to change
- Education and communication
- Participation and empowerment
- Facilitation
- Bargaining and negotiation
- Coercion
Education and communication (tactic to reduce resistance to change)
Providing information about the change and how it effects them.
Participation and empowerment (tactic to reduce resistance to change)
Increasing involvement in change and decision making.
Facilitation (tactic to reduce resistance to change)
Helping members manage the stress of change through training, time off, sabbaticals, and employing psychologists.
Bargaining and negotiation (tactic to reduce resistance to change)
Using action research to negotiate future tasks of groups and individuals.
Coercion (tactic to reduce resistance to change)
Coerce and threaten dire consequences if they choose to resist.
Sensitive training
A technique that consists of intense counselling in which group members, aided by a facilitator, learn how others perceive them and may learn how to deal more sensitively with others.
Process consultation
A technique in which a facilitator works closely with a manager on the job to help the manager improve his or her interactions with other group members.
Team building
A technique in which a facilitator first observes the interactions of group members and then helps them become aware of ways to improve their work interactions.
Intergroup training
A technique that uses team building to improve the work interactions of different functions and divisions.
A popular form of intergroup training is called organizational mirroring: a technique in which a facilitator helps two interdependent groups explore their perceptions and relations in order to improve work interactions.
Organizational confrontation meeting
A technique that brings together all the managers of an organization at a meeting to confront the issue of whether the organization is meetings its goals effectively.
Techniques that can be used at individual, group, and Organizational-level change.
- Counselling, sensitivity training and process consolation.
- Team building and intergroup training.
- Total organizational interventions.
