Organizational

Change and Stress

Management
 Learning Objectives
• Describe the forces that stimulate change
• Learn about planned/unplanned changes
• Learn how individuals and organizations
resist change
• Discuss overcoming resistance to change
• Learn about Lewin’s change model
• Describe potential sources of stress
• Learn how individual variables moderate
the stress-outcome relationship
 The Downsizing Job Market
Question Responses

Have you or someone in your household been forced Reduced hours = 15%
to work fewer hours or take a cut in pay? Cut in pay = 35%
Both = 17%

Have you or someone in your household been Yes = 54%

required to work more hours than usual?

Has the fear of losing your job caused you to cut Cut back severely = 35%
back your spending? Cut back moderately = 55%

What changes would you be willing to make to keep Get more education or
your present job? training = 93%
Work longer hours = 82%
Take fewer vacation days = 71%
Accept smaller benefits = 53%
Accept a lower wage = 44%

.
 Workforce
World
Technology
Politics
Forces For
Change
Social Economic
Trends Shocks
Competition
Planned and Unplanned Organizational
Changes

Organizational
Change

planned Changes Unplanned Changes

• Changes in products and • Changing employee
services demographics
• Changes in administrative • Performance gaps
systems • Governmental regulations
• Changes in organizational • Economic competition in the
size or structure global arena
• Introduction of new
technologies
• Advances in information
processing and
communication
What Can Change Agents
Change?

Structure Technology

Physical
People
Setting
Structure, Technology, and People as
Targets of Organizational Change

Structure

Technology
Organizational
Change

People
 Resistance to Change
• Forms of Resistance to Change
– Overt and immediate
• Voicing complaints, engaging in job actions
– Implicit and deferred
• Loss of employee loyalty and motivation,
increased errors or mistakes, increased
absenteeism
Resistance to Change

Selective Force of
Information Habit
Processing

Individual

Fear of Need for

the Unknown Security
Economic
Factors
 Overcoming
Resistance to Change
Education and
Participation
Communication

Facilitation
Negotiation
and Support

Manipulation
Coercion
and Cooptation
Organizational Change

Unfreezing Changing Refreezing

Lewin’s Three-Step Process

Unfreezing the Status Quo

Desired
State
Restraining
Forces

Status
Quo
Driving
Forces

Time
Action Research Process

One: Three:
Diagnosis Feedback
Five:
Evaluation

Two: Four:
Analysis Action
 Survey Feedback: An Overview

Data Collection Feedback Develop Action Plans

Employees Through group
Feelings about the
complete discussions,
organization are
surveys to provide specific plans for
summarized and
information about overcoming problems
shared with all
problems in their are identified
employees
organization and developed

.
 Organizational
Development
• Respect for people

• Trust and support

• Power equalization

• Confrontation

• Participation
 Five OD Interventions

• Intergroup development

• Process consultation

• Sensitivity training

• Survey feedback

• Team building
Sources of Innovation

Human Resources

Structural Variables

Organizational Culture