OB Ch 14

Why do People Resist?

- Disrupted habits - change disrupts our habits (automatic vs standard) - Personality - some people are more resistant to change than others ○ Positive self-concept better at coping w/ change ○ More optimistic people view change as opportunity ○ Risk avoidant individuals find change in structure or technology more threatening - Feelings of uncertainty ○ Lose sense of control ○ Feel performance may be affected under new system ○ Experts in their field are less welcoming to change - Personal impact of change - individuals welcome to change when it benefits them on a personal level ○ Commitment to change is highest when proposed changes affect the work unit w/ a low impact on how individuals jobs are performed - Prevalence of change - how often does change occur? Is it successful? ○ Resistance is likely due to fatigue as a result of the constant changes ○ Skepticism occurs with too much change - Perceived loss of power - change may affect their power & influence in the organization ○ Team-based structure

Resistance to change provides feedback

- Why are people resisting the proposed changes? - Will the new system not work? - Committed employees may be most vocal about change - Less loyal employees may go along w/ change due to low commitment to the organization

Types of organizational changes

Workforce demographics Technology Globalization Market Conditions Organizational growth Poor performance

Learning organizations

acquiring knowledge & changing behavior as a result of the newly gained knowledge as part of an organization's design - Experimenting, learning new things, reflecting on knowledge - Experimentation & testing better operational methods are encouraged - 3M - engineers spend one day a week working on a personal project - Learn from experience -- own or competitors' ○ Study competitors, market leaders in different industries, clients & customers

Refreezing

change becomes part of culture. Revised ways of thinking, behaving, & performing should become routine - Publicize success ○ What was gained from the implemented changes? ○ How much money did the company save? ○ How much did the company's reputation improve? ○ What was the reduction in accidents after new procedures were put in place? - Build on prior change w/ continue improvement. Use momentum to encourage more change - Reward change adaption for those who embrace change e.g. recognition - Change is part of organizational culture by changing mindset

Flat Structures

consists of few layers between employees & top level - Closely-related concept is span of control--number of employees reporting to a single manager - Unable to provide close supervision - Greater levels of freedom of action - Greater levels of need satisfaction & self-actualization in employees - Limited opportunity to receive guidance & supervision from management - Greater levels of role ambiguity - Advancement of opportunity more limited

Matrix organizations

cross a traditional function structure w/ a product structure - Project or product teams formed; reports to department manager & project/product manager - Created in response to uncertainty & need to give particular attention to specific products or projects - May increase communication & cooperation - Increase frequency of formal & informal communication - Quick responses to technical problems & customer demands - Violated unity of command (each person reports to once single manager) - Ripe w/ conflict; power struggles, turf wars - Role conflict & task conflict

Centralization

decision making authority is concentrated at higher levels in an organization - Greater demands on mental & physical capabilities of CEO & high-level managers - More efficient operations - Inefficiencies in decision making (e.g. Caterpillar)

Decentralization

decisions made & problems solved at lower levels by employees who are closer to the problem in question - More authority to lower level employee - Increased empowerment - Quicker decisions - Greater perceived levels of procedural fairness - Can become too decentralized (e.g. FBI)

Enthusiastic support

defenders of the new way & encourage others to give support to the change

Divisional Structures

departments represent the unique products, services, customers, or geographical locations - Employees act as generalists as opposed to specialists - Each product has its own department - Creates more innovativeness & reduce response times - Agile & perform better in turbulent environments

Passive resistance

disturbed by changed without necessarily voicing opinions - Quietly dislike change, feel stressed & unhappy, look for a new job

Boundaryless organizations

eliminates traditional barriers between departments & barriers between the organization & external environment (tokened by Jack Welch, GE) - Eliminate barriers separating employees such as traditional layers or walls between different departments

Organic structures

flexible, decentralized w/ low levels of formalization - Communication is more fluid & flexible - Broad job descriptions - Employees asked to perform duties based on current needs - Higher levels of job satisfaction - Conducive to entrepreneurial behavior & innovativeness

Compliance

goes along with the proposed change w/ little enthusiasm

Functional Structures

groups jobs based on similarity in functions (depts: marketing, finance, HR, accounting, IT) - Departments have specialized roles & handles large volumes of transactions - More cost effective - Effective when product line is smaller - Effective in stable environments that are slower to change

Mechanistic structures

highly formalized & centralized - Formal channels followed - Job descriptions delineate roles & responsibilities - Rigid & resist change - Unstable for innovation & quick change - Limit individual autonomy & self-determination - Efficient --work well maximizing efficiency & minimizing costs - Advantageous for new ventures

Organizational structure

how the work of individuals & teams within an organization is coordinated - Individual work needs to be coordinated & managed to achieve goals & objectives ○ Reporting relationships--who reports to whom ○ Delineates formal communication channels ○ How individuals are linked together

Strategic alliance

joint venture; two or more companies find an area of collaboration & combine their efforts to create a partnership that is beneficial to both parties (e.g. PepsiCo & Starbucks)

Unfreezing

most change fails because people are not prepared for change - Create a vision for change - Focus on continue improvement - Communicate plan for change; employees need to know what is going to happen, when, & why - Develop a sense of urgency. Perceived needs for change will be smaller if the company is doing well - Build a coalition by convincing & preparing the opinion leaders - Provide support both emotional & instrumental - Participation in planning the change, voicing concerns. Create more knowledge around the change, alternatives to proposed changes, feel a sense of ownership

Organizational change

movement of an organization from one state of affairs to another - Change in company's structure, strategy, policies, procedures, technology, or culture - Radical or incremental - Requires effective people management - Planned or unplanned

Active resistance

negative reaction to proposed change - May sabotage the change effort & be outspoken on objectors of the new procedures

Modular organization

nonessential functions are outsourced & value-generating & strategic functions remain in-house (e.g. Toyota)

Execute change

organization implements the change - Continue to provide support by helping employees cope w/ stress. Display support, patience, & continued support to employees even after change is complete - Create small wins by breaking up proposed changes into phases so victories can be achieved along the way - Eliminate obstacles - some may publicly support the effort but silently undermine the planned change. Identify, understand, & remove obstacles

Formalization

policies, procedures, & rules are written & explicitly articulated - Employees have little autonomy - Employee behavior is predictable - Reduced innovativeness, motivation, & job satisfaction - Slower decision making Strategic decision making usually only occ

Tall Structures

several layers of management between frontline employees & top level - Greater opportunity for managers to supervise & monitor employees - Provides greater job security feelings for employees