Integrative Model of Organizational Behavior and Change

Integrative Model of Organizational Behavior (OB)

• Connecting the Dots: Key themes in understanding organizational behavior through various inputs and processes.

Organizational Inputs and Processes

• Organizational Structure: The systematic arrangement of roles, responsibilities, and authority.

• Organizational Culture: Shared values, beliefs, and norms that shape behavior within the organization.

• Organizational Technology: Tools and systems used to improve operations and processes.

• Organizational Change: Adaptations and transformations that organizations undergo in response to internal or external factors.

• Human Resource Practices: Strategies and approaches to manage workforce effectively, covering recruitment, training, appraisal, and compensation.

• Organizational Strategy: Long-term plan to achieve goals and fulfill the organization's mission.

Individual Inputs and Processes

• Personality/Values/Competencies: Innate traits and acquired values that affect an individual's behavior and choices.

• Self-Concept/Perceptions/Mindset: How individuals perceive themselves and their role within the organization and its effect on their performance.

• Emotions/Attitudes: Feelings and dispositions that influence an individual's reactions and behaviors.

• Motivation: Driving forces that energize, direct, and sustain behavior towards achieving goals.

• Self-Leadership: The practice of influencing oneself to take initiative, set and achieve goals, and manage one’s own behavior.

Team/Interpersonal Inputs and Processes

• Team Tasks/Size/Composition: The nature of the task, number of members, and roles individuals play in the team.

• Team Development/Trust/Cohesion: The process teams go through to develop relationships, foster trust, and achieve unity of purpose.

• Communication: The exchange of information that impacts decision-making and team dynamics.

• Leadership (Team/Organization): The guidance and direction provided by individuals in leadership roles.

• Power/Influence/Politics: Dynamics of authority and control, and how they affect team interactions and decisions.

• Conflict/Negotiation: Disagreements or disputes that arise, and the processes used to resolve them.

Individual Outcomes

• Behavior/Performance: Outcomes related to how individual actions contribute to organizational efficiency.

• Organizational Citizenship: Voluntary behaviors that exceed job requirements and contribute positively to the organization.

• Well-Being (Low Distress): A state of health and psychological stability that promotes productivity.

• Decisions/Creativity: The capability to make choices and generate innovative ideas.

Team/Interpersonal Outcomes

• Team Performance: Overall effectiveness of team efforts in achieving goals.

• Team Decisions: Decisions made collectively by team members.

• Collaboration/Mutual Support: Cooperative efforts and assistance among team members.

• Social Networks: Relationships and informational ties among individuals within the organization.

Organizational Outcomes (Effectiveness)

• Human Capital Development: Growth and enhancement of employees’ skills and capabilities through High-Performance Work Systems (HPWPS).

• Satisfied Stakeholders/Ethical Conduct: Positive perceptions of involved parties based on ethical behaviors.

• Organizational Learning: The process through which organizations gain and utilize knowledge to enhance performance and effectiveness.

Organizational Change

• Constant Change: Organizations and their environments are in perpetual change.

• Challenges: Common difficulties include change fatigue and change saturation.

• Navigating Change: Understanding personal and organizational responses to change can support effective transitions.

Force Field Analysis Model

Components of the Model

• Driving Forces: Factors that push organizations toward change, which may include external pressures or a leader’s vision.

• Restraining Forces: Sources of resistance that oppose change, including employee behaviors and the desire to maintain the status quo.

Application of the Model

• Desired Conditions: The goals that the organization aims to achieve through change.

• Current Conditions: The existing state that necessitates change.

• Phases of Change:

  • Before Change: Establishing the status quo and identifying pressures for change.

  • During Change: Managing the pushing and pulling forces as change is implemented.

  • After Change: Setting the new organizational standards (Refreeze).

Understanding Resistance to Change

• Manifestations of Resistance: Complaints, absenteeism, and passive noncompliance represent unease or disagreement with changes.

• Task Conflict: Signals employee readiness for change or suggests a revision of change strategy.

• Empowering Resistance: Changing the discourse around resistance into constructive conversations can promote engagement and fairness.

Reasons People Resist Change

• Negative Valence of Change: The unfavorable perception of change based on potential losses.

• Fear of the Unknown: Anxiety stemming from uncertainties associated with change.

• Not-Invented-Here Syndrome: Discomfort with ideas not originating from within the organization.

• Breaking Routines: Resistance due to fear of altering established behaviors and processes.

• Incongruent Team Dynamics: Conflicts within team relationships that hinder adaptability.

• Incongruent Organizational Systems: Resistance caused by misalignment among organizational practices and policies.

Getting Past Resistance: Change Management and Leadership

Change Management Goals

1. Stakeholder Buy-In: Ensuring that managers and employees support the change initiative.

2. Control of the Process: Keeping the change process organized and manageable.

3. Budget Compliance: Maintaining financial oversight of change initiatives.

Change Leadership Components

1. Articulate a Vision: Providing a clear image of the future state post-change.

2. Mobilize Resources: Allocating necessary tools for successful change implementation.

3. Sustain Momentum: Driving the change process throughout its duration.

Creating an Urgency for Change

• Focus on Driving Forces: Emphasizing the benefits of change when the organization is performing well can be challenging.

• Customer-Driven Change: Leveraging customer feedback can invigorate employee motivation and reveal hidden issues.

• Urgency without External Drivers: Using persuasive influence and positive visioning rather than threats to generate a sense of urgency.

Reducing Restraining Forces

1. Communication: Essential for generating urgency and reducing uncertainty, but can be costly and time-consuming.

2. Learning: Equipping employees with new skills increases confidence and commitment, albeit also potentially time-consuming and expensive.

3. Employee Involvement: Enhancing ownership can lead to better decision-making but might bring about conflicts and longer timelines.

4. Stress Management: Helps alleviate fear but does not aid everyone uniformly.

5. Negotiation: Used to gain compliance from resistant employees but may only achieve simple compliance rather than commitment.

6. Coercion: A last resort that can yield negative consequences, including distrust and increased political maneuvering.

Transformational Leadership and Change

• Transformational Leaders: Act as change agents by:

  • Championing a vision of the desired future.

  • Communicating this vision effectively.

  • Acting consistently with the vision.

  • Encouraging experimentation among employees.

• Strategic Vision: Provides direction, identifies critical success factors, aligns employee values with change, alleviates fear of the unknown, and clarifies roles.

Action Research Approach

• Dual Orientation: Emphasizes both action to achieve goals and research to test concepts.

• Core Principles:

  • Open systems perspective promoting adaptability.

  • Participatory processes that engage stakeholders.

  • Data-driven, focusing on real problems for effective solutions.

Action Research Process

1. Introduce Intervention: Implement a strategy for change.

2. Evaluate and Stabilize Change: Assess progress and consolidate changes.

3. Disengage Consultant Services: Transition from external support back to internal management.

4. Form Client-Consultant Relationship: Develop a strong partnership for effective collaboration.

5. Diagnose Need for Change: Assess organizational requirements to tailor interventions meaningfully.

Appreciative Inquiry Approach

• Positive Framing: Focuses on potential and constructive outcomes rather than problems.

Core Principles of Appreciative Inquiry

1. Positive Principle: Prioritizing the affirmative enables better perspectives.

2. Constructionist Principle: Conversations shape organizational reality and culture.

3. Simultaneity Principle: Inquiry and change occur concurrently rather than sequentially.

4. Poetic Principle: Perspectives can be optimistically shaped by interpretation (e.g., glass half full).

5. Anticipatory Principle: Motivation is driven by appealing future possibilities.

Four-D Model of Appreciative Inquiry

1. Discovering: Identifying the best of “what is” within the organization.

2. Dreaming: Envisioning “what might be” based on strengths and aspirations.

3. Designing: Discussing and planning for “what should be.”

4. Delivering: Developing actionable objectives concerning “what will be.”

Cross-Cultural and Ethical Concerns with Change

Cross-Cultural Concerns

• Different cultural assumptions regarding conflict resolution and organizational hierarchies may affect change processes.

Ethical Concerns

• Considerations surrounding privacy rights of individuals, the exercise of management power, and impacts on individual self-esteem must be prioritized during change processes.

Conclusion: Tying It All Together

• Key Resources:

  • Explorations of leadership methods can be found in Ted Talks, one example being Jim Hemerling's insights regarding change leadership, available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/jim_hemerling.