Managing Change and Stress

1. Managing Change and Stress Chapter Eighteen

2. Learning Objectives LO.1 Discuss the external and internal forces that create the need for organizational change. LO.2 Describe Lewin’s change model and the systems model of change. LO.3 Discuss Kotter’s eight steps for leading organizational change. LO.4 Define organization development (OD), and explain the OD process. LO.5 Explain the dynamic model of resistance to change.

3. Learning Objectives (cont.) LO.6 Discuss the key recipient and change agent characteristics that cause resistance to change. LO.7 Identify alternative strategies for overcoming resistance to change. LO.8 Define the term stress, and describe the model of occupational stress. LO.9 Discuss the stress moderators of social support, hardiness, and Type A behavior. LO.10 Review the four key stress-reduction techniques and the components of a holistic approach toward stress reduction.

4. Forces of Change • External forces for change • originate outside the organization • Internal forces for change • originate inside the organization.

5. The External and Internal Forces for Change

6. External Forces • Demographic characteristics • Technological advancements • Shareholder, customer and market changes • Social and political pressures

7. Internal Forces

8. Question? ABC Trucking, conducted an analysis of employee job satisfaction and turnover, and concluded that its turnover rate was 48%. This was primarily attributed to job dissatisfaction by employees. This represents a(n) ______ for ABC. • External force for change • Social and political pressure • Technological advancements • Internal force for change

9. A Generic Typology of Organizational Change

10. Lewin’s Change Model • Unfreezing • Focus is to create the motivation to change • Begin by disconfirming the usefulness or appropriateness of employees’ present behaviors or attitudes

11. Lewin’s Change Model • Benchmarking • the overall process by which a company compares its performance with that of other companies, then learns how the strongest-performing companies achieve their results

12. Question? Fredfirst, a securities trading company, regularly compares its performance with that of high performing organizations in the industry, such as Merrill Lynch. This process is described as • Change. • Refreezing. • Benchmarking. • A strategic plan

13. Lewin’s Change Model • Changing • providing employees with new information, new behavioral models, new processes or procedures, new equipment, new technology, or new ways of getting the job done • change can be aimed at improvement or growth, or it can focus on solving a problem such as poor customer service or low productivity

14. Lewin’s Change Model • Refreezing • Change is supported by helping employees integrate the changed behavior or attitude into their normal way of doing things • Giving employees the chance to exhibit new behaviors, which are then reinforced

15. A Systems Model of Change • Systems Approach • Based on the notion that any change, no matter how large or small, has a cascading effect throughout an organization • Takes a “big picture” perspective of organizational change

16. A Systems Model of Change • Mission statement • represents the “reason” an organization exists • Vision • a long-term goal that describes “what” an organization wants to become

17. A Systems Model of Change • Strategic plan • outlines an organization’s long-term direction and the actions necessary to achieve planned results • based on results from a SWOT analysis

18. Target Elements of Change • Target elements of change • the components of an organization that may be changed.

19. A Systems Model of Change

20. Applying the Systems Model of Change Two ways to apply the systems model: • Aid during the strategic planning process • Using the model as a diagnostic framework to determine the causes of an organizational problem and to propose solutions

21. Steps to Leading Organizational Change

22. Question? Dale needs to change the manufacturing processes of his firm. This will cause many changes to his labor force. He shares a compelling reason to his employees. Which step is this in leading change? • Generate short term wins • Develop a vision and strategy • Establish a sense of urgency • Create a guiding coalition

23. Creating Change Through Organization Development • Organization Development • consists of planned efforts to help persons work and live together more effectively, over time, in their organizations

24. The OD Process

25. OD Research and Practical Implications • Planned organizational change works • Change programs are more successful when they are geared toward meeting both short-term and long-term results • Organizational change is more likely to succeed when top management is truly committed to the change process • Effectiveness of OD interventions is affected by cross-cultural considerations

26. A Dynamic Model of Resistance to Change

27. Causes of Resistance to Change • Resistance to change • An emotional or behavioral response to real or imagined threats to an established work routine

28. Why People Resist Change in the Workplace • An individual’s predisposition toward change • Surprise and fear of the unknown • Fear of failure • Loss of status and/or job security • Peer pressure • Past success

29. Question? Jamie is not directly affected by the change introduced in her company, but she is actively resisting it to protect the interests of her friends. This describes which reason for resistance to change? • Surprise and fear of the unknown • Personality conflicts • Peer pressure • Lack of tact

30. Overcoming Resistance to Change • Resilience to change • represents a composite characteristic reflecting high self-esteem, optimism, and an internal locus of control, was positively associated with recipients’ willingness to accommodate or accept a specific organizational change

31. Change Agent Characteristics • Decisions that disrupt cultural traditions or group relationships • Personality conflicts • Lack of tact or poor timing • Leadership style • Failing to legitimize change

32. Overcoming Resistance to Change • Provide as much information as possible to employees about the change • Inform employees about the rationale for the change • Conduct meetings to address employee’s concerns • Provide employees the opportunity to discuss how the proposed change might affect them

33. Six Strategies for OvercomingResistance to Change

34. Defining Stress • Stress • an adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics and/or psychological processes, that is a consequence of any external action, situation, or event that places special physical and/or psychological demands upon a person

35. Defining Stress • Stress is not merely nervous tension. • Stress can have positive consequences. • Stress is not something to be avoided. • The complete absence of stress is death

36. Defining Stress • Eustress • Stress that is good or produces a positive outcome

37. A Model of Occupational Stress

38. Moderators of Occupational Stress • Social support • the amount of perceived helpfulness derived from social relationships.

39. Stress Reduction Techniques

40. Video Case: Louisville Slugger –Hillerich & Bradsby • What role do information systems play at H&B? What were the internal and external trade-offs between reconfiguring the old information system and designing a new one? • Why was the transition to the new system difficult? How could Kotter’s eight steps be used to facilitate such a transition? • Why did some people resist change and experience stress? What strategies could H&B have used to overcome resistance to change?