Chapter 16 - Foundations of Organizational Structure and Change

Lewin's change model

Explains a very basic process that accompanies most organizational changes.

horizontal organizational structure

Flat organizational structure in which many individuals across the whole system are empowered to make organizational decisions.

individual-level change

Focuses on how to help employees to improve some active aspect of their performance or the knowledge they need to continue to contribute to the organization in an effective manner.

managed change

How leaders in an organization intentionally shape shifts that occur in the organization when market conditions shift, supply sources change, or adaptations are introduced in the processes for accomplishing work over time.

technological change

Implementation of new technologies often forces organizations to change.

participatory management

Includes employees in deliberations about key business decisions.

appreciative conversations

Intense, positively framed discussions that help people to develop common ground as they work together to co-create a positive vision of an ideal future for their organization.

culture change

Involves reshaping and reimagining the core identity of the organization.

abundance-based change

Leaders assume that employees will change if they can be inspired to aim for greater degrees of excellence in their work.

deficit-based change

Leaders assume that employees will change if they know they will otherwise face negative consequences.

conventional mindset

Leaders assume that most people are inclined to resist change and therefore need to be managed in a way that encourages them to accept change.

positive or appreciative mindset

Leaders assume that people are inclined to embrace change when they are respected as individuals with intrinsic worth, agency, and capability.

bureaucratic model

Max Weber's model that states that organizations will find efficiencies when they divide the duties of labor, allow people to specialize, and create structure for coordinating their differentiated efforts within a hierarchy of responsibility.

geographic structures

Occur when organizations are set up to deliver a range of products within a geographic area or region.

product structures

Occurs when businesses organize their employees according to product lines or lines of business.

vertical organizational structure

Organizational structures found in large mechanistic organizations; also called "tall" structures due to the presence of many levels of management.

emergent or bottom-up approach

Organizations exist as socially constructed systems in which people are constantly making sense of and enacting an organizational reality as they interact with others in a system.

change agents

People in the organization who view themselves as agents who have discretion to act.

top-down change

Relies on mechanistic assumptions about the nature of an organization.

transformational change

Significant shifts in an organizational system that may cause significant disruption to some underlying aspect of the organization, its processes, or its structures.

incremental change

Small refinements in current organizational practices or routines that do not challenge, but rather build on or improve, existing aspects and practices within the organization.

OD consultant

Someone who has expertise in change management processes.

organizational development (OD)

Specialized field that focuses on how to design and manage change.

level of organization

The breadth of the systems that need to be changed within an organization.

centralization

The concentration of control of an activity or organization under a single authority.

informal organization

The connecting social structure in organizations that denotes the evolving network of interactions among its employees, unrelated to the firm's formal authority structure.

specialization

The degree to which people are organized into subunits according to their expertise—for example, human resources, finance, marketing, or manufacturing.

intentionality

The degree to which the change is intentionally designed or purposefully implemented.

scope of change

The degree to which the required change will disrupt current patterns and routines.

Organizational change

The movement that organizations take as they move from one state to a future state.

organizational design

The process by which managers define organizational structure and culture so that the organization can achieve its goals.

change management

The process of designing and implementing change.

entrepreneurship

The process of designing, launching, and running a new business.

formalization

The process of making a status formal for the practice of formal acceptance.

differentiation

The process of organizing employees into groups that focus on specific functions in the organization.

span of control

The scope of the work that any one person in the organization will be accountable for.

organizational structure

The system of task and reporting relationships that control and motivate colleagues to achieve organizational goals.

command-and-control

The way in which people report to one another or connect to coordinate their efforts in accomplishing the work of the organization.

organic bureaucratic structure

Used in organizations that face unstable and dynamic environments and need to quickly adapt to change.

organization development (OD)

echniques and methods that managers can use to increase the adaptability of their organization.

boundary conditions

Define the degree of discretion that is available to employees for self-directed action.

mechanistic bureaucratic structure

Describes organizations characterized by (1) centralized authority, (2) formalized procedures and practices, and (3) specialized functions. They're usually resistant to change.

organization-level change

A change that affects an entire organizational system or several of its units.

strategic change

A change, either incremental or transformational, that helps align an organization's operations with its strategic mission and objectives.

formal organization

A fixed set of rules of organizational procedures and structures.

flat organization

A horizontal organizational structure in which many individuals across the whole system are empowered to make organizational decisions.

Appreciative Inquiry model

A model specifically designed as an abundance-based, bottom-up, positive approach.

Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)

A model that views organizations as constantly developing and adapting to their environment, much like a living organism.

planned change

An intentional activity or set of intentional activities that are designed to create movement toward a specific goal or end.

matrix structure

An organizational structure that groups people by function and by product team simultaneously.

Kotter's change model

An overall framework for designing a long-term change process.

unplanned change

An unintentional activity that is usually the result of informal organizing.

disturbances

Can cause tension amongst employees, but can also be positive and a catalyst for change.

group-level change

Centers on the relationships between people and focuses on helping people to work more effectively together.

structural change

Changes in the overall formal relationships, or the architecture of relationships, within an organization.