1.

Coursework title: Individual Assignment

2. Subject Code: MBAPML106

3. Subject Name: Organizational Behaviour

4. Academic Year: 2018 June Start

5. Student First Name: VINOD

6. Student Last Name: KUMAR JAKHAR

7. Student ID No.: 180755118265

8. Student’s personal Email ID: vinod4dubai@gmail.com

Discuss Sustaining Organisational Culture and its various stages?

SUSTAINING ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

In order to keep the organisational culture alive, the organisation has to ensure that its
culture is transmitted to organisational members (Martins & Martins, 2003). Brown (1998, p 55
– 59) presents the following three basic stages in which organisational culture can be sustained
in the organisation:

1. PRE-SELECTION

The first stage of sustaining organisational culture is the pre-selection stage. The pre-
selection stage is characterised by potential recruits who aspire to become members of an
organisation, who may make great efforts to learn about its history and culture (Brown, 1998).
The selection process is also used by the organisation to appoint individuals who will fit into the
organisation’s culture; the values of such individuals should be consistent with those of the
organisation (Martins & Martins, 2003).

2. SOCIALISATION

The socialisation stage follows the pre-selection stage of sustaining organisational culture.
According to Brown (1998, p 57) this stage can be described as the “enculturation process by
which participants learn the culturally accepted beliefs, values and behaviours, so that they are
able to act as effective members of the group”. This suggests that during the socialisation stage,
the organisation helps new organisational members to adapt to its culture (Martins & Martins,
2003). 32 Martins and Martins (2003, p 388) conceptualise the socialisation process as consisting
of the following three stages: The pre-arrival stage encompasses all the learning that occurs
before a new employee joins the organisation. The encounter stage is when the new member
sees what the organisation is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality
may diverge. The metamorphosis stage is when long-term changes take place and the new
members must work out any problems discovered during the encounter stage.

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 3. INCORPORATION/REJECTION
The incorporation or rejection stage is the final stage of sustaining organisational culture. It is
through the socialisation process that organisational members may be incorporated or rejected
(Brown, 1998). Indicators that the individual member has reached full incorporation includes
acceptance by the work group, understanding and acceptance of the organisation’s culture
(Martins & Martins, 2003). On the other hand, rejection may lead to loss of key goals, values and
assumptions; which ultimately create a crisis of identity for organisational members (Schein,
1985).

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Explain Lewin's Three-Step Change Model?

LEWIN’S THREE-STAGE MODEL IN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Kurt Lewin theorizes that organizations are systems which are held in a constant state of
equilibrium by equal and opposing forces. He proposes that any process of organizational change
can be thought of as implementing a move in the equilibrium position towards a desired or newly
established position and that a range of “driving forces”, which exert pressure for change, are
balanced by a number of opposing “resisting forces”. Consequently, change has to happen at
three levels, namely: INDIVIDUALS, SYSTEMS of the organization, and ORGANIZATIONAL
CLIMATE. The individuals who work for the company must be convinced that a change is
essential. The systems of the organization must be changed, specifically, work design, the
information system and/or compensation plans. The organizational climate, particularly the
decision-making process which sets such climate must also be adjusted.

The assumptions which underlie Lewin’s Three-Stage Model are:

1. The change process involves learning something new, as well as discontinuing current
attitudes, behaviors or organizational practices.
2. Change will not occur unless there is a motivation to change. This is often the most
difficult part of the change process.
3. People are the hub of all organizational changes; any change, whether in terms of
structure, group processes, reward systems, or job design, requires individuals to change.
4. Resistance to change is found even when the goals of change are highly desirable.
5. Effective change requires reinforcing new behaviors, attitudes and organizational
practices.

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THREE-STAGE MODEL OF CHANGE

1. UNFREEZING. It is the fundamental step in the theory. It is about creating a motivation

to change. The effects of the driving and restraining forces come into play at this stage.
The driving force must outweigh the restraining force in order for enough motivation to
take place. Merely introducing a driving force is not enough to cause a shift in the
equilibrium of the perceived change. Any premature, unilateral, or authoritarian increase
in driving forces for change will be met by an equal and opposite increase in resisting
forces. As change involves not only learning something new but also unlearning
something that is already present and well-integrated into the personality and social
relationships of the individuals, no change will occur unless there is a motivation for
change.

This model involves creating the right conditions for change to occur. By resisting
change, people often attach a sense of identity to their environment. In this state,
alternatives, even beneficial ones, will initially cause discomfort. The challenge then is to
move people from this “frozen” state to a “change ready” or “unfrozen” state.

2. CHANGING or TRANSITION. It means adjusting the equilibrium, moving to another

condition. At this stage, resisting forces have been investigated, understood and
minimized so that changes can be implemented. Resisting forces must have been reduced
and driving forces increased.

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 The transitional “journey” is central to Lewin’s model and at the psychological
level, it is typically a period of confusion. People are aware that the old ways are being
challenged, but there is no clear understanding of the new ways which will replace them.
As roles change, a reduced state of efficiency is created, where goals are significantly
lowered. Good leadership is important, coaching, counselling or psychological support
may be needed. The end goal of this stage is to get people to the “unfrozen” state and
keep them there.

In actual practice, there are three main approaches to effect the desired change at
this level:

 Rational – Empirical. Change is seen as a process of rational persuasion whereby the

benefits of change are logically explained to those who are influenced by it.
 Normative – Re-educative. This approach assumes employees are rational individuals,
but acknowledges the existence or socio-cultural norms within the organization. It
challenges established values, beliefs, attitudes and norms and re-educates
employees into the new techniques of working.
 Power – Coercive. This method of change involves a process of the imposition of
legitimate authority. Feedback may be denied and resistance will not in any way alter
the plans for change. This approach simply forces change though authority.

3. REFREEZE. This means turning new productive actions into habits, that is, making sure
that changes are used all the time and that they are incorporated into everyday business.

The end goal of the model is to achieve a “refreeze”, re-establishing a new place
of stability and elevate comfort levels by reconnecting people back into their safe, familiar
environment. Refreezing takes people from a period of low productivity in the
transitional state to a stable and productive state.

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Explain Kotter's 8 Steps Plan for Implementing?

JOHN KOTTER’s EIGHT-STAGE CHANGE MODEL

John Kotter described a successful model for understanding and managing change as a process
of going through a series of phases that involves length of time. According to him, skipping steps
will only create the illusion of speed and never produce satisfactory results.

In summary, Kotter’s eight-stage change model are:

1. Establish a sense of urgency. Inspire people to move, making objectives real and
relevant. They need to see a sense of Urgency. They need to know that the change is
needed now.
2. Build the guiding team. Develop a team of leaders that represent the entire organisation.
This team should have the expertise and influence necessary to bring credibility to the
change. Involve leaders in this beginning coalition.
3. Develop the Change Vision. Get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy and
focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency.
Successful transformation rests on a vision of the future that is relatively easy to
communicate. This vision will clarify the direction in which the organization needs to go.

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 4. Communicate the Vision. Involve as many people as possible and communicate the
essentials simply to appeal and respond to people’s needs. Use every existing
communication channel and opportunity.
5. Empower Others to Act. Determine what barriers are in place (e.g., organisational
structure, employee skill sets, individual resistance to change, etc.) and work to remove
barriers as far in advance as possible. Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback
and lots of support from leaders. Allocate budget if needed.
6. Create short-term wins. Set aims in bite-size chunks that are easy to achieve. Finish
current stages before starting new ones. Commitments to produce short-term wins will
keep the urgency level up.
7. Don’t let up; consolidate improvements and sustain momentum for change. Resistance
to change can re-emerge later in the process. Continue to move the change forward by
keeping the urgency high, encouraging employee empowerment and greater focus on the
strategic vision by leadership.
8. Make change stick; institutionalize the new approaches. Infuse the Change into the
Corporate Culture: As Kotter puts it, "make it stick." New employees should see the
change as part of the culture. Existing employees should see it as a benefit over the
previous way of being.

Reference’s:
 Martins, N. & Martins, E. 2003. ‘Organisational culture’
 In Robbins, S.P., Odendaal A. & Roodt, G. (eds), Organisational Behaviour
 Brown, A. 1998. Organisational Culture
 Singhania University-MBA Text Book, E.2017, Organisational Behaviour
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