ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE

Meaning

Organisational change refers to any alteration that occurs in total work environment. Organisational
change is an important characteristic of most organisations. An organisation must develop adaptability
to change otherwise it will either be left behind or be swept away by the forces of change.
Organisational change is inevitable in a progressive culture. Modern organizations are highly dynamic,
versatile and adaptive to the multiplicity of changes. Organisational change refers to the alteration of
structural relationships and roles of people in the organization. It is largely structural in nature. An
enterprise can be changed in several ways. Its technology can be changed, its structure, its people and
other elements can be changed. Organisational change calls for a change in the individual behaviour of
the employees. Organizations survive, grow or decay depending upon the changing behaviour of the
employees. Most changes disturb the equilibrium of situation and environment in which the individuals
or groups exist. If a change is detrimental to the interests of individuals or groups, they will resist the
change.

Definition: Change is something that should be embraced rather than feared. Only with change will
businesses be able to lay the foundations for long-term success. According to Cambridge Dictionary,
organizational change is: “A process in which a large company or organization changes its working
methods or aims, for example in order to develop and deal with new situations or markets.” Many
people would disagree with Cambridge Dictionary’s description. They say the definition should not limit
organizational change just to something that happens in large companies.

Nature of Organizational Change:

The term change refers to an alteration in a system whether physical, biological, or social. Thus
organizational change is the alteration of work environment in organization. It implies a new equilibrium
between different components of the organization- technology, structural, arrangement, job design, and
people. Thus organizational change may have following features:

• When change occurs in any part of the organization, it disturbs the old equilibrium necessitating the
development of the a new equilibrium. The type of new equilibrium depends on the degree of change
and its impact on the organization.

• Any change may affect the whole organization; some parts of the organization may be affected more,
others less; some parts are affected directly, others indirectly.

• Organizational change is a continuous process. However, some changes which are of minor type, may
be absorbed by the existing equilibrium; others, which are major ones may require special change
efforts. Planned Change : One of Newton’s laws is that “bodies in motion tend to stay in motion; bodies
at rest tend to stay at rest”.

There is an organizational version of this truth. Those who believe in growth and forward movement
tend to be exemplars of change, while those who believe in this is how we do things around here” lead
to doom. Therefore, bringing change in a planned manner is the prime responsibility of all managers
who are forward looking.

Planned change aims to prepare the total organization, or a major portion of it, to adapt to significant
changes in the organization’s goals and direction. Thomas and Bennis have defined planned change as
follows: “planned change is the deliberate design and implementation of a structural innovation, a new
policy or goal, or a change in operating philosophy, climate or style.” Planned change attempts at all
aspects of the organization which are closely interrelated: technology, task, structure, people as shown
in fig:

structure

Technology Task

People

Technology – related Changes: Technology refers to the sum total of knowledge providing ways to do
things. It may include inventions and techniques which affect the way of doing things, that is designing,
producing, and distributing products.

Technology-related changes may include:

1. Changing problem-solving and decision-making procedures.

2. Introduction of automated data processing devices like computers to facilitate managerial planning
and control.

3. Change in methods of production like conversation of unit production to mass production. Task –
related Changes: Technology-related changes determine the types of task that may be required to
complete an operation.

However, what alternatives are chosen must consider the core job characteristics- skill variety, task
identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback from the job.

Task-related changes must focus on: • High internal work motivation • High quality work performance
Structure – related Changes: Structural changes redefine nature of relationships among various
organizational positions and may include: • Changing the number of Hierarchical levels. • Changing one
form of organization to another form • Changing span of management • Changing line-staff and
functional authority When structural changes are effected, these may affect the formal reporting
relationships, formal interaction pattern, and consequently informal relations. People – related Changes:
Changes of any type as pointed out above require changes in people in an organization. These changes
may be of two types- skills and behavior. The magnitude of these changes depends on the type of
change. For example, if there is a change in technology, say from manual to automated, it requires
different type of skills in the operators as compared to the previously used skills. Similarly, changes in
behavior and the socio-psychological factors determine behavior are required.