1. Why is Organization Change So Difficult? And What Can We Do About It
Dr. David W. Jamieson
Professor, Organization Development & Change,
University of St Thomas
President, Jamieson Consulting Group, Inc.
MPPAW
January 2017

4. Change is Hard Work!
Organizations are complex socio-technical systems with numerous interdependent, moving parts
They are human systems with a wide array of everything human
Change usually needs to occur while an organization continues running in its current state
The environment (larger system of organization) has become VUCA
Some aspects of change can be planned, but many can not!

5. Tonight’s Overview Some Big Reasons Why Change Fails
The Systems/Organization Perspective: stakeholders, culture, system principles
The Individual Perspective: socio-emotional, motivation, personalities
Change Process: strategy, path, design & execution
21st Century Drivers Making Change More Complex & Difficult
I/O & OD: Sisters in Partnership
Some Principles for Change in Complex Times
Hopes for Our Sister Disciplines

6. Systems/Organization Perspective
Social-technical balance & alignment
moving parts, current to future, functioning
Stakeholders and ‘stakes’ managed
Internal, external, appropriate inclusion, ‘stakes’ & politics
Culture eats strategy for breakfast (Drucker); and dominates ‘change’ at lunch (Jamieson)

7. Strategic Organizational Design/Alignment
ENVIRONMENT
Relevant outside forces influencing organization
MISSION
Purpose bridging organization & environment
STRATEGY
What the organization intends to do
LEADERSHIP
STRUCTURE
CULTURE
SYSTEMS
The Values in Operation
How work, technology & people are put together:
Ongoing operating policies, processes and procedures
VISION
BEHAVIOR
What people do that produces results
© David W. Jamieson, 2009
© Jamieson Consulting Group, Inc. 2009, 2015

8. Individual Perspective
People Don’t Do What You Want
What, why, how to, want to & necessary resources
Socio-emotional factors (ala Hawthorne)
Fears, vulnerabilities, happiness, engagement
Conflicting goals/motivations
Individual needs, power distributions, “agendas”
Performance behaviors: abilities, rewards, attitudes. etc.

9. Change Process Strategy & path Design Intervening
vision, rationale, communications, clarity, understanding, resistance/commitment
Design
Whole-part-whole, order, simultaneous & sequential, system leverage
Intervening
Where, who, when, how
Leadership and change facilitation

10. 21st Century Drivers Making Change More Complex & Difficult
Today we need new thinking & action
Too many change theories assume relative stability-which is no longer true
VUCA means our ability to understand an organization system fully, is lost
Planning is still good to a point, but navigating deviations is essential
Incremental learning and adaptive actions now needed to both understand and act
Design organizations to execute strategy; now need more agility to move with necessary speed

11. I/O & OD: Sisters in Partnership
There is a lot of overlap in our practice
We generally draw from same disciplines (behavioral sciences)
Yet our dominate foci & skill sets differ and are complimentary
In organizational reality, many disciplines need to converge to get good results, e.g.. HRM, HRD, OD, PM, I/O, CM….
Next slide is highly simplified…

12. What are the similarities & differences between I/O Psychology and Organization Development?

13. I/O & OD: Sisters in Partnership
I/O Psychology
Organization Development
Individual behavior & differences in orgs
Measured, modeled, influenced, managed
Job requirements, competencies, engagement, training. motivation
Theory & research behind OB
Much of HR policy & processes
Assessing performance, potential, effectiveness, appraisal processes
Leadership
Groups & teams-understanding
‘What is’
Quantitative methods
Whole system effectiveness & change
Change theories & practice across human levels; org dynamics
Systemic/strategic change-process, interventions, evaluation
Consultation; use of self
Action research
Org theory & design
Individual, group & cultural resistance
Groups & teams-improving
Leadership
‘What could be’
Qualitative methods

14. Levels of Human Systems
Suppose We Took OD Seriously
Levels of Human Systems
Whole Organization
Intergroup
Group
Interpersonal
Individual
Organization Network
Jamieson Consulting Group, Inc.

15. Some Principles For Change in Complex Times
People support what they help to create
ownership, voice, participation, commitment
All systems need aligned elements to function well
current & future states, dynamically
All organization change needs individual change
people need to do things differently, individual differences
All change involves learning something
more unknowns, more new landscapes, new org dynamics, learning cycles
All change needs intervention or disruption
To jar any homeostasis, to align stakeholders
All change needs process work
linkages, movement, the ‘how’

16. Some Hopes for our Sister Disciplines
Knowing ‘what is’ and ‘could be’
Moving from understanding to action
Micro married with macro; individual and whole system
Coupling assessment/measurement skills with process change skills
Improving understanding faster & incrementally
Understanding the human system is critical and changing
Organization effectiveness & change are now seriously intertwined

17. Reflective Questions
If I have more of an I/O background, what from OD could I use to improve my impact?
If I have more of an OD background, what from I/O could I use to improve my impact?
What can we do to make the partnership work better in practice?
How might we integrate better during education programs?

18. “In school they told me practice makes perfect, then they told me nobody’s perfect, so I stopped practicing”
-Steven Wright
Comedian