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DA1. Organizational Change Forces

Statement

In Chapter 7: Organizational Structure and Change, there are several forces for organizational change: workplace demographics, technology, globalization, market conditions, growth, and poor performance. Based on your personal or professional experience, provide an example of when one of these forces caused an organization to change. Why did it cause this change? What was the result? What resistance to the change occurred, if any? How was the resistance (if any) overcome?

Answer

Introduction

Organizational change is a process that involves changing the organizational structure due to various forces. These forces can be internal or external and can be positive or negative. Workplace demographics are when the distribution of the workforce changes, such as a massive chunk of employees retiring in the same year. Technology is when new technology or automation is introduced that requires shifts in the workforce. Globalization is when the organization expands its operations to other countries or hires employees abroad. Market conditions are when the market changes, such as a recession or a new competitor entering the market. Growth is when the organization expands, such as opening new branches. Poor performance is when the organization is not meeting its goals or is losing money (Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2010).

Based on your personal or professional experience, provide an example of when one of these forces caused an organization to change

In my previous job, at a tech startup; there were 6 employees including management, development, and marketing. There was no formal team structure; we were following the Agile methodology with a flat structure; all employees were equal and we were doing our standup meeting every morning. The company later grew to around 20 employees, thus the flat structure was no longer effective. The company had to change its organizational structure to use the matrix structure; it was divided into 3 departments: product, operations, and administration.

Why did it cause this change?

Growth was the main force that caused the change; things like the standup meeting were no longer sustainable with 20 people and different interests. Schedules were also different as customer-facing employees had to be available during business hours, while developers preferred to work late at night or early in the morning.

What was the result?

The result was that the company structure changed from a flat to a matrix structure with 3 departments. There were also dynamic project-based teams that formed in parallel to tackle specific sub-projects along with the formal departments. The company was able to scale and grow more effectively as concerns were separated efficiently.

What resistance to the change occurred, if any?

There was resistance from me personally; as I felt communications were easier in the flat structure; now, you need to address the department head and they will harvest the information from their team. Also, the company-wide standup meeting was a good way to hear all company news and updates; now, you only hear the news from your department or what other departments formally share.

How was the resistance (if any) overcome?

Unfortunately, teams were happier with the new structure; so went with the new structure; I had to contact people privately through Slack or their email to get the information I needed. We also meet weekly in company-wide workshops to share news and updates; the main idea is to keep everyone informed and engaged.

Conclusion

Organizational change is a process that involves changing the organizational structure due to various forces. Growth is one of these forces, which happens when a company expands so it hires more people or opens new branches. The example the text provided involved a company transitioning from a flat to a matrix structure due to growth.

References