Psychology of Change

1. Psychology of Change Farrokh Alemi, Ph.D.

2. Objectives • Describe what works in changing behavior • Assess potential likelihood of a project succeeding

3. Test of Management As Common Sense • If you pay someone for doing something they enjoy, they will come to like this task even more? • Most people prefer challenging jobs with a great deal of freedom and autonomy? • In bargaining with others it is usually best to start with a moderate offer -- near to the one you desire.

4. Test of Management As Common Sense • Most people are more concerned with the size of their own salary than with the salary of others. • The best way to stop a malicious rumor at work is to present covering evidence against it.

5. Test of Management As Common Sense • As morale or satisfaction among employees increases in any organization, overall performance almost always improves. • Providing employees with specific goals often interferes with their performance: they resist being told what to do.

6. Test of Management As Common Sense • When people work together in groups and know their individual contributions cannot be observed, each tend to put in less effort than when they work on the same task alone. • Most managers are highly democratic in the way that they supervise people. • In most cases, leaders should stick to their decisions once they have made them, even if it appears they are wrong.

7. Self Interest Motivates Change • Extensive literature on Expectancy theory and Expected Utility Models • They both predict individual behavior accurately • People act in their self interest

8. Reasoned Action • Behavior dynamically influences the environment and vice versa. • Individuals learn what to expect through their own experience and through their social groups. • Individuals learn through reinforcements and rewards they receive from their behavior

9. Problem With Self-interest • Many do not do what they wish to do • Many change by imitating the behavior of others they admire and not by deciding • Many are not aware of their options nor willing to gather the necessary information • Arguments based on self-interest is likely to lead to blame and fear

10. Methodological Problems • The innovation itself changes. • Adoption is a matter of degree.

11. Other Than Self Interest:Help Them Understand • Information processing capacity is limited. • Motivation determines extent of search. • Attention changes. • Perception may differ from the actual information. • Information evaluated as gathered. • Deciding based on not what is best but how to get by. • Failure to learn from experience.

12. Other Than Self Interest:Explain Your Reasons • Perception of cause is important • Changing attribution • Locus of causation. Is the person the cause or events outside the person? • Controllability. Could the person have controlled the cause? • Stability. Is the cause stable or changing over time? • Globallity. Does the cause affect a wide variety of outcomes or specific events?

13. Other Than Self Interest:Shoulder to Lean on • Clarify how support will help? • Buffer hypothesis. • Direct effect. • Personality characteristic. • Transactional. • Send them to conferences, set up coffee breaks, etc.

14. Other Than Self Interest:Let Others Do Your Work • Check that following is not happening: • Innovation failure. • Communication failure. • Adoption failure. • Implementation failure. • Maintenance failure. • Teach the trainers. Early adopters decide, later adopters imitate.

15. Other Than Self Interest: Market Your Improvement • Break employees into different segments • Send mass media advocating your improvement (storyboard, emails, etc.) • Effective in setting agenda • Effective in reminding

16. Other Than Self Interest: Change the Technology • Reengineering uses technology to redesign business processes • Removes the adoption choice

17. Self-interest Strategies • 61% change work norms • 55% walk key employees through change • 22% share written reports • 14% Adjust budgets

18. Other Than Self Interest • 52% use storyboards • 52% use team membership • 37% use reminders • 35% get early adopters to speak to others • 35% use mass media • 16% set examples at top • 12% gather people engaged in change