BA 4226

Managing Organizational
Change
What changes in organizations

Instructor: ar Topal

Types of organizational change

First-order

or incremental
Continuous and small-scale
Anticipation and fine-tuning
Reaction and adaptation
Second-order or transformational
Discontinuous and large-scale
Anticipation and reorientation
Reaction and re-creation

First-order change-subtypes
Change

as the taking of individual

iniatives
Going beyond jobs
Change as the development of local
routines
Going beyond routines

Second-order change-subtypes
Delayering
Networks

and alliances
Outsourcing
Disaggregation
Empowerment
Flexible work groups
Short-term staffing
Reduction of internal and external
boundaries
4

Second-order changemagnitude
Type

1: professionalization
Type 2: revitalization
Type 3: renewal

In-between changes
Mid-range

organizational change
Punctuated equilibrium
Robust transformation
Jolts
Step functions
Oscillation

Implications
Change

types may not be neatly

categorized
Multiple types of changes may occur
simultaneously or nested and interrelated
Small changes may have larger
unanticipated consequences
Inertial forces may prevent adaptive
changes
Change and stability is intertwined
Change may add on to rather than remove
current practices
Incremental change is not always less risky
7

Downsizing challenges
Employee

retention
Avoiding hard landings
Minimizing political behavior and
loss of teamwork
Survivor syndrome
Communication
Due diligence
Cultural adjustment
Choice of restructuring technique
8

Technological change
challenges
Goal

synthesis
Choice of technology
Identifying political barriers
The IT team
Communication
Time frame
Contingency planning

Mergers and acquisitions

challenges
Cost

savings
Cultural adjustment
Balancing change and continuity
Due diligence
Employee retention
Contingency planning
Power structure
Communication
10