organizational

change
An Action-Oriented Toolkit

Models of Strategic Change and Strategic Management Tools

(2)

Change Frameworks for Organizational Diagnosis –

“WHAT” to Change

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Open Systems Perspective

• Organizations exchange information,

material & energy with their
environment. They are not isolated.

• A system is the product of its interrelated

and interdependent parts

• It represents a complex web of

interrelationships, not a chain of linear
cause-effect relationships
Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc. 2
 Open Systems Perspective
(con’t)
• A system seeks equilibrium and one at
equilibrium will only change if energy is
applied

• Individuals within a system may have views of

the system’s function and purpose that differ
greatly from those of others

• Things that occur within and/or to open

systems should not be viewed in isolation. See
them as interconnected, interdependent
components of a complex system
Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc. 3
 Nadler & Tushman
– Organizational Congruence Model

TRANSFORMATION PROCESS
OUTPUT
INPUT
S INFORMAL
STRUCTURE SYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENT T & PROCESS LEVEL
(P.E.S.T.) R
A
UNIT/GROUP
RESOURCES T WORK
FORMAL
LEVEL
STRUCTURE
E
G
HISTORY/ INDIVIDUAL
CULTURE
Y
PEOPLE LEVEL

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc. 4
 Nadler & Tushman
– Organizational Congruence Model

TRANSFORMATION PROCESS OUTPUT

INPUT
S INFORMAL
STRUCTURE SYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENT T & PROCESS LEVEL
(P.E.S.T.) R
A
UNIT/GROUP
RESOURCES T WORK
FORMAL
LEVEL
STRUCTURE
E
G
HISTORY/ INDIVIDUAL
CULTURE
Y
PEOPLE LEVEL

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc. 5
 Linear Event View of the
World

Goal

Gap / Problem Decision / Action Results

Situation

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Issues & Problems with
the Linear View
• Time delays and lag effects related to variables
and outcomes you are trying to manage (e.g.,
inventory stocks and flows, customer satisfaction
– purchase decisions)

• Complexity makes cause – effect relationships

difficult to predict and track

• Attribution Errors and False Learning often result

from the above
Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Dynamic Complexity because
Systems are:

• Constantly Changing • Self Organizing

• Tightly Coupled • Adaptive

• Governed by Feedback • Characterized by Trade-

• Nonlinear offs

• History-Dependent • Counterintuitive

• Policy Resistant

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 A Feedback
Model

Decisions

Goals
Environment

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Complexity Theory &
Organizational Change
• Organizations are webs of non-linear feedback
loops that are connected with individuals and
organizations through similar webs

• These feedback systems operate in stable and

unstable states of equilibrium, even to the point at
which chaos ensues

• Organizations are inherently paradoxes, pulled by

forces of stability and instability
Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Complexity Theory &
Organizational Change
(con’t)
• If organizations give into forces of stability,
they become ossified and change impaired

• If organizations succumb to forces of instability,

they will disintegrate

• Success is when organizations exist between

frozen stability and chaos

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Complexity Theory &
Organizational Change (con’t)

• Short term dynamics (or noise) are characterized by irregular cycles and
discontinuous trends, but long term trends are identifiable

• A successful organization faces an unknowable specific future because things

can and do happen

• Agents can’t control the long term future – they can only act in relation to the
short term

• Long term development is a spontaneous, self-organizing process that may give

rise to new strategic directions

• It is through this process that managers create and come to know the
environments and long-term futures of their organizations

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 The McKenzie 7-S Model

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Components of the 7-S
Model
Strategy A plan or curse of action undertaken in response
to or in anticipation of changes in the external
environment. It leads to the allocation of the
organization’s finite resources to reach specific
goals. o
Structure How people and the work are formally
organized. It relates to the nature of the formal
hierarchy, reporting relationships, and other
design factors that go into the formal structure
(e.g., span of control, degree of centralization).
Systems The formal and informal processes and
procedures used to flow information and
facilitate decision making and action.

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Components of the 7-S
Model
Style How the managers behave (their style, what they
pay attention to, how they treat others) in the
pursuit of organizational goals. At a more macro
level, it means the nature and strength of the
culture (norms, shared beliefs and values) that
develops over time and influences behavior.
Staff How human resources are developed and
categorized over time.
Skills The dominant attributes and distinctive
competencies that exist in key personnel and the
organization as a whole.
Shared Longer-term vision and shared values that
Values shape what organizational members do and the
destiny of the firm.
Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Applying the 7-S Model
Identifying Areas of Alignment and Misalignment That Will Need to Be Managed
and Actions that Need to be Taken

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Sta
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Str
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Strategy
Structure
Systems
Staff
Skills
Shared Values
Style
Environment

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Transformational The Burke-Litwin
Model

Transactional
Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 The Burke-Litwin
Model
• Transformational Factors: Those
variables in the top half of the model
(environment, leadership, mission and
strategy, and organizational culture)
– Changes in these factors are seen as likely due to interactions
with the external environment

• Transactional Factors: The remaining

variables in the lower half of the model
– These variables are more involved in the day-to-day activities
of the organization

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc.
 Summary
• When assessing organizations, think of them as open systems - webs of
interconnected and interdependent relationships that interact with the
environment

• Change often originates in the external environment.

• Change upsets the internal equilibrium in an organization and thus is resisted.

• Both evolutionary and revolutionary change is needed for organizational growth

• We need to understand the WHY and WHAT of change.

• Models in this chapter have focused on the WHAT of change

• Change is not clean and linear – it is messy

Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 2e by Tupper F. Cawsey, Gene Deszca. and Cynthia Ingols ©2012 SAGE Publications, Inc. 19