CHAPTER 18

Activity
Critical thinking questions:
1. The school you are currently attending is currently undergoing some sort of change to adopt more
closely with its environment. Discuss the external forces that are driving the change. What internal
drivers for change also exist?
Answer:
There are various forces that drives change in PUP right now, the external drivers for
change are namely:
• Technology – implementation of online classes.
• Competition – keeping up with the innovations of other schools amidst online classes.
• Social trends – new normal under the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Politics – since PUP is a government-funded educational institution, political conflicts and
disputes can affect it (i.e proposed termination of PUP-DND accord).
Meanwhile, the internal drivers for change are:
• Nature of the workforce – not everyone has the ability to adapt easily to the transition to a
virtual setup and some are being left behind which calls for change.
• Low satisfaction – due to a rushed system, there are many mistakes in its processes, some
examples of this is the system errors of the online platforms and delay of module
deliveries, these can create dissatisfaction and thus sparking change.

2. Any form of resistance is a symptom, not a problem, in the change process. What are some of the
real problems that may underlie resistance?
Answer:
Some real problems that may underlie resistance are:
• The fear that if the organization changes, so will the duties of the employee .
• The fear of losing their job.
• The fear of new management.
• The comfort level that an employee feels with the current state of the business.
• The disruption that may happen to the employee’s live.
• Denial to accept the change that will happen.

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3. Change is often not a welcomed reality and we often say that individuals, like organizations, do
not like change. For example, who wants to change from a recently that individuals (perhaps like
organizations) are embracing change. Please give several concrete examples of this phenomenon
and suggest reasons as to why his might be the case.
Answer:
BONUS

Assessment
Answer the following:
1. Describe forces that act as stimulants to change.
Answer:
The forces that act as stimulants of change are:
• Nature of the workforce – work demographic might require an organizational change
in culture. For example, Avon built and grew their business around door-to-door
cosmetic sales, with the stay-at-home wife and mother as their primary frontline
employees. When more women entered the workforce in full-time jobs, Avon had to
adapt and find new ways to get their products in front of their customers.
• Technology – can make or break a business. Whether new technology is introduced to
the industry, such as when laser was introduced to modern medicine, making
surgeries easier and safer; or when it is introduced to the end users, like when
consumers stopped renting videos or buying CDs to enjoy the cheaper, more
convenient streaming services like Netflix. These enforce change so as to
accommodate new technologies or otherwise suffer the consequences.
• Economic shocks – these have a major impact on the business. An example of this was
during the 2008 recession in the US, when consumers lost their jobs and cut back on
their spending. Banks and many businesses like Hummer, Chrysler, etc. went out of
business as consumers cut back on their budgets. This called for change and
companies started setting up their markets in Europe and Asia in order to recover
from the stagnant market in the US.
• Competition – these can either be internal or external. External in a way that the
organization’s competitors have introduced something new which gives them a
relative edge in the competition thus calling for a change to keep up or surpass this. It
can also be internal as a competition in the workplace can be both negative and
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 positive; negative in the sense that it prevents ultimate cohesion within the
organization but positive as it gives a sense of urgency and calls for a level of
competency from the employees. When this positive and negative aspects are put
together it can lead an organization to change and adapt to adjust to or make use of
the competition.
• Social trends – can pressure organizations into making changes. Such an example is
when consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious, which has pushed
fast food restaurants to replace styrofoam containers with paper, reduce waste,
enforce straw-less systems, etc. Cleaning products also changed product formulas and
omitted phosphorus and other environmentally-threatening chemicals. Tobacco
companies have also struggled under the changing image of smokers, the dangers of
their products, and some have started investing into e-cigarettes and other smoking
alternatives to stay in business.
• World politics – government restrictions often force change onto organizations. These
can be something as simple as a change in minimum wage for employees, or as
complex as rules and restrictions governing fair competition in business. An example
would be the RA 11467 which increased the excise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes,
thus forcing companies to change or adapt to this increase in the expenses of the
business.

2. Describe the sources of resistance to change.

Answer:
There are two sources of resistance to change, namely individual and organizational.
The individual sources are:
• Habits – when change comes we have certain habits that are affected forcing us to do
things in a different manner than accustomed to.
• Security – change can threaten individuals’ security and the feeling of safety derived
from the consistency of things, thus they resist the change.
• Economic factors – changes in jobs can resist change as it could affect future
opportunities and infuse other economic fears.
• Fear of the unknown – changes bring uncertainty as familiar patterns or activities are
disrupted therefore possibly causing delay or creating thoughts of probable failure.

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 • Selective information processing – people tend to see and hear only what they want
or know about, which can cause them to resist change especially when it is on
something they dislike or do not know about.

3. Summarize Lewin's three-step change model.

Answer:
Lewin’s three-step change model has three parts: unfreezing, movement and
refreezing. Unfreezing is the first step wherein the people are being made aware of imminent change
and preparing them in moving from the current comfort zone/norm into a more transforming
situation; effective communication is vital in this stage. The next step is movement, where the
transition or the actual implementation of change occurs – it marks the start of the introduction of a
new way of doing things and separating from what has been previously established within the
organization; again, communication is vital in this stage along with proper, careful planning and
encouragement of individuals. Lastly there is refreezing, this is the stage wherein the people stabilize
the situation and can be regarded as succumbing to a state of equilibrium – this is where the people
begin to accept what has been changed then establish and strengthen it as the norm.

4. Explain the relationship between Lewin's change model and Kotter’s plan for implementing
change.
Answer:
Looking closely, Lewin’s model and Kotter’s plan align with each other well, with the
latter just having more steps compared to the former. Steps 1 to 3 of Kotter’s plan (creating the
climate for change) can be directly compared to the unfreezing step in Lewin’s model wherein the
same processes are involved, particularly creating the vision and establishing the imminence of
change. Followed by steps 4 to 6 in Kotter’s plan (engaging and enabling the organization) which can
also be associated with the movement step in Lewin’s model, as the names suggest these steps are
where the transitions and movements occur. Lastly, the steps 7 and 8 from Kotter’s plan is also closely
related to refreezing in Lewin’s model because they are focused on the implementation of what has
been changed and sustaining these changes.
In conclusion, the two models/plans are quite aligned and connected with each other;
the difference is that Kotter’s plan has more details and steps infused in it and is more aligned with
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organizational change while Lewin’s model is in a more general form and pertains to change in a more
general sense and not merely limited to within the organization.

5. Explain the values underlying most organizational development (OD) efforts.

Answer:
The values underlying most organizational development (OD) efforts are as follows:
• Respect for People – everyone should treat each other with respect since people have
the responsibility to be caring with one another.
• Trust and Support – in order for an organization to become more effective and free
from toxicity, those within must enforce trust, honesty, and support towards each
other.
• Power Equalization – giving effort to flatten hierarchy and empowering workers can
be more effective for an organization as opposed to the ways of a traditional
organization.
• Confrontation – avoiding problems or conflicts would only make matters worse,
therefore they should be addressed or confronted not avoided.
• Participation – including everyone in the decision-making process increases the
chances that the employee would commit to the change even though they could be
negatively affected by it, this is because they were involved in deciding its
implementation and it was not simply enforced upon them.

6. Describe potential sources of, and ways of managing, work stress.

Answer:
There are six main areas that can lead to work-related stress if they are not managed
properly. These are:
• Demands – inability to cope with the demands of their jobs.
• Control – lack of control with the way they do their work.
• Support – employees don’t receive enough support from the organization.
• Relationships – trouble with maintaining relationships at work, or are being bullied.
• Role – failure to fully understand their role and responsibilities.
• Change – lack of engagement or awareness when a business is undergoing change.

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 Some ways on how to manage work stress are:
• Track stressors – discover what causes stress and attempt to find patterns involving them
and emotions.
• Develop healthy responses – do not attempt to combat stress with fast food or alcohol,
instead partake in healthier responses like exercise, yoga, hobbies, etc.
• Establish boundaries – try to limit yourself and create a distinction between work and
personal life, an example of this is not checking work emails in the middle of the night.

• Take time to recharge – avoid burnout and take time to relax and recharge from time to
time.
• Get support – have a discussion with friend, colleagues or even your supervisor and try to
discover ways on how to better manage stress at work.