[Slide 1 – This quote by Charles Kettering is an appropriate one with which to begin our final module in this course. Change is an underlying current running through almost every aspect of what managers do in today’s organizations. We will explore the topic of change more explicitly in this module

[Slide 2 – This model summarizes many of the external forces acting upon today’s organizations. These forces can result in either greater opportunities for an organization in the form of additional markets for its products and services, for example, or in the form of additional threats, such as increased competition. These opportunities and threats result in the need for change within the organization, either in terms of the firm’s technology, structure or people.

[Slide 3 – Your chapter introduces you to the work of Kurt Lewin, who developed the classic model of change known as the Force-Field Model. This model suggests that there are driving forces FOR change acting upon the organization. Some of these forces are small, some large, as indicated by the different sized arrows. At the same time, there are driving forces against change. A firm will be held in equilibrium (that is, no change) unless and until the forces FOR change outweigh the restraining forces. This begs the question, then, what ARE the driving and restraining forces for most organizations? Let’s first look at the forces FOR change.

[Slide 4 – There are both internal and external forces for change which can impact an organization. The external forces of change come from various sources. As mentioned at the beginning of this module, the marketplace in recent years has affected firms by introducing new competition. Bell Atlantic, for example, is experiencing competition from cable companies to provide local phone service, made possible by recent changes in U.S. telecommunication regulations. Technology causes change. E-commerce and the Internet have changed how we sell products and access information. And economic changes affect almost all organizations.

Internal forces originate from the operations of the organization or from the impact of external changes: such as management redefining its strategies, new equipment in workplace, and demographic changes in the organization’s workforce. These forces lead to changes in the policies and practices of management.

[Slide 5- At the same time, most organizations also experience forces against change, both internal and external. For instance, firms have fixed assets, such as plant, land, and equipment which cannot be easily switched over. Similarly, overtime, organizations become fairly entrenched in a way of doing things, in a set culture which can be difficult to overcome. There are also often internal political forces which have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. External forces can include both legal and monetary barriers to change, which can prevent firms from easily entering a new market or exiting their current one. Lastly, many organizations simply don’t do a sufficient job monitoring their external environment and may be unaware of the various forces pressuring the organization to change.

Many of these forces suggest that for a variety of reasons, individuals are commonly resistant to change.

[Slide 6 – Your text discusses many of the basic reasons why individuals might resist change. One of these reasons is inertia. There is comfort in the status quo – while things may not be perfect, we know what to expect, we’ve managed to make our lives comfortable or at least tolerable, and the thought of upsetting all that may just seem overwhelming. We also resist change out of self-interest, out of the fear of losing something, or because we misunderstand what will be involved in the planned change. This is often the case when managers have not done a sufficient job communicating about the proposed change. Sometimes we resist because we have honest differences of opinion as to the merits of the proposed change, or because we mis-trust management or feel they have been too heavy-handed and coercive in their handling of the process. You should note the classic study by Coch and French cited in your chapter reading on this issue.

[Slide 7 – Change doesn’t happen instantly, it occurs in stages. Let’s take as an example an organization which has announced a major structural change. It wants to reorganize away from a functional structure into a product (divisional) structure. In this restructuring, employees will be dispersed across the organization’s 3 main product divisions. As you might guess, such an announcement will instantly move an employee outside their “comfort zone”. Initial emotions will undoubtedly range from confusion to anger and resistance. The challenge for management, at this point, is to communicate with impacted employees about the rationale and facts related to the restructuring, to help them identify and solve problems associated with the move and to generally help them adapt to this structural change – thereby widening their comfort zone. A closely related conceptual model introduced in your reading is the process model of Unfreezing –Moving – Refreezing.

The initial step of unfreezing employees - opening them up to the possibility and merits of the planned change – can be critical to the ultimate success of the change process, so let’s take a closer look at this step.

[Slide 8 & Slide 9 – As discussed in your text, various tactics can be used by change agents to deal with resistance. On this slide and the next are listed some of these common methods. These can be considered ways to begin the UNFREEZING process, opening up employees to the idea of change, lowering their resistance to the change itself. Note the situations in which the various methods are commonly used, as well as potential advantages and disadvantages associated with each.

[Slide 10 –Managers sometimes rely on Organizational Development techniques to help change employee attitudes and behaviors. Common OD techniques discussed in your text include process consultation, survey feedback, team building, and intergroup development.

[Slide 11 - Your text also discusses the related topic of organizational innovation, an important concern for many firms in today’s environment. As noted in your chapter reading, three sets of organizational variables stimulate innovation: structure, culture, and human resource practices.
All three require the commitment of top management.

[Slide 12 – Innovative organizations encourage experimentation and risk-taking behavior by rewarding both successes and failures. Such organizations are likely to have the following seven characteristics:
1. Acceptance of ambiguity
2. Tolerance of the impractical
3. Low external controls
4. Tolerance of risk
5. Tolerance of conflict
6. Focus on ends rather than on means
7. Open systems focus

[Slide 13 – Lastly, it is difficult to discuss the topic of change without also noting the associated stress that often accompanies change, especially frequent or dramatic change. Most of the early interest in stress management focused heavily on health-related or physiological concerns: for instance, changes in metabolism, elevated blood pressure, and increased risk of heart attacks. However, we are now aware that stress also reveals psychological symptoms, such as boredom, anxiety, and procrastination; and behavioral symptoms, such as substance abuse sleep disorders, or excessive absence.

[Slide 14 - Your chapter concludes with stress reduction programs which can effectively target the dysfunctional aspects of stress. These are common techniques relied upon by organizations to address employee stress.