Organizational Change

This text describes three types of organizational change: structural change, technological change, and cultural change. The changes that are called for will depend on the stage of growth the company is in. The text also discusses the scope of change needed, whether incremental, transformational, or strategic, and the level at which the change needs to take place.

Introduction

  • What are the fundamental dimensions of change?

Our discussion about organizational structure to this point has focused on the forms that an organization might take and the options that are available to managers as they design structures for their organizations. However, organizations are constantly evolving. One common refrain is that "there is nothing so constant as change". Because of this, there is no one best way to organize in all circumstances. Effective managers need to be aware of the various factors that drive the need for change. There are advantages and disadvantages to each the various forms of organizing we have discussed. Managers need to adapt the organization so that it is ideally situated to accomplish current organizational goals. Thus, effective managers need to know how to plan and implement change to achieve organizational success.

We will begin this section by reviewing the types of changes that may occur in an organization. Then we will explore the organizational life cycle model, which explains how the structural needs of an organization evolve over time.

Source: OpenStax, https://openstax.org/books/organizational-behavior/pages/16-2-organizational-change
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