Why Organizational Revolution Occurs
Coping with Radical Organizational Changes
There are different theories that explain organizational revolution. The following are theories of organizational change or revolution:
1. Selection Theory - Change is mainly brought about by resource scarcity, convergence to industry norms and structural inertia. Examples of this theory include: population, ecology, evolution theory and resource-based theory.
2. Adaptation Theory - Companies can do change: successful companies acquire different strategies and seek out new competencies. Examples are: Dynamic capability theory and learning theory.
3. Co-evolution Theory - The combined result of managerial intentionality, environment and institutional effects, example: Complexity theory.
Models of Organizational Change
1. Incremental Change - A process whereby individual parts of an organization deal increasingly and separately starting with one problem and one goal at a time. The contributors for this model are Quinn (1980) and Nadler & Tushman (1989).
2. Punctuated Equilibrium - Views that change is due to long periods of small, incremental change that are interrupted by brief periods of discontinuous, radical change. Contributors to this model are Dean et al. (1999) Tushman & Anderson (1986) Romanelli & Tushman (1994)
3. Continuous change - Continuing, developing, and increasing organizational change. Contributors include Dean et al. (1999), Brown & Eisenhardt (1997), Weick & Quinn (1999)
Types of Organizational Change
1. Incremental change – this change focuses on individual components with the goal of maintaining or regaining congruence.
2. Radical change - this is a large-scale process which deals with the whole organization in short time. This is characterized by short bursts that lead to fundamental changes in the organization.
Coping with Organizational Revolution
If radical change is needed, existing knowledge may not be the answer, but:
- by determining the weak links, source of triggers and new ideas from the environment which would allow the organization to adapt adequately to environmental changes and develop its own renewal processes in a radical way
- gathering and creation of entirely new knowledge and innovations may generate radical change
- letting go of old ways
- hiring new innovative experts
- interaction with clients
The "organizational revolution" provided businesses with the means and actual "goods" to begin thinking about the end of scarcity. Determining weak links in the organization, the causes of problems and acquiring new ideas from the environment all could contribute to radical change.
New knowledge or inventions could also create organizational revolution. This is particularly true in the case of Industrial Revolution in America wherein during the first stages of the Industrial Revolution, the United States experienced exceptional abundance.
The goods may not necessarily be actual goods but views or principles that could help the organization move forward. Letting go of what the organization has been accustomed to doing but is no longer applicable is one way. For instance, using typewriters. Currently, this machine is no longer applicable because computers are not only faster but are also capable of performing numerous tasks at the same time.
Hiring new and capable personnel is also another way to cope with organizational revolution. These new personnel are equipped with knowledge and skills that could augment and boost the existing manpower capabilities.
Interaction with clients provides input which could help the organization cope with radical changes. This enables the organization to determine the needs and desires of the customers, making them more innovative and effective.
Organizational Change Theories
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