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Unit 2: Nature of Planned Change
4. Internal environment affects the organisations both directly and indirectly. The Notes
organisations do not have any control over the variables in such an environment.
5. Change in managerial personnel is another force which brings about change in
organisation. Old managers are replaced by new managers which are necessitated because
of promotion, retirement, transfer or dismissal
2.3 Level of Change Programmes
The various types of change programmes may be classified into individual level change, group
level change and organisational level change.
2.3.1 Individual Level Change
Individual level changes may take place due to changes in job-assignment, transfer of an employee
to a different location or the changes in the maturity level of a person which occurs over a
passage of time. The general opinion is that change at the individual level will not have significant
implications for the organisation. But this is not correct because individual level changes will
have impact on the group which in turn will influence the whole organisation. Therefore, a
manager should never treat the employees in isolation but he must understand that the individual
level change will have repercussions the individual.
2.3.2 Group Level Change
Management must consider group factors while implementing, any change, because most of the
organisational changes have their major effects at the group level. The groups in the organisation
can be formal groups or informal groups. Formal groups can always resist change, for example;
the trade unions can very strongly resist the changes proposed by the management. Informal
groups can pose a major barrier to change because of the inherent strength they contain. Changes
at the group level can affect the work flows, job design, social organisation, influence and status
systems and communication patterns.
Notes The groups, particularly the informal groups have a lot of influence on the individual
members on the group. As such by effectively implementing change at the group level,
resistance at the individual level can be frequently overcome.
2.3.3 Organisational Level Change
The organisational level change involves major programmes which affect both the individuals
and the groups. Decisions regarding such changes are made by the senior management. These
changes occur over long periods of time and require considerable planning for implementation.
A few different types or organisation level changes are:
1. Strategic Change: Strategic change is the change in the very basic objectives or missions of
the organisation. A single objective may have to be changed to multiple objectives.
Example: A lot of Indian companies are being modified to accommodate various aspect
of global culture brought in by the multinational or transnational corporations.
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