Change and Power in Organizations

The following presents a discussion of organization change. Topics discussed include overcoming resistance to change and transforming organizations and reasons for failure. This is followed by a summary and conclusions.

Organizational change is a process that is typically met with disgruntled employees facing the changes. People resist change and behave accordingly. Change includes new adaptations to environmental circumstances and this leads to fear and frustration. Blame is another component of the change process. Kurt Lewin (1952) presented a change theory that helps explain what goes on in the organization seeking to change. Human beings seek to create an environment that is safe and secure and change is a threat to this safe place. People need to be taught the new in a manner that deals with the stages that they are going to face as they change. People need to be motivated to change in order to unfreeze their current status. Once they accept the new they must again strive to set up their environment to be a safe and secure place which requires a new freezing at the new level.

Coch and French (1948) pointed out that there are ways to help people accept change. These authors presented their classic study of worker participation in decision-making (Bartlem & Locke, 1981). These authors provided a demonstration of theories by Lewin (1952). Coch and French divided workers whose jobs were to be changed into three different groups. For the first group, em

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ealing with employee reactions to the change process. People facing change are typically going to resist this process and experience frustration and anxiety. The employer is likely to be faced with uncooperative employees and employee turnover. Reasons for these reactions to change stem from an inability to control a safe and secure environment. Coch and French demonstrated the positive effects of providing employees with control over their changes. Chaudran noted further that it is important to provide employees with more than forceful changes in order to achieve successful organizational change. The equation provided by Chaudran provides employees with the control they need to face a persistent focus on change. It is important that a consensus be reached by all to avoid anger and frustration in employees and resistant that thwarts the change process. Organizational Theory: Power and Politics This paper presents the topic of power and politics in the organization. The discussion focuses on the notion that power, influence, and persuasion are concepts that must be understood and utilized effectively by an organization to ensure its success. This is followed by a summary and conclusions. Power is needed for every

Category: Business - C