Week 12 – Organizational Change MGT 30525 - ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR Dr. K. A. S. P. Kaluarachchi Senior Lecturer Department of Management and Organization Studies Faculty of Management and Finance University of Colombo

Learning Outcomes At the end of this lesson, you will be able to: Define the concept of organizational change Identify types of organizational changes Identify resistances to organizational change and how to manage them Illustrate and describe an approach to organizational change 4/27/2017

Define Organizational Change Organizational change refers to any alteration of: people structure, or technology in an organization It is making things different Someone who acts as a catalyst and assumes the responsibility for managing the change process is recognized as the change agent 4/27/2017

Types of Organizational Changes (1) Changing structure – includes any alteration in structural variables such as reporting relationships, coordination mechanisms, employee empowerment, or job redesign (2) Changing technology – encompasses modifications in the way work is performed or the methods and equipments used (3) Changing people – refers to changes in attitudes, expectations, perceptions, and behavior of individuals or groups (OD) 4 4 4 4 4/27/2017

Types of Organizational Change… Organizational Development (OD) is the term used to describe change methods that focus on people and the nature and quality of interpersonal work relationships A technique for assessing attitudes and perceptions, identifying discrepancies in these, and resolving he differences by using survey information in feedback groups A method of changing behavior through unstructured group interaction Sensitivity training Activities that help members learn how each member thinks and works Team building Survey feedback More effective interpersonal work relationships Inter-group development Changing the attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions hat work groups have about each other Process consultation An outside consultant helps the manager understand how interpersonal processes affect the way work 2017/4/27 - Popular OD techniques - 5 5

Resistances to Organizational Change Individual Sources Organizational Sources Habits – when confronted with change, the tendency to respond our accustomed ways becomes a source of resistance Structure – formalized regulations which have been stabilized act as counterbalance to sustain change Security – people assume change threatens their feeling of safety Dependence – interdependence among subsystems hinder the actions of change Economic reasons – people are concerned that they won’t be able to perform the new task when pay is considered to evaluate performance Group norms – even if individuals want to change their behavior, group norms may act as a constraint Fear for the unknown – change substitutes ambiguity and uncertainty for the unknown Threat to expertise – changes in organizational patterns may threaten the expertise of specialized groups Selective perception – people hear what they want to hear and they ignore information that challenges the world they have created Threat to power – change can threaten long-established power relationship within the organization Resource limitation – the needed change can be limited with the available resources 2017/4/27 6 6

Overcoming Resistances to Change Education and communication – helps employees see the logic of OC Participation – individuals feel difficult to resist a change decision in which they participated Building support and commitment – change agents can offer a range of supportive efforts to reduce resistance Implementing changes fairly – make sure employees see the reason for the change, and perceive that the changes are being implemented consistently and fairly 7 7 7 7 4/27/2017

Overcoming Resistances to Change… Manipulation and cooptation – distorting facts to make them appear more attractive. Cooptation is a form of both manipulation an participation Selecting people – selecting people who score high on accepting and facilitating the change process Coercion – the application of direct threats or force on the resisters 8 8 8 8 4/27/2017

Approaches to Managing Organizational Change Lewin’s Three-Step Model Unfreezing Movement Refreezing 2017/4/27 9 9

Approaches to Managing Organizational Change… Unfreezing - the status quo; changing to overcome the pressures of both individual resistance and group conformity Movement – to a desired end state; a change process that transforms the organization from status quo to the desired state Refreezing – the new change to make it permanent; stabilizing a change intervention by balancing driving and resisting forces 10 10 10 10 4/27/2017

Questions and Answers ??// Thank you very much! 4/27/2017