“Managing,

and Leading Organizational Change”

By: Sheeba Rehman

Welcome to . . .

What are your reactions when you hear the word “change?”

•Negative perceptions….

•Positive perceptions….

Your Perceptions of Change

Types of Organizational Change

– Anticipatory changes: planned changes based on expected situations.

– Reactive changes: changes made in response to unexpected situations.

– Incremental changes: subsystem adjustments required to keep the organization on course.

– Strategic changes: altering the overall shape or direction of the organization.

Forces of Change

• External Forces– Market Place

– Govt Laws and Regulations

– Technology

– Labor market

– Economic Change

• Internal Forces– Changes in Organisational

Strategies

– Workforce change

– New Equipment

– Employee Attitude

A Journey Through Change:

Stability

Learning Acceptance, Commitment Lookin

g Forward

Looking Back

Comfort and control

Fear, Anger and Resistance

Chaos

Enquiry, Experimentation and Discovery

Individual Reactions to Change

• How People Respond to Changes They Like?– Three-stage process

– Unrealistic optimism

– Reality shock

– Constructive direction

Individual Reactions to Change (cont’d)

• How People Respond to Changes They Fear and Dislike?– Stages

– Getting off on the wrong track

– Laughing it off

– Growing self-doubt

– Destructive direction

Change: Organizational and Individual Perspectives (cont’d)

• Tuning– The most common, least intense, and least risky type

of change.

– Also known as preventive maintenance and kaizen (continuous improvement).

– Key is to actively anticipate and avoid problems rather than waiting for something to go wrong.

• Adaptation– Incremental changes that are in reaction to external

problems, events, or pressures.

• Re-Orientation– Change that is anticipatory and strategic in scope and

causes the organization to be significantly redirected.

– Also called “frame bending”(Nadler and Tushman).

• Re-Creation– Intense and risky decisive change that reinvents the

organization.

– Also called “frame breaking” (Nadler and Tushman).

Change: Organizational and Individual Perspectives (cont’d)

Why Do Employees Resist Change?

• Surprise– Unannounced significant changes threaten employees’ sense of

balance in the workplace.

• Inertia– Employees have a desire to maintain a safe, secure, and

predictable status quo.

• Misunderstanding and lack of skills– Without introductory or remedial training, change may be

perceived negatively.

• Poor Timing– Other events can conspire to create resentment about a

particular change.

Why Do Employees Resist Change? (cont’d)

• Emotional Side Effects– Forced acceptance of change can create a sense of

powerlessness, anger, and passive resistance to change.

• Lack of Trust– Promises of improvement mean nothing if employees do not

trust management.

• Fear of Failure– Employees are intimidated by change and doubt their abilities to

meet new challenges.

• Personality Conflicts– Managers who are disliked by their managers are poor conduits

for change.

• Threat to Job Status/Security– Employees worry that any change may threaten their

job or security.

• Breakup of Work Group– Changes can tear apart established on-the-job social

relationships.

• Competing Commitments– Change can disrupt employees in their pursuit of

other goals.

Why Do Employees Resist Change? (cont’d)

Overcoming Resistance to Change

• Strategies for Overcoming Resistance to Change– Education and communication

– Participation and involvement

– Facilitation and support

– Negotiation and agreement

– Manipulation and co-optation

– Explicit and implicit coercion

LEADER ACTION:Stability

Comfort and control

Looking Back

Looking Forward

Chaos

Fear,Anger and Resistance

Enquiry, Experimentation and Discovery

Learning, Acceptance & Commitment

Create a felt need of change

Stabilize and Sustain the change

Introduce the change

Revise and finalize the change plan

1

2 3

4

Making Change Happen

• Two Approaches to Organization Change– Organization Development (OD)

– Formal top-down approach

– Grassroots Change

– An unofficial and informal bottom-up approach

Planned Change Through Organization Development (OD)

• Organization development (OD) – Planned change programs intended to help people

and organizations function more effectively.

– Applying behavioral science principles, methods, and theories to create and cope with change.

– OD creates fundamental change in the organization, as opposed to fixing a problem or improving a procedure.

– OD programs generally are facilitated by hired consultants,

Planned Change Through Organization Development (OD) (cont’d)

• Objectives of OD– Deepen the sense of organizational purpose.

– Strengthen interpersonal trust.

– Encourage problem solving rather than avoidance.

– Develop a satisfying work experience.

– Supplement formal authority with knowledge and skill-based authority.

– Increase personal responsibility for planning and implementing.

– Encourage willingness to change.

Planned Change Through Organization Development (OD) (cont’d)

• The OD Process (Kurt Lewin)– Unfreezing, changing, and refreezing social systems

– Unfreezing: neutralizing resistance by preparing people for change.

– Changing: implementing the planned change

– Refreezing: systematically following a change program for lasting results.

Unofficial and Informal Grassroots Change

• Grassroots Change– Change that is spontaneous, informal, experimental,

and driven from within.

• Tempered Radicals– People who quietly try to change the dominant

organizational culture in line with their convictions.

– Guidelines for tempered radicals– Think small for big results.

– Be authentic.

– Translate.

– Don’t go it alone.

Managing Change

Structure

Technology

People

Work specialization,Departmentalization,Chain of Command Span of Control,

Formalization,Job Redesign

Attitude, Expectations, Perception and Behavior

Work Process, Methods and Equipments

Innovation

CREATIVITY

Stimulating Innovation

• Creativity– The ability to combine ideas in a

unique way or to make an unusual association.

• Innovation– Turning the outcomes of the creation

process into useful products, services, or work methods.

System View of Innovation

Transformation Outputs

Creative Individuals,Groups and Organizations

Creative Environment,Process and Situation

Innovative Products,Work Methods

Inputs

Innovation Variables

Innovative Variables

Structural Variables•Organic structure•Communication•Abundant resources•High interunit stimulate•Work and network support

Cultural variables•Acceptance of ambiguity•Positive feedback•Low external control•Tolerance of risks•Tolerance of conflicts•Focus on ends•Open system focus

HR Variables•High commitment to T & D•High job security•Creative people

Structural Variables

• Adopt an organic structure

• Make available plentiful resources

• Engage in frequent inherent communication

• Minimize extreme time pressures on creative activities

• Provide explicit support for creativity

Cultural Variables

• Accept Ambiguity, have low external control

• Tolerant impractical

• Tolerant risk taking

• Tolerate conflict

• Focus on ends rather than means

• Develop an open system focus

• Provide positive feedback

Human Resources Variables

• Actively promote T & D to keep employee’s skills updated

• Offer high job security to encourage risk taking

• Encourage individual to be “Champion” to change