Chapter 1: Changing Organizations in Our Complex World
Organizational change in this book refers to planned alterations of organizational components
to improve the effectiveness or efficiency of the organization.
Differences in tangible changes and intangible changes, where tangible changes can be new
position, changes in the assembly line, changes in how the building is filled with components.
Intangible changes refer to for example changes in culture. People need to understand, accept
and act for such a change to be applied.
They encourage that change leaders take a holistic approach to fit all perspectives in the
change. Not every employee has the same perspective on the work that is performed, think
about the two stonecutters. (wall vs cathedral).
PESTEL factors. Change accelerates and increases in complexity. Important to read the
environment. Benchmarking, measuring, so you stay proactive to adapt quickly when needed.
Organizations found themselves changed by fundamental forces; changing social, cultural and
demographic patterns. (continued political uncertainty in countries, global marketplace.. etc.)
Demographic problems around the world: aging, less people born, GDP rise… Companies
appear to be ill prepared to deal with this aging population. Both private and public
sector employers are waking up to these pressures and attempting to bring about changes to
their pension programs that will be more sustainable.
Diversity can help. Think about Latino immigrants in USA. Often younger. Provides
challenges and opportunities. (behavioral norms, laws, gender identity gender equity, ..what is
the case is that diversity matters in organizations (salary, talent acquisition). Being
viewed as proactive and progressive in these areas can create advantages for firms in terms of
attraction, retention, and the commitment levels of employees and customers. (sustaining and
growing the enterprise)
The physical environment and social responsibility matters
Again, proactively thinking about these issues and aligning their strategies and actions with
their commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility can bring advantages
for organizations.
New technologies opened the world, it is more accessible. However, security concerns
increased, costs for firms to respond to these threats. Sabotage, spionage. Working with Big
Data, staying competitive. World has become more dense. It impacts also thinking about
change management. It has changed how information is framed, who frames it and how
quickly it migrates from the few to the many. It can stimulate commitment, interest etc. but
also create anxiety and confusion.
Political changes; geopolitical landscape influence organizations. Organizations become
more global, need to clarify their own ethical standards. What is acceptable behaviors. Norms
of conduct etc. transparency asked by public demands, also accountability, heightened
expectations etc. change leaders need to understand the influence of politics in the world
on market development and attractiveness, competitiveness, and the resulting pressures
,on boards and executives. Successful change leaders will have a keen sense of the
opportunities and dangers involved in global, national and local political shifts.
The economy: keep in mind that risk management is capacity building. Organizations need to
be able to adapt quickly in a world that is heavily interconnected. Mechanisms to anticipate to
these challenges are necessary.
How will external changes drive strategy and internal adjustments and investments?
Keep in mind that current changes are becoming more fast-paced. Increasing rates of
disruption in retail, finance, technology, manufacturing… if we don’t disrupt ourselves, our
competitors will.
Types of organizational change by Tushman and Nadler:
/ continuous /Radical
overhauling
Tuning = anticipation on future events. Need for internal alignment. Middle-management role.
Example; quality improvement initiative from an employee improvement committee.
Reorientation; strategic proactive changes based on predicted major changes in the
environment. Need is for positioning the whole organization to a new reality. Focuses on all
components. For example; a major change in product or service offering in response to
opportunities identified.
Adaptation; incremental changes made in response to environmental changes. Individual
components or subsystems. Implementation is the major task. Middle-management role. For
example: modest changes to customer services in response to customer complaints.
,Recreation; response to a significant performance crisis. Need to reevaluate the whole
organization, including its core values. All components. Senior management creates vision
and motivates optimism. For example; a major realignment of strategy, involving plant
closures and changes to product and service offerings, to stem financial losses and return firm
to profitability.
Organizational members need to understand and learn to accept and value the perspectives of
both the adaptor (those skilled in incremental change) and the innovator (those skilled in
radical change). As a change agent, also good to have personal insight in where your skills
and preferences lie. Organizational growth can only happen over time when if the members
have the capacity to embrace both approaches at the appropriate time and to see that they are
intertwined.
Organizations that consistently demonstrate their capacity to innovate, manage change,
and adapt over the years are the ones with staying power.
Change leader and change agent
Change initiators, change implementers, and change facilitators are different role than played
by the change leader of agent.
- Change initiator = the person who identifies the need and vision for change and
champions the change and advocates for it in the organization. (Planning, persuasion,
passion and perseverance.)
- Change implementer = the person who has the responsibility for making certain
change happen, charting the path forward, nurturing support, and alleviating
resistance. Managing the consequences of decisions and creating the desired results.
- Change facilitators = the person who assists initiators, implementers and recipients
with the change management process. Identifies process and content change issues and
helps resolve these, fosters support, alleviates resistance, and provides other
participants with guidance and council.
- Change recipients = the person who is affected by the change. Often the person has to
change his or her behavior to ensure the change is effective.
Change leaders embrace the paradoxes of change:
- They are involved in both driving and enabling change
- They recognize that resistance to change is both a problem and an opportunity
- Good change leaders focus on outcomes but are careful about process
- Change leaders recognize the tension between getting on with it and changing
directions
- Change leaders understand the need to balance patience and impatience
, Chapter 2: How to Lead Organizational Change: Frameworks
In today’s world, the rapidity of changes in the marketplace makes acquiring and diagnosing
data and then acting on the data immediately a demanding skill set for organizational leaders.
The complexity of change can be simplified somewhat by recognizing that there are two
distinct aspects of organizational change that must be addresses:
- How (process)
- What (content)
Failure of success!! Habits, patterned responses, assumptions. These beliefs and ingrained
responses cause people to stay with their way of thinking and being resistant while feedback
already showcased that they were no longer appropriate.
The sigmoid curve: outlines where one should begin changing and where it becomes obvious
that one need to change. The time to introduce change is at point B when the system is
growing. If you do not change and market matures, there is a high chance that you will be
disrupted. Will cost more at that point in the short term, but if it works the outcomes’ curve
turn upwards again. By the
time system reaches point A,
the need for change is obvious
but also too late maybe to sur-
vive without experiencing
significant trauma.
Left is outcomes; Neg – Pos
Bottom is time >>>>
HOW OF CHA NGE
Stage theory of change: LEWIN
Unfreeze > Change >> Refreeze
Simple model. Lewin wants to unfreeze the whole spider web of systems, relationship,
structures, assumptions, habits etc.
Model oversimplifies the process of change and suggests that change is linear. Change is
complex etc, interactive.
Moreover, the creation for the need to change is more complicated. People need a desired
end-state, a vision. It is not just individuals that need to see it, but the whole organization.
Organizational change in this book refers to planned alterations of organizational components
to improve the effectiveness or efficiency of the organization.
Differences in tangible changes and intangible changes, where tangible changes can be new
position, changes in the assembly line, changes in how the building is filled with components.
Intangible changes refer to for example changes in culture. People need to understand, accept
and act for such a change to be applied.
They encourage that change leaders take a holistic approach to fit all perspectives in the
change. Not every employee has the same perspective on the work that is performed, think
about the two stonecutters. (wall vs cathedral).
PESTEL factors. Change accelerates and increases in complexity. Important to read the
environment. Benchmarking, measuring, so you stay proactive to adapt quickly when needed.
Organizations found themselves changed by fundamental forces; changing social, cultural and
demographic patterns. (continued political uncertainty in countries, global marketplace.. etc.)
Demographic problems around the world: aging, less people born, GDP rise… Companies
appear to be ill prepared to deal with this aging population. Both private and public
sector employers are waking up to these pressures and attempting to bring about changes to
their pension programs that will be more sustainable.
Diversity can help. Think about Latino immigrants in USA. Often younger. Provides
challenges and opportunities. (behavioral norms, laws, gender identity gender equity, ..what is
the case is that diversity matters in organizations (salary, talent acquisition). Being
viewed as proactive and progressive in these areas can create advantages for firms in terms of
attraction, retention, and the commitment levels of employees and customers. (sustaining and
growing the enterprise)
The physical environment and social responsibility matters
Again, proactively thinking about these issues and aligning their strategies and actions with
their commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility can bring advantages
for organizations.
New technologies opened the world, it is more accessible. However, security concerns
increased, costs for firms to respond to these threats. Sabotage, spionage. Working with Big
Data, staying competitive. World has become more dense. It impacts also thinking about
change management. It has changed how information is framed, who frames it and how
quickly it migrates from the few to the many. It can stimulate commitment, interest etc. but
also create anxiety and confusion.
Political changes; geopolitical landscape influence organizations. Organizations become
more global, need to clarify their own ethical standards. What is acceptable behaviors. Norms
of conduct etc. transparency asked by public demands, also accountability, heightened
expectations etc. change leaders need to understand the influence of politics in the world
on market development and attractiveness, competitiveness, and the resulting pressures
,on boards and executives. Successful change leaders will have a keen sense of the
opportunities and dangers involved in global, national and local political shifts.
The economy: keep in mind that risk management is capacity building. Organizations need to
be able to adapt quickly in a world that is heavily interconnected. Mechanisms to anticipate to
these challenges are necessary.
How will external changes drive strategy and internal adjustments and investments?
Keep in mind that current changes are becoming more fast-paced. Increasing rates of
disruption in retail, finance, technology, manufacturing… if we don’t disrupt ourselves, our
competitors will.
Types of organizational change by Tushman and Nadler:
/ continuous /Radical
overhauling
Tuning = anticipation on future events. Need for internal alignment. Middle-management role.
Example; quality improvement initiative from an employee improvement committee.
Reorientation; strategic proactive changes based on predicted major changes in the
environment. Need is for positioning the whole organization to a new reality. Focuses on all
components. For example; a major change in product or service offering in response to
opportunities identified.
Adaptation; incremental changes made in response to environmental changes. Individual
components or subsystems. Implementation is the major task. Middle-management role. For
example: modest changes to customer services in response to customer complaints.
,Recreation; response to a significant performance crisis. Need to reevaluate the whole
organization, including its core values. All components. Senior management creates vision
and motivates optimism. For example; a major realignment of strategy, involving plant
closures and changes to product and service offerings, to stem financial losses and return firm
to profitability.
Organizational members need to understand and learn to accept and value the perspectives of
both the adaptor (those skilled in incremental change) and the innovator (those skilled in
radical change). As a change agent, also good to have personal insight in where your skills
and preferences lie. Organizational growth can only happen over time when if the members
have the capacity to embrace both approaches at the appropriate time and to see that they are
intertwined.
Organizations that consistently demonstrate their capacity to innovate, manage change,
and adapt over the years are the ones with staying power.
Change leader and change agent
Change initiators, change implementers, and change facilitators are different role than played
by the change leader of agent.
- Change initiator = the person who identifies the need and vision for change and
champions the change and advocates for it in the organization. (Planning, persuasion,
passion and perseverance.)
- Change implementer = the person who has the responsibility for making certain
change happen, charting the path forward, nurturing support, and alleviating
resistance. Managing the consequences of decisions and creating the desired results.
- Change facilitators = the person who assists initiators, implementers and recipients
with the change management process. Identifies process and content change issues and
helps resolve these, fosters support, alleviates resistance, and provides other
participants with guidance and council.
- Change recipients = the person who is affected by the change. Often the person has to
change his or her behavior to ensure the change is effective.
Change leaders embrace the paradoxes of change:
- They are involved in both driving and enabling change
- They recognize that resistance to change is both a problem and an opportunity
- Good change leaders focus on outcomes but are careful about process
- Change leaders recognize the tension between getting on with it and changing
directions
- Change leaders understand the need to balance patience and impatience
, Chapter 2: How to Lead Organizational Change: Frameworks
In today’s world, the rapidity of changes in the marketplace makes acquiring and diagnosing
data and then acting on the data immediately a demanding skill set for organizational leaders.
The complexity of change can be simplified somewhat by recognizing that there are two
distinct aspects of organizational change that must be addresses:
- How (process)
- What (content)
Failure of success!! Habits, patterned responses, assumptions. These beliefs and ingrained
responses cause people to stay with their way of thinking and being resistant while feedback
already showcased that they were no longer appropriate.
The sigmoid curve: outlines where one should begin changing and where it becomes obvious
that one need to change. The time to introduce change is at point B when the system is
growing. If you do not change and market matures, there is a high chance that you will be
disrupted. Will cost more at that point in the short term, but if it works the outcomes’ curve
turn upwards again. By the
time system reaches point A,
the need for change is obvious
but also too late maybe to sur-
vive without experiencing
significant trauma.
Left is outcomes; Neg – Pos
Bottom is time >>>>
HOW OF CHA NGE
Stage theory of change: LEWIN
Unfreeze > Change >> Refreeze
Simple model. Lewin wants to unfreeze the whole spider web of systems, relationship,
structures, assumptions, habits etc.
Model oversimplifies the process of change and suggests that change is linear. Change is
complex etc, interactive.
Moreover, the creation for the need to change is more complicated. People need a desired
end-state, a vision. It is not just individuals that need to see it, but the whole organization.
