W&O15 Organizational change Flashcards
Force field analysis model
Model of systemwide change that helps change agents diagnose the forces that drive and restrain proposed organizational change
Developed by Kurt Lewin
Two types of forces of force field analysis model
Restraining forces
Driving forces
Driving forces of FFAM
Push organizations toward new state of affairs (change)
Leadership support, employee enthusiasm (divine discontent)
Restraining forces of FFAM
- Try to maintain status quo
- Resistance to change
- Cultural or structural aspects within the organization that block the change process
When does stability in organizations occur? (in regards to the forces of FFAM)
When the driving and restraining forces are roughly in equilibrium
* they are of approx. equal strength in opposite directions
What is the condition that needs to be met for change to occur?
There needs to be an imbalance between the two forces > unfreeze
Desired scenario: driving forces get stronger and restraining forces get weaker
Three phases of change
Unfreeze > change > refreeze
Unfreeze: Creating awareness and communicating why the change is needed - producing disequiblirium between the forces
Change: implement it, change the processes, gradually + communication is also important because change brings uncertainty
Refreeze: changed things become a routine to stabilize the desired state
What is the model of three phases of change?
Transition processes between periods of stability and instability
* Reshaping something existing into a different form (ice cube - slowly)
* It’s a dynamic process - might not go exactly in order
What are some forms of resistance?
Complaints, absenteeism, passive noncompliance
What are three ways to view resistance as a resource?
- Symptoms of deeper problems in the change process (e.g. communication wasn’t thorough enough, employees don’t feel strong urgency for change)
- A form of task conflict - may improve change decisions (not as a relationship conflict - people resisting are incompetent)
- Form of voice for employees- procedural justice (constructive conversations
Why do people resist change (6)?
- Negative valence of change
- Fear of the unknown
- Not-invented-here syndrome
- Breaking routines
- incongruent team dynamics
- incongruent organizational systems
Negative valence of change
Negative cost-benefit analysis - how the change will affect them personally
E.g. Doubt the planned changes will be worth the risk
Fear of the unknown
People assume the worst when the future is unknown
People perceive a lack of control = negative emotions
Not-invented-here syndrome
Mainly when an external person hired to help with the change
Staff oppose the change to prove their ideas were better
Successful change threatens self-esteem
Breaking routines
People are creatures of habit
Unless new patterns are strongly reinforced and supported, emplyees revert to their past routines and habits
Incongruent team dynamics
Team norms and associated peer pressure oppose the desired change
Incongruent organizational systems
Structures/rewards reinforce status quo
E.g. rewards, information systems, selection criteria
What does organizational change require?
Strengthening driving forces - might lead to more resistance if fear or threats are used
Minimizing resistance - but doesn’t motivate
Hence, important to combine them to create urgency for change and remove obstacles blocking the path for change
How to create urgency for change?
- Inform employees about driving forces - most difficult when organization is doing well
- Customer-driven change - employees have direct contact with customers - human element energizes employees, reveals problems and consequences of inaction
- Sometimes need to create urgency to change without external drivers
* requires persuasive influence (e.g. threats)
* use positive vision to motivate emoloyees
Reducing the restraining forces (6 strategies)
- Communication
- Learning
- Employee involvement
- Stress management
- Negotiation
- Coercion
Communication
- Highest priority and first strategy for change
- Generates urgency to change
- Reduces uncertainty (fear of unknown)
- Problems: time-consuming and costly (training leaders)
Learning
- Provides new knowledge/skills to fit the organization’s evolving requirements
- Includes coaching and other forms of learning
- Helps break old routines and adopt new roles
- Problems: time-consuming and costly
Employee involvement
- Employees participate in change process (have a voice)
- Helps saving face (e.g. not-invented-here syndrome), reducing fear of unknown and employee commitment
- The org benefits from employees’ ideas and knowledge
- Includes task forces, future search events
- Problems: time consuming, potential conflict
Stress management
- When previous strategies do not minimize stress enough
- Potential benefits:
1. More motivation to change
2. Less fear of unknown
3. Fewer direct costs - Problems: Time consuming, costly, may not help everyone
Negotiation
- Influence by exchange - reduces direct costs
- May be necessary when people clearly lose something and won’t otherwise support change and when change must happen quickly
- Problems: potentially costly, gains compliance but not commitment
Coercion
- When all else fails, use assertive influence (e.g. threats)
- Radical form of ‘unlearning’ dysfunctional past routines
- Problems: reduces trust, may create more subtle resistance, short-term compliance but not long-term
What is the importance of refreezing?
So that employees and leaders don’t fall into the old habits and conform zone
How to foster change (refreeze)?
- Leadership
- Coalitions and social networks
- Diffusion of change - pilot projects
How should leadership be so that change is successful?
Leader as a change agent - possesses knowledge and power to guide and facilitate the change effort
Involves transformational leadership
Transformational leadership
Leading change begins with a strategic visions
- provides a sense of direction
- identifies critical success factors to evaluate change
- links employee values to change
- minimizes employee fear to the unknown
- clarifies role perceptions
Coalitions and their importance
Guiding coalition
* Degree of commitment to the transformation
* influencers
* Consists of people beyond the executive team, employees from all range of departments
Social networks
They can strengthen the change process
- people through departments engage together
- feel connected and can share info and feelings - transmit info about the change (going viral)
- fulfil the need for connectedness and belonging
- people feel more social support
- gives people opportunity to participate in the change so that it goes smoother
How can diffusion of change be acheived?
Begin change as pilot projects, which involves applying change to one work unit or section of the organization
* less risky than a companywide initiative
* tests initial employee support, specific methods
How does effective diffusion apply to the MARS model
Motivation: Pilot project employees rewarded; motivate others to adopt pilot project
Ability: Train employees to adopt pilot project
Role perceptions: Translate pilot project to new situations
Situational factors: Provide resources to implement pilot project elsewhere
What are different approaches to change?
Action research approach
Appreciative inquiry approach - Four-D-model
Large group interventions
Parallel learning structure approach
Action research approach
Action orientation - changing attitude and behaviour to achieve the goal of change
Research orientation - testing of theory and/or applying conceptual framework to real situation
* adopts an open system view - recognize the interdependent parts within the organization
* highly participative process (employees: co-researchers and participants)
Main phases of action research approach
- Form client-consultant relationship
- Diagnose need for change
- Introduce intervention
- Evaluate and stabilize change
- Disengage consultant’s services
Form client-consultant relationship
Develop trust between change agent and clients
Steps of diagnosis of change
- Gather data (surveys, interviews with employees)
- Analyze them
- Decide objectives
Introduce intervention
Implement the desired incremental (step-by-step) or rapid change, e.g. restructure teams, change corportate culture
Evaluate and stabilize change
Asses whether there is more satisfaction or improvement
* Might be needed to go back and see what else could be different for the change to be successful
Disengage consultant’s services
Do that employees don’t need to rely on the change agent anymore
Appreciative Inquiry Approach
Frames change around positive and possible future, not problems
Grounded around positive organizational behaviour - focusing on positives will improve personal well-being and performance
How can appreciative inquiry approach be implemented? 5 principles
- Positive principle - focus on the positive not problems
- Constructionist principle - questions we ask and language we use shape reality
- Simultaneity principle - inquiry and change are simultaneous
- Poetic principle- we can choose how to perceive situations (glass half full)
- Anticipatory principle - people are motivated by desirable visions
Four-D Model of Appreciative Inquiry
Process that the appreciative inquiry follows
Discover - discovering the best of what is
Dreaming - forming ideas about what might be
Designing - engaging in dialogue about ‘what should be’
Delivering - developing objectives about ‘what will be’
Criticism of appreciative inquiry approach
- Depends on people’s ability to let go of the problem-oriented approach and the ‘blame game’
- Requires leaders accepting of less structured process
- Not enough research into conditions under which the approach is useful for organizational change
Large group interventions
Interventions that involve ‘the whole system’
- large group sessions
- may last a few days (future search conferences)
- high involvement with minimal structure
- adopt future-oriented positive focus
- generate collective vision of the organization’s future
Limitations of large group interventions
- Limited opportunity to contribute
- Risk that a few people will dominate
- Focus on common ground may hide differences
- Generate high expectations about ideal future
Parallel learning structure approach
- Highly participative social structures
- Members representative across the formal hierarchy
- Sufficiently free from organization’s constraints
- Develop change solutions - then applied back into the larger organization
Cross-cultural concerns
Different cultures value different things:
1. Western cultures assume logical linear sequence to change (with beggining and end) - some culture prefer cyclical phenomenom or interconnected view of change
2. Open conflict not valued in cultures with values of harmony and equilibrium
Ethical concerns
- Privacy rights of individuals
- Increase in management’s power by inducing compliance and conformity
- Individuals’ self-esteem
