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Organizational Gradual Change
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Organizational Gradual Change
Introduction
Organizations are regarded as dominant rudiments of modern societies. They were
present even in the older civilizations like in Greek, India, or China. Every organization
exists in specific physical, technological, cultural, and social environments to which it must
adapt. In the contemporary workplace, organizations are set up to perform different functions.
Over the years, many changes have been experienced or witnessed in organizations (Scott
and Davis, 2015). Most of the changes have been gradual, whereby organizations adopt the
changes sequentially over the generations. The changes are enhanced or facilitated by either
the external environment or internal organizational environment. In regards to the complex
phenomenon of organizational change, competition and innovations are at the center of the
changes. The changes have been universal in the sense that they are adopted by nearly every
organization globally. Regarding some of how organizations have changed over the years, it
is evident that most of the changes that have occurred within firms involve organizational
culture. Additionally, organizations have significantly improved in terms of technology and
structure.
The Concept of Gradual Change in Organization
Cultural shifts have been at the center of the gradual changes that had been
experienced within organizations. The cultural fabric of most workplace environments is
continually evolving. Organizational culture encompasses different underlying beliefs,
assumptions, values, and ways in which people or corporate staffs interact to enable them to
contribute to the unique social and commercial environment of an organization (Alvesson,
2007). It emphasizes the need to behave appropriately within the organization. Additionally,
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it also contains various beliefs and values established by the organizational leaders, which
then communicate and reinforce through different methods, thereby shaping employee
perceptions, behaviors, and understanding.3
As organizations continue to experience changes in culture, many improvements have
equally been made. Such changes contribute to a more conducive working environment for
the corporate staff, contrary to the old days. For example, in regards to specific aspects of
organizational life, power distance in the organization, the kind of relationship between the
executive and other staff has improved significantly over the generations (Scott and Davis,
2015). This could not be witnessed in the past, whereby the relationship between the junior
team and the supervisors or managers was impoverished. There were poor social
relationships among organizational staff concerning their ranks or the hierarchy of authority.
The managers or supervisors had the leading role in giving out orders regarding specific daily
duties. Equality is an essential factor as far as productivity at the workplace is concerned. For
instance, the Bible observes that “For he is our peace, who has made the two groups one and
has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14). Many organizations
are now benefiting from reducing the power distance between bosses and workers.
There was no room for negotiation with the leaders as it could result in a severe
punishment on the side of the employee. In such a case, an employee could be suspended
from work and her salary or wages deducted. Junior employees, mostly those at the
production level, were treated somehow like slaves. They were entitled to low salaries with
no additional remuneration or benefit despite an increase in workload. In previous
generations, employees’ welfare was given little attention as they were not considered one of
the essential factors in the organizational better performance. The decision-making process
was the firm’s senior management body’s duty in consultation with the major stakeholders
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like the shareholders (Owusu-Ansah, Louw & Belso-Martinez, 2019). The management used
not to seek employees’ opinions in the decision-making process. Even in matters that directly
affected them, they were just informed of the new changes or requirements.
Additionally, in regards to flexibility of organizational roles, in the past generations,
people had fix roles or functions that they were to undertake within the organization. The lack
of flexibility was also characterized by inequity (Scott and Davis, 2015). The majority of the
organizations practiced inequality across the board, whereby women were not allowed to do
some jobs or functions. Additionally, the racial or cultural barrier was also a significant factor
that was common within the organizational boundaries. For example, in the U.S., other
communities like African Americans were treated as inferior. Based on that fact, they were
entitled to lower wages compared to other races like the whites, even if they undertook the
same functions. Based on that, the majority of cases that involved work mobility in the
previous generations were based on the organizational culture. From personal perspectives,
most of the individuals who used to change their job did that because of the corporate cultural
environment. For example, they might have done than because of poor remuneration method,
lack of appreciation or recognition of their effort, and even due to poor relationship with the
organizational leaders (Alvesson, 2007). All these factors made the work environment
unconducive for the employees. Corporate strategies were not keen on employee motivation.
That was enhanced by the fact that, in the past generation, most of the markets were
monopolistic. Therefore, there was no severe competition that would force firms to adopt
better ways to attain a better market share.
The Contributions of Trade & Labour Unions in Organizational Change(s)
Over the years, there has been a gradual change within the organizational cultural
environment. For example, in the early 1800s and 1900s witnessed a massive formation of
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various trade unions like the American Federation of Labour, which was founded in 1886 and
the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which was founded in November 1935 (Domhoff,
2013). Other labor unions and workers’ movements that played a significant role in
enhancing a better working environment included the Federation of Organized Trades and
Labour Union that was started in 1881 under the leadership of Samuel Gompers (Domhoff,
2013). Additionally, The National Labour Union, the first national labor federation in the
United States, was founded in 1866. These movements and workers’ unions had the main
objective of enhancing better working conditions for the employees through either legislative
reforms or collective bargaining (Scott and Davis, 2015). The formation of these unions and
movements was facilitated by the weak organizational structures that paid less attention to
workers’ welfare.
As a result of the changes that were enhanced by the union movements, the
organization started to adopt specific changes, for example, better wages for employees and
equality at the workplace (Domhoff, 2013). This was facilitated by the abolition of the slave
trade in America through the 13th Amendment’s adoption, whereby there was the issuing of
the Emancipation Proclamation by the U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, in 1863. It was the
time that the President decided to free the slaves in the land of America – just like Pharaoh let
the children of Israel loose in the long run. As it is written, “take your flocks and your cattle,
as you have said, and go” (Exodus 12:32). These political actions and those of the different
workers’ unions have a significant influence across multiple organizations in America and the
globe. Various organizations started to implement specific changes in regards to their cultural
environment. For example, they began to offer their employees fair wages. Additionally, the
employees also have started to gain some of the rights that would protect them and their jobs
(Domhoff, 2013). This was contrary to the previous case when they had no job security.3
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Significance of Contemporary Organizational Cultures
Regarding the current organizational culture, their working environment is now more
conducive as employees are considered a significant factor in organizational success.
Employees are awarded fair wages, which are being adjusted yearly according to corporate
principles (Katzenbach, Steffen & Kronley, 2012). Additionally, currently, there is an
excellent social relationship among the employees regarding power distance in the
organizations. It has enhanced better performance within organizations. Apart from the fair
wages, employees are also entitled to other additional benefits like bonuses and paid holiday
offs. Their respective organizations also give the employees medical or health policy. The
health policy also covers their immediate family members. Currently, employees have the
right to negotiate on wages, and even they are free to discuss various issues concerning their
welfare (Katzenbach, Steffen & Kronley, 2012). The transformation within the organization’s
culture is global, and the effect has been experienced across the countries. In the current
organizational decision-making process, the management tends to seek the input of the
employee body. Such is contrary to the earlies case when it was majorly the function of the
top management. Engaging the employees in the decision-making process is motivated since
they feel a sense of belonging. Generally, the current organizational environment is well
structured to provide a favorable work environment. Employees also do not have to worry
about work security since labor laws have been adopted by various states prohibiting
immediate dismissal from work by employers (Domhoff, 2013). A lot of ethical practices
have been enhanced within organizations.
The Great Technological Shift
Additionally, another frequent change that has been experienced within organizations
across the generations is on technology and structure. This kind of change is based on
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organized human activity. With the gradual development in technology, there were also
changes in organizational structure that was experienced (Scott and Davis, 2015). However,
an organizational structure is referred to as the total of how it divides its labor into distinct
tasks and then achieves coordination among them. Various theories were developed and
tended to elaborate on the effect of technology on organizational structure. For example,
contingency theory emphasizes or claims that there is no best way to organize a corporation,
lead a company, or make decisions (Farhanghi, Abbaspour & Ghassemi, 2013). Instead, the
optimal course of action is contingent upon the internal and external situation.
Also, much improvement has been made in terms of technology. Technology can be
defined as the work performed by an organization. From a personal perspective, the
development of technology across the industries has a significant impact on the organizations
concerning production and operational processes. For example, with the increased innovation
within various sectors globally, a lot of changes or improvements were adopted by
organizations (Farhanghi, Abbaspour & Ghassemi, 2013). The development in terms of
technology-enhanced efficiency in production processes, thereby leading to competition
among organizations. In the previous generations, most of the organizational production was
done manually through direct human labor. The organizations, therefore, had to employ many
laborers that would facilitate the production process. There was a long production process
across various stages. Organizations adopted a lengthy production process based on the
different nature of the products. That was based on the fact that there were no modern
machines that currently combine some of the functions into one process.3
With increased technology and innovations, work was made more comfortable. For
example, concerning data storage, previously, data was recorded and stored manually through
paper files. Organizational offices had different selves and boxes where record files were
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physically kept. Records had to be taken daily since no system or machine would undertake
automatic calculations of the various functions (Scott and Davis, 2015). With the increased
technology that has led to the use of modern electronics and digital forms of technology, all
the functions of data coverage, recording, and storage can be done by an individual employee
regardless of the work volume (Johnson, Nguyen, Groth, Wang & Ng, 2016). Additionally,
the current organizations have not to employ various marketing officers to advertise or
promote their products. With modern technology, the organization only needs few well-
skilled individuals and computer literate to market their products online.
Modern technology has impacted the organizational structure in the sense that there is
a merger of functions within various departments. Additionally, technology has increased the
level of flexibility in corporate roles. Multiple individuals can currently handle different jobs
or organizational services, contrary to previous organizations where people had a fixed job
description (Johnson, Nguyen, Groth, Wang & Ng, 2016). For example, the use of tractors,
among other farm machines, made farm work easier and faster. Additionally, the use of
computers and modern technology made the job more manageable; however, it harmed the
employees’ side, whereby various organizations had to lay off individual employees. This
form of revolution also facilitated competitors within multiple industries as companies or
organizations were now able to produce excellent products within a short period (Farhanghi,
Abbaspour & Ghassemi, 2013). Additionally, with the modern form of technology in
production, organizations can increase their productivity at a low cost.
Conclusion
Significant changes have been witnessed within organizations across generations in
terms of cultural context, technological and managerial aspects. Basically, through the
manageability of transformation, organizational leaders adopted various policies, production
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methods, and even made specific changes concerning their cultural practices. It enhances
better working conditions for the employees by creating a beneficial working environment for
both employee and organizational leaders. For example, contrary to previous generations
where there were poor wages and bad social relationships between corporate leaders and the
employees, currently, equality has been enhanced in the workplace, and employees are
entitled to better remuneration. Additionally, many changes have also been experienced
concerning technology and organizational structure. The improvement in terms of technology
has enhanced efficiency in production processes, thereby leading to competition among
organizations. In the previous generations, most of the organizational production was done
manually through direct human labor. Organizations, however, managed to improve with the
technological improvement that made work more efficient.
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References
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DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.490
Johnson, A., Nguyen, H., Groth, M., Wang, K., & Ng, J. (2016). Time to change: a review of
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Katzenbach, J., Steffen, I., & Kronley, C. (2012). Cultural Change That Sticks. Retrieved 3
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DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2019.1623648
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