Organization Development Flashcards
_____—the process of improving organizational performance by making organization-wide, rather than individual, changes.
organization development
Perhaps the first step toward organizational change is what Kriegel and Brandt called a _____. Organizational sacred cows are practices that have been around for a long time and invisibly reduce productivity. A _____, then, is an organization-wide attempt to get rid of practices that serve no useful purpose.
sacred cow hunt
According to Kriegel and Brandt, common types of _____ include the paper cow, the meeting cow, and the speed cow.
sacred cows
_____ are unnecessary paperwork—usually forms and reports that cost organizations money to prepare, distribute, and read. To determine if something is a paper cow, consider the extent to which the paperwork increases efficiency, productivity, or quality
Paper cows
Another area ripe for change is the number and length of meetings. Think about meetings you have attended recently. How much meeting time was spent doing business as opposed to socializing? Was the meeting really necessary? To reduce the number and length of meetings, some organizations ask the person calling the meeting to determine the cost of the meeting (e.g., one hour’s salary of each attendee, cost of meeting room, cost of refreshments and supplies) and consider whether the cost will exceed the potential benefits.
The Meeting Cow
Unnecessary deadlines are another source for potential change. Requiring work to be done “by tomorrow” is sometimes necessary. However, unnecessary deadlines cause employees to work at a faster than optimal pace, resulting in decreased quality, increased stress, and increased health problems.
The Speed Cow
_____ theorized that organizations go through three stages of “Employee Acceptance of Change”: unfreezing, moving, and refreezing.
Lewin
In the _____ stage, the organization must convince employees and other stakeholders (e.g., shareholders, the community) that the current state of affairs is unacceptable and that change is necessary.
unfreezing
In the _____ stage, the organization takes steps (e.g., training, new work processes) to move the organization to the desired state.
moving
In the _____ stage, the organization develops ways to keep the new changes in place, such as formalizing new policy and rewarding employees for behaving in a manner consistent with the new change
refreezing
_____ suggests that employees typically go through five stages during major organizational changes: Denial, defense, discarding, adaptation, and internalization.
Carnall
Stage 1: _____. During this initial stage, employees _____ that any changes will actually take place, try to convince themselves that the old way is working, and create reasons why the proposed changes will never work (e.g., “We tried that before and it didn’t work. Something like that won’t work in a company like ours”).
Denial
Stage 2: _____. When employees begin to believe that change will actually occur, they become _____ and try to justify their positions and ways of doing things. The idea here is that if an organization is changing the way in which employees perform, there is an inherent criticism that the employees must have previously been doing things wrong.
Defense
Stage 3: _____. At some point, employees begin to realize not only that the organization is going to change but that the employees are going to have to change as well. That is, change is inevitable, and it is in the best interest of the employee to discard the old ways and start to accept the change as the new reality.
Discarding
Stage 4: _____. At this stage, employees test the new system, learn how it functions, and begin to make adjustments in the way they perform. Employees spend tremendous energy at this stage and can often become frustrated and angry.
Adaptation
Stage 5: _____. In this final stage, employees have become immersed in the new culture, become comfortable with the new system, and accepted their new coworkers and work environment.
Internalization
