UNIT 1:

Organizational Change: Concept and Significance; Managing Change; Concept of

Analyzing the Environment; Perspectives on Change: Contingency; Resource
Dependence; Population Ecology; Implications of Change.

INTRODUCTION

Organisation is a social system. All parts of organisation affect all other parts.
That is, there is so much of interrelationship of parts that anything happening at
one end is transmitted to the other end. This interrelationship is not only
between the elements and parts of organisation, but also with the environment
around it. When organisation functions, these relationship and interrelationships
get established and gradually organization obtains a systematized and orderly
behaviour. The whole system is said to be in equilibrium. This becomes an
established way of life and any disturbance to this established way of life naturally
exercises pressure on some elements which are accustomed to that way of life. This
event evokes a reaction which may suggest acceptance of it, lack of interest in it
or there may be counterpressure opposed to the disturbance. In some cases, the
impact of accepting or ignoring a disturbance may not be much different, but
otherwise, the former connotes cooperation and the latter, lack of interest.

The term ‘change’ refers to any alternation which occurs in the overall work
environment of an organisation. It is to be emphasized that ‘change is the law of
nature’. Nothing is permanent except change. Change has the following
characteristics:

1)Change often results from the pressure of forces which are both outside and
inside the organisation;

2)The whole organisation tends to be affected by the change in any part of it; and

3)Change takes place in all parts of the organisation, but at varying rates of
speed and degrees of significance.

An organisational is an open system which means that it is in a constant

interactional and interdependent relationship with its environment. Any change in
its external environment, such as changes in consumer tastes and preferences,
competition, economic policies of the Government, etc., make it imperative for
an organisation to make changes in its internal system. Further, organisation is
composed of a number of sub system, which are also in a dynamic relationship of
interaction and interdependence with one another. Any change in a subsystem
creates a chain of changes throughout the entire system.
CONCEPT OF ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE

The term ‘organisational change’ implies the creation of imbalances in the

existing pattern of situation. When an organization operates and functions for a
long time, an adjustment between its technical, human and structural set-up is
established. It tends to approximate an equilibrium in relation to its environment. In
other words, organisation members evolve a tentative set of relations with the
environment. They have an adjustment with their job, working conditions, friends
and colleagues etc. Change requires individuals to make new adjustments. Hence
the fear of adjustment gives rise to the problem of change and resistance to
change. Individual comes in to danger. On the other hand, groups resist change
where their existence is in danger or a total change in overall work environment is
contemplated.

Management of change may be defined as a conscious and concerted initiative by

those who are in-charge of the destiny of the business undertaking or firm to keep
a constant and intelligent watch over the behaviour of uncontrollable forces, to
assess their impact and influence of the controllable forces, and to evolve
appropriate strategies and action programmes to maintain a dynamic equilibrium
between the controllable and uncontrollable forces. The controllable forces are
those forces about which sufficient information is available. Such forces can be
managed easily. Uncontrollable forces are those about which not much is known.
These forces exert a powerful influence on the behaviour of controllable forces and
limit the scope of managerial action.

FORCES FOR CHANGE

Organisations encounter many different forces for change. These forces come
from external sources outside the organisation and from internal sources.
Awareness of these forces can help managers determine when they should
consider implementing an organisational change. The external and internal forces
for change are as follow.

External Forces

External forces for change originate outside the organisation. Because these
forces have global effects, they may cause an organisation to question the
essence of what business it is in and the process by which products and services are
produced. There are four key external forces for change: demographic
characteristics, technological advances, market changes, and social and political
pressures.
Demographic Characteristics

Organisations need to effectively manage diversity if they are to receive

maximum contribution and commitment from employees.

Technological Advancements

Both manufacturing and service organisations are increasingly using technology

as a means to improve productivity and market competitiveness. Manufacturing
companies, for instance, have automated their operations with robotics,
computerized numerical control (CNC) which is used for metal cutting operations,
and computer-aided design (CAD). CAD is a computerized process of drafting and
designing engineering drawings of products. Companies have just begun to work
on computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). This highly technical process
attempts to integrate product design with product planning, control, and
operations. Office automation consists of a host of computerized technologies that
are used to obtain, store, analyze, retrieve, and communicate information.

Market Changes

The emergence of a global economy is forcing Indian companies to change the

way they do business. Companies are having to forge new partnerships with their
suppliers in order to deliver higher quality products at lower prices.

Social and Political Pressures

These forces are created by social and political events. Personal values affect
employees’ needs, priorities, and motivation; managers thus may need to adjust
their managerial style or approach to fit changing employee values. Political events
can create substantial change. For example, the collapse of both the Berlin Wall and
communism in Russia created many new business opportunities. Although it is
difficult for organisations to predict changes in political forces, many organisations
hire lobbyists and consultants to help them detect and respond to social and
political changes.

Internal Forces

Internal forces for change come from inside the organisation. These forces may be
subtle such as low morale, or can manifest in outward signs such as low
productivity and conflict. Internal forces for change come from both human
resource problems and managerial behaviour/decisions.
Human Resource Problems/Prospects

These problems stem from employee perceptions about how they are treated at
work and the match between individual and organisation needs and desires.
Dissatisfaction is a symptom of an underlying employee problem that should be
addressed. Unusual or high levels of absenteeism and turnover also represent
forces for change. Organisations might respond to these problems by using the
various approaches to job design by implementing realistic job previews, by
reducing employee’s role conflict, overload, and ambiguity, and by removing the
different stresses. Prospects for positive change stem from employee participation
and suggestions.

Managerial Behaviour/Decisions

Excessive interpersonal conflict between managers and their subordinates is a sign

that change is needed. Both the manager and the employee may need
interpersonal skills training, or the two may simply need to be separated: for
example, one of the parties might be transferred to a new department.
Inappropriate leadership behaviour,

such as inadequate direction or support, may result in human resource problems

requiring change. Leadership training is one potential solution for this problem.

LEVELS OF CHANGE

Change can be at individual, group and organisational levels:

Individual Level Change

At the individual level change is reflected in such developments as changes in a

job assignment, physical move to a different location, or the change in maturity of
a person which occurs overtime. It is said that changes at the individual level will
seldom have significant implications for the total organisation. This is not true
because a significance change at the individual level will have its repercussions on
the group which, in turn, might influence the wider organisation. A manager who
desires to implement a major change at the individual level, transferring an
employee for instance, must understand that the change will have repercussions
beyond the individual.

Group Level Changes

Most organisational changes have their major effects at the group level. This is
because most activities in organisations are organized on group basis. The
groups could be departments, or informal work groups. Changes at the group
level can affect work flows, job design, social organisation, influence and status
systems, and communication patterns.

Managers must consider group factors when implementing change. Informal

groups can pose a major barrier to change because of the inherent strengths they
contain. Formal groups can resist change, as exemplified by the resistance
demonstrated by unions to the changes proposed by management. Because of the
powerful influence that groups can have on individuals, effective implementation of
change at the group level can frequently overcome resistance at the individual
level.

Organization Level Changes

Change at this level involves major programmes that affect both individuals and
groups. Decisions regarding these changes are generally made by senior
management and are seldom implemented by only a single manager. Frequently
they occur over long periods of time and require considerable planning for
implementation. Example of these changes would be reorganization of the
organisation structure and responsibilities, revamping of employee remuneration
system, or major shifts in an organisation’s objectives. Change at the organisational
level is generally referred to as organization development.

TYPES OF CHANGE

There are various areas within the organisational domain where changes can be
brought about for operational enhancement of the organisation as well as
desirable behaviour of members. The various types of changes that can have
considerable impact on the organisational culture are:

Strategic Change

This is a change in the very mission of the organisation. A single mission may have
to be changed to multiple missions. For example, when British Airways acquired a
major part of U.S. Air, the culture of the entire organization had to be modified to
accommodate various aspects of American organisational culture into the British
organisational culture.

Structural Change

Decentralized operations and participative management style have seen more

recent trends in the organisational structure. Since these structural changes shift
the authority and responsibility to generally lower-level management, it has a
major impact on an organisation’s social climate and members have to be prepared
to develop a team spirit as well as acquire skills to make on-the-spot decisions at
points of operations.

Process-oriented Change

These changes relate to technological developments, information processing,

automation and use of robotics in the manufacturing operations. This means
replacing or retraining personnel, heavy capital equipment investment and
operational changes. This would affect the organisational culture and hence
changes in the behaviour patterns of members.

People-oriented Change

Even though, any organisational change affects people in some form, it is

important that the behaviour and attitudes of the members be predictable and in
accordance with the expectations of the organization and be consistent with the
mission and policies of the enterprise. These changes are directed towards
performance improvement, group cohesion, dedication and loyalty to the
organization as well as developing a sense of self-actualization among the
members. These can be developed by closer interaction with employees and by
special behavioural training and modification sessions.

STEPS TO MANAGE CHANGE

The first step in the change process is to identify the need for change and the
area of change as to whether it is strategic change, process-oriented change or
employee- oriented change. This need for change can be identified either through
internal factors or through external forces that may be in place. Once this need is
identified, the following steps can be taken to implement such change:

1.Develop new goals and objectives

The managers must identify as to what new outcomes they wish to achieve. This
may be a modification of previous goals due to changed internal and external
environmental or it may be a new set of goals and objectives.

2.Select an agent for change

The management must decide as to who will initiate and oversee this change. A
manager may be assigned this duty or even outside specialists and consultants can
be brought in to suggest the various methods to bring in the change and monitor
the change process.

3.Diagnose the problem

It is important to gather all pertinent data regarding the area or the problem where
the change is needed. This data should be critically analysed to pinpoint the key
issues. Then the solutions can be focused on those key issues.

4.Select methodology

Because of natural resistance to change, it is very important to chart out a

methodology for change which would be correct and acceptable to all. Member’s
emotions must be taken into consideration when devising such methodology.

Develop a plan

This step involves putting together a plan as to what is to be done. For example, if
the company wants to develop and implement a flexitime policy, it must
decide as to what type of workers will be affected by it or whether flexitime should
be given to all members or only to some designated workers.

Strategy for implementation of the plan

In this stage, the management must decide on the “when”, “where” and “how” of
the plan. This includes the right timing of putting the plan to work, how the plan
will be communicated to workers in order to have the least resistance and how the
implementation will be monitored.

Implementation of the plan

Once the right timing and right channels of communications have been
established, the plan is put into action. It may be in the form of simple
announcement or it may require briefing sessions or in-house seminars so as to
gain acceptance of all the members and specially those who are going to be
directly affected by the change.

Receive and evaluate feedback

Evaluation consists of comparing actual results to the set goals. Feedback will
confirm if these goals are being met so that if there is any deviation between the
goals and the actual performance outcomes, then corrective measures can be
taken.

RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Resistance to change is understood to be a natural

phenomenon. But not all change is resisted. In fact, if we look at any organisation
closely, we would probably find that more changes are accepted than resisted.
Accepting the fact that people have a natural instinct to adapt to their
environment is the first step towards effective management of change. It has the
advantage of placing people in a more positive light, but also suggests that
resistance to change is unnatural behaviour. If managers accept this principle, then
they can proceed to analyse the situation to find the (unnatural) cause of
resistance. Failure to understand this characteristic of resistance can cause many
managers to attempt to run through changes rather than try to understand the
sources of the resistance.

Sources of resistance to change may be rational or emotional. Rational resistance

occurs when people do not have the proper knowledge or information to evaluate
the change. Providing information (in the form of data, facts, or other types of
concrete information) reduces the resistance. Emotional resistance involves the
psychological problems of fear, anxiety, suspicion, insecurity, and the like. These
feelings are evoked because of people’s perception of how the change will affect
them.

Causes of Resistance

All changes are not resisted. Some are wanted by the workers. For instance, if the
workers have to stand before a machine throughout the shift, they will like the
introduction of a new machine which will allow them to sit while working. Thus,
resistance to change is offset by their desire to have better working conditions.
Sometimes, people themselves want change and new experience as they are fed
up with the old practices and procedures.

Resistance to change is caused by individual’s attitudes which are influenced by

many economic, psychological and social factors.

1.Economic Factors

These factors relate to the basic economic needs of the workers like necessities of
life, job security and safety. These factors are:

Workers apprehend technological unemployment. General new technology is

expected to reduce the proportion of labour input and, therefore, people resist
such change as it will affect their jobs security;

Workers fear that they will be idle for most of the time due to increased efficiency
by new technology;

Workers may fear that they will be demoted if they do not possess the new
skills required for the new jobs; and

Workers resist the change of getting higher job standards which may reduce
opportunity for bonus or pay incentive.
2.Psychological Factors

These factors arise when workers perceive that factors relating to their
psychological needs will be affected adversely by the proposed changes. These
needs are sense of pride, achievement, self-fulfilment, etc. These factors are

(i)Workers may not like criticism implied in a change that the present method is
inadequate and unsuitable;

(ii)Workers may fear that there will be fewer opportunities for developing their
personal skills because new work changes will do away with the need for much
manual work. This will lead to reduction of their personal pride;

(ii)Workers may apprehend boredom and monotony in the new jobs as a result of
specialization brought by the new technology;

(iii)They may fear that harder work will be required to learn and adapt to new ideas;

(iv)Workers may resist a change because they do not want to take trouble in
learning the new things; and

(v)Workers may not have the knowledge of entire change or they may be incapable
of the implications of new ideas or methods.

2.Social Factors

Individual do have certain social needs like friendship, belongingness, etc. for the
fulfilment of which they develop informal relations in the organisation. They
become members of certain informal groups and act as members of the group
to resist change. The social reasons for resistance to change are:

(i)New organisational set up requires new social adjustments which are not liked by
people because these involve stresses and strains. This also means discarding old
social ties which is not tolerable to the workers.

(ii)Workers are carried by the fear that the new social set-up arising out of the
change will be less satisfying than the present set up.

(Iiii)Workers also resist the changes which are brought abruptly and without
consulting them.

Thus, it is obvious that resistance to change tends to focus on human relations

problem, although it may appear to be related to the technological aspect of
change. Workers resist the changes which will affect their social relationships,
upset their status and threaten their security. A change may give them a feeling of
insecurity, since it challenges their way of doing things and may bring less labour-
oriented processes.

Moreover, it is difficult for the workers to give up their old habits and customs.
They also resist the change if they do not know it well.

Symptoms of Resistance

How does resistance to change manifest itself? There are several ways. But it does
not mean that these symptoms always indicate resistance. Sometimes they may be
indicators of other difficulties in the organisation.

1.Hostility or aggression is the immediate reaction of an individual to change. The

hostility may only be expressed verbally, in the way the individual strikes at the
boss, a fellow worker, or even at subordinates, but hostility and aggression can
also take physical forms where the striking out is of a more intense character.

2.The individual may develop apathy towards his work. He loses interest in his
work. There is more spoilage of materials, excessive idling of time, and decline in
performance.

3.Absenteeism and tardiness are often signs of resistance. Perhaps these are forms
of apathy or attempts on the part of the individual to escape his work
environment. Separation, for example, may be an extreme illustration of this
attempt to escape.

4.The development of anxiety and tension is a sure sign that resistance exists. The
individual finds himself uncomfortable, shaky, and tensed up on his job.

5.At the group level additional signs of resistance are exhibited. Slow downs and
strikes are the usual symptoms of group resistance. Another strategy adopted by a
group to resist change is “restriction of output”. Often great care is exercised in
timing operations, setting standards, and otherwise working out details of a wage
incentive system, and yet at least part of the work group forms into an informal
group, under a leader of its own choice. This group decides what a fair days work
is and develops methods of keeping the non-conformist in line. The individual
who starts to respond to the incentive is held in a check by sanctions which the
informal group is able to bring to bear against him.
Benefits of Resistance

Contrary to popular opinion, resistance to change is not bad. Resistance can bring
some benefits. It may encourage the management to re-examine its change
proposals so that they are appropriate. In this way employees operate as a check
and balance to ensure that the management properly plans and implements
change. Resistance can also help identify specific problem areas where change is
likely to cause difficulties, so that the management can take corrective action
before serious problems develop. At the same time, the management may be
encouraged to do a better job of communicating the change, an approach that in
the long-run should lead to better acceptance. Resistance also gives management
information about the intensity of employee emotions on an issue, provides
emotional release for pent up employee feelings, and may encourage employee to
think and talk more about a change so that they understand it better. This
does not mean that resistance to change should endure. Resistance must be
overcome and change introduced.

IMPLEMENTING CHANGE SUCCESSFULLY

Successful implementation of change requires knowledge about the change

process. The change process, propounded by Kurt Lewin, consists of three stages:
(1) unfreezing, (2) changing, (3) refreezing. Before describing Lewin’s stages, it is
desirable to understand how change takes place generally. It is too well-known that
people change their customs, habits, and institutions when they become
dissatisfied with the status quo or when there is a more desirable substitute. A
successful change involves:

(1) recognizing the need for it, (2) learning a new behaviour or substitute, and (3)
feeling comfortable with the new situation. Lewin’s stages of unfreezing, change,
and refreezing correspond to these three developments in the change process.
However, a brief description of each stage is desirable.

Unfreezing Changing Refreezing

Recognizing the need for New values, Making change

permanent.
 change, casting aside old behaviours and Practice what was learnt
values, behaviour, or structures replace in the second stage
Organisational structures old ones. Action-

oriented

A MODEL OF CHANGE

Unfreezing

This is the first stage in the change process. It involves casting aside existing
attitudes and value systems, managerial behaviour, or organisational structure so
that new ones can be learnt. Unfreezing creates the need for change.

For unfreezing, the manager must understand the causes for resistance to
change. It is common knowledge that there are people who desire status quo and
there are also individuals who push for change. And the two groups may be
equal in their force as shown in Fig. below. The forces against change (labelled
A) have strengths equal to those forces pushing for change (labelled F).

An example of four forces pushing in each direction is seen in the case of the
organisation that has announced the introduction of a new monthly cost report.
After careful analysis, a top manager may find various reasons given by
subordinates for resisting change, on the one hand, or for promoting change,
on the other hand. Among the reasons given for resisting change might be:

The old report is easy to fill out because the data are readily available.

The old report takes very little time to think.

Top management has never used this report in the past for control purposes.

The new report will be very comprehensive and requires more time to fill out.
The reasons for advocating change might be:

An organisational streamlining of reporting forms is necessary.

Organisational control is getting out of hand.

If a report is going to have to be filled out, why not make it a meaningful one?

This new report is going to be analysed by staff personnel, and useful

recommendations will be forwarded to each manager who has filled one out.

In such a situation, the manager must unfreeze the equilibrium. In doing so, three
courses of action are available:

(a) increase the strength of forces that push for change;

(b)decrease the strength of forces that resist change; and (c) change a resisting
force into one supporting the change.

Changing

Actual change occurs at this stage. New value systems, behaviours, or structures
replace the old ones. This is the action-oriented stage. This can be a time of
confusion, dis-orientation, and despair mixed with hope and discovery.
Refreezing

Here the change becomes permanent. The newly acquired values, beliefs, and
structures get refrozen. A new status quo is established at this stage. Refreezing is
important because without it there lies a vacuum.

METHODS OF INTRODUCING CHANGE

Kotter and Schlisinger have suggested six methods of introducing change. The
change agent must understand that there is no one universal approach to
overcome resistance. Depending on each situation a different approach needs to
be adopted. Change is situational problem and a realization of this fact is essential
for bringing about a change.

It contains six approaches for introducing change together with the situations
where each change intervention is most appropriate. The advantages and
drawbacks of each approach are also listed in the table. Management must
examine the nature of the resistance and then review the possible approaches to
fit the situation. The six approaches listed will help unfreeze and change the
values and behaviour of people. In other words, the approaches enable the
managers to introduce change successfully. The next crucial stage is to make the
change stick otherwise there is the danger of people reverting to the pre-change
position.

How to make the change the permanent? The methods suggested for the purpose
are; use of group forces, use of leadership, shared rewards, working with unions,
and concern for employees.

Use the Group Forces

The group exercises considerable influence on the behaviour of members. The

behaviour, attitudes, beliefs, and values of the individual are all firmly grounded in
the groups to which he belongs. How aggressive or co-operative a person is, how
much self- respect and self-confidence he has, how energetic and productive his
work is, what he aspires to, what he believes to be true and good, when he loves
or hates, and what beliefs and prejudices he holds – all these characteristics are
highly determined by the individual’s group membership. Whether they resist or
accept change largely depends on the groups. The change agent must make use of
the groups to bring about change.

Change of Change Agent

The change agent must himself change. It is only then that he will be able to
reinforce a psychological climate of support for change. Unwillingness of the
managers to give up traditional managerial practices and their unpreparedness to
accept new methods are the most serious barriers to the introduction of change
and to make it permanent in organisations.

TABLE 1.1: METHODS OF DEALING WITH RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Approach Commonly used Advantages Drawbacks

situations

Education+ Where there is a Once persuaded Can be very time

Communication lack of information people will often consuming if lots of
or inaccurate help with the people are
information and implementation of involved.
analysis. the

change.

Participation+ Where the initiators People who Can be very time

involvement do not have all the participate will be consuming if
information they committed to participators design
need to design the implementing an appropriate
change and where change and any change.
others have relevant
considerable power information they
to resist. have will be
integrated into

the change plan.

 Facilitation+ Where people are No other approach Can be time
Support resisting because of works as well with consuming,
adjustment adjustment expensive, and still
problems. problems.
fail.

Approach Commonly used Advantages Drawbacks

situations

Negotiation+ Where someone or Sometimes it is a Can be too

Agreement some group will relatively easy way expensive in many
clearly lose out in a to avoid major cases if it alerts
change and where resistance. others to negotiate
that group has for compliance.
considerable power
to

resist.

Manipulation+ co- Where other tactics It can be a relatively Can lead to future
optation (taking will not work are quick and problems if people
over) too expensive. inexpensive solution feel manipulated.
to resistance

problems.

Explicit + implicit Where speed is It is speedy and can Can be risky if it

coercion(forcefully) essential and the overcome any kind leaves people angry
change initiators of resistance. at the initiators.
possess
considerable

power.

(Source: “Choosing Strategies for Change” by Kotler and Schlesinger, March-April

1979, Harvard Business Review).

Shares Rewards
Another way to build support for change is to ensure that the people affected
derive benefit out of the change. Benefits include increased pay, promotion,
training, recognition, and the like.

Co-operation of Unions

Taken into confidence, unions themselves can act as change agents, though they
are generally considered to be anti-change. Many union leaders are accepting the
installation of CNC machines, though it means displacement of the work force. This
has been possible because of their participation before, during, and after the
change has been introduced. A change introduced without their support may not
stay for long.

Concern for Employees

A change should not be introduced for the sake of it. Change needs to be
introduced only when necessary and it must be by evolution and not by revolution.
Any change must ultimately benefits employees. In the short-run the needs and
requirements of employees should not be affected. Any problem that has taken
place because of change needs to be looked into and corrected immediately.

Contingency Approach

The contingency approach to management, also known as the situational

approach, holds that there is no single, textbook rule for the best way to manage
an organization. In each company's case, the “best” approach will be contingent
upon the company's internal and external needs.

Contingency planning identifies interim measures to respond to threats and

recover from a business or system disruption. Such measures may involve the
relocation of operations and IT systems to an alternate site; the recovery of
functions using alternate equipment and personnel; or the reliance on manual
rather than technical methods to perform critical functions. Contingency planning
requires the creation of plans and procedures and the identification and
implementation of technical measures that will enable the recovery of business
processes, IT systems and data following a business disruption.

Some business resources and functions are critical to an organization’s success

and continued operations. Therefore, it is essential that an organization's
processes operate effectively without excessive interruption. Contingency
management supports this objective through the creation of plans, procedures
and technical measures that can enable the efficient recovery of business
operations following a business disruption or disaster.
The Inter-Agency Contingency Planning Guidelines for Humanitarian Assistance
endorsed by the IASC outlines four key steps in the contingency planning
process: preparation, analysis, response planning, and implementing preparedness.

The contingency approach is a management theory that suggests the

most appropriate style of management is dependent on the context of the
situation and that adopting a single, rigid style is inefficient in the long term.
Contingency managers typically pay attention to both the situation and their own
styles and make efforts to ensure both interact efficiently.

The contingency approach contrasts with other forms of leadership, such as trait-
based management, whereby personality and individual make-up predict patterns
of management and responses to given situations over time. Another management
approach is style-based app

Contingency theory is beneficial to organisations because of the potential for

learning from specific situations and using these lessons to influence future
management of the same or similar situations. The ability to adapt to external
pressures and changes is also an advantage. Contingency theory may also produce
more well-rounded leaders who are able to develop their skills in multiple areas.

There is no single best way of managing applicable to all situations.

In order to be effective, the internal functioning of an organisation must be

consistent with the demands of the external environment. The managers must keep
the functioning of an organisation in harmony with the needs of its members and
the external forces.

The main characteristics of the Contingency Approach to management are

pointed out below:

1. Management is entirely situational. The application and effectiveness of any

technique is contingent on the situation.

2. Management should match its approach to the requirements of the particular

situation. To be effective, management policies and practices must respond to
environmental changes. The organisation structure, the leadership style, the control
system—all should be designed to fit the particular situation.

3. As management’s success depends on its ability to cope with its environment, it

should sharpen its diagnostic skills so as to anticipate and comprehend
environmental changes.

4. The managers should understand that there is no one best way to manage.
5. Because of the specific organisation-environment relationship, no action can be
universal. It varies from situation to situation.

Contingency approach is pragmatic in nature. It avoids vague judgements and

widens the horizons of practising managers. It guides them to be alert and adaptive
to environmental factors while choosing their techniques and styles. They get the
opportunity of becoming innovative and creative.

The contingency approach has a wide-ranging applicability and practical utility in

organisation and management. It advocates comparative analysis of the organi-
sations to bring about matching between the organisational structure and
situational peculiarities. Hence, this approach is also known as ‘Situational
Approach to Management’.

The contingency approach focuses attention on specific situational factors that

affect the management strategy. It requires the managers to develop skill in
situational analysis. It combines the mechanistic and humanistic approaches to fit
the particular situation.

It is an improvement over the system approach as it not only examines the

relationships between the sub-systems of an organisation but the relationship
between the organisation and its environment too.

What is resource dependence?

Resource dependence is when one organization has to rely on another

organization for a resource. These resources can be for things as obvious as
financing or as subtle as recognition. Through this resource dependence the
organization with the resources is given influence and power over the
organization without the resource. With this influence over others, organizations
can do things such as influence prices and encourage particular organizational
structures. However, for this to happen there must be few places where the
resource dependent organization can acquire the resource and the resource must
be valuable to the dependent organization.

For example: An organic grocery store can only purchase organic tomatoes from
one local farm. Because the farm knows it is the only local source of organic
tomatoes, it pressures the organic grocery story to also sell their bell peppers.
The organic grocery store decides to sell the bell peppers even though they are
more expensive then organic bell peppers other farms because they need to sell
tomatoes in their store.
The concept comes from Resource Dependency Theory (Pfeffer and Salancik,
2003) which was developed in the 1970s. Under this theory resources and power
are linked and can explain the behavior of organizations. The great thing about
Resource Dependency Theory is that it intuitively makes sense- we have all
witnessed people bow to pressure from someone who they need something from
(this is what mafia movies are all about) and the same can happen to
organizations.

How does resource dependency affect organizations dealing with

sustainability issues?

Organizations working with sustainability issues often have more resource

dependency then most. This is because they often are focused on issues of
sustainability rather than pure economic success. This opens them up to having
to rely upon others for resources. A major source of resource dependence for
sustainability organizations is local government which often provides the
necessary financing for these organizations to begin their work. This is often the
case for community-based initiatives, which have previously been a focus on this
blog.

The problem with organizations dealing with sustainability issues having so much
resource dependence is that it impacts their work. This is because the
organizations with the resources often make demands before handing over the
resource. This can hurt the sustainability organization.

For example, a government agency might make being a non-profit a requirement

for getting a particular type of grant. A sustainability organization may have
originally planned to try gain money through commercial success, but finding it
difficult to raise the initial money needed might change its activities so that it can
meet the requirements of a non-profit and have access to this funding.

What does this mean for a transition?

It is clear that resource dependence causes some organizations to have power

over others and sustainability organizations are particularly vulnerable to the
resource dependence which impacts their work. So how does this impact
transitions? Well, if the sustainability organizations have to change the type of
work they are doing (and the ways in which they change are in predictable) this
can impact the way they can contribute to a transition.

For example, if an organization had planned on being a food cooperative but in

order to get startup funding had to become a company. To be a company
requires certain types of reporting and hierarchical organizational structures
which tends to alienate volunteer workers. The organization had relied upon
volunteer labour to get its work done and even with the startup funding cannot
afford to hire workers. So, through discouraging volunteers becoming a company
has hindered the ability of the organization to get its work done, thus leaving it
wounded in its ability to contribute to a transition.

What is to be done about it? Sustainability organizations have tried a multitude

of different things to reduce their resource dependence. There are organizations
which have managed to avoid resource dependence by avoiding relying upon
other organizations for resources. However, the downside can be that the lack of
resources also hinders their work in its own way if they are unable to achieve
their goals. Alternatively, some organizations collect fees from their members,
effectively giving their members the power rather than an outside organization.
What an organization is able to do depends largely on their goals and the type
of work they wish to accomplish. Nonetheless, sustainability organizations and
their funders need to keep an eye on the way resource dependence can
negatively influence the ability of organizations to contribute to transitions.

Population ecology

Definition of a population

A population is the total number of individuals of a given biological species found

in one place at one time. In practice, ecologists often deal with density (numbers
per unit area for land organisms and numbers per unit volume in aquatic systems)
or even weight rather than raw numbers. What may be described as an "individual"
depends on the kind of organism and the aim of the scientific inquiry. In most
animals, the life cycle starts with a fertilized egg, passes through a largely
irreversible process of coupled growth and differentiation, and ends in a tightly
integrated, unitary, adult organism. Population size can be measured by merely
counting adult units and their juvenile progeny. However, in most plants and some
colonial animals, growth and differentiation proceed in a modular fashion; in these
cases, growth involves the replication of a basic body unit, so a fertilized egg
generates a spatially distributed "population" of connected modules. In general,
modular organisms show tremendous plasticity in size and form.

There are only four ways that a population can change in size: birth, death,
immigration, and emigration. If immigration and emigration are negligible, the
population is closed, and the difference between birth and death rates drives its
dynamics. Terrestrial animals on islands often have closed populations. If
immigration and emigration are important, however, the population is open, and its
abundance may be substantially influenced by spatially distant events.
Characteristics of Population Ecology

Ecologists use diverse terms while understanding and examining populations of

organisms. A population is all of one sort of species living in a particular location.
Population size describes the total number of individuals in a habitat. Population
density refers to how many individuals live in a specific area.

Population size is represented by the letter N, which refers to the total number
of individual organisms in a population. The bigger a population is, the greater its
generic variation and thus its potential for long-term survival. Increased
population size can, however, lead to further issues, such as overuse of resources
leading to a population crash.

Population Density refers to the number of individual organisms in a particular

area. A low-density region would have more organisms spread out. High-density
regions would have more individuals residing closer together, leading to greater
resource competition.

Population Dispersion: Hauls helpful information regarding how species interact

with each other. Researchers can discover more about populations by studying
how they are distributed or dispersed.

Population distribution describes how individual organisms of a species are

spread out, whether they live close or far apart or massed into groups.

Uniform dispersion means the organisms that live in a distinct territory. One
example would be penguins. Penguins live in parts; within those territories, the
birds space themselves reasonably uniformly.

Random dispersion means the spread of individual organisms, such as wind-

dispersed seeds, which fall randomly after transiting.

Clustered or clumped dispersion means a drop of seeds straight to the ground,

instead of being carried, to groups of animals living together, such as herds or
schools. Schools of the fish show this manner of dispersion.

Key Concepts

Population ecology examines how and why populations change over time.
Population ecologists seek to understand the spatial and temporal patterns in the
abundance and distribution of organisms and of the mechanisms that produce
those patterns.

In particular, population ecology elucidates general principles explaining

population patterns; integrates these principles with mechanistic models and
evolutionary interpretations of individual life-history tactics, physiology, and
behavior, as well as with theories of community and ecosystem dynamics; and
applies these principles to the management and conservation of natural
populations.

A population is the total number of individuals of a given biological species found

in one place at one time. There are only four ways that a population can change in
size: birth, death, immigration, and emigration.

Populations exhibit a great variety of dynamical patterns, including explosive

outbreaks, local extinctions, and regular cycles or relatively constant abundances.
To help describe and explain these patterns, ecologists rely on population models.

Population models can help characterize minimum viable population sizes below
which a species is vulnerable to rapid extinction, and can help guide the
development of interventionist policies to save endangered species.

Population ecology is a branch of ecology that focuses on the study of populations

of organisms and their interactions with each other and their environment. It seeks
to understand the dynamics of population size, density, distribution, growth, and
regulation over time. Here are some key concepts and principles of population
ecology:

Population Dynamics: Population dynamics refer to the changes in population size

and structure over time. This includes factors such as birth rates, death rates,
immigration, emigration, and population growth rates.

Population Size and Density: Population size is the number of individuals of a

species in a given area at a specific time, while population density is the number of
individuals per unit area or volume. These factors influence resource availability,
competition, and interactions within the population.

Population Distribution: Population distribution describes the spatial arrangement

of individuals within a population across a given area. It can be clumped, uniform,
or random, influenced by factors such as resource availability, habitat suitability,
and social behavior.

Population Growth Models: Population ecologists use mathematical models to

describe and predict population growth patterns. Common models include
exponential growth, where populations increase at a constant rate, and logistic
growth, where populations reach a carrying capacity and stabilize due to resource
limitations.
Carrying Capacity: The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum
population size that can be sustained over the long term by the available resources
such as food, water, and habitat. Populations may fluctuate around this limit as they
respond to changes in environmental conditions.

Density-Dependent and Density-Independent Factors: Factors that influence

population dynamics can be categorized as density-dependent or density-
independent. Density-dependent factors, such as competition for resources and
predation, are influenced by population size and density. Density-independent
factors, such as weather events and natural disasters, affect populations regardless
of their size.

Population Regulation: Populations are regulated by a combination of intrinsic and

extrinsic factors that affect birth rates, death rates, and population growth. These
factors include food availability, predation, disease, environmental conditions, and
social interactions.

Life History Strategies: Different species exhibit a variety of life history strategies
that influence their reproductive patterns, survival, and population dynamics. These
strategies are shaped by evolutionary pressures and trade-offs between
reproduction, growth, and survival.

Population Interactions: Populations interact with each other and with their
environment through processes such as competition, predation, mutualism, and
symbiosis. These interactions influence population dynamics and community
structure.

Conservation and Management: Population ecology provides insights into the

dynamics of threatened and endangered species, invasive species, and ecosystems
at risk. Understanding population dynamics is crucial for informing conservation
efforts and managing natural resources sustainably.

Overall, population ecology plays a critical role in understanding the structure,

function, and dynamics of ecosystems and informing management and
conservation practices to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem health.