Organizational Change

Typically, the concept of organizational change is in regard to organization-wide change, as opposed to smaller changes such as adding a new person, modifying a program, etc. Examples of organization-wide change might include a change in mission, restructuring operations

1.    Why is diagnosis so vital in organizational change programs?

Because through diagnosis, management associates the problem with skill, attitudinal, behavioral, and structural causes and selects the appropriate intervention. Whether the problem is related to skill or attitudinal, behavioral, or structural causes, the strategy must include provision of learning principles.

2.    Explain the concept of organization intervention and why any particular or organization change can be considered an intervention.

       

Organization intervention is a specific action or program undertaken to focus the change process on particular targets. Thus change is an example of organizational intervention for the term change means that there is something to be altered in order to achieve any desired outcome.

3.    Might some managers attempt to implement a particular intervention, such as TQM without first diagnosing whether the intervention would be appropriate for their organization’s problem.

Without prior diagnosis and further studying about the particular intervention that an organization wants to implement might cause the organization to decline. Any change must be carefully planned.

4.    Why is it important for managers to reduce the resistance to change exhibited or covertly practiced by employees?

       

        Managers should be open to changes, especially if the purpose of that change is for the betterment of the organization. If people need to seek for improvement so do the organization.  But it's natural that some resists change because of varied reasons such as concepts of broken promises in the past, fear of change, peer pressure, disruption of regular patterns, and other behavioral and emotional responses. So the task of the manager is to consider and evaluate the individual and context reasons behind any resistance to change.

5.    Evaluate the ethical issues associated with downsizing an organization by reducing its labor force to increase the organization’s long-run change of survival. What other ethical issues can you identify in the practice of organizational development as you understand it thus far?

Downsizing of organization through reduction of its labor force may seem to be unfair on the part of the employees but cannot be considered as unethical. If this change is the only way for the whole organization to survive and to continue its operation then be it.

6.    Management must remain committed to the effort throughout all its steps, from diagnosis through implementation and evaluation.

The first step organizational change is the diagnosis of present and potential problems. It involves the collection of information that reflects the level of organizational effectiveness. Through diagnosis, management associates the problem with skill, attitudinal, behavioral, and structural causes and selects the appropriate intervention. Then the last step is the evaluation procedure. Obviously change is a process that needs to follow a step by step procedure, hence management must remain committed to the effort throughout all its steps, from diagnosis through implementation and evaluation.

7.    How is the appreciative inquiry approach to an organizational change different from problem solving approach?

Appreciative inquiry is a method of focusing on positive or potential opportunities while problem solving approach means following a step by step procedure in order to come up to a decision and application of it.

8.    What would be characteristics of an organization or situation for which the use of reason would be an effective approach for managing change? Are such organizations and situations relatively rare?

Apparently no matter how smooth or efficient a proposed change may be, there will be some form of resistance. So the task of the managers involved in change programs need to consider and evaluate the individual and context reasons behind any resistance to change. Let the employees know the rationale and the objective of a particular change that is need to be implemented.

9.    Explain the difficulties that you would encounter in attempting to obtain diagnostic information from members of two groups that believe they’re competing for scarce resources.

It would surely be difficult to obtain diagnostic information from members of two groups that believe they're competing for scarce resources since each of the group will give completely different information and techniques in order not to be dominated by each other. What's even worst is the possibility that they might not give proper information that they think would favor the other group.

10. Explain why a change program should be evaluated and why such an evaluation is so difficult to conduct.

Evaluation is needed to discover is such change helps for the growth of the organization, also to discover if such change really improve or worsen the situation of the organization. Through this correction can be done. It will be difficult in a way that it should includes all the scope of the organization, because if only limited area of the organization will be evaluated, the result will not be accurate, because the result speaks for a limited area also.

It is necessary to evaluate in order to know if the implemented change had cause any growth or improvement in the organization. An evaluation not only enables management to account for its use of resources but also provides feedback. Based on this feedback, corrections can be taken in the implementation phase.

Case for analysis: Bayer’s Major Changes in One plant

One of the changes that occur to Bayer is the different ownership within only in the beginning of the acquisition of the facility in Myerstown, another is the reduction of workforce in a year. Aside from that because of the different changes that is happening, employees become sceptical in different programs that the managers are implementing. Because employees are not sure what it is looks like to work to a German, they are not getting the position as the managers. Aside from that, different programs of the past management failed and most of the employees are expecting same failures. But as time goes by as the voice of the employees were heard and their doubt fades, the organization starts to have smooth flow.

This shows that change can be somewhat advantageous in the sense that it can brought the organization on the top. It also wanted to day that if each and every one will help and become candid about different issues they will be successful, because they are just in the same ground. As a manager, listening to everyone is also a key for them not to resist change and for the organization work in a common goal.  Resistance to change is only a way to see if how well the organization will work even each different opinions have. And last but not the list it only shows that each people in an organization played an important role.