Unit 10 Definitions - Strategic Change Flashcards
collectivism
a culture in which individuals work as a team to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. Communist societies embraced the goal of collectivism
contingency planning
having a plan B so that a new strategy can be implemented in the event of a change in the external environment or an emergency
corporate culture
the beliefs and behaviours that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle business transactions. The way things are done in the company
corporate governance
the system of rules, practices and processes by which a company is directed and controlled.
who controls corporate governance
the board are in control of corporate governance and needs to balance the interests of a company’s many stakeholders, such as shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community
critical path
the most important series of tasks to focus on. The activities in the critical path have a zero floor, so any delay in the critical path tasks delays the whole project
delayering
means removing middle management tiers from the hierarchy. This is also known as flattening the organisation. The result is more responsibility for the remaining staff
different assessment
the stakeholder believes that the proposed solution is flawed and that an alternative strategy is better. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s reasons for resistance
disruptive change
a new factor that means the current way an organisation operates is not as competitive or effective. This may be new technology or a significant change in any external factor
divorce of ownership and control
the owners of the business do not control the day-to-day decisions being made perhaps by managers. This may occur when there are many small shareholders who have limited voting power so take little active interest in the business
driving forces (positive forces for change)
factors that encourage change to occur. Within Lewin’s model, these include increased competition, poor financial performance, poor overall performance and dissatisfied customers
education and communication
providing the stakeholders with the necessary information for them to understand the reason for the change, how the change will be implemented and the expected outcome. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s ways to overcome resistance
emergent strategy
the strategy that develops over time, perhaps some that are different to the planned strategy
explicit and implied coercion
forcing the stakeholders to make the change on board, despite their reluctance. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s ways is to overcome resistance.
facilitation and support
providing the necessary resources, training and skills to help the stakeholder feel more confident with the change process. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s ways is to overcome resistance.
Femininity
one of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in which there is a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented
flexible employment contracts
workers who may be on temporary or zero-hours arrangements and the use of agency workers, so businesses can alter the quantity and quality of workers easily without having to pay workers when they are not needed. This should reduce the labour costs of a business
flexible organisation
a business that is able to adapt and respond relatively quickly to changes in its external environment in order to gain an advantage and sustain its competitive position
float time
the slack or amount of time that a task in a project network can be delayed without causing a delay to the project completion date.
the equation for float time
earliest start time - latest finish time
handy’s theory of culture
four main types of organisational culture, power culture, role culture, task culture and person culture.
high power distance index
one of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally
Hofstede’s national cultures
a theory that categorises 6 different ways in which culture varies in different nations. The theory helps distinguish the ways in which business is conducted
incremental change
a small adjustment as opposed to a major upheaval. Incremental changes limit the threats to existing power structures
individualism
one of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in which there is a preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of only themselves and their immediate families
information management
the collection of information, communication of it within and without the organisation and information processing, so that managers can take a quicker and better decision
Kotter and Schlesinger’s Resistance to change
a theory that identifies four categories of reasons why individuals or groups resist change, namely parochial self-interest, misunderstanding and fear, different assessment and preferring the status quo
Kotter and Schlesinger’s way to overcome resistance to change
a theory that outlines 6 approaches to deal with the opposition to change. These include education and communication, participation and involvement, facilitation and support, negotiation and agreement, manipulation and co-option and explicit and implicit coercion
Lewin’s force field analysis
a model that claims that strategic change will only occur when the driving forces outweigh the resisting forces. To implement change management may need to make the driving forces stronger or reduce the power of the resisting forces
low power distance index
a culture in which people strive to equalise the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power
manipulation and co-option
use of project champions who may receive incentives and are tasked with encouraging others to embrace the change. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s ways to overcome resistance
masculinity
one of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in which there is a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and material rewards for success
mechanistic structure
an organisation with a high degree of organisational complexity, formality, standard procedures and centralisation. Often there is little perceived need to change and much resistance faced should change be proposed. Mechanistic structures are contrasted to organic structures
negotiation and agreement
increased two-way communication by bargaining with stakeholders often making compromises along the way to find a mutually acceptable way forward. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s ways is to overcome resistance.
network analysis
use of a network diagram to analyse the fastest way to complete a project and assess which activities should be prioritised
organic structures
an organisation characterised by informality, flexibility informality, decentralisation and employee empowerment. This structure should allow a change in soccer more easily than a mechanistic structure
parochial self-interest
stakeholders only consider the impact of change on them and not the wider good of the organisation or other stakeholders. They resist if the change makes the worse off. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s reasons for resistance
participation and involvement
providing a sense of ownership to stakeholders so they feel part of the whole change process. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s ways to overcome resistance
power culture
power remains with a few dominant people at the centre of the organisation and decisions result from them and dictate how the business operates
prefer the status quo
a desire to keep things as they are and avoid change. This may give workers a feeling of security. One of Kotter and Schlesinger’s reasons for resistance
role culture
a rule-based culture in which every worker knows their role and power is based on that role. It is a highly controlled culture
person culture
people are superior to the organisation and given a high degree of autonomy. This often occurs where the workers are highly specialised e.g accountancy firm
resisting forces (negative forces against change)
factors that resist the momentum to occur. Within Lewin’s model, these include employee resistance, lack of finance, stakeholder response and the external environment
strategic drift
when the strategy used is no longer relevant to the external environment. It may be due to complacency regarding a strategy that used to work e.g. Nokia failed to adapt to the new smartphone technology quickly enough
what are the four stages of strategic drift
incremental changes, strategic drift, flux, transformational change or death
task culture
the organisation focuses on sorting out specific issues. Teams of appropriate workers are formed to deal with certain issues and jobs. Power may depend on the personality of the team members and the importance of their role within the project
