Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter Ocd2
Chapter Ocd2
Change Management
A. Planned Change
Planned change or developmental change is undertaken to improve the current way of
operating. It is a calculated change, initiated to achieve a certain desirable output/performance
and to make the organization more responsive to internal and external demands.
o Enhancing employees’ communication skills
o technical expertise
o building teams
o restructuring the organization
o introducing new technologies
o introducing new products and services
o challenging the incentive system
o improving employee welfare measures and the like fall into this category.
This type of change, where the future state is being consciously chosen, is not as threatening.
However, it does require a system/subsystem level (techno-social) support to survive.
B. What is Change
Change is a constant, a thread woven into the fabric of our personal and professional lives.
Change occurs within our world and beyond — in national and international events, in the
physical environment, in the way organizations are structured and conduct their business, in
political and socioeconomic problems and solutions, and in societal norms and values.
Unfreezing
This step usually involves reducing those forces maintaining the organization’s behaviour at its
present level. Unfreezing is sometimes accomplished through the process of “psychological
disconfirmation”
By introducing information that shows discrepancies between behaviors desired by organization
members and those behaviours currently exhibited, members can be motivated to engage in
change activities.
Moving
This step shifts the behaviour of the organization, department, or individual to a new level. It
involves intervening in the system to develop new behaviors, values, and attitudes through
changes in organizational structures and processes.
Refreezing
This step stabilizes the organization at a new state of equilibrium. It is frequently accomplished
through the use of supporting mechanisms that reinforce the new organizational state, such as
organizational culture, rewards, and structures.
Problem Identification
This stage usually begins when an executive, senses that the organization has one or more
problems that might be solved with the help of an OD practitioner.
Consultation with a Behavioral Science Expert
During the initial contact, the OD practitioner and the client carefully assess each other.
Data Gathering and Preliminary Diagnosis
This step is usually completed by the OD practitioner, often in conjunction with organization
members. It involves gathering appropriate information and analyzing it to determine the
underlying causes of organizational problems.
Feedback to a Key Client or Group
Because action research is a collaborative activity, the diagnostic data are fed back to the
client, usually in a group or work team meeting.
The feedback step, in which members are given the information gathered by the OD
practitioner, helps them determine the strengths and weaknesses of the organization or unit
under study.
Joint Diagnosis of the Problem
At this point, members discuss the feedback and explore with the OD practitioner whether
they want to work on identified problems.
A close interrelationship exists among data gathering, feedback, and diagnosis because the
consultant summarizes the basic data from the client members and presents the data to
them for validation and further diagnosis.
3. Positive Model
The positive model focuses on what the organization is doing right. It helps members
understand their organization when it is working at its best and builds off those capabilities to
achieve even better results.
The positive model focuses on what the organization is doing right. It helps members
understand their organization when it is working at its best and builds off those capabilities to
achieve even better results.
F. Resistance to Change
a. Organizational Resistance
Organizational inertia is the tendency for an organization as a whole to resist change and want
to maintain the status quo. Companies that suffer from inertia become inflexible and can’t adapt
to environmental or internal demands for change. Some of the signs that organizational inertia
is in play are through internal power struggles, poor decision-making processes and bureaucratic
organizational structures.
Organizational cultures and reward systems can foster resistance or acceptance of change. A
culture that promotes high levels of trust and cooperation lays the foundation for employees
and their acceptance and instigation of change. If employees are punished for honest mistakes,
if new ideas aren’t rewarded, and managers aren’t prepared for daily issues with proper
training, then that organization is ripe for change resistance.
Timing of change can also play a role in organizational inertia. If the organization is still
recovering from a large-scale change in organizational structure, that would not be the time to
introduce a new information management system. Employees will be likely to resist the change
and turmoil that goes along with a second change. Thinking about the order and timing of a
planned change can help managers avoid employee resistance.
b. Group Resistance
We talked about groups in an earlier module, and we learned that when groups start to work
well together, it’s because they’ve established norms and cohesion. Central norms in a group
can be difficult to change, because they involve the group’s identity. Any change to them is likely
to be resisted, as group members will work to protect each other and preserve the group. If a
group is used to practicing centralized decision making and suddenly they’ve been told to use a
decentralized style of decision making, they’re likely to resist, because it goes against their
norm.
Group cohesion can affect the acceptance of change. If a cohesive group has been disbanded in
favor of a different kind of team structure, the group’s desire to stick together may make them
resistant to change. But just as group cohesion can work against change, it can also work for
change. A cohesive group looking to implement change can typically overcome any one
individual member’s resistance to it.
c. Individual Resistance
People resist change because they fear the consequences. Change means learning new habits
and facing new situations. Learning new skills comes with the uncertainty of being able to
master those skills. It’s easy to see why change can seem threatening. Furthermore, if
individuals sense that there will be economic insecurity or risk regarding the change, or if they
don’t trust management, this could further add to the resistance.
Sometimes, individual traits can make one change resistant. Culture, personality and prior
experiences can contribute to one’s level of acceptance where change is concerned.
I. Change Strategies
According to the classic model developed by Bennis, Benne, and Chinn (1960), three strategies
can be used to facilitate change. The characteristics of the change agent and the amount of
resistance encountered will determine which of the following strategies should be used.
Power-coercive strategies are based on the application of power through legitimate authority
(Sullivan, 2012). Little effort is used by the nurse leader to enforce change, and staff has no
ability to alter the course of the change process. Power-coercive strategies can be used when
change is critical, time is limited, there are high levels of resistance, and there may be little or no
chance of reaching organizational consensus (Sullivan, 2012).
Empirical-rational strategies assume that providing knowledge is the most powerful
requirement for change (Sullivan, 2012). This strategy assumes that people are rational and will
act in their own self-interest when they understand that change will benefit them. It can work
well if the change is perceived as reasonable or beneficial for individuals.
Normative-reeducative strategies assume that individuals act in accordance with social norms
and values that influence their acceptance of change (Sullivan, 2012). The nurse leader focuses
on individual’s behavioural motivators such as roles, attitudes, feelings, and their interpersonal
relationships as an effective way to implement change in the health care environment.