Organizational Change

Internal and External Factors of Change

Change management is serious business. The success or failure of an entire business entity can rest upon how well one responds to and manages change. Change requires a committement of time, resources and perseverance (Holland, 2003). Without these ingredients, almost all change will be doomed to fail.
Individuals like to feel their work is a part of a larger whole, something meaningful or important (Lewin, 1973), and this simulation organization is no different.

The employees responded best with strategies that promoted a feeling of belonging to a larger whole and allowed them some freedom and autonomy within the structure of their jobs. Within the organization one saw the norms regarding the work changing, so this lessened some of the resistance to change (Lewin, 1973); however, workers had to be handled in such a way that the changing norms were made evident to them. Incentives such as pay and bonuses did not function as satisfactorily as they might have in a different situation because, according to Lewin's work, change is more likely to occur when that which resists change is lessened, rather than when that which drives change is increased (Coughlan, 2003). However, they did impact the overall receptivity to change.

The employees of this organization seemed driven by a need to feel competent in their work. This was further intensified by a changing job market, changes in the technology of the job. While the external forces driving the change were not often outweighed by the internal drivers, they were a present factor and one any leader contemplating change for this organization would want to keep firmly in hand.

Resistance to change may come in a variety of forms. There is outright resistance in which employees simply refuse to work. Other forms of resistance can appear as work slowdowns, increased error rates and increased absentee-ism (Holland 2003). Simple inertia and fear and can limit or resist changes (Tiang 2005).

Leadership and Change