Assignment 4 – Performing – Organization Unit Analysis
Rain Ashbell
OB-PPT-Chapter16-OrganizationalStructureandChange23.pptxOrganizational Structure and Change
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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Welcome to Chapter 16 – Organizational Structure and Change from our Organizational Behavior textbook.
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Learning Objectives
What are mechanistic versus organic organizational structures?
What are the fundamental dimensions of change?
How do managers deal with change?
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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The three leaning objectives for this chapter are…
What are mechanistic versus organic organizational structures?
What are the fundamental dimensions of change? And…
How do managers deal with change?
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Contents
Organizational Structures and Design
Organizational Change
Managing Change
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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The chapter is organized into three sections that align with the learning objectives…
Organizational Structures and Design (differentiating organizational design, structure, and development);
Organizational Change (considering the types and dimensions of change); and
Managing Change (discussing assumptions about change and Kotter’s Change Model); and finally…
…we will also touch on the TedTalk, ‘Measuring what makes life worthwhile’, by Chip Conley.
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Organizational Structures and Design
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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In, Organizational Structures and Design, we will differentiate organizational design, structure, and development.
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Organizational Structure
Organizational design is the process of setting up organizational structures to address the needs of an organization and account for the complexity involved in accomplishing business objectives
An organizational structure is a system for accomplishing and connecting the activities that occur within a work organization
The formal organization is an officially defined set of relationships, responsibilities, and connections that exist across an organization
The informal organization is sometimes referred to as the invisible network of interpersonal relationships that shape how people connect with one another to carry out their activities
Organizational development (OD) is the label for a field that specializes in change management
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Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
Organizational design is the process of setting up organizational structures to address the needs of an organization and account for the complexity involved in accomplishing business objectives. It is the intent of the organization to try develop a structure that fits with the environment or what they would like to become. For example, think about a room in your home, now that you have been there for a while, if you could, how would you re-design the room to better meet your needs?
The organizational structure, in contrast, is the actual, current system for accomplishing and connecting the activities that occur within the organization (or who does what how). There is a…
Formal organization, or the officially defined set of relationships, responsibilities, and connections that exist on an organizational chart; but then there is always an…
Informal organization or the invisible network of interpersonal relationships that shape how people connect with one another to carry out their activities.
For example, when I was Dean of Undergraduate Studies, serving on an interdisciplinary task force of staff from across department, I could often just ask that move in a direction, even though I had no formal, or direct reporting relationship, to the departments represented.
Organizational development (or OD) is the label for a field that specializes in helping organizations with change management, using organizational behavior (or OB) principles, moving from organizational design to organizational structure.
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Mechanistic and Organic Structures
Bureaucratic model:
The degree to which people are organized into subunits according to their expertise is referred to as specialization
Command-and-control refers to the way in which people report to one another or connect to coordinate their efforts in accomplishing the work of the organization
The scope of the work that any one person in the organization will be accountable for, referred to as span of control
How to manage the flows of resources and information in an organization, or its centralization
Formalization refers to the degree of definition in the roles that exist throughout an organization
| Mechanistic | Organic | |
| High | Specialization | Low |
| Vertical | Command-and-Control | Horizontal |
| Narrow | Span of Control | Broad |
| Centralized | Centralization | Decentralized |
| High | Formalization | Low |
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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One of the most common frameworks for thinking about organizational structures is called the bureaucratic model, consisting of five elements of bureaucracy that serve as a foundation for determining an appropriate structure:
Specialization is the degree to which people are organized into subunits according to their expertise (for example, in human resources, or HR, you can specialize in talent acquisition, benefit administration, labor relations, and human resource development);
Command-and-control refers to the way in which people report to one another or connect to coordinate their efforts in accomplishing the work of the organization (that is, is your organization more top-down and hierarchical, like the military; or is the organization flatter, with greater equality, such as a neighborhood association);
Span of control is the scope of the work that any one person in the organization will be accountable for (basically, how many people report to one supervisor);
Centralization is how to manage the flows of resources and information in an organization (when I was in real estate, we were initially very centralized, but as we expanded, we gave each branch more autonomy to operate as needed, within a set of parameters); and
Formalization refers to the degree of definition in the roles that exist throughout an organization (a good question to ask, is how many forms does it take to get reimbursed? If more than turning in a simple receipt, then your organization is probably high on formalization).
Not surprisingly, our two archetype models (mechanistic and organic) are on the opposite ends of the spectrum on each element of the model, with Mechanistic organizations having high specialization, vertical command and control, narrow spans of control, are centralized, and high formalization; whereas organic organizations have low specialization, horizontal command and control, broad spans of control, are decentralized, and have low formalization.
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Organizational Change
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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In Organizational Change, we will consider the types and dimensions of change.
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Organizational Change
Types of Change
Structural change. This has to do with the changes in the overall formal relationships within an organization
Technological change. Implementation of new technologies is often forced upon an organization as the environment shifts
Culture change. Organizational culture refers to the common patterns of thinking and behaving within an organization
Organizational Life Cycle
Entrepreneurship phase. The organization is usually very small and agile, focusing on new products and markets
Survival and early success. Occurs as an organization begins to scale up and find continuing success
Sustained success or maturity. The organization expands and the hierarchy deepens, now with multiple levels of employees
Renewal or decline. Occurs when an organization expands to the point that its operations are far-flung and need to operate somewhat autonomously
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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There are three general types of changes in organizations…
Structural change, that is, changes in the overall formal relationships within an organization (such as moving a department from one division to another, for example our Equal Opportunity Program or EOP is now part of Student Affairs instead of under Undergraduate Studies);
Technological change, that is, the implementation of new technologies, often forced upon an organization as the environment shifts (such as Zoom now becoming our main teaching and meeting tool); and
Culture change, that is, a shift in the underlying assumptions, values, or behaviors of an organization (for example, we have moved, to some extent, to a more student-centered university).
Also, much like we saw with teams, there is a natural Life Cycle of Organizational, starting with the…
Entrepreneurship phase, when the organization starts, and is usually very small and agile, focusing on new products and markets; then
Survival and early success occurs as an organization begins to scale up and find continuing success; with
Sustained success comes maturity, as the organization expands and the hierarchy deepens, now with multiple levels of employees; and finally there is either…
Renewal or decline, occurs when an organization expands to the point that its operations need to either have more autonomously or be consolidated.
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Dimensions of Change
Scope of change refers to the degree to which the required change will disrupt current patterns and routines
Incremental change refers to small refinements in current organizational practices or routines that do not challenge, but rather build on or improve, existing aspects and practices within the organization
Transformational change refers to significant shifts in an organizational system that may cause significant disruption to some underlying aspect of the organization, its processes, or structures
Strategic change is a change, either incremental or transformational, that helps align an organization’s operations with its strategic mission and objectives
Level of change refers to the breadth of the systems that need to be changed within an organization
Group-level change centers on the relationships between people and usually focuses on helping people to work more effectively together
Organization-level change is a change that affects an entire organizational system or several of its units
Intentionality is the final dimension of change and refers to the degree to which the change is intentionally designed or purposefully implemented
Planned change is an intentional activity or set of intentional activities that are designed to create movement toward a specific goal or end
Unplanned change is unintentional and is usually the result of informal organizing. It may or may not serve the aims of the organization as a whole
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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When considering how to assess the need for change in an organization, it can be helpful to think of the Dimensions of change, such as…
The Scope of change or the degree that a proposed change will disrupt current patterns and routines;
Incremental change refers to small refinements in current organizational practices (such as moving from paying employees each week to each month);
Transformational change refers to significant shifts in an organizational system that may cause significant disruption (such as moving from a set-salary to a commission-based incentive program);
Strategic change is a change, either incremental or transformational, that helps align an organization’s operations with its strategic mission and objectives (when I was in staffing, we moved to a bonus structure for our staff, as that aligned better with our sales-oriented objectives).
Level of change refers to the breadth of the systems that need to be changed within an organization; and include…
Group-level change or the relationships between people (such as planning a retreat to improve team dynamics); and
Organization-level change is a change that affects an entire organizational system (such as relocating your corporate headquarters to a new city, state, or even country).
Intentionality is the final dimension of change and refers to the degree to which the change is intentionally designed or not…
Planned change is an intentional activity or set of intentional activities that are designed to create movement toward a specific goal (such as opening a new office in a new market); whereas…
Unplanned change is unintentional and is usually the result of informal organizing (such as an employee who recycles by-products, which then leads to a new, sustainable business line)….in either case, planned or unplanned, the outcome may, or may not serve the long term aims of the organization.
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Managing Change
Organizational Behavior
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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In Managing Change, we will discuss assumptions about change and Kotter’s Change Model.
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Assumptions about Change
Deficit-based change, in which leaders assume that employees will change if they know they will otherwise face negative consequences
Abundance-based change, in which leaders assume that employees will change if they can be inspired to aim for greater degrees of excellence in their work
Top-down change approaches rely on mechanistic assumptions about the nature of an organization. In this approach, a relatively small group of individuals in the organization will design a process and instruct others throughout the organization as to how the process of change should unfold
Emergent or bottom-up approach which relies on the belief that employees will be more invested in change if they play some role in the process of designing the change
Conventional mindset, leaders assume that most people are inclined to resist change and therefore they need to be managed in a way that encourages them to accept change
Appreciative mindset, leaders assume that people are inclined to embrace change when they are respected as individuals with intrinsic worth, agency, and capability
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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In managing change, it important to understand the underlying assumptions about change that is driving the change…
In Deficit-based change, leaders assume that employees will change if they know that resistance will face negative consequences (for example, you will use our new travel system, or you won’t be reimbursed);
In Abundance-based change, leaders assume that employees will change if they can be inspired to aim for greater degrees of excellence in their work (such as appealing to advisors to help students achieve a 4-year graduation rate, as it reduces student debt and improves their career opportunities);
Most changes are Top-down and rely on mechanistic assumptions about the nature of an organization (such as, a new recruiting system for staff); whereas
Emergent or bottom-up approach, relies on the belief that employees will be more invested in change if they play some role in the process of designing the change (such as the curriculum in our semester conversion process); and in
Conventional mindset, leaders assume that most people are inclined to resist change and therefore they need to be managed in a way that encourages them to accept change (such as tracking the number of appointments advisors have with students); whereas in
Appreciative mindset, leaders assume that people are inclined to embrace change when they are respected as individuals with intrinsic worth, agency, and capability (such as, looking to advisors to develop best practices for others to emulate).
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Kotter’s Change Model
Organizational Behavior by OpenStax, 2019
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Kotter’s Change Model…
Unfreeze…First, an organization must be "unfrozen" in that existing norms, routines, and practices need to be disrupted
Establish a sense of urgency (the ‘why’ for the change)
Form a powerful guiding coalition (formal and informal leaders who influence the organization)
Create a vision of change (what could be)
Move…Next, changes are introduced in the organization to shift the system to a new state or reality
Communicate the vision (through multiple mediums and channels)
Remove any obstacles (where is there resistance, and how to overcome)
Create small wins (have challenging, but not unrealistic, milestones)
Refreeze…The final phase is to "refreeze" the organization, that is, to reinforce the new norms or practices that should accompany the change
Consolidate improvements (reinforce, celebrate and reward small wins and milestones)
Anchor the changes (make the changes the standard operating procedure for the organization).
For example, a few years back, we decided to overhaul our advising model…
The urgency was that our graduation rates were not where we wanted them, and there were significant equity gaps between those who finished early, and those who finished later (or not at all). In addition, students voiced concern about the lack of consistent and accessible academic advising. Over time, we brought in the AVPs, deans, and directors to formulate a new model, creating an ideal, where each student would have an assigned advisor and meet with that advisor at several key points during her or his time in college.
We communicated our vision through meetings, email, trainings, and presentations, as well as in leadership discussions with advisors. We added more advisors to overcome the issue of having case-loads that were too high. And we created opportunities for advisors to see how the program could work successfully.
Finally, we made the changes part of the review process for advisors, created student success teams that could monitor progress, and operationalized the new model. Hence, we were able to unfreeze, move and refreeze.
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Unfreeze
Establish a sense of urgency
Form a powerful guiding coalition
Create a vision of change
Move
Communicate the vision
Remove any obstacles
Create small wins
Refreeze
Consolidate improvements
Anchor the changes
Chip Conley Measuring what makes life worthwhile
Organizational Behavior
https://www.ted.com/read/ted-studies/management
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Chip Conley, ‘Measuring what makes life worthwhile’, June 2010
https://www.ted.com/talks/chip_conley_measuring_what_makes_life_worthwhile
Finally, let’s consider the TedTalk by Chip Conley, ‘Measuring what makes life worthwhile’…
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Measuring what makes life worthwhile
Think about what we count
“Joie de Vivre”
Exuberant enjoyment of life
Metrics to evaluate
Tangible (i.e. survival)
Intangible (i.e. transformation)
Gross National Happiness (GNH)
How do you feel about how you spend your time each day?
Happiness = wanting what you have/Having what you want
What could you start counting today that would be meaningful
Transformation Pyramid (Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs):
Survival
Physiological Needs – food, water, shelter
Safety Needs – protection against danger
Success
Social Needs – affection, affiliation, friendship
Esteem Needs – self-respect and recognition
Transformation
Self-Actualization Needs – full potential
https://www.ted.com/read/ted-studies/management
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Chip Conley, discusses Measuring what makes life worthwhile…
Think about what we count or measure…what is most important…your grades, credit hours, your degrees, your learning, your happiness, your financial well being, or doing something you love? Think about how you spend your day, if you could re-allocate your time the way you want (not what others want or expect), then what would your day look like?
For your organization, beyond consistent, competitive and profitable growth, what is important?
Let’s take higher education, what should our metrics really be?
We can generally measure survival, as those number are easy to obtain, objectify and report (such as grad rates), and we can even measure success (depending on our measure, such as earned income or satisfaction), But how would you measure reaching your full potential? And if we could measure it, and it was central to the purpose of higher education, then what wound change in our behavior for students, faculty, staff, and administrators…what would our class, our university look like?
And that concludes the presentation for Chapter 16 – Organizational Structure and Change.
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