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Chapter 16

Organizational Change

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• Evolving nature of workforce

• Technological advances

• Economic shocks

• Heightened competition

• Social and consumer trends

• World politics and globalization

What Are the Forces Acting asStimulants to Organizational Change?

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• Habits

• Need for security

• Economic fears

• Fear of unknown

• Selective information processing

Individual Barriers to Change (textbook’s)

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• Cognitive barriers (knowing)- Limited mental models- Self-awareness biases

• Skill-set barriers (doing)

• Affective barriers (feeling)

• Character/values barriers (being)

Individual Barriers to Change (M. Stevens’)

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• Structural inertia

• Limited focus of change (no “systems” view)

• Group inertia and constraints

• Threats to specialized expertise

• Threats to established power relationships

• Threats to established resource allocations

Organizational Barriers to Change

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Dealing With Resistance

• Change agents/champions• Education and communication• Participation and involvement• Building emotional commitment• Implementation with fairness• Cooptation and manipulation• Better selection on front end• Explicit and implicit coercion

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ChangingChanging RefreezingRefreezingUnfreezingUnfreezing

Lewin’s Force Field Analysis

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Kotter’s Eight Step Process

1. Create urgency2. Form coalition3. Create new vision4. Communicate the

vision

5. Empower others6. Reward “wins”7. Consolidate

improvements

Unfreezing

MovementMovementRefreezingRefreezing

8. Reinforce the change

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A collection of planned-change interventions that seek to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being.

Based on humanistic & democratic values:- Respect for people

- Trust and support

- Power equalization

- Confrontation

- Participation

Organizational Development

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Typical OD Interventions

• Sensitivity Training - Changing behavior through unstructured group interaction

• Survey Feedback- Gathering data and acting on it

• Process Consultation- Using outside consultants

• Appreciative Inquiry- Discovering what the organization does right

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Innovation: New ideas applied to initiating or improving a product, process, or service.

Sources:- Structural: Highly communicative, organic structures,

slack resources, and managers with long tenure.- Cultural: Encourage experimentation, reward both

successes and failures, and celebrate mistakes.- Human Resources: Actively promote training and

development, offer high levels of job security, and use change/idea champions.

Creating a Culture for Change

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Champions: People who actively and enthusiastically promote an idea, build support, overcome resistance, and ensure that innovation is implemented.

These people:– Have high self-confidence, persistence, energy;

– Have high tolerance for risk;

– Use inspiration and vision to gain commitment;

– Have decision-making discretion.

Idea Champions

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Contemporary Issues

A. Technology in the Workplace

B. Work Stress

C. Creating Learning Organizations

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A. Technology in the Workplace

Continuous Improvement Process:- Goal is constant reduction in variability- Uniformity results in lower costs, higher quality, and

increased stress

Process Reengineering:- How you would do things if you could start over

from scratch- Very stressful for everyone

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B. Work Stress

Stress: A dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to what is desired and for which the outcome

is perceived to be both uncertain and important.

Two types of stress:• Challenge Stress: Typically improves performance• Hindrance Stress: Comes from obstacles to achieving

goals (mostly negative).

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Organizational• Employee Selection• Org. Communication• Goal-setting Programs• Job Redesign

Personal• Counseling• Time Management• Physical Activity

Note: Managers have no direct control over personal (or life) stressors and as a result should be aware that

there are ethical considerations about intruding into employees’ personal lives.

Strategies for Managing Stress

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An idealized organization that has developed the continuous capacity to adapt and change.

Types of Learning:– Single-Loop: Error correction process that relies on

past routines and present policies.– Double-Loop: Errors are corrected in ways that

involve modification of the organization’s objectives, policies and standard routines (typically used by learning organizations).

C. Creating a Learning Organization

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Five Basic Characteristics of a Learning Organization

People in a learning organization:1. Are willing to put aside old ways of thinking;2. Learn to be open with each other;3. Understand how the organization really works;4. Form plans or visions that everyone agrees on;5. Work together to achieve that plan or vision.

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• Solve three fundamental problems of traditional organizations:-Fragmentation (due to functional silos)-Competition (overemphasis undermines collaboration)-Reactiveness (“firefighting”)

• To Manage the Learning Process:-Proactively establish a strategy-Redesign the organization’s structure-Reshape the organization’s culture

Learning Organizations...