Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 9/e

Stephen P. Robbins/Timothy A. Judge

Chapter 16

Organizational Change
and Development

After studying this chapter, you

should be able to:
1. Describe forces that act as stimulants to
change
2. Contrast two views of change
3. Summarize Lewins three-step change
model
4. Describe factors that lead to resistance to
change and how resistance can be
reduced

After studying this chapter, you

should be able to:
5. Explain the values underlying most
organizational development (OD) efforts
6. Contrast continuous improvement and process
reengineering
7. Describe potential sources of, and ways of
managing, work stress
8. List characteristics of a learning organization
9. Explain how organizational change may be
culture-bound

Change Agents
Persons in organization responsible for
managing change activities
Can be managers or nonmanagers, current
employees, newly hired employees or
outside consultants

Lewin
Unfreezing can be achieved by:
Increase driving forces that direct behavior
away from the status quo
Decrease restraining forces that hinder
movement from the existing equilibrium
Combine the two above approaches

White-Water Rapids Simile

Stability and predictability dont exist
No occasional and temporary disruptions in
the status quo, happens all the time
Face constant change, bordering on chaos

Resistance to Change

Habit
Security
Structural Inertia
Limited Focus of Change

Overcoming Resistance to Change

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Education and Communication

Participation
Building Support and Commitment
Selecting People who Accept Change
Coercion

Organizational Development

Respect for People

Trust and Support
Power Equalization
Confrontation
Participation

OD Interventions

Sensitivity Training
Survey Feedback
Process Consultation
Intergroup Development
Appreciative Inquiry

Contemporary Issues
How are changes in technology affecting
the work lives of employees?
How do I reduce stress among
my work staff?
How do managers create organizations
that continually learn and adapt?
Is managing change culture-bound?

Technology in the Workplace

Continuous Improvement Process
recognizes that good isnt good enough
and performance should be improved
upon; constant reduction in variability
Process Reengineering How you would
do things if you could start over from
scratch

Stress
Dynamic condition in which an individual is
confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or
demand related to what he desires and for which
the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain
and important
Managing Stress
Organizational: Employee Selection, Organizational
Communication, Goal-setting Programs, Job Redesign
Personal: Counseling, Time Management, Physical
Activity

Creating a Learning Organization

An organization that has developed the
continuous capacity to adapt and change
Single-loop learning when errors are detected,
the correction process relies on past routines and
present policies
Double-loop learning when an error is detected,
its corrected in ways that involve the modification
of the organizations objectives, policies and
standard routines

Learning Organizations
Remedy for three inherent problems in
organizations
Fragmentation
Competition
Reactiveness

How to make a firm a learning organization

Establish a strategy
Redesign the organizations structure
Reshape the organizations culture

Managing Change: Its Culture

Bound
Cultures influence answers to:
Do people believe change is possible?
If its possible, how long will it take to bring about?
Is resistance to change greater in some cultures than
in others?
Does culture influence how change efforts will be
implemented?
Do successful idea champions do things differently in
different cultures?

Implications for Managers

The need for change encompasses almost
all the concepts within OB
The real world is turbulent, requiring
organizations and their members to
undergo dynamic change if they are to
perform at competitive levels
Managers must continually act as change
agents

Summary
1. Described forces that act as stimulants to
change
2. Contrasted two views of change
3. Summarized Lewins three-step change
model
4. Described factors that lead to resistance
to change and how resistance can be
reduced

Summary
5. Explained the values underlying most
organizational development (OD) efforts
6. Contrasted continuous improvement and
process reengineering
7. Described potential sources of, and ways of
managing, work stress
8. Listed characteristics of a learning organization
9. Explained how organizational change may be
culture-bound