Industrial/ Organizational Psychology make changes only if the changes will

Chapter 14: Organization Development Reviewer improve the organization.

Aamodt o Receptive changers are people who
probably will not instigate change but
Changes are willing to change
Sacred Cow Hunts o Reluctant changers will certainly not
 It is an organization-wide attempt to get rid of instigate or welcome change, but
practices that serve no useful purpose. o they will change if necessary

The Paper Cow Implementing Change

 These are unnecessary paperwork—usually  Creating an Atmosphere for Change – one of
forms and reports that cost organizations the first steps in organizational change is to
money to prepare, distribute, and read. create the proper atmosphere. This process
 To determine if something is a paper cow, begins by creating dissatisfaction with the
consider the extent to which the paperwork current system
increases efficiency, productivity, or quality.  Communicating Details – Employees are most
The Meeting Cow responsive to change when they are kept well
 To reduce the number and length of informed
meetings, some organizations ask the 1. Communicating change is hard work
person calling the meeting to determine the 2. Training is needed
cost of the meeting and consider whether 3. Two-way communication is essential
the cost will exceed the potential benefits 4. Honesty is the best policy
The Speed Cow  Time Frame – Most successful organizational
 Unnecessary deadlines cause employees to changes occur in a timely fashion
work at a faster than optimal pace, resulting  Training Needs – After an organization has
in decreased quality, increased stress, and made a major change, it is often necessary to
increased health problems train employees

Employee Acceptance of Change Organizational Culture

 Employees are often initially reluctant to  comprises the shared values, beliefs, and
change. traditions that exist among individuals in
 This reluctance is understandable, as employees organizations
are comfortable doing things the old way.  Changing Culture – Making organizational
 They may fear that change will result in less changes doesn’t necessarily mean that
favorable working conditions and economic everything about the existing culture must
outcomes than what they are used to change
Stages  Assessing the New Culture – involves a great
 Stage 1: Denial. deal of discussion and analysis and should
 Stage 2: Defense include the following steps:
 Stage 3: Discarding o Step 1: Needs Assessment
 Stage 4: Adaptation o Step 2: Determining Executive Direction
 Stage 5: Internalization o Step 3: Implementation Considerations
Important Factors o Step 4: Training
 The Type of Change o Step 5: Evaluation of the New Culture
 The Reason behind the Change  Creating Dissatisfaction with Existing Culture –
 The Person Making the Change. the existing culture and status quo must be
 The Person Being Changed “upset.”
o Change agents are people who enjoy  Maintaining the New Culture – If the new
change and often make changes just for culture is expected to last, developing new
the sake of it reward systems and selection methods should
o Change analysts are not afraid to occur.
change or make changes but want to
  Selection of Employees – Future employees
should be selected on the basis of how well Levels of Employee Input
they epitomize the new culture  five main levels of employee input and control
o Organizational socialization is the o Following
process whereby new employees learn o Ownership of Own Product
the behaviors and attitudes they need o Advisory
to be successful in the organization o Shared/Participative/Team
o Rituals are procedures in which o Absolute
employees participate to become “one
of the gang.” Empowerment Charts
o Symbols are communication tools that  Organizations never have just one level of
convey certain messages to employee input and control that applies to
o employees every employee.
 Instead, levels will differ by employee as well as
Empowerment by task
Making the Decision to Empower
Factors in Making the Decision to Empower Consequences of Empowerment
 Employees need to be involved in decisions  The increased responsibility can result in higher
in circumstances in which the quality of the skill levels, which in turn can result in higher
decision is important, the decision affects pay, increased job security, and increased
employees, the supervisor doesn’t have the potential to find other employment.
knowledge to make the decision, or the  However, empowerment can have its downside.
employees don’t trust the supervisor With increased responsibility comes increased
 Things to consider: stress.
o Importance of Decision Quality  With the power to make decisions comes the
o Leader Knowledge of the Problem risk of making bad ones and thus being fired or
Area denied a promotion
o Structure of the Problem
o Importance of Decision Acceptance Downsizing
o Probability of Decision Acceptance  When organizations restructure, the result is
o Subordinate Trust and Motivation often a decrease in the size of their workforce
o Probability of Subordinate Conflict
 Decision-Making Strategies Using the Reducing the Impact of Downsizing
Vroom-Yetton Model Signs of Problems
o Autocratic I strategy, leaders use  organizations usually have some warning that
the available information to make there may be an impending need to downsize.
the decision without consulting  Steps taken at this stage can greatly reduce the
their subordinates need for, or size of, future downsizing
o Autocratic II strategy, leaders  A strategy taken by many organizations at this
obtain the necessary information stage is to freeze the hiring of new permanent
from their subordinates and then employees and either not fill vacancies caused
make their own decisions by employees leaving or retiring or fill vacancies
o Leaders using the Consultative I with temporary employees
strategy share the problem on an  A related strategy used by more than 80% of
individual basis with some or all of organizations is outsourcing—
their subordinates o using outside vendors to provide
o Leaders using the Consultative II services previously performed internally
strategy share the problems with Selecting the Employees to Be Laid Off
their subordinates as a group.  Criteria used to make this decision might
o Group I strategy, the leader shares include seniority, performance, salary level, and
the problem with the group and lets organizational need.
the group reach a solution.
  To reduce the chances of legal problems, the
committee deciding which employees will leave
should be diverse in terms of race, sex, and age
o The Announcement
o Outplacement Programs
 Emotional Counseling
 Financial Counseling
 Career Assessment and
Guidance

Effects of Downsizing
Victims
 Research is clear that there are many negative
consequences to losing one’s job
Survivors
 Those employees not laid off.
 However, research indicates not only that
survivors suffer psychological trauma but that
their future productivity is related to the way in
which they and their notso-fortunate
counterparts are treated during the downsizing
process
Local Community
 Local governments suffer as their tax base and
 revenues are reduced, local charities such as
the United Way get fewer donations and often
have increased demands for their services,
retail stores lose business, banks have greater
numbers of loan defaults, crime rates increase,
and social problems Increase
The Organization
 Though many organizations continue to
downsize, it is not clear that downsizing
produces the desired increases in organizational
effectiveness