Lecture 10: Chapter 15: Organizational Change

Question 1

What are the 3 phases of organizational change in Lewin’s model of force field analysis?

Answer 1

1. Freeze: the current state in equilibrium
2. Unfreeze: agents change and cause a disequilibrium
3. Refreeze: systems that reinforce and maintain the new practices are introduced and go towards a new equilibrium

Question 2

What is the difference between restraining and driving forces according to Lewin’s force field analysis model?

Answer 2

Restraining:
- Maintain status quo
- Resistance to change
- Cultural or structural aspects in the organization that block change

Driving:
- Push organizations toward change
- Leadership support, employee enthusiasm

Question 3

What is Lewin’s model of force field analysis?

Answer 3

It helps change agents diagnose the forces that drive and restrain the proposed organizational change

During the unfreezing stage, driving forces are larger than restraining forces. In the other stages these are in equilibrium

(summary p. 38)

Question 4

In what 3 ways can resistance be viewed as a resource?

Answer 4

1. Symptoms of deeper problems in change process
2. Form of task conflict –> can improve change decisions
3. Form of voice –> procedural justice

Question 5

What is procedural justice in organizations?

Answer 5

It ensures the fair and equal treatment of all individuals in an organization

Question 6

What are the 6 main reasons people resist change?

Answer 6

1. Negative valence of change
2. Fear of the unknown
3. Not-invented-here syndrome
4. Incongruent team dynamics
5. Incongruent organizational systems
6. Breaking routines

Question 7

What is negative valence of change?

Answer 7

Negative cost-benefit analysis, where people believe they will lose out as a result of change.

They think they will be negatively affected

Question 8

What is fear of the unknown concerning resistance to change?

Answer 8

People assume worst when the future is unknown. People also feel a lack of control and uncertainty

Question 9

What is the not-invented-here syndrome?

Answer 9

Staff resist change if the new initiatives are invented by another organization/department, to prove their ideas were better.

Successful change threatens self-esteem

Question 10

How can incongruent team dynamics contribute to resistance to change?

Answer 10

If team norms aren’t in line with the change, then it may be difficult to implement

Question 11

How do incongruent organizational systems contribute to resistance to change?

Answer 11

When rewards, systems, patterns of authority and other things aren’t in line with the change and reinforce the status quo, it may be difficult to change

Question 12

How does breaking routines contribute to resistance to change?

Answer 12

People generally like routine and breaking a routine may be particularly difficult. Especially if you have to learn new role patterns as well

Question 13

How do you create an urgency for change? (3)

Answer 13

1. Inform employees about driving forces
2. Customer interaction
3. Persuasive influence with positive vision (if there are no external threats)

Question 14

How does customer interaction create an urgency for change? (2)

Answer 14

1. Human element energizes employees
2. Reveals problems/consequences of inaction

Question 15

What are 6 ways you can reduce restraining forces?

Answer 15

1. Communication
2. Learning
3. Involvement
4. Stress management
5. Negotiation
6. Coercion

Question 16

What is the highest priority and first strategy required for organizational change?

Answer 16

Communication

Question 17

Give an example of communication as strategy for organizational change. When is it applied and what are problems with it?

Answer 17

E.g.: show customer complaints to employees

When: if employees don’t feel urge to change, don’t know how it affects them or have fear of the unknown

Problems: time consuming and costly

Question 18

Give an example of learning as strategy for organizational change. When is it applied and what are problems with it?

Answer 18

E.g. Employees learn how to work in teams when company adopts team-based structure

When: break old routines and adopt new patterns

Problems: time consuming, costly, some employees are unable to learn new skills

Question 19

Give an example of employee involvement as strategy for organizational change. When is it applied and what are problems with it?

Answer 19

E.g. company forms task force to recommend new customer service practices

When: more employee commitment necessary, protection self worth of employees, employee ideas would improve decisions

Problems: very time consuming, can lead to conflict and poor decisions

Question 20

Give an example of stress management as strategy for organizational change. When is it applied and what are problems with it?

Answer 20

E.g. Employees attend sessions to discuss their worries about the change

When: if communication, training and involvement don’t ease employee worries

Problems: time consuming, expensive, might not work for all employees

Question 21

Give an example of negotiation as strategy for organizational change. When is it applied and what are problems with it?

Answer 21

E.g. employees agree to some change for increased job security

When: employees clearly lose something from the change and wouldn’t otherwise support it, when it has to happen quick

Problems: expensive, produces compliance (not commitment)

Question 22

Give an example of coercion as strategy for organizational change. When is it applied and what are problems with it?

Answer 22

E.g. boss tells you to get on board the change or leave

When: other strategies are ineffective and it has to change quickly

Problems: can lead to subtle resistance and long term antagonism with change agent, reduces trust

Question 23

Why do organizations need to refreeze the change in order to make it last? What are 3 important aspects of refreezing?

Answer 23

People easily slip back into habits and familiar patterns

1. Align systems and team dynamics to the change
2. Rewards for desired behavior have to be there
3. Feedback that focuses on encouraging desired behavior

Question 24

What 4 aspects does Lewin’s force field analysis model overlook?

Answer 24

• Leadership
• Coalitions
• Social networks
• Pilot projects

Question 25

What is transformational leadership? What are the 5 consequences?

Answer 25

It involves strategic visions It leads to: - Sense of direction - Link employee values to change - Clarify role perceptions - Minimize fear of unknown - Identifies critical success factors

Question 26

What is a guided coalition?

Answer 26

Formally structured group of employees that pushes forward the desired change It's often needed in addition to the leader

Question 27

How can social networks in a company be beneficial and harmful for organizational change?

Answer 27

They are not easily controlled

Question 28

What is viral change?

Answer 28

Information is seeded to a few people and then spread to others though connections

Question 29

What are pilot projects?

Answer 29

Implementing the change on a small scale to test how well it can be executed It's the start of the diffusion of change

Question 30

What is important for the success of diffusion of change?

Answer 30

MARS model: - Motivation: pilot employees rewarded motivates others to adopt the pilot project - Ability: train employees to adopt pilot project - Role perceptions: communicate how pilot is relevant for own functional area, translate pilot project to new situations in a way that is specific enough - Situational factors: provide resources to implement pilot project elsewhere

Question 31

What are the 4 different approaches to change?

Answer 31

1. Action research approach 2. Appreciative inquiry approach (four D model) 3. Large group interventions 4. Parallel learning structure approach

Question 32

What is the action research approach?

Answer 32

Idea that changing attitude and behavior to achieve the goal of change (action) should be combined with testing theories through data collection (research)

Question 33

What are the 5 stages of the action research approach?

Answer 33

1. Form client-consultant relationship 2. Diagnose need for change (analyze, gather data) 3. Introduce intervention 4. Evaluate and stabilize change (refreeze, determine effectiveness) 5. Disengage consultant's services See summary p. 41

Question 34

What is the appreciative inquiry approach?

Answer 34

Approach which is in line with positive organizational behavior since it focuses on identifying and developing the positive aspects and possible future of an organization. It doesn't focus on the problems

Question 35

What are the 5 principles of the appreciative inquiry approach?

Answer 35

1. Positive: focus on the positive not the problems 2. Constructionist: conversations shape reality 3. Simultaneity: inquiry and change are simultaneous 4. Poetic: we can choose how to perceive situations (glass half full) 5. Anticipatory: have visions on the future and get motivated by desirable visions

Question 36

What are the 4 stages in the Four-D model of appreciative inquiry?

Answer 36

1. Discovery: identify the positives 2. Dreaming: think of best possible scenario 3. Designing: discuss what should be done 4. Delivering: develop objectives for what will happen

Question 37

What are 3 characteristics of large group interventions as an approach to change? Give 4 limitations of large group interventions

Answer 37

1. Large group sessions 2. Last a few days 3. High involvement with minimal structure Limitations: 1. Limited opportunity to contribute 2. Risk that a few people will dominate 3. Focus on common ground can hide differences 4. Generates high expectations about ideal future

Question 38

What is positive organizational behavior?

Answer 38

Perspective of organizational behavior that focuses on building positive qualities and traits within individuals as opposed to focusing on what's wrong with them

Question 39

What are future search conferences?

Answer 39

Large group interventions held over a few days in which participants identify emerging trends and develop strategies for the organization to realize potential under those future conditions

Question 40

What is the parallel learning structure approach to organizational change?

Answer 40

Creating a parallel structure that is developed alongside the formal hierarchy and composed of people across organizational levels who apply the action research model to produce meaningful organizational change Highly participative social structures and they're free from firm's constraints

Question 41

What is a big problem with organizational change theories?

Answer 41

They were mainly developed in western cultures, so they may not be applicable to other cultures

Question 42

What are 3 ethical concerns with theories of organizational change?

Answer 42

1. Increased power of the management 2. Undermining self-esteem of the employees 3. Threats to individual privacy rights

Question 43

Which theory threatens the individual privacy rights?

Answer 43

The action research model, because it's built on the idea of collecting information from organizational members

Question 44

How do some organizational change interventions undermine the individual's self-esteem?

Answer 44

Unfreezing process requires that people disconfirm their existing beliefs

Question 45

What is an important cross cultural limitation of Lewin's force field analysis?

Answer 45

Western cultures often assume change has a beginning and ending in a linear sequence. Other cultures view change as a cyclical phenomenon Other cultures view change as interconnected, where one change leads to another, which leads to another