Page 267 - Fundamentals of Management Myths Debunked (2017)_Flat

266 Part 3 • Organizing
In facilitating long-term, organization-wide changes, managers use OD to constructively
survey feedback
A method of assessing employees’ attitudes toward change the attitudes and values of organization members so they can more readily adapt to
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and perceptions of a change and be more effective in achieving the new directions of the organization. When OD efforts
are planned, organization leaders are, in essence, attempting to change the organization’s
process consultation 12
Using outside consultants to assess organizational culture. However, a fundamental issue of OD is its reliance on employee participation to
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processes such as workflow, informal intra-unit foster an environment in which open communication and trust exist. Persons involved in
relationships, and formal communication channels OD efforts acknowledge that change can create stress for employees. Therefore, OD attempts
team-building to involve organizational members in changes that will affect their jobs and seeks their input
Using activities to help work groups set goals, about how the change is affecting them (just as Lewin suggested).
develop positive interpersonal relationships, and Any organizational activity that assists with implementing planned change can be
clarify the roles and responsibilities of each team viewed as an OD technique. The more popular OD efforts in organizations rely heavily on
member
group interactions and cooperation and include:
intergroup development
Activities that attempt to make several work groups 1. Survey feedback. Employees are asked their attitudes about and perceptions of the
more cohesive change they’re encountering. Employees are generally asked to respond to a set of spe-
cific questions regarding how they view such organizational aspects as decision making,
leadership, communication effectiveness, and satisfaction with their jobs, coworkers, and
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management. The data that a change agent obtains are used to clarify problems that
employees may be facing. As a result of this information, the change agent takes some
action to remedy the problems.
2. Process consultation. Outside consultants help managers perceive, understand, and act
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on organizational processes they’re facing. These elements might include, for exam-
ple, workflow, informal relationships among unit members, and formal communications
channels. Consultants give managers insight into what is going on. It’s important to rec-
ognize that consultants are not there to solve these problems. Rather, they act as coaches
to help managers diagnose the interpersonal processes that need improvement. If manag-
ers, with the consultants’ help, cannot solve the problem, the consultants will often help
managers find experts who can.
3. Team-building. In organizations made up of individuals working together to achieve
goals, OD helps them become a team. How? By helping them set goals, develop positive
interpersonal relationships, and clarify the roles and responsibilities of each team mem-
ber. It’s not always necessary to address each area because the group may be in agree-
ment and understand what’s expected. The primary focus of team-building is to increase
members’ trust and openness toward one another. 16
4. Intergroup development. Different groups focus on becoming more cohesive. That is,
intergroup development attempts to change attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions that
one group may have toward another group. The goal? Better coordination among the
various groups.

How Do Managers Manage Resistance to Change?

We know that it’s better for us to eat healthy and to be physically active, yet few of us
8-2 Explain how actually follow that advice consistently and continually. We resist making lifestyle changes.
to manage Volkswagen Sweden and ad agency DDB Stockholm did an experiment to see if they could
resistance get people to change their behavior and take the healthier option of using the stairs instead
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of riding an escalator. How? They put a working piano keyboard on stairs in a Stockholm
to change. subway station (you can see a video of it on YouTube) to see if commuters would use it. The
experiment was a resounding success as stair traffic rose 66 percent. The lesson: People can
change if you make the change appealing!
Managers should be motivated to initiate change because they’re concerned with improv-
ing their organization’s effectiveness. But change isn’t easy in any organization. It can be
disruptive and scary. And people and organizations can build up inertia and not want to change.

People resist change even if it might be beneficial!