Forces of Organizational Change

FORCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
More and more organizations today face a dynamic and changing environment that, in turn
requires these organizations to adapt. Change has become the norm in most organizations.
Plant closing, business failures, mergers and acquisitions, and downsizing have become
common experiences for most organizations. Adaptiveness, flexibility and responsiveness are
terms used to describe the organizations that will succeed in meeting the competitive
challenges that businesses face. In the past, organizations could succeed by claiming
excellence in one area – quality, reliability or cost. But this is not the case today. The current
environment demands excellence in all areas.
Forces for Change
Why is organizational change so important?
From outside and inside the organization a variety of forces press for change. "We live in the
midst of constant change" has become a well-worn but relevant cliché. Pressures for change
are created from both inside and outside the organization. Organization must forge ahead on
these forces to survive. Some of these are external, arising from outside the company,
whereas others are internal arising from sources within the organization.
External forces of change in an Organization

External Forces: When the organization's general or task environment changes, the
organization's success often rides on its ability and willingness to change as well.
Modern manager is change-conscious and operating in the constantly changing
environment. Many external changes bombard the modern organizations and make
change inevitable. The general environment has social, economic, legal and political
and technological dimensions. Any of these can introduce the need for change. In
recent years, far-reaching forces for change have included developments in
information technology, the globalization of competition, and demands that
organizations take greater responsibility for their impact on the environment. These
forces are discussed below:
Technological Change: Rapid technological innovation is a major force for change in
organizations, and those who fail to keep pace can quickly fall behind. It is perhaps
the greatest factor that organizations reckon with.
According to C. Handy "the rate of technological changes is greater today than any time in
the past and technological changes are responsible for changing the nature of jobs performed
at all levels in the organization". For example, the substitution of computer control for direct
supervision is resulting in wider spans of control for managers and flatter organizations.
Technological innovations bring about profound change because they are not just changes in
the way work is performed. Instead, the innovation process promotes associated changes in
work relationships and organizational structures. Sophisticated information technology is also
making organizations more responsive. The team approach adopted by many organizations,
leads to flatter structures, decentralized decision making and more open communication
between leaders and team members.
Globalization: The global economy means competitors are likely to come from
across the ocean. The power players in the global market are the multinational and
trans-national organizations. This has led companies to think globally. There are no
mental distinctions between domestic and foreign operations. Globalization, for an
organization, means rethinking the most efficient ways to use resources, disseminate
and gather information and develop people. It requires not only structural changes but
also changes in the minds of employees. Successful organizations will be the ones that
can change in response to the competition. They will be fast on their feet, capable of
developing new products rapidly and getting them to market quickly.
Social and Political Changes: A firm's fate is also influenced by such environmental
pressures as social and political changes. Many new legal provisions in the corporate
sector get introduced every time that affects the organizations.
Workforce Diversity: Related to globalization is the challenge of workforce diversity.
Workforce diversity is a powerful force for change in organization.
The demographic trends contributing to workforce diversity are
! The workforce will see increased participation form females, as the majority of
new workers will be female.
! The workforce will be more culturally diverse than ever (part of this is
attributable to globalization).
! The workforce is aging. There will be fewer young workers and more middle
aged working.
Managing Ethical Behaviour: Employees face ethical dilemmas in their daily work
lives. The need to manage ethical behaviour has brought about several changes in
organizations. Most centre on the idea that an organization must create a culture that
encourages ethical behaviour. Society expects organizations to maintain ethical
behaviour both internally and in relationships with other organizations. Ethical
behaviour is expected in relationships with customers, environment and society. These
expectations may be informal or they may come in the form of increased legal
requirements.
These challenges are forces that place pressures to change on organizations. Organizations
cannot afford to be rigid and inflexible in the wake of environmental pressures, they must be
rather dynamic and viable so that they survive.
Internal forces of change in an Organization

Internal Forces: Besides reacting to or anticipating changes on the outside, an
organization may change because someone on the inside thinks a new way of doing
things will be beneficial or even necessary. Pressures for change that originate inside
the organization are generally recognizable in the form of signals indicating that
something needs to be altered. These internal forces are discussed below:
Changes in Managerial Personnel: One of the most frequent reasons for major
changes in an organization is the change of executives at the top. No two managers
have the same styles, skills or managerial philosophies.
Managerial behaviour is always selective so that a newly appointed manager might favour
different organizational design, objectives procedures and policies than a predecessor.
Changes in the managerial personnel are thus a constant pressure for change.
Declining Effectiveness: Declining effectiveness is a pressure to change.

A company that experiences losses is undoubtedly motivated to do something about it. Some
companies react by instituting layoffs and massive cost cutting programmes, whereas others
view the loss as symptomatic of an underlying problem, and seek out the cause of the
problem.
Changes in Work Climate: Changes in the work climate at an organization can also
stimulate change. A workforce that seems lethargic, unmotivated, and dissatisfied is a
symptom that must be addressed. This symptom is common in organizations that have
experienced layoffs. Workers who have escaped a layoff may find it hard to continue
to be productive. They may fear that they will be laid off as well and may feel
insecure in their jobs.
Deficiencies in the Existing System: Another internal pressure for organizational
change is the loopholes in the system. These loopholes may beun manageable spans
of control, lack of coordination between departments, lack of uniformity in politics,
non-cooperation between line and staff etc.
Crisis: A crisis may also stimulate change in an organization. Strikes or walk outs
may lead management to change the wage structure. The resignation of a key decision
maker is one crisis that causes the company to rethink the composition of its
management team and its role in the organization.
Employees, Expectations: Changes in employees expectations can also trigger
change in organizations. These forces may be:-
! Employees' desire to share in decision-making.
! Employees' demand for effective organizational mechanism.
! Higher employees’ expectation for satisfying jobs and work environment.
! Employees' desire for higher wage payment.
All these forces necessitate change in organizations. Besides these forces, a company that
hires a group of young newcomers may be met with a set of expectations very different from
those expressed by older workers.
Although organizational changes are important, managers should try to institute changes only
when they make strategic sense. A major change or two every year can be over whelming to
employees and create confusion about priorities. A logical conclusion is that managers should
evaluate internal forces for change with as much care as they evaluate external forces.

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FORCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

Forces for Change

Why is organizational change so important?

External forces of change in an Organization

Internal forces of change in an Organization

Declining Effectiveness: Declining effectiveness is a pressure to change.

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