Paper: 13, Organizational Behavior

Module: 36, Organizational Change and Development

Prof. S P Bansal
Principal Investigator Vice Chancellor
Maharaja Agrasen University, Baddi

Prof YoginderVerma
Co-Principal Investigator Pro–Vice Chancellor
Central University of Himachal Pradesh. Kangra. H.P.

Prof A. K. Sahijpal
Paper Coordinator School of Management
Maharaja Agrasen University, Baddi(H.P.)

Dr. Radha Kanwal Sharma

Content Writer Associate Professor
School of Management Studies,IET, Bhaddal, Ropar

Items Description of Module

Subject Name Management
Paper Name Organizational Behavior
 Module Title Organizational Change and Development
Module Id Module no.- 36
Pre- Requisites To have a basic idea of Organization and Environment
Objectives To understand organizational change and development
Keywords Change, environment, development, interventions

QUADRANT-I
Module 36: Organizational Change and Development
1. Learning Outcome
2. Organizational Change
3. Forces of change
4. Levels of change
5. Force Field Analysis
6. Resistance to change
7. Organization Development
8. Features of OD
9. Process of OD
10. Techniques of OD /Interventions
11. Summary

1. Learning Outcomes:
After completing this module the students will be able to:
 Understand the concepts of change.
 Implications of change in the organizational system
 Understanding the concept of organization development
 Different aspects of organization development
2. ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Change is inevitable. Change is a continuous phenomenon. Change refers to any variation which
occurs in over all work environment of an organization. It can be in technology, organizational
structure, working processes, work environment, organizational policy or the roles people play.
Inducing change in one part of an organization forces change in other part. If the change is
beneficial people accept it willingly. If it is not desirable, there is great resistance. If they
consider the change detrimental to their growth and prosperity, they may resist through counter
pressure. The change therefore should be sufficiently strong enough to overcome the counter
pressure. Due to advancement of technology and social environment, change has become a
necessity. If the change takes place, a balance or equilibrium is achieved by the organization.
When people accept change, they learn adaptation. This process carries on and is never ending
because change takes place continuously.
Organizational change is the process by which organizations move from their present state to the
desired state to increase their effectiveness.
Change has following characteristics:
1. It is critical for a company if it wants to survive and avoid stagnation;
2. It is a continuous process not just an event;
3. It is fast and is likely to increase further in the present competitive business scenario;
4. It has two terms associated with it, directive(implementation by top down management)
and participative (involvement of those parties of organization which are impacted by
change);
5. It is natural, evolutionary and hence adaptive in nature. It is in response to changes in
external environmental pressures;
6. It can be incremental (gradual small changes) or step (radical shift from current
processes to newer owns);
7. It is dependent on organization culture/environment.
3. Forces of Change
An organization is an open system constantly interacting with external environment. Any change
in environment makes it essential for the organization to incorporate change in the internal
systems, sub-systems and processes. There are two forces that induce change:
External Forces: These forces are change in environment external to the company.
Globalization, technology, governmental policies, legal implications, economic scenario, socio-
cultural trends, workforce diversity, scarcity of resources, managing ethical behavior etc. are
major external forces demanding change.
Internal Forces: Change of process, modification to human behavior, training and development
of work force based on new technology and adopting new polices, job redesign; providing
facilities like child care, frequent rest periods, flextime due changing composition of workforce ;
issues relating to industrial relations, strikes, layoffs etc are some of the internal forces.

4. Levels of change:
Change can take place at three levels; individual, group and organizational level
Individual level change: At this level, change is reflected in job assignment, change of location
of work, level of maturity etc. Significant changes at individual levels have its repercussions on
the group, which might influence the whole of the organization.
Group level change: Changes at group level affect work flow, job design, social organization,
influence and status system and communication pattern. Informal groups can pose a major
barrier to change because of inherent strength they possess. Formal groups can also resist
change. As group have powerful influence over individuals, effective implementation of change
at group level, can overcome the resistance to change.
Organization level changes: change at organizational level is referred as „organization
development‟. These are long term changes and affect everyone in the organization. These are
designed at the top management level. These changes include reorganization of organizational
structure and responsibilities, revamping of remuneration system, changes in vision, mission and
strategy etc.
5. Force Field Analysis:
Kurt Lewin developed the Force Field Theory, which explains that when a decision to implement
change is taken, it becomes important to identify as to what forces are likely to push the change
and what forces are likely to restrain it. The process of identifying the number and strength of
driving and restraining force is called the force field analysis. If the analysis indicates that the
restraining force is strong, steps may be required to reduce their strength or increase the strength
of the driving force. This may be carried out by briefing sessions, meetings and conveying a
point informally.
This is an important action to overcome resistance to change exhibited by people.

5.1 Change process

Kurt Lewin proposed Three Stage Model of the change process for moving the organization from
present position to the changed position. This is done by unfreezing the current situation,
bringing the desired change and then refreezing the system so that it continues to stay in desired
state.
Unfreezing:
1. It involves encouraging employees to discard old behavior by shaking equilibrium state.
2. A proactive problem is presented so that people recognize the need for change.
3. Practice of elimination of rewards for current practices is followed. This encourages
people to adopt new ways.
Moving:
1. Alter the behavior of individuals of the department in which the changes are to occur.
2. Moving employees developing new behaviors through structural changes or
organizational development.
Refreezing:
1. Change becomes permanent, new behaviors are established as new status quo.
2. The new ways of operating are cemented and reinforced.
3. Manager, at this stage ensure that organizational culture and reward system encourage
new behavior and stabilize it rather than falling back on old practices.
This model can be extended further into six stages of change process:
1. Becoming aware of the pressure of the change
2. Recognizing the need for change
3. Diagnosing the problem
4. Planning the change
5. Implementing the change
6. Follow up on the change
6. Resistance to change
Change no matter how beneficial, is generally resented and is always difficult to implement.
Change brings with it new challenges, new experiences, and associated rewards, therefore it
should be welcomed and implemented with positivity and full support. However, following
factors resist change;
1. Job Security: people fear losing their jobs due to change. This is especially true in the
recent times when downsizing the organization as a measure of cost cutting is the trend.
 Introduction of modern technology and systems gives doubts in the minds of employees
rather than the growth in productivity of the organization
2. Lack of Communication: Different people will see perceive proposed change in
different ways and resist it. Therefore, management must communicate in advance the
need for change, process to adopt for implementation of change. Employees should be
the participants right from the beginning of change process.
3. Rapidity and Extent of Change: If the change is of a minor nature and involves routine
operations, the resistance would be minimal. If on the contrary the change is major and
involves large number of employees there could be tremendous resistance to it.
4. Group Phenomenon: Individual resist change because group wants it that way.
Importance of group cohesion, group norms, code of conduct and the group security play
a dominant role in individual behavior that makes them to resist change.
5. Emotions: If the experience of a past change has been pleasant, the resistance would be
negligible. Technical change is accepted willingly if it does not have adverse effect on
social fiber of the group. Resistance may be faced if the change ignores already
established institutions in the group with particular reference to customs and group
norms.
6. Loss of Power: Downsizing of department or posting of an executive to different
department, where there is a reduction of power base will be resisted by the affected
individuals.
7. Technology: Introduction of technology that causes economic loss and disturbs social
relationship is generally resisted.
8. New Practices: Certain practices like women domination at the top and strategy of
acquisitions and mergers is also resisted by the employees.

6.1 Managing Resistance to Change

Individual involvement right from the planning stage of the change is essential to ensure total
commitment. It should ultimately appear that the employees require the change and management
is implementing it at their behest. It is always better to explain to employees about the necessity
and benefits of change and how these are to be shared by employees. Free flow of information
and two-way communication is necessary to avoid negative attitudes about change. There may
be need for the counseling and training of people. It is important to make employees feel that
they can discuss the modalities of change and clarify their doubts about it. It must be
remembered that without full cooperation of workers, no change can be planned, implemented
and the benefits enjoyed.

7. ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Organizational development is a planned process of change in an organization‟s culture through
utilization of behavioral science technologies. According to French and Bell, “Organizational
development is a long term efforts, led and supported by top management to improve an
organization‟s visioning, empowerment, learning and problem solving processes, through an
ongoing, collaborative management or organization culture – with special emphasis on the
culture of intact work teams and other team configurations – utilizing the consultant – facilitator
role and the theory and technology of applied behavioral science, including action research”.
OD is needed for (i) to provide training to employees to adjust with the change being
implemented, (ii) OD helps in making the organizational culture more responsive to dynamic
environment and changes taking place. This helps to stabilize the change.

7.1 Features of Organizational Development (OD)

1. It is a planned change.
2. It is a long term effort because it takes several years/ decades to achieve a change
(sometimes done in stages)
3. Organization development must be initiated, led and supported by top management. They
must encourage subordinates to introduce change leading to development.
4. OD is a visioning process involving creation of a picture of the desired future of the
organization and working together to make that picture a reality.
5. OD has a system orientation. It is concerned with various subsystems in the organization
and their interaction with each other.
6. OD is always facilitated by an external change agent.
7. OD is a learning process as it is interaction of individuals, teams and groups functioning
within the parameter of various systems and organization processes with the aim of
sharing knowledge and achieving growth.
 8. OD is a problem solving process
9. It is a collaborative process because it stresses on collaboration among different
hierarchical levels.
10. An ideal culture is mandatory for OD to be successful. A common and enriching culture
helps cope with change.
11. OD is about team building and group processes. It is based on feedback and corrective
action.
12. OD is flexible and pragmatic in approach.
7.2 Benefits of OD
1. It provides opportunities to people to act as human beings, rather than mere resources in
the organization.
2. Each individual gets an opportunity to develop to his full potential.
3. It seeks to make organization more effective in meeting all its goals.
4. It strives to create an environment in which exciting and challenging work opportunities
exist.
5. It proved employees a chance to influence work and work environment
6. It treats each human as a person with a complex set of needs.
7.3 Assumptions of OD
1. Individuals are motivated by personal growth and development. The work habits of a
person will change positively only if the work environment is changed to suit his needs.
2. Highest productivity can be achieved by effective integration of individual goals with
organizational goals.
3. OD assumes that cooperation is more effective than conflict.
4. Free expression of feelings is an important ingredient for commitment to work.
5. The level of inter personal trust; support and co operation should be as high as possible.
6. There should be sense of commitment among the employees in the organization.
7. OD cannot be implemented in isolation. It must be reinforced by organization‟s human
resource system.
7.4 Values of OD
Tannenbaum and Davis advice that organization should move
 1. Away from view of human beings as essentially bad towards viewing them as basically
good;
2. Away from negative evaluation of individuals towards confirming them as valuable
human beings;
3. Away from view of individuals as „fixed‟ ( being) towards seeing them as „Being in
process‟ (becoming);
4. Away from resisting individual differences towards accepting and utilizing them;
5. Away from game playing towards authentic behaviour;
6. Away from distrusting people towards trusting them;
7. Away from avoiding facing others with relevant data towards confronting them;
8. Away from avoiding risk towards willingness to take risk;
9. Away from primary emphasis on competition towards emphasis on co operation;
10. Away from utilizing an individual with reference to his job description towards viewing
him as a whole person.
7.5 Limitations of OD
OD suffers from following limitations:
1. As OD is based on behavioral science concepts, all limitations associated with behavioral
sciences are passed on to OD.
2. OD requires the services of diligent and highly motivated individuals who can take
initiative to bring change. In the absence of such people, OD cannot be fully
implemented.
3. OD cannot be applied without giving due consideration to circumstances existing within
the organization. The local circumstances may pose a problem to OD. Characteristics of
employees of the organization also put limitations on OD.
8. Process of OD
A typical OD programme consists of following steps:
1. Diagnosis of the problem: Top management meets the consultant and discuss issues
being faced by the organization.
2. Collection of data: Consultant gathers data with the help of various tools like interviews,
surveys, existing records and documents etc. to find out roots of issues at different levels
of the organization.
 3. Data feedback and confrontation: Findings of data gathered are shared by consultant
with top management and other work groups. These are discussed, feedback is shared and
common issues of concern are arrived at.
4. Planning Strategy for change: Consultant prepares rough draft of „change strategy‟ and
discusses it with top management. When all agree about it, a detailed draft is prepared by
consultant.
5. Intervening the system: The detailed plan prepared in previous step is gradually
implementation. Various methods known as interventions are used by consultant to make
change effective.
6. Team Building: Consultant facilitates the implementation of change by encouraging the
formation of teams and small groups. Managers and their subordinates are motivated to
work together as team to achieve the desired outcomes.
7. Evaluation: For evaluation of OD programme, the use of critique sessions, appraisal of
change efforts and comparison of pre and post training behavioral patterns are quite
effective methods. As OD is a long process, its evaluation is very significant in successful
implementation of desired changes in the system.

9. Techniques/ Interventions of OD
There are four categories of OD interventions:
1. Human process interventions: These interventions aim at improving inter personal skills of
employees so that they can intelligently solve inter personal and inter group problems. These
include:
1. T groups or sensitivity training or lab training
2. Process Consultation
3. Third Party Intervention
4. Team Building
5. Organization Confrontation Meeting
6. Intergroup relations.
2. Techno structural Interventions: Experts in OD are increasingly relying on efforts to change
structures, methods and job designs of the organizations. Techno structural interventions focus
on productivity improvement and increasing efficiency. These include:
 1. Formal structural change
2. Differentiation and integration
3. Cooperative union management projects
4. Quality circles
5. Total Quality management (TQM)
6. Work Design
3. Human Resource Management Interventions: HR practices such as hiring, training and
performance appraisal can mould employee commitment, motivation and productivity. Therefore
OD practitioners targets the change areas like firm‟s appraisal system, reward system and
workforce diversity programmes. These include:
1. Goal Setting
2. Performance appraisal
3. Reward system
4. Life and Career planning and development
5. Managing work force diversity
6. Employee wellness
4. Strategic Interventions: These are meant for the organization as the whole. These are long
term interventions involving major changes. These include:
1. Integrated strategic management
2. Culture change
3. Strategic change
4. Self designing organizations
Some of these interventions are discussed below:
T Group or Sensitivity training or Lab training
It is the most widely used technique. The method is used to train teams with an ultimate
objective of organizational development. Sensitivity training envisages formation of unstructured
small groups. Members of the group interact with each other and learn from various situations. T
group involves use of various models of role playing, learning, change and transactional nature
of human beings. Team building dynamics is the major part of T group. Sensitivity training also
involved organizational topic like deadlines, study pertaining to duties and responsibilities,
policy, procedures and inter organizational group relationship. The method helps individuals to
change attitude, understand human nature, modify behavior to suit a particular situation and be a
useful member of the team.
Process Consultation
Process consultation requires combination of skills in establishing relationship, knowing what
kinds of processes to look for in organizations and intervening in ways to improve organizational
processes. The essence of process consultation is that a skilled consultant (facilitator) works with
managers, groups and individuals with the object of developing their process skills. It involves
diagnosing, understanding and solving process related problems. An organization has various
processes (e.g. administrative process) having various sub-processes within it. The managers
have to evolve a particular process and ensure that it is implemented by all the employees. For
example in a communication process, the manager must ensure free flow of vertical, horizontal
and diagonal information and that no work should suffer for the want of required information. If
problems in the process persist, an outsider consultant is employed to examine the process,
identify problem areas, suggest solutions, implement and obtain feedback. It involves
ascertaining solutions to various issues in the organization. Following process are taken into
consideration:
 Organizational structure and organizational design modification
 Dynamics of inter-personal relationship
 Nature and scope of communication
 Issues relating to leadership style that are followed by various leaders
 Group problem solving on organizational, social and domestic issues
 Decision making process
 Welfare measures
 Training and development
 Issues of production, Quality control leading to product modification and thereby
 Achieving organizational effectiveness.
The process consultation sensitizes the individuals who are directly or indirectly involved in
above processes. Trend is observed in the organizational systems where individual display their
voluntary commitment to develop organizational processes and assist each other to resolve issues
irrespective of their departmental boundary.
Organizational Mirroring: Organizational mirroring is an intervention technique to assess and
improve organization‟s effectiveness by obtaining feedback from the organizations it is
interacting with. When an organization experiences difficulties working with other organizations,
it can seek assistance from these organizations. The process of organization mirroring is as
under:
 Representative from outside organizations like suppliers, government organizations with
whom host organization is facing problems are invited for mirroring or reflect back their
perception.
 Consultant generally interviews the people attending the meeting in advance of the
scheduled meeting.
 Consultant in the interview identifies the magnitude of the problem the host organization
is facing.
 Meeting continues in which groups/sub-groups identify problems faced by the host
organization and suggest solutions.
 Host organization should be genuine in wanting to resolve problems it is facing with the
external organizations, and then only, the organizational mirroring can be of use.
 Host organization should implement the action plan developed during the meeting.

10. Summary
Change refers to any variation which occurs in over all work environment of an organization.
Inducing change in one part of an organization forces change in other part. If the change is
beneficial people accept it willingly. If it is not desirable, there is great resistance. Due to
advancement of technology and social environment, change has become a necessity. If the
change takes place, a balance or equilibrium is achieved by the organization. Organizational
development is a planned process of change in an organization‟s culture through utilization of
behavioral science technologies. OD is needed for (i) to provide training to employees to adjust
with the change being implemented, (ii) OD helps in making the organizational culture more
responsive to dynamic environment and changes taking place. This helps to stabilize the change.