Page 36 - DMGT520_ORGANIZATION_CHANGE_AND_DEVELOPMENT

Unit 3: Models of Change

Notes
Did u know? Changes in any given system will affect both its internal working and very
possible those of related external systems.
The System Model shown in Figure 3.2 provides a useful way to think about organisational
change.
Figure3.2: A System Model of Change

People Culture

Task Technology

Design Strategy

The System Model of change describes the organisation as six interacting variables that could
serve as the focus of planned change: people, culture, task, technology, design, and strategy. The
people variable applies to individuals working for the organisation, including their individual
differences – personalities, attitudes, perceptions, attributions, needs and motives. The culture
variable reflects the shared beliefs, values, expectations, and norms of organisational members.
The task variable involves the nature of work itself – whether job are simple or complex, novel
or repetitive, standardized or unique. The technology variable encompasses the problem solving
methods and techniques used and the application of knowledge to various organisational
processes. It includes such things as the use of information technology, robots, and other
automation, manufacturing process tools and techniques. The design variable is the formal
organisational structure and its system of communication, control, authority, and responsibility.
Finally, the strategy variable comprises the organisations planning process and includes decisions
about how the organisation chooses to compete. It typically consists of activities undertaken to
identify organisational goals and prepare specific plans to acquire, allocate, and use resources in
order to accomplish those.

As Figure 3.2 indicates, these six variables are interdependent. A change in any one usually
results in a change in one or more of the other.

Example: A change in the organisation strategic plan might dictate a change in
organisation design to an adaptive or network form. This change, in turn, could result in the
reassignment of people. At the same time, the redesign may also lead to a change in the technology
used by the organisation, which affects the attitudes and behaviours of the employees involved,
and so on.
All these changes would occur within a particular organisation culture, which might either
support or resist them. Moreover, the change itself may either modify or reinforce the prevailing
culture. An advantage of the systems approach to organisational change is that it helps employees
and managers understand and think through such interrelationship.

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