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Social Psychology and Work & Organizational Psychology > W&O15 Organizational change > Flashcards

W&O15 Organizational change Flashcards

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1
Q

Force field analysis model

A

Model of systemwide change that helps change agents diagnose the forces that drive and restrain proposed organizational change
Developed by Kurt Lewin

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2
Q

Two types of forces of force field analysis model

A

Restraining forces
Driving forces

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3
Q

Driving forces of FFAM

A

Push organizations toward new state of affairs (change)
Leadership support, employee enthusiasm (divine discontent)

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4
Q

Restraining forces of FFAM

A
  • Try to maintain status quo
  • Resistance to change
  • Cultural or structural aspects within the organization that block the change process
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5
Q

When does stability in organizations occur? (in regards to the forces of FFAM)

A

When the driving and restraining forces are roughly in equilibrium
* they are of approx. equal strength in opposite directions

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6
Q

What is the condition that needs to be met for change to occur?

A

There needs to be an imbalance between the two forces > unfreeze
Desired scenario: driving forces get stronger and restraining forces get weaker

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7
Q

Three phases of change

A

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

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8
Q

What is the model of three phases of change?

A

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

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9
Q

What are some forms of resistance?

A

Complaints, absenteeism, passive noncompliance

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10
Q

What are three ways to view resistance as a resource?

A
  1. Symptoms of deeper problems in the change process (e.g. communication wasn’t thorough enough, employees don’t feel strong urgency for change)
  2. A form of task conflict - may improve change decisions (not as a relationship conflict - people resisting are incompetent)
  3. Form of voice for employees- procedural justice (constructive conversations
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11
Q

Why do people resist change (6)?

A
  1. Negative valence of change
  2. Fear of the unknown
  3. Not-invented-here syndrome
  4. Breaking routines
  5. incongruent team dynamics
  6. incongruent organizational systems
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12
Q

Negative valence of change

A

Negative cost-benefit analysis - how the change will affect them personally
E.g. Doubt the planned changes will be worth the risk

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13
Q

Fear of the unknown

A

People assume the worst when the future is unknown
People perceive a lack of control = negative emotions

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14
Q

Not-invented-here syndrome

A

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

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15
Q

Breaking routines

A

People are creatures of habit
Unless new patterns are strongly reinforced and supported, emplyees revert to their past routines and habits

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16
Q

Incongruent team dynamics

A

Team norms and associated peer pressure oppose the desired change

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17
Q

Incongruent organizational systems

A

Structures/rewards reinforce status quo
E.g. rewards, information systems, selection criteria

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18
Q

What does organizational change require?

A

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

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19
Q

How to create urgency for change?

A
  1. Inform employees about driving forces - most difficult when organization is doing well
  2. Customer-driven change - employees have direct contact with customers - human element energizes employees, reveals problems and consequences of inaction
  3. Sometimes need to create urgency to change without external drivers
    * requires persuasive influence (e.g. threats)
    * use positive vision to motivate emoloyees
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20
Q

Reducing the restraining forces (6 strategies)

A
  1. Communication
  2. Learning
  3. Employee involvement
  4. Stress management
  5. Negotiation
  6. Coercion
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21
Q

Communication

A
  • Highest priority and first strategy for change
  • Generates urgency to change
  • Reduces uncertainty (fear of unknown)
  • Problems: time-consuming and costly (training leaders)
22
Q

Learning

A
  • 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
23
Q

Employee involvement

A
  • 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
24
Q

Stress management

A
  • 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
25
Q

Negotiation

A
  • 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
26
Q

Coercion

A
  • 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
27
Q

What is the importance of refreezing?

A

So that employees and leaders don’t fall into the old habits and conform zone

28
Q

How to foster change (refreeze)?

A
  1. Leadership
  2. Coalitions and social networks
  3. Diffusion of change - pilot projects
29
Q

How should leadership be so that change is successful?

A

Leader as a change agent - possesses knowledge and power to guide and facilitate the change effort
Involves transformational leadership

30
Q

Transformational leadership

A

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

31
Q

Coalitions and their importance

A

Guiding coalition
* Degree of commitment to the transformation
* influencers
* Consists of people beyond the executive team, employees from all range of departments

32
Q

Social networks

A

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

33
Q

How can diffusion of change be acheived?

A

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

34
Q

How does effective diffusion apply to the MARS model

A

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

35
Q

What are different approaches to change?

A

Action research approach
Appreciative inquiry approach - Four-D-model
Large group interventions
Parallel learning structure approach

36
Q

Action research approach

A

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)

37
Q

Main phases of action research approach

A
  1. Form client-consultant relationship
  2. Diagnose need for change
  3. Introduce intervention
  4. Evaluate and stabilize change
  5. Disengage consultant’s services
38
Q

Form client-consultant relationship

A

Develop trust between change agent and clients

39
Q

Steps of diagnosis of change

A
  1. Gather data (surveys, interviews with employees)
  2. Analyze them
  3. Decide objectives
40
Q

Introduce intervention

A

Implement the desired incremental (step-by-step) or rapid change, e.g. restructure teams, change corportate culture

41
Q

Evaluate and stabilize change

A

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

42
Q

Disengage consultant’s services

A

Do that employees don’t need to rely on the change agent anymore

43
Q

Appreciative Inquiry Approach

A

Frames change around positive and possible future, not problems
Grounded around positive organizational behaviour - focusing on positives will improve personal well-being and performance

44
Q

How can appreciative inquiry approach be implemented? 5 principles

A
  1. Positive principle - focus on the positive not problems
  2. Constructionist principle - questions we ask and language we use shape reality
  3. Simultaneity principle - inquiry and change are simultaneous
  4. Poetic principle- we can choose how to perceive situations (glass half full)
  5. Anticipatory principle - people are motivated by desirable visions
45
Q

Four-D Model of Appreciative Inquiry

A

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’

46
Q

Criticism of appreciative inquiry approach

A
  1. Depends on people’s ability to let go of the problem-oriented approach and the ‘blame game’
  2. Requires leaders accepting of less structured process
  3. Not enough research into conditions under which the approach is useful for organizational change
47
Q

Large group interventions

A

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

48
Q

Limitations of large group interventions

A
  1. Limited opportunity to contribute
  2. Risk that a few people will dominate
  3. Focus on common ground may hide differences
  4. Generate high expectations about ideal future
49
Q

Parallel learning structure approach

A
  • 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
50
Q

Cross-cultural concerns

A

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

51
Q

Ethical concerns

A
  1. Privacy rights of individuals
  2. Increase in management’s power by inducing compliance and conformity
  3. Individuals’ self-esteem

Social Psychology and Work & Organizational Psychology (14 decks)

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