DIAGNOISING NEEDS FOR CHANGE

 Creativity: The founders of the organization dominate this stage, and the emphasis is on creating
both a product and a market. But as the organization grows, management problems occur that
cannot be handled through informal communication. The founders find themselves burdened
with unwanted management responsibilities, and conflicts between the employees and
management grow. It is at this point that the crisis of leadership occurs, and the first
revolutionary period begins.
 Direction: During this period, a strong manager, who is acceptable to the founder and who can
pull the organization together, is appointed. During this phase the new manager and key staff
take most of the responsibility for instituting direction, while lower level supervisors are treated
more as functional specialists than autonomous decision‐making managers. Lower level
managers begin to demand more autonomy, and the next revolutionary period begins.
 Delegation: This stage often poses problems for top managers who have been successful at
being directive: They may find giving up responsibility difficult. Moreover, lower level managers
generally are not accustomed to making decisions for themselves. As a result, numerous
organizations flounder during this revolutionary period, adhering to centralized methods, while
lower level employees grow disenchanted and leave the organization.

 Control: This stage is characterized by the use of formal systems for achieving greater
coordination, with top management as the watchdog. It results in the next revolutionary period,
the crisis of red tape. This crisis most often occurs when the organization has become too large
and complex, and is managed through formal programs and rigid systems. If the crisis of red
tape is to be overcome, the organization must move to the next evolutionary phase.

 Collaboration: The last of Greiner's phases emphasizes greater spontaneity in management

action through teams and the skillful confrontation of interpersonal differences. Social control
and self‐discipline take over from formal action. Greiner's model shows uncertainty about what
the next revolution of change will be, but anticipates that it will center on the psychological
saturation of employees who grow emotionally and physically exhausted by the intensity of
teamwork and the heavy pressure for innovative solutions.