Session 1: Introduction to Organizational Change and Change Management
Readings:
Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management.
Asingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan (Chapter 1: Managing change: a
process perspective)
Kotter, J. P. (1995). Leading change, Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard
Business Review, 73, 59–67.
Key:
Hayes introduces different process theories (teleological, dialectical, life cycle
and evolutionary) which all view change as a series of interconnected events,
decisions and actions. This raises the question whether change is best
described as a predetermined process that unfolds over time (in a prespecified
direction) or whether it is “constructed”, that is, the steps and goals are
directed and changed by those involved in the change.
In his meanwhile classic essay, Kotter points out that, in practice, it is often
very hard to effectively direct and manage change because those involved,
especially those leading the change, may fail to recognize some of the key
dynamics of change. He then describes eight steps that are assumed to
promote successful transformations. Do these steps make sense to you?
What is your experience?
Sample questions:
What do so call a) “teleological” and b) “dialectical” theories say about the
nature of organizational change?
What are so called “self-reinforcing sequences. Name the 3 drivers of self-
reinforcing sequences and explain them (including its potential pitfalls) in more
detail.
What are the 10 stages/steps that, according to Stouten et al (2018), are
shared by most normative change models. Please name and arrange them in
the correct order/sequence and explain them in your own words.
What is organizational change?
“The event in which something appears to become, or turn into, something
else” (Ford & Ford, 1994, p. 759)
“One of the greatest themes in the social sciences” (Pettingnew, Woodman &
Cameron, 2001, p. 697)
Arguments against the concept of an inherent organizational change failure
and success rate (Hughs, 2011):
The ambiguities of organizational change
o Privileges espoused change rationales over latent change rationales
o Ignores the unanticipated outcomes of organizational change
, o Fails to acknowledge ongoing change and improvisation
Organizational change is highly context dependent
o Disregards the unique contexts of different change initiatives
Perceptions of organizational change outcomes
o Fails to acknowledge the multiple accounts of change outcomes which
exist
Time and organizational change outcomes
o Fails to acknowledge the temporal nature of evaluating change
outcomes
The measurability of organizational change outcomes
o Downplays any form of qualitative evaluation of organizational change
Evidence Based Management
Evidence-based management is about making decisions through the
conscientious, explicit and judicious use of the best available evidence from
multiple sources by:
ASKING: translating a practical problem into an answerable question
ACQUIRING: systematically searching for the evidence
APPRAISING: critically judging the trustworthiness and relevance of the
evidence
AGGREGATING: weighting and pulling together the evidence
APPLYING: incorporating the evidence in the decision-making process
ASSESING: evaluating the outcome of the decision taken
to increase the likelihood of a variable outcome.
What external and
Alvesson & Svenningsson (2008)
internal triggers for
organizational change
Forces of organizational change:
can you think of?
External forces:
The scale of change: evolutionary vs revolutionary
The source of change: emergent vs planned
Internal forces:
Political
The content of change:
New technology The “what” of change
Technological Usually, many aspects of change are related to
each other and cannot be changed in isolation
New people (in from the other aspects
key positions) Examples: reward systems, strategies, culture,
Cultural production system, hierarchies, communication
Pressure to
modify administrative
structures
Economic (incl. market)
, The politics of change:
o Organizational change has a political dimension
o Based on its scale and intensity, different levels of participation, negotiation
and resistance are involved
o Organizational change is inherently linked to the opportunity to advance
interests as legitimate in the eyes of (significant) others (via tolerance or
acceptance)
Hayes (2014)
Examines change from a process perspective, the how of change and the way a
transformation occurs.
Process theories (Van de Ven and Poole, 1995):
1. Teleological: assume that organizations are purposeful and adaptive, and
present change as an unfolding cycle of goal formulation, implementation,
evaluation and learning. Learning is important because it can lead to the
modification of goals or the actions taken to achieve them.
- Present development and change as a repetitive sequence of goal
formulation, implementation, and evaluation, leading to the modification of
an envisioned end state based on what was learned or intended by the
people involved.
- Example 1.1 A car importer responds to imposed change
- View change trajectories as constructed
2. Dialectical: focus on conflicting goals between different interest groups and
explain stability and change in terms of confrontation and the balance of
power between the opposing entities.
- View change trajectories as constructed
3. Life cycle: assume that change is a process that progresses through a
necessary sequence of stages that are cumulative, in the sense that each
stage contributes a piece to the final outcome, and related – each stage is a
necessary precursor for the next.
- Focus on the order of stages in the change process
- Presents change as a predetermined process that unfolds over time in a
prespecified direction.
4. Evolutionary: posit that change proceeds through a continuous cycle of
variation, selection and retention. Variations just happen and are not therefore
purposeful but are then selected on the basis of best fit with available
resources and environmental demands. Retention is the perpetuation and
maintenance of the organizational forms that arise from these variations via
forces of inertia and persistence.
- Presents change as a predetermined process that unfolds over time in a
prespecified direction.
Readings:
Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management.
Asingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan (Chapter 1: Managing change: a
process perspective)
Kotter, J. P. (1995). Leading change, Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard
Business Review, 73, 59–67.
Key:
Hayes introduces different process theories (teleological, dialectical, life cycle
and evolutionary) which all view change as a series of interconnected events,
decisions and actions. This raises the question whether change is best
described as a predetermined process that unfolds over time (in a prespecified
direction) or whether it is “constructed”, that is, the steps and goals are
directed and changed by those involved in the change.
In his meanwhile classic essay, Kotter points out that, in practice, it is often
very hard to effectively direct and manage change because those involved,
especially those leading the change, may fail to recognize some of the key
dynamics of change. He then describes eight steps that are assumed to
promote successful transformations. Do these steps make sense to you?
What is your experience?
Sample questions:
What do so call a) “teleological” and b) “dialectical” theories say about the
nature of organizational change?
What are so called “self-reinforcing sequences. Name the 3 drivers of self-
reinforcing sequences and explain them (including its potential pitfalls) in more
detail.
What are the 10 stages/steps that, according to Stouten et al (2018), are
shared by most normative change models. Please name and arrange them in
the correct order/sequence and explain them in your own words.
What is organizational change?
“The event in which something appears to become, or turn into, something
else” (Ford & Ford, 1994, p. 759)
“One of the greatest themes in the social sciences” (Pettingnew, Woodman &
Cameron, 2001, p. 697)
Arguments against the concept of an inherent organizational change failure
and success rate (Hughs, 2011):
The ambiguities of organizational change
o Privileges espoused change rationales over latent change rationales
o Ignores the unanticipated outcomes of organizational change
, o Fails to acknowledge ongoing change and improvisation
Organizational change is highly context dependent
o Disregards the unique contexts of different change initiatives
Perceptions of organizational change outcomes
o Fails to acknowledge the multiple accounts of change outcomes which
exist
Time and organizational change outcomes
o Fails to acknowledge the temporal nature of evaluating change
outcomes
The measurability of organizational change outcomes
o Downplays any form of qualitative evaluation of organizational change
Evidence Based Management
Evidence-based management is about making decisions through the
conscientious, explicit and judicious use of the best available evidence from
multiple sources by:
ASKING: translating a practical problem into an answerable question
ACQUIRING: systematically searching for the evidence
APPRAISING: critically judging the trustworthiness and relevance of the
evidence
AGGREGATING: weighting and pulling together the evidence
APPLYING: incorporating the evidence in the decision-making process
ASSESING: evaluating the outcome of the decision taken
to increase the likelihood of a variable outcome.
What external and
Alvesson & Svenningsson (2008)
internal triggers for
organizational change
Forces of organizational change:
can you think of?
External forces:
The scale of change: evolutionary vs revolutionary
The source of change: emergent vs planned
Internal forces:
Political
The content of change:
New technology The “what” of change
Technological Usually, many aspects of change are related to
each other and cannot be changed in isolation
New people (in from the other aspects
key positions) Examples: reward systems, strategies, culture,
Cultural production system, hierarchies, communication
Pressure to
modify administrative
structures
Economic (incl. market)
, The politics of change:
o Organizational change has a political dimension
o Based on its scale and intensity, different levels of participation, negotiation
and resistance are involved
o Organizational change is inherently linked to the opportunity to advance
interests as legitimate in the eyes of (significant) others (via tolerance or
acceptance)
Hayes (2014)
Examines change from a process perspective, the how of change and the way a
transformation occurs.
Process theories (Van de Ven and Poole, 1995):
1. Teleological: assume that organizations are purposeful and adaptive, and
present change as an unfolding cycle of goal formulation, implementation,
evaluation and learning. Learning is important because it can lead to the
modification of goals or the actions taken to achieve them.
- Present development and change as a repetitive sequence of goal
formulation, implementation, and evaluation, leading to the modification of
an envisioned end state based on what was learned or intended by the
people involved.
- Example 1.1 A car importer responds to imposed change
- View change trajectories as constructed
2. Dialectical: focus on conflicting goals between different interest groups and
explain stability and change in terms of confrontation and the balance of
power between the opposing entities.
- View change trajectories as constructed
3. Life cycle: assume that change is a process that progresses through a
necessary sequence of stages that are cumulative, in the sense that each
stage contributes a piece to the final outcome, and related – each stage is a
necessary precursor for the next.
- Focus on the order of stages in the change process
- Presents change as a predetermined process that unfolds over time in a
prespecified direction.
4. Evolutionary: posit that change proceeds through a continuous cycle of
variation, selection and retention. Variations just happen and are not therefore
purposeful but are then selected on the basis of best fit with available
resources and environmental demands. Retention is the perpetuation and
maintenance of the organizational forms that arise from these variations via
forces of inertia and persistence.
- Presents change as a predetermined process that unfolds over time in a
prespecified direction.
