W8 organisational level behaviour change

Question 1

What is an organisation

Answer 1

a collective entity – such as a company, an institution, or an association – with a common particular purpose.
This could include e.g., workplaces, faith-based groups, professional societies, unions, charities, businesses/corporations, training institutions (schools, universities)

Question 2

Organisational-level approaches

Answer 2

aim to understand/change the norms, processes and structures within the organisation to understand/change behaviour of people linked with that organisation.
Change strategies can include
- creating/enabling opportunities for the behaviour
- creating/enabling social networks and relationships within the organisation to promote/support the desired behaviour
- promoting access to financial and material resources for the desired behaviour

Question 3

Organisational change

Answer 3

• diagnosis
• planning
• intervention
• evaluation

Question 4

Diagnosis

Answer 4

• What needs to change?
• Before you decide what to do, need to know what is actually going on now
• Misdiagnosis can lead to a lot of mistakes!
• ‘Treat causes not merely symptoms’, Brockner & James, 2008
• Number of tools you can use to perform diagnosis

Question 5

Planning

Answer 5

• How can change occur? Establish a compelling vision for why change needs to occur.
• Move change to group and then individual level – cascading nature of change.
• How can change be sustained and institutionalised.
• Using ‘drivers of change’ to facilitate change. ‘Change drivers are events, activities or behaviours that facilitate the implementation of change’, Whelan-Berry & Somerville, 2010.

Question 6

Drivers of change

Answer 6

Accepted change vision 
Leaders’ change related actions
Change related communication.
Change related training
Employee participation
Aligned human resource management practices
Aligned structure and control processes

Question 7

Accepted change vision

Answer 7

Employees must buy into vision and agree that it is positive for the organisation.

Question 8

Leaders change related action

Answer 8

Supporting the change through their commitment.

Question 9

Change related communication

Answer 9

Building understanding for why change is needed, vision and strategy to achieve vision

Question 10

Change related training

Answer 10

Understanding of the change and what it embodies

Question 11

Employee participation

Answer 11

Involved in the planning of the implementation

Question 12

Aligned human resource management practices

Answer 12

Individual adopting change and sustaining momentum.

Question 13

Aligned structure and control processes

Answer 13

Moving and sustaining momentum for change.

Question 14

Potential strategies of behaviour change

Answer 14

• Incentivising employees to engage or refrain from engaging a certain behaviour.
• Changing organisational cultural norms to elicit behaviour change.
• Creating new policies or adopting practices to encourage behaviour change.
• Punishing employees for engaging in or not engaging in certain behaviours.

Question 15

Kotters 8 step plan (1-4)

Answer 15

• Establish a sense of urgency by creating compelling reasons as to why the change needs to occur
• Form a coalition with enough power to lead the charge
• Create a new vision to direct the charge and strategies for achieving the vision
• Communicate the vision through the organisation

Question 16

Kotters 8 step plan (5-8)

Answer 16

• Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to change and encourage risk taking and creative problem solving
• Plan, create and reward short term wins that move the organisation toward the new vision
• Consolidate improvements reassess changes and make necessary adjustments
• Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between new behaviours and organisational success

Question 17

Reactions to change

Answer 17

• Resistance to change
• Openness to change
• Support for change
• Readiness for change
• Commitment to change

Question 18

Resistance to change (RTC)

Answer 18

An individual or group engaging in acts intended to block or disrupt management’s attempt to introduce change.

Three dimensions to RTC
Cognitive dimension – Belief whether change is positive or negative
Emotional dimension – Emotional response toward change
Intentionality – Support for change or oppose change
Antecedents: Change content and change process as well as individual differences.

Question 19

Organisation proactivity to RTC - justice

Answer 19

Ensuring Justice 
Procedural justice
-> Is the process fair?
Interactive justice
-> Was I told what was going on in a clear and timely way?
-> Was I treated by my leader with respect, sensitivity and honesty?
Distributive justice 
-> Did I receive a fair outcome?

Question 20

Organisation proactivity to RTC - change v cynicism

Answer 20

Change:

• Putting in place organisational policies, practices and procedures that support, encourage and value organisational change activities
• Group-level change climate moderates the individual-level relationship between leadership style and follower outcomes

Cynicism:

• Extreme pessimism and scepticism about the organisation’s ability to change
• Consultation – consult with employees to encourage them to be involved in parts of the decision making and change process

Question 21

Barriers to change

Answer 21

• Past negative or positive experiences
• Belief that change = unnecessary extra work
• Existence of a ‘Them against us’ mentality
• Autocratic decision making
• Short term employment contracts
• Employee perceptions that decision makers do not understand work needs
• Change fatigue

Question 22

Other barriers to change

Answer 22

• a belief of losing something of value
• not/mis understanding the change implications
• perceptions of more costs than benefits resulting from the change
• a lack of trust in the organisation/change agents
• low tolerance for change, or a fear of not being able to meet the change requirements e.g., learning new skills

Question 23

Organisational responses to RTC

Answer 23

*look up image

Question 24

Situational factors to be considered when planning an organisational response

Answer 24

• the amount and type of resistance anticipated: more resistance may require more “slow” responses
• the position of the change instigators relative to those resisting change e.g., trust, power: instigators with low power may need more “slow” responses, and instigators with high power can use more “quick” approaches
• who has the relevant data for designing change and the energy for implementing change: change needing information/committment from those resisting change may need more “slow” responses
• the stakes involved e.g., crises, consequences of no change/resistance: high adverse stakes may need “quick” response