Module 05

DAIMSR
DR. AMBEDKAR INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND
RESEARCH
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Prof. Deepika Soni

MODULE 03
Conflict and Change
* Understanding organizations
* Managing organizational culture
* Managing organizational conflict
* Power & politics
* Organizational life cycle
* Organisational change
2
COURSE DETAILS
PROGRAM M.B.A
COURSE CODE 1T4
COURSE ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
SEMESTER II
COURSE TYPE CORE
COURSE OBJECTIVE 5 The students will be able to justify how
organizational change and conflict affect
working relationships within organizations
and demonstrate how to apply relevant
theories to solve problems of change and
conflict within organizations.
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ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
By culture, we mean that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals,
law, custom and other capabilities acquired by man in a society. Cultural values are
passed from generation to generation.
Organizational culture refers to ‘a system of shared meaning’ held by members that
distinguishes the organization from other organizations. Seven primary characteristics
seem to capture the essence of an organization’s culture:
• Innovation and risk taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative
and take risks.
• Attention to detail. The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis,
and attention to detail.
• Outcome orientation. The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather
than on the techniques and processes used to achieve them.
• People orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the
effect of outcomes on people within the organization.
• Team orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than
individuals.
• Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than
easygoing.
• Stability. The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in
contrast to growth.
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Another common culture framework groups organisations into four different types based
on competing values:
“The Clan”: A culture based on human affiliation. Employees value attachment,
collaboration, trust & support.
“The Adhocracy”: A culture based on change. Employees value growth, variety,
attention to detail, stimulation and autonomy.
‘The market”: A culture based on achievement. Employees value communication,
competence & competition.
“The Hierarchy”: A culture based on stability. Employees value communication,
formalization and routine.
Do Organizations have uniform cultures?
Organizational culture represents a common perception the organization’s members hold. We

should therefore expect individuals with different backgrounds or at different levels in the
organization to describe its culture in similar terms.
That doesn’t mean, however, that there are no subcultures. Most large organizations have a
dominant culture and numerous subcultures. A dominant culture expresses the core values a
majority of members share and that give the organization its distinct personality. Subcultures tend to
develop in large organizations to reflect common problems or experiences members face in the
same department or location. The purchasing department can have a subculture that includes the
core values of the dominant culture plus additional values unique to members of that department.
If organizations were composed only of numerous subcultures, organizational culture as an
independent variable would be significantly less powerful. It is the “shared meaning” aspect of
culture that makes it such a potent device for guiding and shaping behavior. That’s what allows us
to say, for example, that the
Zappos culture values customer care and dedication over speed and efficiency and to use that
information to better understand the behavior of Zappos executives and employees. But subcultures
can influence members’ behavior too.
Importance of a stable Culture to organization
Organizational culture affects all aspects of your business, from punctuality and tone to contract
terms and employee benefits. When workplace culture aligns with your employees, they’re more
likely to feel more comfortable, supported, and valued. Companies that prioritize culture can
also weather difficult times and changes in the business environment and come out stronger.
Culture is a key advantage when it comes to attracting talent and outperforming the competition. 77
percent of workers consider a company’s culture before applying, and almost half of
employees would leave their current job for a lower-paying opportunity at an organization with a
better culture. The culture of an organization is also one of the top indicators of employee
satisfaction and one of the main reasons that almost two-thirds (65%) of employees stay in their job.
• Reduced recruitment efforts.

• Improved employee stability.
• Reduced conflicts.
• Enhanced employee engagement and job-satisfaction.
• Improved employer brand identity.
Importance of a stable Culture to organization
Example
Consider Microsoft and Salesforce. Both technology-based companies are world-class performers
and admired brands, and both owe this in part to prioritizing culture. Microsoft, known for its cut-
throat competitiveness under Steve Balmer, has been positively transformed by Satya Nadella, who
took over as CEO of the company in 2014. He embarked on a program to refine the company
culture, a process that upended competitiveness in favor of continuous learning. Instead of proving
themselves, employees were encouraged to improve themselves. Today Microsoft’s market cap flirts
with $1 trillion and it is again competing with Apple and Amazon as one of the most valuable
companies in the world.
Salesforce puts corporate culture front and center and has experienced incredible growth throughout
its history. Marc Benioff, Salesforce’s founder and CEO, established philanthropic cultural norms
that have guided the company over the past two decades. All new Salesforce employees spend part
of their first day volunteering and receive 56 hours of paid time to volunteer a year. This focus on
meaning and mission has made Salesforce one of the best places to work in America according to
Fortune, and it hasn’t compromised profits either: Salesforce’s stock price has surged year after year
at an average of over 26% annually to date.
Qualities of a great organizational culture
• Alignment comes when the company’s objectives and its employees’ motivations are all pulling
in the same direction. Exceptional organizations work to build continuous alignment to their
vision, purpose, and goals.
• Appreciation can take many forms: a public kudos, a note of thanks, or a promotion. A culture of
appreciation is one in which all team members frequently provide recognition and thanks for the
contributions of others.
• Trust is vital to an organization. With a culture of trust, team members can express themselves
and rely on others to have their back when they try something new.
• Performance is key, as great companies create a culture that means business. In these companies,
talented employees motivate each other to excel, and, as shown above, greater profitability and
productivity are the results.
• Resilience is a key quality in highly dynamic environments where change is continuous. A
resilient culture will teach leaders to watch for and respond to change with ease.
Qualities of a great organizational culture
• Teamwork encompasses collaboration, communication, and respect between team members.

When everyone on the team supports each other, employees will get more done and feel happier
while doing it.
• Integrity, like trust, is vital to all teams when they rely on each other to make decisions, interpret
results, and form partnerships. Honesty and transparency are critical components of this aspect of
culture.
• Innovation leads organizations to get the most out of available technologies, resources, and
markets. A culture of innovation means that you apply creative thinking to all aspects of your
business, even your own cultural initiatives.
• Psychological safety provides the support employees need to take risks and provide honest
feedback. Remember that psychological safety starts at the team level, not the individual level, so
managers need to take the lead in creating a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable
contributing. Now that you know what a great culture looks like, let’s tackle how to build one in
your organization.
Functions of a stable organizational culture
• First, culture has a boundary-defining role: it creates distinctions between one organization and
others.
• Second, it conveys a sense of identity for organization’s members.
• Third, culture facilitates commitment to something larger than individual self-interest.
• Fourth, it enhances the stability of the social system. Culture is the social glue that helps hold
the organization together by providing standards for what employees should say and do. Finally,
it is a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes employees’ attitudes and
behavior. This last function is of particular interest to us. 15 Culture defines the rules of the
game.
Culture as a liability
Institutionalization When an organization undergoes institutionalization and becomes

institutionalized —that is, it is valued for itself and not for the goods or services it produces—it
takes on a life of its own, apart from its founders or members. It doesn’t go out of business even if
its original goals are no longer relevant. Acceptable modes of behavior become largely self-evident
to members.
Barriers to Change Culture is a liability when the shared values don’t agree with those that further
the organization’s effectiveness. This is most likely when an organization’s environment is
undergoing rapid change, and its entrenched culture may no longer be appropriate. Consistency of
behavior, an asset in a stable environment, may then burden the organization and make it difficult to
respond to changes.
Barriers to Diversity Hiring new employees who differ from the majority in race, age, gender,
disability, or other characteristics creates a paradox: management wants to demonstrate support for
the differences these employees bring to the workplace, but newcomers who wish to fit in must
accept the organization’s core cultural values. Because diverse behaviors and unique strengths are
likely to diminish as people attempt to assimilate, strong cultures can become liabilities when they
effectively eliminate these advantages. A strong culture that condones prejudice, supports bias, or
becomes insensitive to people who are different can even undermine formal corporate diversity
policies.
Culture as a liability
Barriers to Acquisitions and Mergers Historically, when management looked at acquisition or

merger decisions, the key factors were financial advantage and product synergy. In recent years,
cultural compatibility has become the primary concern. All things being equal, whether the
acquisition actually works seems to have more to do with how well the two organizations’ cultures
match up. A survey by consulting firm A. T. Kearney revealed that 58 percent of mergers failed to
reach their financial goals. As one expert commented, “Mergers have an unusually high failure rate,
and it’s always because of people issues”— in other words, conflicting organizational cultures.
Managing Organisational Culture
How a Culture Begins

An organization’s current customs, traditions, and general way of doing things are largely due to what it has
done before and how successful it was in doing it. This leads us to the ultimate source of an organization’s
culture: its founders. Free of previous customs or ideologies, founders have a vision of what the organization
should be, and the firm’s small size makes it easy to impose that vision on all members.
Culture creation occurs in three ways.

First, founders hire and keep only employees who think and feel the same way they do.
Second, they indoctrinate and socialize these employees to their way of thinking and feeling.
And finally, the founders’ own behavior encourages employees to identify with them and internalize their
beliefs, values, and assumptions. An ongoing management of organizational culture can—in the extreme—be
anchored in one single person, and that could be the owner of a small company or a general manager of a mid
cap. And it is absolutely desirable to have a general manager or an executive, who is competent in
organizational culture. When the organization succeeds, the founders’ personality becomes embedded in the
culture. The fierce, competitive style and disciplined, authoritarian nature of Hyundai, the giant Korean
conglomerate, exhibits the same characteristics often used to describe founder Chung Ju-Yung. Other founders
with immeasurable impact on their organization’s culture include Bill Gates at Microsoft, Ingvar Kamprad at
IKEA, Herb Kelleher at Southwest Airlines, Fred Smith at FedEx, and Richard Branson at the Virgin Group.
Culture is simply always relevant and cultural competence increases the overall quality of considerations and
evaluations, which in turn provides a better basis for decisions and activities. That applies for common tasks
in daily business as well as for strategic initiatives, projects or for targeted efforts to change the organizational
culture. Hence, cultural competence increases the overall quality of managing organizational behavior.
Keeping the Culture alive

• Whenever a deliberate or targeted change of organizational culture is aimed for, it should be started
from a position of strength.
• A crisis such as a turnaround is utterly improper to develop and change culture for the better!
During a crisis, particularly our most advanced and fi nely differentiated cultural achievements, are
being destroyed. And that causes a cultural deconstruction.
• Primary goal of the management of organizational culture is not to let a crisis arise. By sensitizing
the organization’s and its member’s sense in dealing with themselves and their environment, a
higher level of consciousness can be reached. When a crisis was inevitable, then this level of
consciousness allows to better cope with the crisis.
• Managing organizational culture throughout a crisis should concentrate on devastating the
malfunctions of the past and to “rescue” (keep up) as many as possible of the most advanced
cultural achievements (dispositions) through the crisis. However, in order to do so, these
dispositions must be known in the first place and therefore they must have been identified and
described. Only then, the measures to cope with the crisis can be screened for their side effects with
regard to these dispositions.
• The initiation of a culture project is a proper means to an ongoing operationalization of
organizational culture. It is difficult to convey that the work on the organization’s culture will start
and that this work may be anchored organizationally “just for fun”. The necessity and the benefits
must be declared right from the outset. That includes the declaration of specific goals that are aimed
for by means of operationalizing (managing) organization culture. Such goals must be prioritized
over other initiatives.
1. A culture project is initiated by the organizational leadership. However, the trigger therefore can
also come from shareholders, unions, works councils, etc. Organization’s leadership has ultimately
to provide the necessary resources to perform the project, which may consist of purely internal
forces, but also of mixed teams and even of predominantly external forces.
2. A culture project is defined here as an undertaking with a specific goal, aiming at identifying and
describing the relevant cultural dispositions in this respect, and possibly initiating measures to
achieve the goals. Such measures may be of cultural nature, but not necessarily. A culture project
can be structured as follows:
• Culture Analysis: Identifying and describing of relevant cultural dispositions
Culture Change : Identifying, describing and implementing measures
Communication : Rational, goals, status or progress, results of the project; Stories.
The aim of a culture analysis is to find a striking scheme for cultural (refl exive, notional, emotional)
dispositions, which enlightens the task at hand and at the same time prepares an easy continued
employment. Probably the most common form of continued employment is the aim to obtain an
improvement. This can be either through adjustments (e.g. processes, strategy) to conform with the
prevailing culture or by changing the culture itself.
3. Monitor if the current developments are and activities are in conflict with the prevailing cultural
profile and if any destructive dispositions exist.
• If necessary, decide on the measures to comply with the prevailing cultural profile or to
change the cultural profile itself (dispositions)-initiate, plan, implement and control
them.
• Continuously communicate to foster the development of the new culture that facilitates
its nurturing and development. Design a target communication to prevent the
undesirable developments.
• Manage the organizational culture properly by substantial training (theory and on the
job).
• At an advanced stage of cultural project, a far more competent and experienced decision
on how to institutionalize the ongoing management of culture is possible. It is about the
continuous maintenance of the new culture being developed and continuous
management of cultural aspects
Model describing how cultures are created and maintained

How cultures are maintained
As a company matures, its cultural values are refined and strengthened. The early values of a company’s culture exert
influence over its future values. It is possible to think of organizational culture as an organism that protects itself
from external forces. Organizational culture determines what types of people are hired by an organization and what
types of people are left out. Moreover, once new employees are hired, the company assimilates new employees and
teaches them the way things are done in the organization. We call these processes attraction-selection-
attrition and onboarding processes.
Attraction-Selection-Attrition
The discipline of organizational behavior focuses on the study of organizations and the people who populate
them. Organizational culture is maintained through a process known as attraction-selection-attrition (ASA). The ASA
model delineates a framework for understanding organizational behavior that integrates both individual (micro) and
organizational (macro) perspectives by explaining macro organizational attributes with micro person characteristics.
The framework proposes that the outcome of three interrelated dynamic processes, attraction-selection-attrition,
determines the kinds of people in an organization, which consequently defines an organization, its structures, its
processes, and, ultimately, its culture.
The discipline of organizational behavior focuses on the study of organizations and the people who populate them. Organizational
culture is maintained through a process known as attraction-selection-attrition (ASA). First, employees are attracted to
organizations where they will fit in. Someone who has a competitive nature may feel comfortable in and may prefer to work in a
company where interpersonal competition is the norm. Others may prefer to work in a team-oriented workplace. Research shows
that employees with different personality traits find different cultures attractive.
At the core of the ASA model are the goals of the organization originally articulated (implicitly or explicitly) by the founder.
Organizational goals, and the processes, structures, and culture that emerge to facilitate attainment of these goals, are suggested to
be reflections of the particular characteristics (i.e., personality) of the founder and those of his or her early colleagues. The
founders are faced with a variety of decisions to make regarding whom to hire, how to compensate employees, how to structure
reporting relationships, and even what industries or markets to enter. The decisions made are influenced by the underlying values,
motives, and dispositions of the founder. So, for example, the ASA model would postulate that the cultural differences between
Apple Computer and Microsoft had their origins in the personality differences of their founders, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. As
Apple Computer and Microsoft grew, the policies and procedures established were a reflection of their founders’ early influence,
and over time these policies and procedures created a culture that is somewhat unique for each company. So, the genesis of an
organization’s culture can be traced to the initial decisions made by founders and the unique imprint they put on their organizations.
This, too, is the beginning of the ASA cycle.
1. The ASA cycle begins with the attraction process, which concerns the fact that people’s
preferences for particular organizations are based on some estimate of the fit or congruence of
their own personal characteristics (personality, values, and motives) with the attributes of the
organization they are evaluating. That is, people find organizations differentially attractive as
a function of their implicit judgments of the congruence between those organizations’ goals
(and structures, processes, and culture as manifestations of those goals) and their own
personalities. For example, an IT engineer may choose to work for Apple Computer, as
opposed to Microsoft, because she or he sees the company as innovative and flexible, which
conforms to the engineer’s own values of creativity and independence. Ample research
evidence suggests that job applicants make assessments of fit when choosing among
employment alternatives.
2. The next step in the ASA cycle refers to the formal and informal selection procedures used
by organizations in the recruitment and hiring of people with the attributes the organization
desires. Many organizations explicitly use fit as a criterion in the hiring process. Based on
ample research demonstrating that fit to an organization’s culture has implications for
employee job satisfaction, turnover, and absenteeism, this criterion seems justified. The
greater the degree of misfit, the more likely an employee will be to experience dissatisfaction
with the job, be absent, and quit. Research also suggests that fit assessments affect hiring
procedures not intended to assess fit. For example, research suggests that assessment center
ratings and interviewer judgments are influenced by conscious or unconscious evaluations of
applicant fit.
3. Finally, the attrition process refers to the idea that people will leave an organization they do not fit. The
turnover literature is quite clear about the fact that people who do not fit an organization will tend to leave
it. Of course, economics and job market prospects moderate the extent to which people leave an
organization they do not fit. In summary, ASA proposes that three processes—attraction, selection, and
attrition—result in organizations containing people with distinct personalities, and it is these distinct
personalities that are responsible for the unique structures, processes, and cultures that characterize
organizations. Organizational and personal characteristics are self-reinforcing. The characteristics of
people in an organization determine the policies and practices, which, in turn, determine the people who
are attracted to and remain with the organization.
New Employee Onboarding
Another way in which an organization’s values, norms, and behavioral patterns are transmitted to
employees is through onboarding (also referred to as the organizational socialization process).
Onboarding refers to the process through which new employees learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and
behaviors required to function effectively within an organization. If an organization can successfully
socialize new employees into becoming organizational insiders, new employees will feel accepted by their
peers and confident regarding their ability to perform; they will also understand and share the
assumptions, norms, and values that are part of the organization’s culture. This understanding and
confidence in turn translate into more effective new employees who perform better and have higher job
satisfaction, stronger organizational commitment, and longer tenure within the company (Bauer, et. al.,
2007). Organizations engage in different activities to facilitate onboarding, such as implementing
orientation programs or matching new employees with mentors.
What Can Employees Do During Onboarding?

New employees who are proactive, seek feedback, and build strong relationships tend to be more
successful than those who do not (Bauer & Green, 1998; Kammeyer-Mueller & Wanberg, 2003; Wanberg
& Kammeyer-Mueller, 2000). For example, feedback seeking helps new employees. Especially on a first
job, a new employee can make mistakes or gaffes and may find it hard to understand and interpret the
ambiguous reactions of coworkers. By actively seeking feedback, new employees may find out sooner
rather than later any behaviors that need to be changed and gain a better understanding of whether their
behavior fits with the company culture and expectations.
Relationship building or networking (a facet of the organizing function) is another important behavior new
employees may demonstrate. Particularly when a company does not have a systematic approach to
onboarding, it becomes more important for new employees to facilitate their own onboarding by actively
building relationships. According to one estimate, 35% of managers who start a new job fail in the new job
and either voluntarily leave or are fired within one and a half years. Of these, over 60% report not being
able to form effective relationships with colleagues as the primary reason for this failure (Fisher, 2005).
What Can Organizations do during Onboarding?

Many organizations, including Microsoft, Kellogg Company, and Bank of America take a more structured
and systematic approach to new employee onboarding, while others follow a “sink or swim” approach
where new employees struggle to figure out what is expected of them and what the norms are.
A formal orientation program indoctrinates new employees to the company culture, as well as introducing
them to their new jobs and colleagues. An orientation program has a role in making new employees feel
welcome in addition to imparting information that may help them be successful in their new jobs. Many
large organizations have formal orientation programs consisting of lectures, videotapes, and written
material, while some may follow more informal approaches. According to one estimate, most orientations
last anywhere from one to five days, and some companies are currently switching to a computer-based
orientation. Ritz Carlton, the company ranked number 1 in Training magazine’s 2007 top 125 list, uses a
very systematic approach to employee orientation and views orientation as the key to retention. In the 2-
day classroom orientation, employees spend time with management, dine in the hotel’s finest restaurant,
and witness the attention to customer service detail firsthand. During these two days, they are introduced
to the company’s intensive service standards, team orientation, and its own language. Later, on their 21st
day they are tested on the company’s service standards and are certified (Durett, 2006; Elswick, 2000).
Research shows that formal orientation programs are helpful in teaching employees about the goals and
history of the company, as well as communicating the power structure. Moreover, these programs may
also help with a new employee’s integration to the team. However, these benefits may not be realized to
the same extent in computer-based orientations. In fact, compared to those taking part in a regular, face-to-
face orientation, those undergoing a computer-based orientation were shown to have lower understanding
of their job and the company, indicating that different formats of orientations may not substitute for each
Organizational Conflict
The very meaning of conflict envisions fights, riots, or war. But these extreme situations represent
only the most overt & violent expressions of conflict. During a typical workday, managers encounter
more subtle and non-violent kinds of opposition such as arguments, criticism and disagreement as
happened to George in the opening case. Conflict, like power and politics, is an inevitable & often
positive force in today’s organizations.
Definition
Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected,
or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about.
Conflict is a dysfunctional outcome resulting from poor communication, a lack of openness and trust
between people, and the failure of managers to be responsive to the needs and aspirations of their
employees.
Organizational Conflict: Types
The Traditional View of Conflict

The early approach to conflict assumed all conflict was bad and to be avoided. Conflict was viewed
negatively and discussed with such terms as violence, destruction, and irrationality to reinforce its
negative connotation. This traditional view of conflict was consistent with attitudes about group
behavior that prevailed in the 1930s and 1940s.
The view that all conflict is bad certainly offers a simple approach to looking at the behavior of
people who create conflict. We need merely direct our attention to the causes of conflict and correct
those malfunctions to improve group and organizational performance. This view of conflict fell out of
favor for a long time as researchers came to realize that some level of conflict was inevitable.
The Interactionist View of Conflict

The interactionist view of conflict encourages conflict on the grounds that a harmonious, peaceful,
tranquil, and cooperative group is prone to becoming static, apathetic, and unresponsive to needs for
change and innovation. The major contribution of this view is recognizing that a minimal level of
conflict can help keep a group viable, self-critical, and creative.
The interactionist view does not propose that all conflicts are good. Rather, functional conflict
supports the goals of the group and improves its performance and is, thus, a constructive form of
conflict. A conflict that hinders group performance is a destructive or dysfunctional conflict.
Organizational Conflict: Types
Task conflict relates to the content and goals of the work.
Relationship conflict focuses on interpersonal relationships. Process conflict relates to how the work
gets done. Studies demonstrate that relationship conflicts are almost always dysfunctional. Why? It
appears that the friction and interpersonal hostilities inherent in relationship conflicts increase
personality clashes and decrease mutual understanding, which hinders the completion of
organizational tasks. Unfortunately, managers spend a lot of effort resolving personality conflicts
among staff members; one survey indicated this task consumes 18 percent of their time.
Organizational Conflict: Nature
Conflict may be understood as collision or disagreement. The conflict may be within an individual wen
there is incompatibility between his own goals and events, may be between two individuals, when one
doesn’t see eye to eye with another, and in the process tries to block or frustrate the attempts of another, or
between two groups in an organization.
Organizational conflict refers to the condition of misunderstanding or disagreement that is caused by the
perceived or actual opposition in the needs, interests, and values among people who work together.
Organizational conflict may also be termed as workplace conflict.
Conflict is a struggle between incompatible or opposing needs, wishes, ideas, interests or people. Conflict
arises when individuals or groups encounter goals that both parties cannot obtain satisfactorily.
Conflict may be cognitive or affective. Cognitive conflict refers to differences in perspectives or judgements
about issues. Affective conflict is emotional and directed at other people. Affective conflict is likely to be
destructive because it can lead to anger, bitterness, goal displacement and develop better ideas and poor
decisions. Cognitive conflict on the other hand, can air legitimate differences of opinion and develop better
ideas and solutions to problems. Conflict needs to be cognitive and not affective
Organizational Conflict: Nature
Sr. No. Traditional View of Interactionist View of Conflict

Conflict
1 Conflict is avoidable. Conflict is inevitable.
2 Conflict is caused by Conflict arises from many causes, including
management error in organisational structure, unavoidable
designing organizations or differences in goals, differences in
by trouble makers. perceptions & values.
3 Conflict disrupts the Conflict contributes & detracts from

organisation & prevents organisational performance in varying
optimal performance. degrees.
4 The task of management is The task of management is to manage the

to eliminate conflict. level of conflict & its resolution for optimal
organisational performance.
5 Optimal organisational Optimal organisational performance

performance requires the requires a moderate level of conflict
removal of conflict.
Organizational Conflict: Causes
• Lack of/ineffective communication.
• Different personality types.
• Ambiguous expectations.
• Unclear responsibilities.
• Unfair distribution of resources.
• Task interdependence.
• Difference between values and beliefs.
• The absence of rules or presence of ambiguous rules.
• Resource scarcity.
• Incompatible goals.
Organizational Conflict: Process
The conflict process has five stages: potential opposition or incompatibility, cognition and
personalization, intentions, behaviour and outcomes.
Organizational Conflict: Management
Conflict management does not necessarily imply avoidance, reduction, or termination of conflict. It involves
designing effective macro-level strategies to minimize the dysfunctions of conflict and enhancing the
constructive functions of conflict in order to enhance learning and effectiveness in an organization.
Several conflict management scholars (Amason, 1996; Jehn, Northcraft, & Neale, 1999; Rahim, 2001) have
suggested that conflict management strategies involve recognition of the following:
1. Certain types of conflicts, which may have negative effects on individual and group performance, may
have to be reduced. These conflicts are generally caused by the negative reactions of organizational
members (e.g., personal attacks of group members, racial disharmony, sexual harassment).
2. There are other types of conflicts that may have positive effects on the individual and group
performance. These conflicts relate to disagreements relating to tasks, policies, and other organizational
issues. Conflict management strategies involve generation and maintenance of a moderate amount of
these conflicts.
3. Organizational members while interacting with each other will be required to deal with their
disagreements constructively. This calls for learning how to use different conflict-handling styles to
deal with various situations effectively.
Organizational Conflict: Criteria for Management
In order for conflict management strategies to be effective, they should satisfy certain criteria. These
have been derived from the diverse literature on organization theory and organizational behavior. The
following criteria are particularly useful for conflict management, but in general, they may be useful
for decision making in management:
1. Organizational Learning and Effectiveness. Conflict management strategies should be designed

to enhance organizational learning (Luthans et al., 1995; Tompkins, 1995). It is expected that
organizational learning will lead to long-term effectiveness. In order to attain this objective, conflict
management strategies should be designed to enhance critical and innovative thinking to learn the
process of diagnosis and intervention in the right problems.
Organizational Conflict: Criteria for Management
2. Needs of Stakeholders. Conflict management strategies should be designed to satisfy the needs and
expectations of the strategic constituencies (stakeholders) and to attain a balance among them. Mitroff
(1998) strongly suggests picking the right stakeholders to solve the right problems. Sometimes multiple
parties are involved in a conflict in an organization and the challenge of conflict management would be to
involve these parties in a problem solving process that will lead to collective learning and organizational
effectiveness. It is expected that this process will lead to satisfaction of the relevant stakeholders.
3. Ethics. Mitroff (1998) is a strong advocate of ethical management. He concluded that "if we can't define a
problem so that it leads to ethical actions that benefit humankind, then either we haven't defined or are
currently unable to define the problem properly. A wise leader must behave ethically, and to do so the leader
should be open to new information and be willing to change his or her mind. By the same token
subordinates and other stakeholders have an ethical duty to speak out against the decisions of supervisors
when consequences of these decisions are likely to be serious. To manage conflicts ethically, organizations
should institutionalize the positions of employee advocate, customer and supplier advocate, as well as
environmental and stockholder advocates. Only if these advocates are heard by decision-makers in
organizations may we hope for an improved record of ethically managed organizational conflict (Rahim,
Garrett, & Buntzman, 1992).
Organizational Conflict: Strategy for Management
3. Select and Use Appropriate Conflict Management Strategies. As will be seen later, there are various
styles of behavior, such as integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising, which can be
used to deal with conflict. Organizational members would require training and on-the-job experience to
select and use the styles of handling interpersonal conflict so that various conflict situations can be
appropriately dealt with. In general, managing conflict to enhance learning and effectiveness require the
use of integrating or problem solving style (Rahim, 2001; see also Gray, 1989).
Power
Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so B acts in accordance with A’s wishes.
Someone can thus have power but not use it; it is a capacity or potential. Probably the most important
aspect of power is that it is a function of dependence. The greater B’s dependence on A, the greater A’s
power in the relationship. Dependence, in turn, is based on alternatives that B perceives and the importance
B places on the alternative(s) A controls. A person can have power over you only if he or she controls
something you desire. If you want a college degree and have to pass a certain course to get it, and your
current instructor is the only faculty member in the college who teaches that course, he or she has power
over you. Your alternatives are highly limited, and you place a high degree of importance on obtaining a
passing grade. Similarly, if you’re attending college on funds totally provided by your parents, you
probably recognize the power they hold over you. You’re dependent on them for financial support. But
once you’re out of school, have a job, and are making a good income, your parents’ power is reduced
significantly
Types of Power
Formal power is based on an individual’s position in an organization. It can come from the ability to
coerce or reward, or from formal authority.
Coercive Power The coercive power base depends on fear of the negative results from failing to comply. It
rests on the application, or the threat of application, of physical sanctions such as the infliction of pain,
frustration through restriction of movement, or the controlling by force of basic physiological or safety
needs. At the organizational level, A has coercive power over B if A can dismiss, suspend, or demote B,
assuming B values his or her job. If A can assign B work activities B finds unpleasant, or treat B in a
manner B finds embarrassing, A possesses coercive power over B.Coercive power can also come from
withholding key information. People in an organization who have data or knowledge others need can make
those others dependent on them.
Reward Power The opposite of coercive power is reward power, with which people comply because it
produces positive benefits; someone who can distribute rewards others view as valuable will have power
over them. These rewards can be either financial—such as controlling pay rates, raises, and bonuses—or
nonfinancial, including recognition, promotions, interesting work assignments, friendly colleagues, and
preferred work shifts or sales territories.
Types of Power
Legitimate Power In formal groups and organizations, probably the most common access to one or more
of the power bases is through legitimate power . It represents the formal authority to control and use
organizational resources based on structural position in the organization. Legitimate power is broader than
the power to coerce and reward. Specifically, it includes members’ acceptance of the authority of a position.
We associate power so closely with the concept of hierarchy that just drawing longer lines in an
organization chart leads people to infer the leaders are especially powerful, and when a powerful executive
is described, people tend to put the person at a higher position when drawing an organization chart. 8 When
school principals, bank presidents, or army captains speak (assuming their directives are viewed as within
the authority of their positions), teachers, tellers, and first lieutenants listen and usually comply.
Personal Power Many of the most competent and productive chip designers at Intel have power, but they
aren’t managers and have no formal power. What they have is personal power, which comes from an
individual’s unique characteristics. There are two bases of personal power: expertise and the respect and
admiration of others.
Types of Power
Expert Power Expert power is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge. As
jobs become more specialized, we become increasingly dependent on experts to achieve goals. It is
generally acknowledged that physicians have expertise and hence expert power: Most of us follow our
doctor’s advice. Computer specialists, tax accountants, economists, industrial psychologists, and other
specialists wield power as a result of their expertise.
Referent Power Referent power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or
personal traits. If I like, respect, and admire you, you can exercise power over me because I want to please
you. Referent power develops out of admiration of another and a desire to be like that person. It helps
explain, for instance, why celebrities are paid millions of dollars to endorse products in commercials.
Marketing research shows people such as LeBron James and Tom Brady have the power to influence your
choice of athletic shoes and credit cards. With a little practice, you and I could probably deliver as smooth a
sales pitch as these celebrities, but the buying public doesn’t identify with you and me. Some people who
are not in formal leadership positions nonetheless have referent power and exert influence over others
because of their charismatic dynamism, likability, and emotional effects on us.
Power Tactics
● Legitimacy. Relying on your authority position or saying a request accords with organizational policies
or rules.
● Rational persuasion. Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate a request is
reasonable.
● Inspirational appeals. Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s values, needs,
hopes, and aspirations.
● Consultation. Increasing the target’s support by involving him or her in deciding how you will
accomplish your plan.
● Exchange. Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request.
● Personal appeals. Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty.
● Ingratiation. Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making a request.
● Pressure. Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats.
● Coalitions. Enlisting the aid or support of others to persuade the target to agree.
Organizational Politics
There is no shortage of definitions of organizational politics. Essentially, this type of politics focuses on the
use of power to affect decision making in an organization, or on self-serving and organizationally
unsanctioned behaviors. For our purposes, political behavior in organizations consists of activities that are
not required as part of an individual’s formal role but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution
of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.
Political behavior is outside specified job requirements. It requires some attempt to use power bases. It
includes efforts to influence the goals, criteria, or processes used for decision making. Our definition is
broad enough to include varied political behaviors such as withholding key information from decision
makers, joining a coalition, whistleblowing, spreading rumors, leaking confidential information to the
media, exchanging favors with others in the organization for mutual benefit, and lobbying on behalf of or
against a particular individual or decision alternative.
Causes and Consequences of Political Behavior
Individual Factors At the individual level, researchers have identified certain personality traits, needs, and
other factors likely to be related to political behavior. In terms of traits, we find that employees who are
high self-monitors, possess an internal locus of control, and have a high need for power are more likely to
engage in political behavior. The high self-monitor is more sensitive to social cues, exhibits higher levels of
social conformity, and is more likely to be skilled in political behavior than the low self-monitor. Because
they believe they can control their environment, individuals with an internal locus of control are more
prone to take a proactive stance and attempt to manipulate situations in their favor. Not surprisingly, the
Machiavellian personality—characterized by the will to manipulate and the desire for power—is
comfortable using politics as a means to further his or her self-interest.
Organizational Factors Although we acknowledge the role individual differences can play, the evidence
more strongly suggests that certain situations and cultures promote politics. Specifically, when an
organization’s resources are declining, when the existing pattern of resources is changing, and when there
is opportunity for promotions, politicking is more likely to surface. When organizations downsize to
improve efficiency, resources must be reduced, and people may engage in political actions to safeguard
what they have. But any changes, especially those that imply significant reallocation of resources within
the organization, are likely to stimulate conflict and increase politicking. The opportunity for promotions or
advancement has consistently been found to encourage competition for a limited resource as people try to
positively influence the decision outcome.
Cultures characterized by low trust, role ambiguity, unclear performance evaluation systems, zero-sum
reward allocation practices, democratic decision making, high pressures for performance, and self-serving
senior managers will also create breeding grounds for politicking. The less trust within the organization, the
higher the level of political behavior and the more likely it will be of the illegitimate kind. So, high trust
should suppress political behavior in general and inhibit illegitimate actions in particular.
Role ambiguity means the prescribed employee behaviors are not clear. There are, therefore, fewer limits
to the scope and functions of the employee’s political actions. Because political activities are defined as
those not required as part of the employee’s formal role, the greater the role ambiguity, the more employees
can engage in unnoticed political activity.
Performance evaluation is far from a perfect science. The more organizations use subjective criteria in the
appraisal, emphasize a single outcome measure, or allow significant time to pass between the time of an
action and its appraisal, the greater the likelihood that an employee can get away with politicking.
Subjective performance criteria create ambiguity. The use of a single outcome measure encourages
individuals to do whatever is necessary to “look good” on that measure, but that often occurs at the cost of
good performance on other important parts of the job that are not being appraised. The longer the time
between an action and its appraisal, the more unlikely it is that the employee will be held accountable for
political behaviors.
The more an organization’s culture emphasizes the zero-sum or win–lose approach to reward allocations,
the more employees will be motivated to engage in politicking.
Finally, when employees see the people on top engaging in political behavior, especially doing so
successfully and being rewarded for it, a climate is created that supports politicking. Politicking by top
management in a sense gives those lower in the organization permission to play politics by implying that
such behavior is acceptable.
How do people respond to Organizational Politics
Organizational Life-Cycle
The organizational life cycle is a theoretical model based on the changes organizations experience as they
grow and mature. Just as living organizations grow and decline in predictable patterns, so do organizations.
The organizational life cycle is described as social systems where a group of people are organised around a
common goal or purpose. They indulge in numerous activities like business planning, strategic
planning, marketing, product development and financial management. All the activities have both formal
and informal goals and include taking steps to achieve these goals by making adjustments along the way if
necessary.
The social system is focused on the entire organization that provides for individuals, teams products
services etc. and goes through regular life cycles just as other living organisms do.
For the first time organizations were compared to living organisms by the economist Alfred Marshall in the
1890s and sixty years later it was proved by Kenneth Boulding that the organizations do pass through a life
cycle that is very similar to that of living organisms.
Why is organizational life cycle essential to
understand?
You may think the modern era of competitive disruption has made traditional life cycles less
relevant, but the opposite is true.
Since most of today’s industry disruptions are in technologies, life cycles and the conditions
that shape them are even more critical because of the speed of change. Cycles that once lasted
years or decades can now pass in months.
As you will see, if a business fails to take a proactive stance toward organizational life cycle
changes, it is likely to fall into crisis and decline.
Organizational life cycles are the product of human behavior. In organizations, that behavior
has predictable patterns that result in foreseeable crises. Preparing for those crises can
determine whether an organization moves to the next stage of development or fails.
For example, in a stable, mature organization, people fall prey to the misconception that the
“way we do things” is the way it will always be. The inevitable result is stagnation.
If leaders and the people understand the issues that can arise before they happen, the change to
the next phase need not be a crisis.
Organizational Life-Cycle
The start-up or birth phase
This is the stage when the companies have to accumulate capital, develop products and services and
hire workers. Thus this phase is all about entrepreneurial thinking and includes writing and forming
a business plan, formation of various teams, making investment plans to kick-start the business. In
case a company does not require outside funds then gearing up for taking out the necessary funds
from the personal account.
At this stage, the firms exhibit a simple structure with centralised power at the top of the hierarchy.
The primary purpose of this point in time is to establish competencies and generate initial success
in terms of products and market.
This is the stage where you will find lots of trial and errors as the companies have to change their
products and services in a manner to suit the demands of its customers and establish distinct
competencies. The pursuit of a niche strategy and frequent innovations are part of this phase. It is
generally seen that by the end of this stage, the organization more often experience explosive and
unprecedented growth. To meet the demands, it has to rapidly hire new employees because the
business opportunities start surpassing resources and infrastructure.
The growth/survival phase
The second stage of the organizational life cycle is the growth stage that is also referred
to as the survival stage. It is aptly named because at this point; the companies are
looking to solidify their roots, establish a framework, pursue growth and develop their
capabilities. The onus is on setting targets and generating revenues for expansion and
growth plans. There are two possible scenarios in the growth stage; first, some
companies enjoy success and growth and can enter the next step with aplomb whereas
some organizations are unable to achieve the desired success and subsequently fail to
survive.
The growth stage is crucial for an organization, and this is why it puts its onus on early
product diversification and sales growth. Product lines are broadened; efforts are on
tailoring products to suit new markets, managers try to identify subgroups of customers
and make small modifications in product and services to serve them in a better way.
The niche strategy is often sidelined for a temporary phase to address the broadened
markets. Generally, the organizations attain profitability in this stage and might require
additional funding to meet the numerous growth opportunities.
The growth/survival phase
The second stage of the organizational life cycle is the growth stage that is also referred to as the
survival stage. It is aptly named because at this point; the companies are looking to solidify their
roots, establish a framework, pursue growth and develop their capabilities. The onus is on
setting targets and generating revenues for expansion and growth plans. There are two possible
scenarios in the growth stage; first, some companies enjoy success and growth and can enter the
next step with aplomb whereas some organizations are unable to achieve the desired success and
subsequently fail to survive.
The growth stage is crucial for an organization, and this is why it puts its onus on early
product diversification and sales growth. Product lines are broadened; efforts are on tailoring
products to suit new markets, managers try to identify subgroups of customers and make small
modifications in product and services to serve them in a better way.
The niche strategy is often sidelined for a temporary phase to address the broadened markets.
Generally, the organizations attain profitability in this stage and might require additional funding to
meet the numerous growth opportunities. n this stage a functionally-based structure is established,
procedures are formalised, some authority is delegated to the middle managers, customers influence
decisions, and the goal encompasses fulfilling the wishes of the customer to a higher degree.
The roles now become differentiated, and there is an increase in sales and marketing to generate
and fulfil demands. In other words, diversification of the customer base and product line results in
the specialization. To maintain control, the organization introduces formal methods and cross-
functional activities.
The Maturity phase
The next stage in the organizational life cycle is the maturity stage where the company enters a
hierarchal structure of management. In this phase, the companies pay fewer onuses on expansion
and more on safeguarding their interests and maintaining the existing growth and development
strategies and plans. It is the middle and top levels management that take up the mantle of
specialising in tasks like routine work, planning, strategising etc.
By the time an organization reaches its maturity level one can see stabilisation in the sales. This
happens because of market saturation and high levels of competitive activities.
Some organizations are highly profitable, and the goal then is to maintain smooth functioning to
maximise their profits in case the company goes through a declining sales growth phase. The
companies put their onus on internal efficiency, and for this, they start installing control
mechanisms in place.
Firms remain centralised and functional, and departmental structures continue to exist as they are
apt for product-market scope. The delegation of power is less compared to the growth stage because
the operations are now more stable and straightforward and do not require the efforts of numerous
people.
There is an emphasis on budgets, formal cost controls, performance measures and coordination so
that various departments and units can work together effectively.
The maturity phase in an organizational life cycle shows a less proactive and less innovative
decision-making stage. This is because the aim of the company at this point is apparent – to focus
on efficiency instead of a novelty. It waits for the competition to make the first move and lead the
way and then imitates the innovation if necessary.
The Decline phase
The last stage of the organizational life cycle is the decline stage that signifies the death of an
organization. This can be identified by minimizing sales figures and profitability in the
organization. This happens because of market stagnation, reluctance for risk-taking, external
challenges, and lack of innovation.
In this stage of the organizational life cycle, organizations start putting the onus on conserving
resources. Their sales figures go plummeting downhill because of unappealing product lines and
lack of new technologies in the products. The communication between departments and the levels
is weak and well-developed mechanism is absent for information processing.
The declining stage is the worst in the organizational life cycle as individuals become preoccupied
with personal objectives instead of organizational goals and objectives. This slowly and steadily
destroys the feasibility and functionality of the entire company.
The Renewal phase
The next stage in the organizational life cycle is known as the renewal stage. This is because, at this
point, the companies will experience a renewal in their management structure that shifts from a
hierarchical organizational structure to a matrix style of organizational structure. This change
facilitates flexibility and creativity in the organization.
The renewal stage is also referred to as the revival stage because of its functions. It is an optional
stage, and several organizations do not put the onus on it whereas other takes care of it diligently.
The revival stage generally occurs between maturity and a decline stage of the organizational life
cycle. This happens because an organization recognises the need for drastic changes and initiates
plans to implement the set strategies that can alter their current path.
The revival stage is considered for expansion and diversification of product-market scope.
Companies try to follow a policy of rapid growth through diversification, innovation and
acquisition. This stage involves increased investment and high risks.
The firm forms project teams and task forces to analyse issues and find solution alternatives
systematically. Information processing is expanded and becomes diverse because the requirement
changes from performance reporting and financial controls to information about customer and
market opportunities. This is for identifying the new trends and opportunities to revive the
organizational structure.
The Organizational Change
Organisational change is an essential process that drives meaningful transformations within a

company or institution. It involves making significant modifications to various aspects of the
organisation, including its
1. structure,
2. culture,
3. processes,
4. systems,
5. strategies, and
6. personnel.
The goal is to enhance
7. performance,
8. effectiveness, and
9. adaptability,
Organisational change ensures that the organisation remains competitive in a dynamic business
environment. Organisational change can be triggered by internal or external factors and is guided
by the need to foster growth and success. It encompasses diverse areas such as restructuring,
cultural evolution, process optimisation, technological advancements, strategic realignment, and
people-centric initiatives. Implementing successful organisational change requires meticulous
planning, inspiring leadership, and active engagement from stakeholders. By embracing change as a
constant, organisations can navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and pave the way for sustained
success.
The Organizational Change: Causes
1. External influences: Changes in the external environment, such as market dynamics,

technological advancements, industry regulations, or shifts in customer preferences, can
prompt organisations to adapt and change in order to stay competitive.
2. Competitive pressures: Intense competition within the industry or the emergence of new
market players can drive organisations to implement changes in their strategies, processes, or
products to gain a competitive advantage.
3. Organisational growth or decline: Significant growth or decline within an organisation can
necessitate changes to accommodate the increased scale or to restructure and optimise
operations during periods of decline.
4. Technological advancements: Rapid advancements in technology can trigger organisational
change as organisations adopt new technologies, upgrade systems, or automate processes to
improve efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness.
5. Mergers and acquisitions: When organisations undergo mergers, acquisitions, or partnerships,
changes are often required to integrate operations, align cultures, streamline processes, and
realise synergies.
6. Internal inefficiencies or performance gaps: Identifying internal inefficiencies, performance
gaps, or areas for improvement can drive organisations to implement changes in processes,
systems, or structures to enhance performance, productivity, and operational effectiveness.
7. Leadership and strategic shifts: Changes in leadership, new strategic directions, or shifts in
organisational priorities can lead to changes as organisations align with the new vision, goals,
or strategic objectives.
The Organizational Change: 5 Types
1. Transformational
Changes that completely reshape business strategies and processes and redefine a business are
called transformational changes. These are dramatic, large-scale changes that fundamentally alter
the organisation. They happen rarely and are usually implemented when businesses pursue entirely
different products or markets, experience radical changes in technology, try to revamp their
business model because of extreme conditions or keep up with rising supply demand.
Some common reasons for transformational change are leadership change, unmatched competition,
adverse market conditions, business growth and decline in revenue. This type of change can affect
all sections of a company, from staff to management. Some kinds of organisational changes brought
about by transformational change are:
Cultural change: It involves promoting new attitudes that better express the company's core
values or redefining its vision and mission altogether. This transforms the work environment of the
organisation.
Structural change: This refers to changes in hierarchies and job roles. Incorporating structural
change may involve reorganising departments, creating high-performing teams, adding employee
positions, revising job roles and assignments or promoting valuable employees.
Personnel change: This happens when a company experiences massive growth or downsizing.
This involves mass hiring and layoffs that significantly impact employee engagement and retention.
2. Transitional
In a transitional change, companies replace an existing procedure with a new one for increased efficiency
and performance. This may involve switching from manual to automated production methods, creating
new products or services, implementing new technology and updating long-held, outdated policies.
Companies make these changes periodically to remain competitive in their marketplace.
Transitional changes may happen during mergers and acquisitions, policy changes and corporate
restructuring. This type of change is substantially disruptive, as it may impact relationships, job functions
and culture and may involve substantial retraining. Transitional changes usually result in the following
kinds of organisational changes:
Technology change: This comprises adopting new technology to phase out old methods and keep up with
technological advancements. This may include automating jobs, introducing new software platforms and
designing new strategies for technological processes.
Operational change: This might involve updating to a new process or streamlining the existing process.
Companies can implement operational changes by introducing new technologies or products, focusing on
team building and improving employee communication.
3. Developmental
This type of change involves the enhancement and correction of existing systems without aiming for any
radical changes. These are slow, small-scale changes that focus on incremental improvement, detecting
deficiencies and building upon prior success. Some examples of developmental changes can include
updating payroll procedures, improvement of existing billing and reporting methods and refocusing
marketing and advertising strategies. These minor changes compound over time and produce positive returns
for the company, significantly increasing its market value.
Developmental changes are a sign that the company is committed to improving itself to meet market
demands and grow revenues. These changes are easy to adapt to and happen most frequently. Developmental
change can be of the following types:
Anticipatory change: An organisation may take up this type of change to better prepare for future
shortcomings or opportunities. This is a strategy-oriented change, often involving prior data analysis,
surveys and customer outreach.
Remedial change: A company implements this type of change when it identifies an unanticipated problem
and executes a quick solution. This can relate to a loss of talent, addressing customer communication issues,
introducing an employee training program or creating a position to fix a recurring problem in the company.
4. Proactive
Proactive changes are pre-planned changes that the company undergoes to avoid a potential future
threat or to capitalise on a potential future opportunity. These are active attempts to alter the workplace
and its practices. This kind of change coordinates the various parts of the system as a whole and
addresses the underlying forces creating symptoms.
Examples may include increasing production volume due to the expected rise in customer demand or
introducing employee benefit schemes to improve employee retention. Any kind of transformation,
transition or development requires pre-meditation and extensive planning. These are organised
changes that are economically feasible and allow the company ample time to prepare.
5. Reactive
Reactive changes are unplanned transformations undertaken in response to unexpected external factors
when some threat or opportunity has already occurred. Factors like a market crash or boom, political
shifts, war, disease outbreaks such as an epidemic or pandemic, product or technological
obsolescence, natural disasters and accidents trigger reactive changes. These types of changes cover a
limited part of the system and only respond to immediate symptoms.
This can involve scenarios such as controversy concerning the lack of diversity in employee
demographics or new business laws implemented by the government. The only example of reactive
change is remedial change undertaken spontaneously to solve an unforeseen problem. It is often
chaotic and expensive and prompts the company to act within a limited time.
The Organizational Change: Process
1.Recognising the need for change: The first step is to identify the necessity for change by closely
examining internal assessments, employee feedback, market trends, and shifts in the business
environment. It is crucial to gain a clear understanding of the drivers and reasons behind the change.
2.Planning: This stage focuses on creating a well-thought-out change plan. It involves setting clear
goals and objectives, defining the scope and scale of the change, and developing a roadmap that
outlines the activities, timeline and required resources.
3.Communicating and engaging stakeholders: Effective communication is essential to gain
support and create buy-in for the change. Stakeholders, including employees, leaders, customers,
and external partners, should be informed about the change, its purpose, and the potential benefits.
Engaging stakeholders in the change process fosters collaboration, addresses concerns, and
cultivates a sense of shared ownership.
4.Assessing and managing risks: A comprehensive assessment of potential risks and challenges
associated with the change is crucial. This involves identifying obstacles, potential resistance, and
unintended consequences. Risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans should be developed to
address these challenges and minimise disruptions
1. Implementing the change: This stage focuses on putting the change plan into action. Activities
outlined in the plan, such as process restructuring, technology adoption, or organisational
adjustments, are executed with careful project management, resource allocation, and
coordination.
2. Monitoring and evaluating progress: Regular monitoring and evaluation are vital to track
progress, identify any deviations or obstacles, and make necessary adjustments. Key
performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics are established to assess the effectiveness and impact
of the change. Gathering feedback from employees and stakeholders helps inform ongoing
improvements.
3. Reinforcing and sustaining the change: Once the change has been implemented, efforts are
made to reinforce and embed the new practices, behaviours, and processes into the
organisational culture. This may involve providing training, support, and recognition to ensure
that the change becomes deeply rooted. Continuous reinforcement and a focus on learning
contribute to long-term sustainability.
The Organizational Change Process:
Kurt Lewin’s Model
1. Unfreezing
The first stage is known as “unfreezing,” which involves breaking away from established practices and
preparing individuals to embrace new alternatives. During this stage, outdated beliefs, processes, and
behaviours are discarded in favour of more suitable approaches for the current situation. The goal is to help
organisational members understand that the status quo is no longer viable given the evolving demands of the
environment.
Unfreezing involves several steps:
Recognising the Driving Forces: Managers must develop a keen awareness of major environmental changes
and internal issues that necessitate change. By understanding the pressures for change, they can effectively
identify the need for transformation.
Increasing the Driving Forces: Once the need for change is recognised, it is essential to communicate this
need to the people involved. By explaining the reasons behind the change, individuals are more likely to
embrace it willingly.
Managing the Resisting Forces: Resistance to change often arises when individuals perceive potential harm or
negative impact on their interests. It is crucial to address these concerns and fears by highlighting the benefits of
the proposed changes and alleviating any misconceptions
To achieve unfreezing, various techniques can be employed, such as:

1. Education: Providing information and knowledge regarding the need for change and its advantages.
2. Communication: Engaging in open discussions to clarify the rationale behind the change and
address any uncertainties.
3. Participation in decision-making: Involving employees in the change process by encouraging their
input and ideas.
4. Negotiation through the exchange of rewards: Offering incentives or rewards to motivate
acceptance of the change.
5. Persuasion: Shaping perceptions and attitudes through effective communication and influence
strategies.
6. Encouragement and Support: Providing the necessary resources and assistance to facilitate the
transition.
2. Changing or Moving
Once individuals embrace the need for change, the proposed changes are introduced systematically,
fostering new learning and the adoption of new behaviours. This moving phase encompasses key
elements that facilitate a successful transition:
Encouraging Compliance: In some cases, change may be enforced through incentives or consequences.
However, true transformation requires more than compliance; it requires internalisation and
identification.
Internalisation: Change becomes meaningful when individuals experience situations that call for new
behaviours. Through firsthand encounters, they begin to understand the importance of change and
gradually internalise new ways of behaving.
Identification: Individuals also identify suitable behavioural models within their environment. They
recognise role models whose actions align with the desired change and choose to emulate them.
During the implementation of change, unexpected challenges may arise, requiring effective problem-solving.
This period is marked by experimentation, ambiguity, and the need for careful guidance.
To navigate this phase successfully, we should consider the following approaches:
Transparent Communication: Communicate the purpose, benefits, and expected outcomes of the change to all
members. This ensures a shared understanding and aligns efforts toward a common goal.
Supportive Training and Resources: Provide comprehensive training programs and resources to help
individuals acquire the skills and competencies needed for new behaviours. Offer guidance and assistance to
address any challenges that emerge along the way.
Continuous Feedback and Improvement: Establish feedback channels to gather insights and suggestions
from employees. This enables ongoing refinement of the change implementation strategy based on real-time
input, fostering a sense of ownership and engagement.
Foster Adaptability: Cultivate a culture of adaptability and openness to change. Encourage individuals to
embrace new alternatives and behaviours, creating an environment that supports growth and development.
Leadership Guidance: Effective leadership plays a vital role in guiding organisational members through the
change process. Leaders should provide clear direction, and support, and serve as role models for the desired
behaviours, inspiring others to embrace the change.
3. Refreezing
The final phase of the change process is refreezing, where the changes implemented during the moving
phase become ingrained as a permanent part of the organisation’s culture. During this phase, members of
the organisation internalise the new beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours they have learned. It is the
responsibility of the manager, acting as the change agent, to ensure the effective integration of these new
behaviours with existing patterns. Without proper internalisation, there is a risk of individuals reverting
to old ways of doing things.
To solidify the changes and prevent regression, organisations must strive for a state of dynamic
equilibrium. This entails maintaining a balance among various components that support the desired
behaviours. Continuous reinforcement is essential to ensure the sustainability of the acquired behaviours.
Acceptance of new practices and stabilisation of change occurs when sufficient positive outcomes and
reinforcements are provided
We should consider the following approaches during the refreezing phase:

Integration and Alignment: Ensure that the new behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes align with the overall
organisational goals and values. Seamlessly integrate them into existing systems and processes to foster
consistency and coherence.
Ongoing Support: Provide continuous support and resources to reinforce newly acquired behaviours. This may
include training, coaching, and mentoring to assist individuals in adapting to the changes. Supportive leadership
and a positive organisational climate are critical in maintaining the desired behaviours.
Celebrate Success: Recognise and celebrate accomplishments related to the change implementation. This helps
reinforce positive outcomes and motivates individuals to continue embracing new behaviours.
Feedback and Evaluation: Establish feedback mechanisms to monitor the effectiveness of the change and
gather insights for improvement. Regular evaluation ensures the sustained adoption of desired behaviours and
allows for further refinement, if necessary.
Foster an Organisational Culture: Cultivate a culture that values and supports the desired behaviours. This
involves aligning performance management systems, rewards, and recognition programs to reinforce the change
and encourage its continuation.
Organizational Change Management
Organizational change is necessary for companies to succeed and grow. Change management drives the
successful adoption and usage of change within the business. It allows employees to understand and
commit to the shift and work effectively during it.
Without effective organizational change management, company transitions can be unpredictable and
expensive in terms of both time and resources. They can also result in lower employee morale and skill
development.
A company’s reaction and adaptation to change is also a critical consideration for key stakeholders like
investors, suppliers, and prospective employees when deciding whether to work with or for a company.
As a result, a lack of effective change management can lead to an organization’s failure.
The planned organizational-wide effort to increase individual and organizational effectiveness via
behavioral science knowledge.”
The process can be incremental or discontinuous. Incremental change is more of an evolutionary form of
change and usually internally driven. Discontinuous change is a revolutionary form of change, often
unplanned and externally driven.
Organizational change management is designed to reduce potential negative fallout of any general,
structural changes in a business. Specifically, organizational change management focuses on both the
micro and the macro levels. Whether requiring workers to learn new skills, reallocating responsibilities
and priorities or investing in new tools or software, organizational change management process involves
a top-down approach to managing change.
Importance of Organizational Change
Management
While change at the project level is important, it ultimately does not tend to extend beyond
the boundaries of the project itself. That is to say, project-level change can be somewhat
isolated, or specific, in impact. Change at the organizational level, however, affects all
employees in a particular company, including the individuals and teams working on various
projects. One might say that organizational change encompasses project-level change. For
this reason, organizational change tends to be felt at a deeper level and for a longer period of
time.
It is, therefore, important for companies to manage any organizational change as effectively
as possible. Managing a successful organizational change can increase morale among
workers and drive positive teamwork and job enrichment. These factors can directly and
positively affect productivity and quality of work while shortening production cycles and
reducing costs. Effective organizational change management allows the company to maintain
a constant state of evolution and facilitate periods of general business change, allowing
workers to remain motivated and productive during the introduction of new technologies or
procedures.
Overcoming Resistance to Change
Education and Communication Communicating the logic of a change can reduce employee resistance
on two levels. First, it fights the effects of misinformation and poor communication: if employees receive
the full facts and clear up misunderstandings, resistance should subside. Second, communication can
help “sell” the need for change by packaging it properly. A study of German companies revealed changes
are most effective when a company communicates a rationale that balances the interests of various
stakeholders (shareholders, employees, community, customers) rather than those of shareholders only.
Another study of a changing organization in the Philippines found that formal change information
sessions decreased employee anxiety about the change, while providing high-quality information about
the change increased commitment to it.
Participation It’s difficult to resist a change decision in which we’ve participated. Assuming participants
have the expertise to make a meaningful contribution, their involvement can reduce resistance, obtain
commitment, and increase the quality of the change decision. However, against these advantages are the
negatives: potential for a poor solution and great consumption of time.
Building Support and Commitment When employees’ fear and anxiety are high, counseling and
therapy, new-skills training, or a short paid leave of absence may facilitate adjustment. When managers
or employees have low emotional commitment to change, they favor the status quo and resist it.
Employees are also more accepting of changes when they are committed to the organization as a whole.
So, firing up employees and emphasizing their commitment to the organization overall can also help
them emotionally commit to the change rather than embrace the status quo.
Develop Positive Relationships People are more willing to accept changes if they trust the managers
implementing them. One study surveyed 235 employees from a large housing corporation in the
Netherlands that was experiencing a merger. Those who had a more positive relationship with their
supervisors, and who felt that the work environment supported development, were much more positive
about the change process. Another set of studies found that individuals who were dispositionally resistant
to change felt more positive about the change if they trusted the change agent. This research suggests that
if managers are able to facilitate positive relationships, they may be able to overcome resistance to
change even among those who ordinarily don’t like changes.
Implementing Changes Fairly One way organizations can minimize negative impact is to make sure
change is implemented fairly. Procedural fairness is especially important when employees perceive an
outcome as negative, so it’s crucial that employees see the reason for the change and perceive its
implementation as consistent and fair.
Manipulation and Cooptation Manipulation refers to covert influence attempts. Twisting facts to make
them more attractive, withholding information, and creating false rumors to get employees to accept
change are all examples of manipulation. If management threatens to close a manufacturing plant whose
employees are resisting an across-the-board pay cut, and if the threat is actually untrue, management is
using manipulation. Cooptation, on the other hand, combines manipulation and participation. It seeks to
“buy off” the leaders of a resistance group by giving them a key role, seeking their advice not to find a
better solution but to get their endorsement. Both manipulation and cooptation are relatively inexpensive
ways to gain the support of adversaries, but they can backfire if the targets become aware they are being
tricked or used. Once that’s discovered, the change agent’s credibility may drop to zero.
Selecting People Who Accept Change Research suggests the ability to easily accept and adapt to
change is related to personality—some people simply have more positive attitudes about change than
others. Such individuals are open to experience, take a positive attitude toward change, are willing to
take risks, and are flexible in their behavior. One study of managers in the United States, Europe, and
Asia found those with a positive self-concept and high risk tolerance coped better with organizational
change. A study of 258 police officers found those higher in growth-needs strength, internal locus of
control, and internal work motivation had more positive attitudes about organizational change efforts.
Individuals higher in general mental ability are also better able to learn and adapt to changes in the
workplace. In sum, an impressive body of evidence shows organizations can facilitate change by
selecting people predisposed to accept it. Besides selecting individuals who are willing to accept
changes, it is also possible to select teams that are more adaptable. Studies have shown that teams that
are strongly motivated by learning about and mastering tasks are better able to adapt to changing
environments. This research suggests that it may be necessary to consider not just individual motivation,
but also group motivation when trying to implement changes.
Coercion Last on the list of tactics is coercion, the application of direct threats or force on the resisters. If
management really is determined to close a manufacturing plant whose employees don’t acquiesce to a
pay cut, the company is using coercion. Other examples are threats of transfer, loss of promotions,
negative performance evaluations, and a poor letter of recommendation. The advantages and drawbacks
of coercion are approximately the same as for manipulation and cooptation.

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DAIMSR

DR. AMBEDKAR INSTITUTE OF

Prof. Deepika Soni

Conflict and Change

Organizational culture represents a common perception the organization’s members hold. We

• Reduced recruitment efforts.

• Teamwork encompasses collaboration, communication, and respect between team members.

• Second, it conveys a sense of identity for organization’s members.

• Third, culture facilitates commitment to something larger than individual self-interest.

Institutionalization When an organization undergoes institutionalization and becomes

Barriers to Acquisitions and Mergers Historically, when management looked at acquisition or

How a Culture Begins

Culture creation occurs in three ways.

Keeping the Culture alive

Model describing how cultures are created and maintained

New Employee Onboarding

What Can Employees Do During Onboarding?

What Can Organizations do during Onboarding?

The Traditional View of Conflict

The Interactionist View of Conflict

Task conflict relates to the content and goals of the work.

Sr. No. Traditional View of Interactionist View of Conflict

3 Conflict disrupts the Conflict contributes & detracts from

4 The task of management is The task of management is to manage the

5 Optimal organisational Optimal organisational performance

• Lack of/ineffective communication.

• Different personality types.

• Unfair distribution of resources.

• Difference between values and beliefs.

• The absence of rules or presence of ambiguous rules.

1. Organizational Learning and Effectiveness. Conflict management strategies should be designed

Organisational change is an essential process that drives meaningful transformations within a

1. External influences: Changes in the external environment, such as market dynamics,

To achieve unfreezing, various techniques can be employed, such as:

We should consider the following approaches during the refreezing phase:

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