Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organizational Change - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that it has been a most frequently used adage that nothing is constant except change. In contemporary organizations, experience has proven that business entities require both stability and continuity, in conjunction with innovation and adaptation. Without equilibrium, any business organization could not effectively function; yet, without adaptation, it definitely cannot survive. The option open to organizations is not between continuity or discontinuity, but a balance between them. Organizational change is, therefore, the quintessence of adaptation and innovation: a crucial and necessary fact of life. According to Martires and Fule, change is any alteration in the present state of a system. In social organizations, change is initiated, implemented, and maintained to achieve a new and higher level of performance by the system. In a report written by Kezar, the author cited two definitions of organizational change, to wit: â€Å"Burnes noted that organizational change refers to understanding alterations within organizations at the broadest level among individuals, groups, and at the collective level across the entire organization. Another definition is that change is the observation of difference over time in one or more dimensions of an entity†. From these meanings, it is therefore apparent that organizational change contains transformations of one or more elements within the organization over a pre-defined period of time.... People have been located at the center because it is they who link all other variables in a productive way. The organization tries to obtain a new level of performance and excellence by adjusting its internal functions and processes, as well as modifying its goals. This means that any or all of the five variables may be changed to realize the necessary adjustment. Furthermore, the system’s elements are highly interdependent and interrelated, and any change in one will have an influence on the others. 3. Characteristics or Attributes of Innovative Companies. Since innovation is crucial to organizational effectiveness and growth, the question of what characterizes innovative companies is an important one in managing change. Answers to this question provide broad outlines for action and give the change process its direction. Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.’s (1982) research on successful American companies offers significant insights as to where the direction of change should be. In their study, they identified eight attributes which distinguish excellent and innovative companies from those which are not. The authors noted that not all eight attributes were present to the same degree in the excellent companies that they studied. But in every case, at least a preponderance of the eight was clearly visible. These attributes or characteristics of innovative companies are enumerated herewith: (1) a bias for action; (2) close to the customer; (3) autonomy and entrepreneurship; (4) productivity through people; (5) hands on and value driven; (6) stick to the knitting; (7) simple form and lean staff; and finally (8) simultaneous loose-tight properties (Peters and Waterman, 1982, pp. 13-15). 4. Identify