Summary Organizational change - An action-oriented toolkit by Cawsey et al. (2nd edition), donated to WorldSupporter
Organizational change: planned alterations of organizational components to improve the effectiveness of the organization.
These components include:
- Mission and vision
- Strategy
- Goals
- Structure
- Processes
- Technology
- People
Change drivers can be internal and external, managers should adapt to the organization’s environment. Some changes are very tangible and thus easier, others – such as a change in culture – are intangible and more difficult.
The focus of the book is on organizational change as a planned activity designed to improve the organization’s effectiveness.
The book has an active, action-oriented emphasis coupled with a deep understanding of organizations. The twin theme of knowing what to do and how to do it is the main approach in order to fill the knowing-doing gap that the authors believe to exist.
Environmental forces for change
Environmental forces may be a surprise where others are anticipated. We will discuss some environmental trends.
Social, cultural, and demographic environment
Demographic changes influence the social, cultural, and economic environment. The Western world has an ageing population which has financial consequences. When economies are poor, the fertility rate is high and there are many young dependents relying o working adults for sustenance. When fertility rates drop, the ratio of working adults to dependents increases, leading to surplus wealth.
Then all those people age and dependent, seniors become a larger percentage of the population. Other issues are gender, race, diversity, global warming, sustainability, and social responsibility.
Technologies
Data mining is the transformation of data into information. Technological forces result in shorter product development and life cycles. Technological breakthroughs can result in obsolescence. So change leaders should be aware of trends and be proactive.
Political changes
As organizations become global, they need to clarify their own ethical standards. They need to understand the law and determine what norms of behavior they will work to establish for their organizational members. The politics of globalization have created opportunities and issues. They influence market development and attractiveness, competitiveness, and pressures on boards and executives.
The economy
The lessons from the economic crisis concern risk management
.....read more
Add new contribution