Preview

Strategic Organizational Change: the Role of

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
8907 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Strategic Organizational Change: the Role of
Strategic organizational change: the role of leadership, learning, motivation and productivity
Steven H. Appelbaum Faculty of Commerce and Administration, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Normand St-Pierre Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada William Glavas Pratt and Whitney Canada, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Presents an overview of strategic organizational change (SOC) and its managerial impact on leadership, learning, motivation and productivity. Theoretical and empirical data presented are: the sources and determinants of strategic organizational change; the management implications of SOC; organizational leadership within the context of SOC; learning aspects of SOC; the impact of SOC on organizational and individual productivity; a model that explains the relationships between SOC, leadership, learning, motivation and productivity. Depicts strategic organizational change as an integrative process with all organizational elements such as human resources, systems and technologies being considered for successful change to occur. The proposed model for strategic organizational change is an attempt to link the software and hardware components of organizations. In view of the pressures being expected from the external environment and the critical vision of organizations, research suggests that top management needs to establish a flexible and adaptive infrastructure that should lead contemporary and complex organizations to optimum levels of performance. The largest barrier to “change” is not changes to technologies and work processes but changes involving people.

Introduction
For centuries philosophers have struggled with definitions of “change”, …To the ancient Greeks… tampering with the basic character of things – was, if not actually blasphemy, a sure path to disaster … In modern Western culture, “change” is a more malleable notion, a means to bend fate to one’s ends… (Kanter et al., 1992).

Critical determinants of



References: Argyris, C. (1991), “Teaching smart people how to learn”, Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 99-109. Beatty, C., Lee, A. and Gloria, L. (1992), “Leadership among middle managers – an exploration in the context of technological change”, Human Relations, Vol. 45 No. 9, pp. 957-90. Beekin, R.I. (1989), “Assessing the effectiveness of sociotechnical interventions: antidote or fad”, Human Relations, Vol. 42, pp. 877-97. Beer, M. and Eisenstat, R.A. (1996), “Developing an organization capable of implementing strategy and learning”, Human Relations, Vol. 49 No. 5, pp. 597-617. Burke, W. and Litwin, G.H. (1992), “A causal model of organizational performance and change”, Journal of Management, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 523-45. Dutton, J.E. (1988), “Understanding strategic agenda building and its implications for managing change”, in Pondy, L.R., Boland, R.J. Jr and Thomas, H. (Eds), Managing Ambiguity and Change, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, pp. 127-44. Felkins, P.K., Chakiris, B.J. and Chakiris, K.N. (1993), Change Management: A Model for Effective Organizational Performance, Quality Resources, Chapters 1,3,8,10, White Plains, New York, NY. French, W.L. and Bell, C.H. (1978), Organizational Development: Behavioral Science Interventions for Organizational Improvement, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, p. 14. Hitt, M., Keats, B.A. and Nixon, R.D. (1996), “Rightsizing: building and maintaining strategic leadership and long-term competitiveness”, Organizational Dynamics, pp. 18-32. Johns, G. (1983), Organizational Behavior: Understanding Life at Work, Scott, Foresman and Company, Glenview, IL, Chapter 17. Kanter, R.M., Stein, B.A. and Jick, T.D. (1992), The Challenge of Organizational Change, The Free Press, New York, NY, Chapter 6, 10. Katzenbach, J.R. (1996), “Real change management”, The McKinsey Quarterly, No. 1, pp. 148-63. Kren, L. (1992), “The monitoring effects of locus of control on performance incentives and participation”, Human Relations, Vol. 45 No. 9, pp. 991-1012. Lawler, E. (1994), “Effective rewards systems: strategy diagnosis and design”, in Howard and Associates (Eds), Diagnosis for Organizational Change, The Guilford Press, New York, NY, pp. 210-38. Porras, J.I. and Berg, P.O. (1978), “The impact of organization development”, Academy of Management Review, No. 3, pp. 249-66. Robbins, S. P. (1983), Organizational Theory, The Structure & Design of Organizations, PrenticeHall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Chapter 15. [ 300 ] Steven H. Appelbaum, Normand St-Pierre and William Glavas Strategic organizational change: the role of leadership, learning, motivation and productivity Management Decision 36/5 [1998] 289–301 Rogers, W. R. and Byham, W.C. (1994), “Diagnosing organizational cultures for realignment”, in Howard and Associates (Eds), Diagnosis for Organizational Change, The Guilford Press, New York, pp. 179-209. Rummler, G. (1996), “In search of the holy”, Training & Development, pp. 26-32. Sleeth, R., Johnston, G. and Wallace, R. (1996), “The effective leader as a link between tasks and people”, SAM Advanced Management Journal, pp. 16-21. Trahant, W. and Burke, W. (1996), “Creating a change reaction: how understanding organizational dynamics can ease re-engineering”, National Productivity Review, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 37-46. Van Buren, M.E. and Werner, J.M. (1996), “High performance work systems”, Business and Economic Review, Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 15-23. Vecchio, R.P. and Appelbaum, S.H. (1995), Managing Organizational Behaviour Dryden, , Toronto, Chapters 10, 19. Volberda, H.W. (1992), Organizational Flexibility Change and Preservation: A Flexibility Audit & Redesign Model, Wolters - Noordhoff, Chapter 3, 4, 6. Walton, E. and Nadler, D. (1994), “Diagnosis for organization design”, in Howard and Associates (Eds), Diagnosis for Organizational Change, The Guilford Press, New York, NY, pp. 85-105. Wiggenhorn, W. (1990), “Motorola U: when training becomes an education”, Harvard Business Review, No. 4, pp. 71-83. Wilson, D. (1992), A Strategy of Change: Concepts and Controversies in the Management of Change, Routledge, New York, NY, Chapters 1-4. Zammuto, R. and O’Conner, E.J. (1992), “Gaining advanced manufacturing technologies’ benefits: the role of organizational design and culture”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 701-28. Application questions 1 Would you agree with the author that the largest barrier to change is people, not technology and work processes? 2 If planned change is the key to organization success, should people hold a defined change planning role? [ 301 ]

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Hrm 310 Week 3

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    References: Leban, B., & Stone, R. (2008). Managing Organizational Change (2nd ed.). Retrieved from The…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Hrm 587 Final Project

    • 6455 Words
    • 26 Pages

    Robison, Jennifer. Overcoming the Fear of Change. Gallup Management Journal Online, Van de Ven, Andrew and Sun Kangyong. (2003). Breakdowns in Implementing Models of Organization Change.Academy of Mangement Perspectives.…

    • 6455 Words
    • 26 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    When an organization decides make changes to business model, it looks at process, people, places, and the product. “In today’s business environment, with business models in a state of flux just as products and services are, it is virtually impossible for organizations to implement their chosen strategies without undertaking the kinds of strategic initiatives that inevitably require substantial behavioral and cultural changes” (Cabrey and Haughey, 2014). It is natural for an organization to go through changes as per business needs and change is the major competence for an organization…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What is change? Change is ironically one of the very few consistencies in life. Yet we regard change as an aberration or a brief disruption, in a paradoxically ever so changing world. It is not a mystery then that the sum of all stress can be attributed to change, e.g., changes at work, changes in finances, changes in the family structure, etc. In light of this, John Kotter and David Cohen (2002) have published a book The Heart of Change which illustrates a step by step a process to implement effective change in the work place that minimizes those disruptions or aberrations. In the following analysis this writer will compare the eight steps for successful large scale change in an organization outlined in the book, The Heart of Change, with those discussed in the scientifically validated text Organizational Behavior and Management, by Ivancevich, Konopaske, and Matteson, (2011). As The Heart of Change presents their method of organizational change in eight stages, the comparative text discusses the undertaking of change through the perspective of slightly different methods starting on page 528. Both books are typically synonymous regarding the concepts of change in an organization; this analysis will dissect these differences and similarities, and prove both are valid resources.…

    • 2549 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Boeing Perrier Case Study

    • 1725 Words
    • 7 Pages

    References: Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing Organizational Change. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irvine.…

    • 1725 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Higgins, J. M., & McAllaster, C. (2004, Mar.). If You Want Strategic Change, Don’t Forget to Change Your Cultural Artifacts. Journal of Change Management, 4, 63-73.…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    OCD chapter 1 questions

    • 1672 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Organizations need to change to become more effective, productive, and satisfying to members. Changes are required as customers demand more, technologies are developed with a rapidly changing life cycle and investors demand results. This requires that organizations develop new strategies, economic structures, technologies, organizational structures, and processes. Employees learn new skills as jobs change or are eliminated.…

    • 1672 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Describe the process of entering an organizational system from an internal OD practitioner’s perspective. Which part of the process do you feel is most critical to success?…

    • 276 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Theories of change describe the effectiveness with which organizations are able to modify their strategies, processes, and structures. The rate of major organizational change has accelerated dramatically in this decade. Experts have estimated that 30 years ago, the largest companies typically had only one or two simultaneous enterprise-wide change initiatives; however, according to a corporate executive board CEB organizational research available today: A typical organization has undertaken five major firm-wide changes in the past three years; 73% of the organizations expect a greater number of changes over the next three years; only 34% of the organizations are clearly successful at managing change. Major change initiatives are not limited to big companies. According to the society human resource management SHRM (2007) change-management survey report, 80% of organizations had planned or implemented major organizational initiatives requiring change management during the previous 24 months. Different organizations use different organizational change models to remain competitive in the marketplace (e.g., the positive model; the action research model; Lewin's model; Kanter, Stein, and Jick, 1992; Kotter's model, 1996; and Luecke model, 2003) all of these studies showed that leadership is the key factor for the process of change. As change initiatives have become more frequent and widespread, the importance of managing individuals through change has gained credence. Many corporate leaders have concluded that failing to manage employees through change can be costly. Employees who are dissatisfied with or upset by a change are generally less…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When an organization faces decisions that may cause change, the leadership must have a vision of the objective. In order for change to happen, the entire organization needs to share a vision of a desirable future. Today there are many reasons for change in an organization. One major factor is technology. The technological advancements in business resulted in frequent changes and more are coming. Organizations use technology to look for ways to make things easier and less costly. In an ever-changing global economy the demand for higher services and quality place pressure on an organization, implying that change is a constant way of corporate life. Businesses want results and the addition of the Internet, web meetings, and cell phones have created an environment of instant results. Technology has advanced business needs to unimaginable heights. With changes, though, comes implementation. These changes are not easy and will affect the team members. Management has to be on top of the newest developments and decide how best to use them. Leadership must implement strategies that will help the entire organization see the vision they have for the company and why this change is necessary for progress. For an organization to be…

    • 1012 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Spector, B. (2012). Implementing Organizational Change: Theory Into Practice, Second Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions.…

    • 2193 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Van de Ven A, Sun K. Breakdowns in Implementing Models of Organization Change. Academy Of Management Perspectives [serial online]. August 2011;25(3):58-74. Available from: Business…

    • 1133 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Organizational Communication

    • 3922 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Phalpher, R. (1999) Sustaining Organizational Change. Engineering Dimensions [online].Available from:http://www.peo.on.ca/publifications/Dimensions/marapr9s/manage.pdf [Accessed on 5th December 2005]…

    • 3922 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    This research project focused on organizational change management initiated through strategic planning. Knowing that organizational changes are inevitable and necessary for companies to achieve their mission and goals, the intent was to present an analysis on some of the important areas that could affect successful outcomes. Included are strategy, technology, structure, and people as the four major areas of concentration because they are related and most cases, interchangeable when there is change. There are also techniques explored that counter the resistance of employees either afraid or unwilling to change.…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Integrative Paper

    • 2964 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The text for this course, Organizational Behavior and Management by John M. Ivanevich, Robert Konopaske and Michael T. Matteson, attempts to use the latest theories, research, and organizational applications while retaining the classic and long-standing work in organizational behavior as the basis for its discussion. It places a great deal of importance on management's understanding of organizational situations and its ability to react by properly interpreting and predicting behavior. Managing organizational change is done by focusing on behavior (individual and group), organizational structure, and processes. On the other hand, Leading Change by John P. Kotter underscores the differences between management and leadership. Strong and effective leadership is required for successful transformations of organizations. Kotter reasons that an unsuccessful transformation can be attributed to errors in the following stages: establishing a sense of urgency, creating the guiding coalition, developing a vision and strategy, communicating the change vision, empowering employees for broad-based action, generating short-term wins, consolidating gains and producing more change, and anchoring new approaches in the culture. This paper will discuss how the concepts presented in the text relate to the eight stages covered in Leading Change.…

    • 2964 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays