change—or choose not to. Sometimes they do this willingly and other times they choose reluctantly, either feeling forced or mixed about their decisions. This perspective is valuable when thinking about increasing the success of organizational change, for it is at the individual level that people decide to change. Their choices depend on their views of the situation and how it impacts their lives. In the recent past, many change programs have been focused on cost cutting, including the downsizing of the number of employees in an organization. People are bright. They understand what is happening. And if a program will cost them their jobs, why would you expect them to be enthusiastic and positive? Such resistance demonstrates the point that individuals will choose to cooperate or not depending on their personal circumstances and their assessment of how the change will impact them personally. Individuals will adopt or accept change only when they think that their perceived personal benefits are greater than the perceived costs of change. This can be summarized as follows: This simple formula highlights several things. First, change agents have to deal with both the reality of change and its perceptions. Again, perception counts as much as reality. Second, in many situations, the costs of changing are more evident than the benefits of change. In most change situations, first the costs are incurred and then the benefits follow. The perceived benefits of change depend on whether people think the benefits are likely—that is, the probability of the change being successful in ways that count for them. As well, the benefits of change depend on the state of or dissatisfaction with the status quo. Interestingly, “happiness” people also tend to focus on the consequences of the change rather than the consequences of not changing and remaining the same. The more dissatisfied people are, the more they as individuals will be willing to change. The change equation can be modified to capture this as follows: Thus, change agents need to build the case for change by increasing the dissatisfaction with the status quo by providing data
change—or choose not to. Sometimes they do this willingly and other times they choose reluctantly, either feeling forced or mixed about their decisions. This perspective is valuable when thinking about increasing the success of organizational change, for it is at the individual level that people decide to change. Their choices depend on their views of the situation and how it impacts their lives. In the recent past, many change programs have been focused on cost cutting, including the downsizing of the number of employees in an organization. People are bright. They understand what is happening. And if a program will cost them their jobs, why would you expect them to be enthusiastic and positive? Such resistance demonstrates the point that individuals will choose to cooperate or not depending on their personal circumstances and their assessment of how the change will impact them personally. Individuals will adopt or accept change only when they think that their perceived personal benefits are greater than the perceived costs of change. This can be summarized as follows: This simple formula highlights several things. First, change agents have to deal with both the reality of change and its perceptions. Again, perception counts as much as reality. Second, in many situations, the costs of changing are more evident than the benefits of change. In most change situations, first the costs are incurred and then the benefits follow. The perceived benefits of change depend on whether people think the benefits are likely—that is, the probability of the change being successful in ways that count for them. As well, the benefits of change depend on the state of “happiness” or dissatisfaction with the status quo. Interestingly, people also tend to focus on the consequences of the change rather than the consequences of not changing and remaining the same. The more dissatisfied people are, the more they as individuals will be willing to change. The change equation can be modified to capture this as follows: Thus, change agents need to build the case for change by increasing the dissatisfaction with the status quo by providing data
chapter_6_navigating_organizational_politics_and_culture.docx