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Organisational Change - Coggle Diagram
Organisational Change
Week 3: metaphors and organisational change
definition of metaphors: " transformation of information from an unfamiliar to a familiar domain
takes the abstract and makes it concrete
utility of metaphors
vividness thesis
compactness thesis
picture represents a thousand words
inexpressibility thesis
"I can't put it into words," for complex systems like these, metaphors are incredibly helpful
skilled use of metaphors
elicits a visual image
draws on common experience
provides license to identify negative aspects
generative
according to Marchak (1996), there are 4 core themes of metaphors
mechanical
biological
cognitive
relational
the language of change metaphors
transitional: move and relocate
"moving forward"
"taking the best route"
"leaving the old behind
change agents: planners, guides, explorers
transformational:: liberate and recreate
Reading: Images of an organisation (Oswick & Montgomery, 1999)
Introduction
the most powerful use of a metaphor arises in situations in which the difference between the 2 phenomena are perceived to be significant but not total
a good metaphor means the right mix of similarity and difference between the transferred word and the focal one
Discussion:
insights into the organisation
"source domain" level
focuses upon the source of the metaphor
this form of analysis is the least sensitive of the 3 because of its superficial breadth, it takes metaphors at face value
"target domain" level
offers insights into the organisation and not just the metaphor
in effect, it asks: what area (or areas) of the target domain are illuminated?
if organisation is explored at this level, it appears to display a high level of internal consistency
however, picture is still a partial one. it is not enough to say that a cluster of metaphors illuminate a particular organisational phenomenon, we need to examine the nature of the perceptions and attitudes conveyed in relation to the given phenomenon
"ground" level
is the most sensitive
it considers both the source and the target domains
more important, it also focuses on the nature of the similarities between the 2
at this level of analysis the apparently coherent categories of organisational change and strategy breakdown into further subcategories organised around contrasting opinions and perceptions of the organisation and its activities
insights into metaphor
Ortony (1975) suggests that metaphors can aid learning due to their "vividness and compactness"
Oswick and Grant (1996) suggest that these qualities also have the potential to enhance research by ensuring "that manageable amounts of valid data are generated"
many of the responses provided by team leaders contained rich and detailed info about the target domain and managed to do so using fewer words compared to literal languag
metaphors have been argued to provide a basis for uncovering perceptions, attitudes and feelings which until released by metaphor were previously subconscious or inarticulated
there are also downsides to using metaphors
it's important to examine the basis of projection and isolate the similarities which accompany a metaphor and not to just take the metaphor at face value
metaphor based enquiry can be misleading insofar as we ask how the organisation is like an animal and get responses concerned with "organisational change processes within the organisation" rather than responses about the "organisation"
In effect, we are asking questions about a larger domain (i.e. ``the organisation'') and receiving a set of restricted mentonymical responses which largely focus on one part of the domain (i.e. organisational change and strategy)
Week 4:
Who is the OD practitioner?
3 types:
people who specialise in OD as a profession
traditionally share a common set of humanistic values (rationalist outlook of thought attaching prime importance to human matters)
can be internal or external
people who specialise in fields related to OD
increasing number of managers and administrators who have gained competence in OD, and who apply it in their own work areas
The OD practitioner as leader of change
traditional, hierarchical organisations may once have made all complex decisions about the organisation
The process of engaging an OD practitioner as organisational change agent:
1) clarifying the organisational issue
start with a presenting problem
specific examples:
decrease in market share, increase in absenteeism
general examples:
we're growing too fast, we need to prepare for rapid changes
usually, the presenting problem has an implied solution, but in reality, the problem is only a symptom of an underlying problem
the issue facing the organisation must be clarified early in the OD process so that subsequent diagnostic and intervention activities are focused on the right issue
gaining a clearer perspective on the organisational issue requires collection of preliminary data
company records
interview a few key members
aka diagnostic phase of OD
2) determining the relevant client
the relevant client includes those organisation members who can directly impact on the change issue
it is not unusual for an OD project to fail because the relevant client was inappropriately defined
determining the relevant client can vary in complexity depending on the situation
in cases where the organisational issue can be addressed in a specific business unit, then client definition is straightforward
harder when organisational issue cannot readily be addressed in a single organisation unit
e.g. interdepartmental conflict
3) selecting an appropriate OD practitioner
according to Lippitt, areas that managers should consider before selecting a practitioner include:
ability of the consultant to form sound interpersonal relationships
degree of focus on the problem
skills of the practitioner relative tot he problem
extent that the consultant clearly informs the client as to their role and contribution
whether the practitioner belongs to a professional association
an important consideration is whether the consultant approaches the organisation with openness and an insistence on diagnosis or whether the practitioner appears to have a fixed program that is applicable to almost any organisation
perhaps the important issue is the fundamental question: 'how effective has the person been in the past, with what kinds of organisations, using what kinds of techniques?'
Developing a contract
definition of contracting: 'entering into a formal and legally binding agreement'
the goal of contracting is to make a good decision about how to carry out the OD process
can be relatively informal and involve only a verbal agreement between client and OD practitioner
can be more protracted and result in a formal document
contracting step generally addresses 3 key areas:
mutual expectations
focuses on the expectations of the client and the OD practitioner
time and resources
Block has suggested that resources can be divided into 2 parts
essential requirements
desirable requirements
ground rules
Rules of thumb for change agents (Shepard)
Rule 1: stay alive
Don't sacrifice yourself on behalf of a cause that you do not wish to be your last
this rule means that you should let your whole being be involved in the undertaking
staying alive means loving yourself
staying alive means staying in touch with your purpose
it means using your skills, emotions, labels and positions rather than being used by them
it means seeing dilemmas as opportunities for creativity
it means greeting absurdity with laughter while trying to unscramble it
Rule 2: start where the system is
this rule implies that one should begin by diagnosing the system
systems do not necessarily like being diagnosed
aka empathy rule
to communicate effectively, to obtain a basis for building sound strategy, the change agent needs to understand how the client sees themselves and their situation and needs to understand the culture of the system
Rule 3: never work uphill
it is an appeal for an organic, rather than a mechanistic approach to change, for a collaborative approach to change, for building strength and building on strength
corollary 1: don't build hills as your go
this cautions against working in a way that builds resistance to movement in the direction you have chosen as desirable
corollary 2: work in the most promising arena
corollary 3: build resources
don't do anything alone that could be accomplished more easily or more certainly by a team
effectiveness can be enhanced by investing in the development of partners
corollary 4: don't overorganise
corollary 5: don't argue if you can't win
win-lose strategies are to be avoided because they deepen conflict instead of resolving it
Corollary 6: play god a little
the change agent needs a value perspective for making choices about whether to destroy a system or just try to amend it
Rule 4: innovation requires a good idea, initiative, and a few friends
rule 5: load experiments for success
rule 6: light many fires
rule 7: keep an optimistic bias
rule 8: capture the moment