What Provokes “Organizational Change”?
Change should not be done for the sake of change — it’s a strategy to accomplish some overall goal. (See Organizational Performance Management.) Usually organizational change is provoked by some major outside driving force, e.g., substantial cuts in funding, address major new markets/clients, need for dramatic increases in productivity/services, etc. Typically, organizations must undertake organization-wide change to evolve to a different level in their life cycle, e.g., going from a highly reactive, entrepreneurial organization to more stable and planned development. Transition to a new chief executive can provoke organization-wide change when his or her new and unique personality pervades the entire organization. Why is Organization-Wide Change Difficult to Accomplish? Typically there are strong resistances to change. People are afraid of the unknown. Many people think things are already just fine and don’t understand the need for change. Many are inherently cynical about change, pa
