Organizational change and development

Concept of organizational change: It refers to the

alteration of structure relationship and role of the
people in the organization. This change may be
pressurized by internal and external forces. This
factors may affect only one or all level and
department or may be related to organizational
structure, people, technology and working
environment.
Forces of change
Resistance to change
Organizational resistance to change
I. Organizational structure: organization are created to
ensure stability and jobs in an organization are
designed in standardized way. Thus. It is often
difficult to change because the structure act as a
counter balance to sustain stability.
ii. Limited resource: resources are reallocated to
department for implementing the change, any
department getting less or reduced in allocation of
resources then past, it would resist to change. If
government force organization to introduce certain
technology and physical resources then organization
oppose due to lack of resources.
iii. Organizational culture: it refers to norms and values,
belief held by organizational members working
individually or in group, culture cannot be change
immediately. Members of organization tend to be
resist the introduction of any change that affect their
existing norms and values.
iv. Threats to expertise: in organization. There is always
groups having expertise in an area of work. In the
matter of change, the importance and the need of the
expertise may required to improve. Many managers
may get afraid of getting new knowledge because of
fear of demotion, transfer, unemployment etc.
Types of resistance to change
1. Logical resistance: This kind of resistance based on
reasoning facts and figure. They explain negatively about
the facts and figure to resistance the changes. This
naturally takes time to adapt to.
2. Psychological resistance: Under this category, the
resistance occurs purely due to mental and psychological
factors. Individuals often resist changes for reasons like
fear of the unknown, less tolerance to change, dislike
towards the management, etc. It is employees negative
attitude towards the change and its impacts.
3. Sociological resistance: This resistance relates not to
individuals but rather to the common values and customs
of groups. Individuals may be willing to change but will
not due to peer pressure from the group they are members
of. For example, if a workers’ union protests against new
management policies, all workers face pressure to protest
together.
Overcoming resistance to change
Overcoming resistance to change

1. Education and communication: one of the most

common ways to reduce resistance is to
communicate and educate before the change occurs.
The details of the change should be provided, but
equally important is the rational behind the change
showing the logic and keeping everyone informed
about the changes helps to cut down the resistance to
change.
2. participation: it is difficult for individual to resist a
change, decision in which they participated.
Employees involvement in planning and
implementation of change can reduce resistance.
If individual feel their ideas and attitudes are being
included in the change effort, they tend to become less
resistance.
3. Facilitation and support: During the time of change
provide facilities and support to employees who have
trouble dealing with the change. Counselling or
arranging training programs for mastering new skills
required in the change situation. Active listening and
support them to do the activities can reduce resistance.
4. co-optation: It is to give major role to employees for
planning, in the organization design or
implementation of change. It can also be membership
in the committee or team.
5. Employees security: change should safeguard
existing employees benefits and security to overcome
resistance.
6. coercion: Coercion is the application of direct threats
or force on the resisters. Threaten the employees with
job loss, reduce promotion opportunities, poor job
assignment etc. But coercion behaviour can be risky
because it can generate bad feeling or negative feeling
among employees
Approaches to manage organizational change
1. Lewin’s three steps model: This model was
propounded by Kurt Lewin. According to this mode,
organizational change can be managed through the
interaction between driving forces and restraining
forces. For Lewin, the process to change entails
creating the perception that change is needed, then
moving towards the new, desired level of behavior
and finally that new behavior as the norm. the three
steps of change are:
i)Unfreezing
ii)Change /movement
iii) Refreezing
i) Unfreezing: Before a change can be implement it
must go through the initial step of change i.e.
Unfreezing. It is the process by which people become
aware of the need for change. It is the situation for
creating a felt need for change. It is the situation for
creating an awareness of the status-quo or current
level of acceptability in hindering organization. In this
step, people freeze in dysfunctional pattern, nobody
listen, appreciate and communicate in organization.
There are two types of regular forces that affect
change i.e. Driving forces and restraining forces.
There need increasing driving forces and decreasing
restraining forces.
ii)Change/ movement: it refers to the situation of
moving towards refreezing. In this step people express
their resistance and try to move blockage by reducing
strategy, policy, procedures, norms and relationship.
Developing new behaviour, values and attitudes.
iii) Refreezing: it refers to the situation of stabilization
after implementing new action plan to make
refreezing step permanently. People work as per
action plan, develop reinforcement system like regular
meeting and discussion and review the situation from
time to time.
2. Action Research
Action Research
It refers to a change process based on systematic collection
of data, analysis of collected data to diagnose need for
change and selection of a change is based on data analysis.
It consists of five steps:
1. Established client-consultant relationship: In this step of
action research the consultant plays the role as change
agent and consultant need to determine three things to
firm, client and consultant relationship that is the degree
of readiness of the client for change, the consultant power
base and the consultants role in relationship with the client
in the change process.
2. Diagnose need for change: It is problem oriented
approach. A careful diagnosis of organizational problem
or opportunities is necessary. There need organizational
diagnosis which involves gathering and analyzing data
about going system and data collection through survey,
questionnaires, interview, observation etc.
3. Introduce change/ action implementation:
It means bringing the plan into action for its future
implication. Both of the parties have to decide upon which
types of change to introduce. It may be incremental or
quantum change.
Incremental change is done slowly so it will be less stressful
and less threatening for employees to adopt change.
Quantum change: It refers to revolutionary change which
restructure whole organization system and process as a
result employees does not easily adopt the change.
4. Evaluate and stabilize change: once the action plan is
implemented, it should be verified whether it is working
as per desired objectives during diagnosis and action
planning stages. If the change is found to be having
desired effect, it is necessary to stabilize
5. Disengaged consultant services.
Action research
Kotler’s Eight step plan for implementing change
Kotler;s eight step plan for implementing change is
propounded by John P. Kotler, professor of Harvard
Business School. The eight steps are
1. Increase urgency: It is to establish a sense of urgency in
the employees regarding the change by creating a
compelling reason for why change is needed.
2. Build the guiding team: It is to create the enough power to
lead change. It is to takes strong leadership and visible
support from key people within the organization.
3. Get the right vision: it is the creation of a new vision to
direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision.
4. Communication of vision: it is to communicate the vision
of the organization that required change.
5. Empower action: in this step the organization, empower
others to act on the vision by removing barriers to change
and encouraging risk taking and creative problem solving.

6. Create short term wins: It create, and reward short term

‘win’ that move the organization towards the new vision.

7. Don’t let up: It is to consolidate improvements, change

and make necessary adjustments in the new program.

8. Make it stick: The organization reinforce the changes by

demonstrating the relationship between new behaviours
and organizational success.
Concept of organization development
The world OD was used by Richard Beckhard in the mid
1950s as a response to the need for integrating
organizational needs with individual needs. OD is ongoing
systematic process design to change the character or
culture of an organization to improve performance. It’s
aimed not only at improving the organizational
effectiveness but also enhanced the development of
organizational members.
‘Bennis’, ‘OD as a response to change a complex
educational strategy intended to change the belief,
attitudes, values and structure of organization so that they
can better adopt to new technology, market, and
challenges and dizzying rate of change itself.’
Characteristics of OD
1. Long term oriented
2. Initiation from mgmt
3. Vision process
4. Empowerment process
5. Learning process
6. Problem solving process
7. Team work
8. consultation facilitator
9. Behaviour intervention
10. Action research
11. Socio-psychological change
Organizational development values
Values are the basic convictions about what is desirable and
not desirable. OD is based on certain value system. It
depends on humanistic, democratic value system. It is
related with human and organization growth collaborative
and participative process and spirit of inquiry that increase
the value of it. The organization value development are:
1. Respect for people: individual are perceived as being
responsible and caring. It provides opportunities for
people and treated human as a person with a complete
dignity and respect.
2. Trust and support: OD help to create a conductive climate
and supportive work environment in the whole
organization. People are optimistic and goal oriented.
3. Power equalization: OD proposes democratic value,
norms and attitudes and discourage concept of power,
authority, coercion and control. OD creates the climate for
power sharing with employees in the organization.
4. confrontation: it is the direct expression of one’s thoughts
and feeling of conflict situation. Management and
employees show willingness to take risk when problems
arises between them.
5. Participation: OD encourage participative culture in
organization. It involves employees in decision making
process with strong support of CEO. Management and
employees participate in solution regarding change and to
face interaction with each other.
6. Employees well being: OD focuses on the organizational
effectiveness and employees well being by establish a
conducive climate for change. It attempts to improve
employees well being through continued self renewal and
development in a better work climate.
7. Spirit of inquiry: OD based on inquiry through action
research. It required reliable, complete and up to date
information.
Organization development techniques or
intervention at individual level
It focuses at individual employees, their ability, motivation
at work and attitudes towards their jobs and environment.
This intervention aim to increase the ability and
motivation of individual employees.
1. Counselling and coaching: it is to facilitate the outside
expert to change on attitude, perception , belief and value
of employees. They get real information about the change
for their outcomes. It encourage employees to accept the
change, which leads to development of new behaviour
pattern on the job.
2. Sensitivity training: in this training, a small group of
employees interact face to face often for few days to learn
more about themselves and their relations with other.
Thus, it deals with interpersonal problems. Members
involved in the group learn through observation and
participation. It is useful to increase understanding among
the individual and group, listening skills, tolerance of
individual differences to manage change.
3. Survey feedback: It is used to analyze the discrepancies
among the organizational members in their feeling and
attitudes, perception and behaviour. It use questionnaires
to identify member’s discrepancies so that suggestive
measures can be initiated
process/ group level OD intervention technique
It helps in increasing the interaction skills or working
relationship between individual members, among team
members or between group or department in organization.
1. Process consultation: the consultant or change agent assist
client to perceive, understand and act upon organizational
process. The change agent encourage organizational
members to be involved in the change process then the
process needed to improve are jointly identified by the
consultant and clients.
2. Team building: It is a high interaction among team
members to increase trust and openness for organizational
change. It consist of goal setting, performance evaluation,
clarity and process analysis.
3. Intergroup development: it helps to minimize differences
in attitudes, stereotyping and perception of the groups to
supplement refreezing process. Quality circle and problem
solving methods are the examples of inter group
development. The problems between groups are solved
through harmonized and co-ordination.
Organizational level/system intervention of OD
It is the process by which organizational changes or
redesign authority relationship, co-ordination mechanism
communication system, work design, work group, reward
system, recruitment etc. Similarly, flexible work schedule
are introduced, re-engineering is done autonomous work
group are formed to cope with new changes and
challenges for the organizational benefits.
1. Task and technological changes: Using this approach
modification on tasks and technology is made. New
equipments, tools or methods can be used in work
process. Information technology, computerization,
automation and use of robots in production and
distribution process are applied by the organization at
macro level.
2. Organization restructuring: This is holistic process of
OD that involves organizational restructuring to improve
the effectiveness of the structure to improve the
performance. It involves aligning the structure,
technology and environment.
3. Quality of work life: it is concerned with overall climate
of work for better quality of work life. It includes safety
and healthy work environment, adequate workplace,
suitable layout, equitable reward system, opportunity for
human potential and capabilities, freedom, rights, dignity
etc.
4. Goal setting/ MBO: this approach was developed by Peter
Drucker in 1954. through this approach, managers and
subordinates mutually set acceptable goals that might fit
between organizational and personal goals of the
employees. Progress towards the set goal is reviewed and
overall evlautation is made whether the currrent progress
for the next coming cycle of goal setting and planning.