Lectures Pro 3
Lecture 1
Aim of the lecture
1. To provide an introduction to the course – see slides
2. Introduction to change in organizations (CH. 1 Balogun/Van de Ven & Poole)
Why organizational change?
- Relevant in today’s fast moving society and the inclusion of a broader set of stakeholders (change is
a way of life)
- Cuts across functions and hierarchical levels, not possible to divide the organisation in different
parts
- Requires its own skills and competences
- Cannot be controlled but can be facilitated
- Often relevant in transitions towards ‘responsible organisations’
Change in organizations
Strategic or transformational change = organizational shift in the context of environmental
developments. Distinction between hard and soft aspects of the organization:
Hard = often involves changes in patterns of resource allocation, organization structure and
processes. More or less tangible.
Soft = often involves changes in central believes that members of an organization hold about the
organization, the nature of its environment and the competition and how it competes (culture).
Intangible.
Organisation – task environment – broader environment
(PESTEL)
Image: when you change the goal of the organization this also
requires to change structure/processes (hard) and the believes
(soft).
Terminology context specific change
1. Change content: the way and what of change; an outline of
the required future state of the organization and its relationship
to the current state
2. Change process (transition): How is the change implemented?
3. Outer context: external (competitive) environment
4. Inner context: internal organizational context (E.g., control systems, power, and politics of the
organization)
Image: Context-specific change
Here you see the outer and inner context + the change
process + what you actually want to change (content)
, Image: The importance of (inner)
context
Off-the-shelf solutions are
solutions/models/approaches that are
more general and can be implemented
in different types of firms.
However, it is important to focus first on
the change context.
This flowchart shows the process.
First what and then implement
changes and evaluate them.
Context specific change: managerial capabilities for change agents (change process/transition) –
AJTI
1. Analytical skills: to create a holistic picture of the organization (inner context)
2. Judgmental skills: to recognize what is critical in a particular change context, and design a change
process that addresses it
3. Translation skills: moving between and vocabularies associated with the formulation of strategy
and vocabularies of change implementation
4. Implementation skills: to take action and decide on which intervention to make and in what order
to apply them
Exercise – consider a situation in which the change content is about the development of more
environmentally friendly output. Why would the change process be different for a hospital compared
to a manufacturing firm or a bank? Conclusion: very different change processes for the same goals,
differs per organisation.
, Change processes: a broader picture (Van de Ven & Poole)
Terminology:
Change process: a progression of change events that unfold during an entity’s existence
Process theory: explanation on how and why an organizational entity changes and develops
They come up with four theories which can explain how organizations change:
1. Life cycle theory
- Event progression: linear and irreversible / sequence of prescribed stages.
- Generating force: prefigured program, a rule regulated by nature, logic or institutions
- Examples: FDA approval process, human lie, stage-gate product development
From step one you automatically go to step
two and you can’t go back = prescribed
sequence.
Stages can’t be skipped as well.
This FDA process is regulated by institutions.
2. Teleological theory
Event progression: goal setting, implementation and evaluation,
and modification of goals based on learnings
Generating force: goal enactment, consensus on means and
cooperation
Examples: strategy formulation/implementation and purposeful
learning
3. Dialectical theory
Event progression: sequence of confrontation, conflict, and synthesis
between contradictory values/events
Generating force: conflict and confrontation
Example: developments based on conflicts in the organization
Lecture 1
Aim of the lecture
1. To provide an introduction to the course – see slides
2. Introduction to change in organizations (CH. 1 Balogun/Van de Ven & Poole)
Why organizational change?
- Relevant in today’s fast moving society and the inclusion of a broader set of stakeholders (change is
a way of life)
- Cuts across functions and hierarchical levels, not possible to divide the organisation in different
parts
- Requires its own skills and competences
- Cannot be controlled but can be facilitated
- Often relevant in transitions towards ‘responsible organisations’
Change in organizations
Strategic or transformational change = organizational shift in the context of environmental
developments. Distinction between hard and soft aspects of the organization:
Hard = often involves changes in patterns of resource allocation, organization structure and
processes. More or less tangible.
Soft = often involves changes in central believes that members of an organization hold about the
organization, the nature of its environment and the competition and how it competes (culture).
Intangible.
Organisation – task environment – broader environment
(PESTEL)
Image: when you change the goal of the organization this also
requires to change structure/processes (hard) and the believes
(soft).
Terminology context specific change
1. Change content: the way and what of change; an outline of
the required future state of the organization and its relationship
to the current state
2. Change process (transition): How is the change implemented?
3. Outer context: external (competitive) environment
4. Inner context: internal organizational context (E.g., control systems, power, and politics of the
organization)
Image: Context-specific change
Here you see the outer and inner context + the change
process + what you actually want to change (content)
, Image: The importance of (inner)
context
Off-the-shelf solutions are
solutions/models/approaches that are
more general and can be implemented
in different types of firms.
However, it is important to focus first on
the change context.
This flowchart shows the process.
First what and then implement
changes and evaluate them.
Context specific change: managerial capabilities for change agents (change process/transition) –
AJTI
1. Analytical skills: to create a holistic picture of the organization (inner context)
2. Judgmental skills: to recognize what is critical in a particular change context, and design a change
process that addresses it
3. Translation skills: moving between and vocabularies associated with the formulation of strategy
and vocabularies of change implementation
4. Implementation skills: to take action and decide on which intervention to make and in what order
to apply them
Exercise – consider a situation in which the change content is about the development of more
environmentally friendly output. Why would the change process be different for a hospital compared
to a manufacturing firm or a bank? Conclusion: very different change processes for the same goals,
differs per organisation.
, Change processes: a broader picture (Van de Ven & Poole)
Terminology:
Change process: a progression of change events that unfold during an entity’s existence
Process theory: explanation on how and why an organizational entity changes and develops
They come up with four theories which can explain how organizations change:
1. Life cycle theory
- Event progression: linear and irreversible / sequence of prescribed stages.
- Generating force: prefigured program, a rule regulated by nature, logic or institutions
- Examples: FDA approval process, human lie, stage-gate product development
From step one you automatically go to step
two and you can’t go back = prescribed
sequence.
Stages can’t be skipped as well.
This FDA process is regulated by institutions.
2. Teleological theory
Event progression: goal setting, implementation and evaluation,
and modification of goals based on learnings
Generating force: goal enactment, consensus on means and
cooperation
Examples: strategy formulation/implementation and purposeful
learning
3. Dialectical theory
Event progression: sequence of confrontation, conflict, and synthesis
between contradictory values/events
Generating force: conflict and confrontation
Example: developments based on conflicts in the organization
