Managing Change and Individual Stress

Flashcards covering the fundamentals of managing organisational change, dimensions of change, methods for overcoming resistance, change models by Lewin and Kotter, and the management of workplace stress.

Pick n Pay

A large food retailer in South Africa founded by Raymond Ackerman, which was listed at $4$ cents a share on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 1968.

Internal forces of change

Variables within an organisation that prompt adaptation, including change in strategy, poor performance, pressure to grow, workforce problems, new technology, changes in top management, power and politics, lack of innovation, and environmental crises.

Market environment

A component of the external environment that comprises consumers, competitors, suppliers of resources, and intermediaries such as banks.

Macro-environment

The external environment comprising sub-environments such as technological, economic, social, political, ecological, and international environments.

Planned change

Change that is planned and implemented by managers to adapt to or prepare for change in the environment.

Reactive change

Change that takes place when organisations react to events or external forces in their environments to minimize negative effects or maintain the status quo.

Revolutionary change

Major, radical, strategic, transformational, and rapid change that may alter the fundamental characteristics of an organisation.

Incremental change

A process whereby an organisation deals with one problem at a time through consecutive, limited, and negotiated shifts in systems, processes, or structures.

Punctuated change

A pattern where an organisation evolves through long periods of stability (equilibrium periods) interrupted by short bursts of fundamental change.

Continuous change

A pattern of uninterrupted adjustments in work processes and social practices driven by organisational instability and cumulative reactions to daily events.

Organisational inertia

A barrier to change where an organisation remains in the same position because the forces for and against change are equally strong.

Education and communication

A method to deal with resistance caused by a lack of information or misinformation by providing precise details on the logic and need for change.

Facilitation and support

A method used when fear and anxiety cause resistance, involving training, time off, or emotional support for employees.

Manipulation and co-optation

A method to overcome resistance by offering selective information or giving a person a specific role in the change design to secure their endorsement.

Kurt Lewin’s Three-Step Change Model

A theory of planned change consisting of three stages: unfreezing, moving (or change), and refreezing.

Unfreezing

The first step in Lewin's model where forces of inertia are destabilised so old behaviour can be unlearned and discarded.

John Kotter’s Eight Step Process

A process for successful change implementation involving steps such as creating urgency, forming a guiding team, and creating a change vision.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Selye’s concept of how the body manifests stress through three phases: (1) an alarm response, (2) a resistance phase, and (3) exhaustion or recovery.

Eustress

The optimal amount and type of stress that enhances problem-solving, creativity, and performance.

Job fit

A source of managerial stress where the lack of alignment between a manager's competence, enjoyment of work, and moral values leads to tension.

Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Pre-TSD)

A form of anxiety characterized by involuntary intrusive images of haunting events that occurs during, rather than after, a stressful event like the COVID-19 pandemic.