Chapter 9
Organizational change
and stress management
Forces for Change
Nature of the Workforce
– Almost every organization must adjust to a multicultural
environment, demographic changes, immigration, and outsourcing.
Economic Shocks
– economic shocks, leading to the elimination, bankruptcy, or
acquisition
Competition
– Global marketplace
Exhibit 19-1
Cont…
Social Trends
– Companies must continually adjust product and
marketing strategies to be sensitive to changing social
trends
World Politics
– world politics would change in recent years. We’ve seen
a major set of financial crises that have rocked global
markets, a dramatic rise in the power and influence of
China, and dramatic shakeups in government across the
Arab world.
Planned Change
Change:- Making things different
Planned Change
– Activities that are proactive and purposeful: an
intentional, goal-oriented activity
– Goals of Planned Change
Improving the ability of the organization to adapt to
changes in its environment
Changing employee behavior
Cont…
Change Agents:- Persons who act as
catalysts and assume the responsibility for
managing change activities
Resistance to Change
Resistance to change appears to be a natural
and positive state
Forms of Resistance to Change:
– Overt and Immediate
Voicing complaints, engaging in job actions
– Implicit and Deferred
Loss of employee loyalty and motivation, increased
errors or mistakes, increased absenteeism
Sources of Resistance to Change
Individual
– Habit, security, economic factors, fear of the
unknown, and selective information processing
Organizational
– Structural inertia, limited focus of change, group
inertia, threat to expertise, threat to established
power relationships and resource allocations
Tactics for Overcoming Resistance to Change
Education and Communication:- Show those
affected the logic behind the change
Participation:- Participation in the decision
process lessens resistance
Building Support and Commitment:- Counseling,
therapy, or new-skills training
Implementing Change Fairly:- Be consistent and
procedurally fair
Cont…
Manipulation and Cooperation
– “Spinning” the message to gain cooperation
Selecting people who accept change
– Hire people who enjoy change in the first
place
Coercion
– Direct threats and force
The Politics of Change
Impetus for change is likely to come from outside
change agents, new employees, or managers
outside the main power structure.
Internal change agents are most threatened by
their loss of status in the organization.
Long-time power holders tend to implement
incremental but not radical change.
The outcomes of power struggles in the
organization will determine the speed and quality
of change.
Lewin’s Three-Step Change Model
Unfreezing
– Change efforts to overcome the pressures of both
individual resistance and group conformity
Movement
– Make the changes
Refreezing
– Stabilizing a change intervention by balancing driving
and restraining forces
Kotter’s Eight-Step Plan
Builds from Lewin’s Model
To implement change:
1. Establish a sense of urgency
2. Form a coalition
Unfreezing
3. Create a new vision
4. Communicate the vision
5. Empower others by removing barriers Movement
6. Create and reward short-term “wins”
7. Consolidate, reassess, and adjust
8. Reinforce the changes Refreezing
Action Research
A change process based on systematic collection of data
and then selection of a change action based on what the
analyzed data indicates
Process steps:
1. Diagnosis
2. Analysis
3. Feedback
4. Action
5. Evaluation
Action research benefits:
– Problem-focused rather than solution-centered
– Heavy employee involvement reduces resistance to
change
Organizational Development
Organizational Development (OD)
– A collection of planned interventions, built on
humanistic-democratic values, that seeks to improve
organizational effectiveness and employee well-being
OD Values
– Respect for people
– Trust and support
– Power equalization
– Confrontation
– Participation
Six OD Techniques
1. Sensitivity Training
– Training groups (T-groups) that seek to change
behavior through unstructured group interaction
– Provides increased awareness of others and
self
– Increases empathy with others, listening skills,
openness, and tolerance for others
2. Survey Feedback Approach
– The use of questionnaires to identify
discrepancies among member perceptions;
discussion follows and remedies are suggested
Cont…
3. Process Consultation (PC)
– A consultant gives a client insights into what is going on
around the client, within the client, and between the client and
other people; identifies processes that need improvement.
4. Team Building
– High interaction among team members to increase trust
and openness
5. Intergroup Development
– OD efforts to change the attitudes, stereotypes, and
perceptions that groups have of each other
Cont…
5. Appreciative Inquiry
– Seeks to identify the unique qualities and special
strengths of an organization, which can then be built
on to improve performance
Discovery: Recalling the strengths of the organization
Dreaming: Speculation on the future of the organization
Design: Finding a common vision
Destiny: Deciding how to fulfill the dream
Work Stress
Stress:- A dynamic condition in which an
individual is confronted with an opportunity,
constraint, or demand related to what he or she
desires and for which the outcome is perceived to
be both uncertain and important
Types of Stress
– Challenge Stressors
Stress associated with workload, pressure to complete tasks,
and time urgency
– Hindrance Stressors
Stress that keeps you from reaching your goals, such as red
tape
Cause greater harm than challenge stressors
Potential Sources of Stress
Environmental Factors
– Economic uncertainties of the business cycle
– Political uncertainties of political systems
– Technological uncertainties of technical innovations
Organizational Factors
– Task demands related to the job
– Role demands of functioning in an organization
– Interpersonal demands created by other employees
Cont…
Personal Factors
– Family and personal relationships
– Economic problems from exceeding earning
capacity
– Personality problems arising from basic disposition
Consequences of Stress
Stressors are additive: high levels of stress can
lead to the following symptoms
– Physiological:- Blood pressure, headaches, stroke
– Psychological
Dissatisfaction, tension, anxiety, irritability, boredom
Greatest when roles are unclear in the presence of
conflicting demands
– Behavioral:- Changes in job behaviors, increased smoking
or drinking, different eating habits, rapid speech, fidgeting,
sleep disorders
Not All Stress Is Bad
Some level of stress can increase productivity
Too little or too much stress will reduce
performance
This model is not empirically supported
Managing Stress
Individual Approaches
– Implementing time management
– Increasing physical exercise
– Relaxation training
– Expanding social support network
Cont…
Organizational Approaches
– Improved personnel selection and job placement
– Training
– Use of realistic goal setting
– Redesigning of jobs
– Increased employee involvement
– Improved organizational communication
– Offering employee sabbaticals
– Establishment of corporate wellness programs
