BUS3 160 Chapter 16 Org Change

Organizational Change

The movement of an organization away from its present state and toward some desired future state to increase its effectiveness

Organizational inertia

the tendency to maintain the status quo

Forces for change

1. Nature of the workforce

2. Technology

3. Economic shocks

4. Competition

5. Social Trends

6. World Politics

Change

when things become different than the way they were

Planned change

change activities that are proactive, intentional, and goal-oriented

Change agents

people who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing change activities

Examples of change agents are:

1. managers/non managers

2. Current/new employees

3. Outside consultants

Reasons for resistance

1. Human nature

2. Self Regard

3. Principled Objections

4. Organizational

5. Cognitive & Judgmental Strategies

Human Nature is…

• Reactance: resistance to real or perceived threat to control

• Familiarity: we prefer the familiar

• Survival Instinct: Change (uncertainty, chaos) is threatening compared to stability (permanence, safety)

Self Regard is…

• Fear of failure

• Fear of social embarrassment

Principled Objections is…

• Process; Not determined in fair and equitable manner (e.g., Layoff research)

• Outcomes: Believes mistaken course of action

Organizational is…

• Changes in responsibility (power)

• Change in reward structure

• Decreased autonomy or control

• Lack of understanding, knowledge or skills

• Need for new relationships

• Structural inertia - organizations have built in mechanisms to produce stability

Cognitive & Judgmental Strategies is…

Status Quo Bias: People tend not to change an established behavior unless the incentive to change is overwhelming compelling

Tactics to overcome change resistors are:

1. Demonstrate

2. Communicate

3. Participate

4. Sell

5. Train

6. Negotiate

7. Co-opt

8. Build Coalitions

9. Use Authority

Demonstrate (overcome resistor) is…

show how your idea may help

Communicate (overcome resistor) is…

explain the change

Participate (overcome resistor) is…

ask others to participate in the decision making process

Sell (overcome resistor) is…

sell your ideas

Train (overcome resistor) is…

help people to adapt

Negotiate (overcome resistor) is…

make trade-offs

Co-opt (overcome resistor) is…

Use buy-in to align moderate opponents’ interests with yours

Build Coalitions (overcome resistor) is…

build political support, use third parties to sell, induce tipping points, and neutralize opposition

Use authority (overcome resistor) is…

force compliance through punishments

Driving forces

forces that direct behavior away from the status quo

Restraining forces

Forces that hinder movement from the existing equilibrium

Lewin’s Three Step Model

• Unfreezing the status quo

  • Increasing driving forces, decrease restraining forces, or mixture of both

• Movement to a desired end state

  • Keep momentum going

  • Get through it quickly for better success

• Refreezing the new change to make it permanent

Kotter’s 8 Stage Model

1. Establishing a sense of urgency

2. Forming a powerful guiding coalition

3. Creating a vision

4. Communicating a vision

5. Empowering others to act on the vision

6. Planning for and creating short-term wins

7. Consolidating improvements and producing still more change

8. Institutionalizing new approaches

Action Research

A change process based on systematic collection of data and then selection of a change action based on what the analyzed data indicate

Organizational development

A collection of planned change interventions, built on humanistic-democratic values, that seeks to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being

Process consultation

A meeting in which an outside consultant (usually a manager) assists a client in understanding process events with which they must deal and identifying processes that need improvement

Team building

High interaction among team members to increase trust and openness

Evolutionary change

change that is gradual, incremental, and narrowly focused

Revolutionary change

change that is rapid, dramatic, and broadly focused