Educational Sciences MA – Learning in Organisations 2019-2020
1.1 – Some reflections and perspectives on organising, changing, and learning.
By: Boonstra
Dynamics in organisational change and learning
Organisational development (OD) = believes in human potential and participation in the workplace to
enable change processes aimed at enabling the organisation to be effective. A key issue is integrating
the interests and needs of individuals with the collective interest of the organisation.
Planned change = focuses on realising competitive advantage and stakeholders’ value. Change is
induced by market demands, and steered by management. Employees are seen as the social capital
of the organisation with skills to perform the change.
Organisational Development Planned Change
Organisations Purposeful and socio-technical Adaptive to market demands
Humans Creative and collaborative Social capital to perform objectives
Employees Motivated by developing potential Motivated by personal advantage
Managers Using power in mutual collaboration Using power to steer changes
Consultants Process-driven facilitators Knowledge-driven experts
Organisation life Source of experience Source of shortcomings
Focus Improvement of effectiveness and life Economic measures of performance
Improvements Based on existing organisation New design of processes
Change Utilisation of everyone’s knowledge Top-down steering
Orientation Problem-oriented Solution-oriented
Improvement Continuous, iterative, smooth Episodic, linear, separate phases
Rationality Socio-political process Techno-economical process
Norms Able to change in the process Strict, no changes during the process
Start With concrete working experiences With abstract business models
Emphasis Operational knowledge Expert knowledge
Learning A collective and ongoing activity A reflection by change managers
Knowledge Developed by action research Developed by using techniques
Theory E = aimed at creating economic value (Planned Change).
Theory O = aimed ait optimisation of social and technical systems (OD).
How to combine both theories:
- Start with E for rapid changes, and follow up with O for long-term strategy changes
- Combine them by focusing equally on value and development
- Choosing for each problem within the organisation which approach is most suitable
Theory C = sees learning, organising, and changing as interactive processes in which people construct
relationships, activities, and meanings (Continuous Change).
Continuous change = collaboration in a non-hierarchical manner (everyone is involved) to achieve
agreements and modifications by ongoing sense-making and searching for new possibilities. Hence,
learning is a collective process.
,First-order learning = learning correct solutions by imitation, teaching, modelling, and conditioning.
Second-order learning = replacing current insights and values with new ones through reflection.
Third-order learning = learning by (collective) reflection on and questioning of change/learning itself.
Why the field of organisational change and learning is so dynamic: 1) increased interest because of
many (unsuccessful) change projects, 2) organisational limits become vague due to globalisation, 3)
market demands are higher than ever, and 4) organisations have become more complex.
Author’s view: it is not the abovementioned reasons/the changing environment, but frameworks and
assumptions scholars use in changing, organising, and learning that cause the dynamics.
Author’s view: There is no need to try to find the most effective theory, but it is important to
highlight differences between theories (E, O & C) > reflect on our own assumptions and values >
better implementation in practice.
Interventions and change work practices
Types of interventions:
- Increasing business performance > planned change
- Structuring organisations > OD
- Improving employee motivation > human resource management > planned change
- Improving employee motivation > new forms of work > OD
- Cultural, group dynamics, and leadership change > OD
- Inquiring, dialogue, and narrative > continuous change
- Action learning and action research > continuous change
,Issues in organsational change and learning
Strategic management perspective = looks for the cause of failures in problems with implementation
and support, or technical and political problems.
Structural perspective = technologies and the division of labour are the reason for difficulties.
Power and politics perspective = existing power relationships and people defending their position
cause the inability of change.
Cultural perspective = seeks reasons for barriers in rules, habits, arrangements, and values.
Psychological perspective = attributes problems to lack of motivation, people’s desire for certainty
and fear of change.
Succes principles Succes factors/insights
There is no one best way to change/organise Incorporate practices with positive effects
People are motivated by meaningful work Realize genuine participation of all parties
Organisation is a process of interaction Opt for flexibility rather than ordered steps
Stakeholder participation aids involvement First aim for social systems, then technical ones
Learning is an ongoing process of reflection Monitor the change process for reflection
Knowledge construction is also a process Ensure active, multisided communication
Start with a horizontal orientation towards clients
Personal power = the ability of a person to influence others.
Structural power = specific groups/relational networks in the organasation that exert power.
Other factors influencing the change process: 1) resistance and commitment, 2) persuasion and
communication, 3) roles of change managers and consultants, and 4) destinguished roles.
Questions and possibilities in organisational change and learning
Issues to take into account for further research:
- Collaboration between organisations enables inter-organisational learning
- Investigating the role of language/communication in organisational change poses possibilities
- New methodologies reveal an interactive social reality and participative world-view
, 1.2 – Opening the black box: presenting a model for evaluating organisation-
level interventions. By: Nielsen & Randall
Introduction
Organisational-level occupational health interventions = planned, behavioural, science-based actions
to remove or modify the causes of job stress.
Problem: 1) not enough evidence for the effectiveness of these interventions, 2) not e nough studies
on why or how these interventions are (un)successful, and 3) effects but not the processes of the
interventions are evaluated.
Aim of this article: present a three-level evidence-based process evaluation model.
Reasons for a failed intervention:
- Theory/programme failure > the theory behind the intervention did not address the problem
- Implementation failure > the way the intervention was implemented was not designed well
Intervention process = individual, collective and management perceptions and actions in
implementing an intervention, and their influence on the overall result of the intervention.
Themes influencing the outcome of an occupational health intervention:
- The intervention design and implementation
- The intervention contexts (mediator)
- Participants’ mental models of the intervention and their work situation (mediator)
A model of process evaluation
Intervention design and implementation
Initiation: internal problems (improve quality/productivity) or external challenges (legislation)
Stakeholders: who defined the problem, who decided it should be done, who is influenced by it?
Tailoring: context-independent interventions are ineffective > intervention must match organisation
Implementation: did it match the planned intervention, what as effective, what was changed?
1.1 – Some reflections and perspectives on organising, changing, and learning.
By: Boonstra
Dynamics in organisational change and learning
Organisational development (OD) = believes in human potential and participation in the workplace to
enable change processes aimed at enabling the organisation to be effective. A key issue is integrating
the interests and needs of individuals with the collective interest of the organisation.
Planned change = focuses on realising competitive advantage and stakeholders’ value. Change is
induced by market demands, and steered by management. Employees are seen as the social capital
of the organisation with skills to perform the change.
Organisational Development Planned Change
Organisations Purposeful and socio-technical Adaptive to market demands
Humans Creative and collaborative Social capital to perform objectives
Employees Motivated by developing potential Motivated by personal advantage
Managers Using power in mutual collaboration Using power to steer changes
Consultants Process-driven facilitators Knowledge-driven experts
Organisation life Source of experience Source of shortcomings
Focus Improvement of effectiveness and life Economic measures of performance
Improvements Based on existing organisation New design of processes
Change Utilisation of everyone’s knowledge Top-down steering
Orientation Problem-oriented Solution-oriented
Improvement Continuous, iterative, smooth Episodic, linear, separate phases
Rationality Socio-political process Techno-economical process
Norms Able to change in the process Strict, no changes during the process
Start With concrete working experiences With abstract business models
Emphasis Operational knowledge Expert knowledge
Learning A collective and ongoing activity A reflection by change managers
Knowledge Developed by action research Developed by using techniques
Theory E = aimed at creating economic value (Planned Change).
Theory O = aimed ait optimisation of social and technical systems (OD).
How to combine both theories:
- Start with E for rapid changes, and follow up with O for long-term strategy changes
- Combine them by focusing equally on value and development
- Choosing for each problem within the organisation which approach is most suitable
Theory C = sees learning, organising, and changing as interactive processes in which people construct
relationships, activities, and meanings (Continuous Change).
Continuous change = collaboration in a non-hierarchical manner (everyone is involved) to achieve
agreements and modifications by ongoing sense-making and searching for new possibilities. Hence,
learning is a collective process.
,First-order learning = learning correct solutions by imitation, teaching, modelling, and conditioning.
Second-order learning = replacing current insights and values with new ones through reflection.
Third-order learning = learning by (collective) reflection on and questioning of change/learning itself.
Why the field of organisational change and learning is so dynamic: 1) increased interest because of
many (unsuccessful) change projects, 2) organisational limits become vague due to globalisation, 3)
market demands are higher than ever, and 4) organisations have become more complex.
Author’s view: it is not the abovementioned reasons/the changing environment, but frameworks and
assumptions scholars use in changing, organising, and learning that cause the dynamics.
Author’s view: There is no need to try to find the most effective theory, but it is important to
highlight differences between theories (E, O & C) > reflect on our own assumptions and values >
better implementation in practice.
Interventions and change work practices
Types of interventions:
- Increasing business performance > planned change
- Structuring organisations > OD
- Improving employee motivation > human resource management > planned change
- Improving employee motivation > new forms of work > OD
- Cultural, group dynamics, and leadership change > OD
- Inquiring, dialogue, and narrative > continuous change
- Action learning and action research > continuous change
,Issues in organsational change and learning
Strategic management perspective = looks for the cause of failures in problems with implementation
and support, or technical and political problems.
Structural perspective = technologies and the division of labour are the reason for difficulties.
Power and politics perspective = existing power relationships and people defending their position
cause the inability of change.
Cultural perspective = seeks reasons for barriers in rules, habits, arrangements, and values.
Psychological perspective = attributes problems to lack of motivation, people’s desire for certainty
and fear of change.
Succes principles Succes factors/insights
There is no one best way to change/organise Incorporate practices with positive effects
People are motivated by meaningful work Realize genuine participation of all parties
Organisation is a process of interaction Opt for flexibility rather than ordered steps
Stakeholder participation aids involvement First aim for social systems, then technical ones
Learning is an ongoing process of reflection Monitor the change process for reflection
Knowledge construction is also a process Ensure active, multisided communication
Start with a horizontal orientation towards clients
Personal power = the ability of a person to influence others.
Structural power = specific groups/relational networks in the organasation that exert power.
Other factors influencing the change process: 1) resistance and commitment, 2) persuasion and
communication, 3) roles of change managers and consultants, and 4) destinguished roles.
Questions and possibilities in organisational change and learning
Issues to take into account for further research:
- Collaboration between organisations enables inter-organisational learning
- Investigating the role of language/communication in organisational change poses possibilities
- New methodologies reveal an interactive social reality and participative world-view
, 1.2 – Opening the black box: presenting a model for evaluating organisation-
level interventions. By: Nielsen & Randall
Introduction
Organisational-level occupational health interventions = planned, behavioural, science-based actions
to remove or modify the causes of job stress.
Problem: 1) not enough evidence for the effectiveness of these interventions, 2) not e nough studies
on why or how these interventions are (un)successful, and 3) effects but not the processes of the
interventions are evaluated.
Aim of this article: present a three-level evidence-based process evaluation model.
Reasons for a failed intervention:
- Theory/programme failure > the theory behind the intervention did not address the problem
- Implementation failure > the way the intervention was implemented was not designed well
Intervention process = individual, collective and management perceptions and actions in
implementing an intervention, and their influence on the overall result of the intervention.
Themes influencing the outcome of an occupational health intervention:
- The intervention design and implementation
- The intervention contexts (mediator)
- Participants’ mental models of the intervention and their work situation (mediator)
A model of process evaluation
Intervention design and implementation
Initiation: internal problems (improve quality/productivity) or external challenges (legislation)
Stakeholders: who defined the problem, who decided it should be done, who is influenced by it?
Tailoring: context-independent interventions are ineffective > intervention must match organisation
Implementation: did it match the planned intervention, what as effective, what was changed?
