Human Resources Management & Ergonomics Volume V 1/2011

A FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS

JAROSLAV KRÁL

Abstract
Change generally means the ´movement´ over time. The goal of the article is to establish or set up a
framework for understanding organizational change and its importance for organizations and
management. The term organizational change usually refers to modifications in an organization’s
structure, goals, technology, and work tasks. Contemporary organizational change seems to be unique and
is driven by global market competition and the organizational ability to gain continuously competitive
advantage based on fast organizational change and flexible adaptability. Change is a very complex
problem and it seems to lie in whether (i) we approach the world as though stability and fixity are the
norm, and change is a deviance from the norm, or (ii) we see change as the norm and stability vain
attempt to arrest its process.
The article introduces philosophical background of change since the pre-Socratic ancient Greek
philosophers, proceeds analysis of modern and postmodern theories, including open system theory.
Modern industrial theories tend to prioritize stability of concepts, things and states, and it is characterized
by a tendency to threat ideas and processes as things, operationalized in an either/or logic – we change
from this to that, do this or that, rather than being in a state with elements of both. Postmodern post-
industrial theories and approaches emphasize instability, the fact that the future is always emerging in the
present, and that at any moment a state contains elements both of what was and what is coming to be. The
article ends managing the change process and emphasizes life cycle approaches. The author believes that
change and change management is the core issue of contemporary human resource management and
motivation. The article is also a call for communities of practice and academic learning groups to study
and research collaboratively change and organizational change issues.

Key words: change, organizational change, stability and instability views (beliefs), process theory, open
system theory, process of change management.

Classification JEL: Z13 Economic Sociology, M12 – Personnel Management

1. Introduction
Change means dynamics and the dynamics means movement – “all is changing” (a factor
of chaos). Change is a topic very much on the minds of managers and organizational leaders
today. Most would agree that the pace of change is forever increasing, leaving less time to think
about decisions before they are made. Indeed change is a major factor that people in
organizations have to deal with, and a critical question is how they think about and cope with it.
´Humans have always dealt with more change than they could handle.´ Events force themselves
upon us unexpectedly (a factor of uncertainty).
In the context of organizations and human resource management, change always occurred.
Contemporary organizational change seems to be unique and is driven by global market
competition and the organizational ability to gain continuously competitive advantage based on
fast organizational change and flexible adaptability. It is true that organizations are changing
faster than ever before. In the past decade, organizations have led the following key changes:
- The workforce has changed significantly. Many organizations have downsized to become
leaner, with less middle management and fewer layers in the firm hierarchy.
- Networking technologies (and networking generally) have been implemented to increase
organizational productivity and integration.
- Flexible work systems have enabled a number of companies to meet of an increasingly
professionalized workforce.

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- Employee training has helped workers adapt to and thrive in new work environments that
are increasingly diverse.
- Reengineering (radical business process redesign) in organizations has reduced steps in
work processes to focus on their core competencies.
- (Total) quality management has given the worker more power in the workplace,
including involvement in decision making and problem solving; all is driven and focused
on customer satisfaction.
The term organizational change usually refers to modifications in an organization’s
structure, goals, technology, and work tasks, but since 1980s can also include changes in
attitudes and cultural values. Organizational change affects working conditions, structural
features, roles, jobs, and behaviors; it can be introduced deliberately and in a planned way,
imposed by policy change, or arise through external pressure. An externally driven view of
change argues that the external climate is determined by economic conditions, government
interventions, rapid changes in technology, political pressures and global competition, and to
survive organizations must be responsive to change and foster attitudes of flexibility and
dynamism to manage the external demands placed upon them. Change can also emanate from
within an organization, primarily because organizations go through processes of ageing
(including buildings, machinery, workforce), and strategies for renewal and development are
therefore necessary at every level, from an individual to the complete physical relocation of the
organization. Thus, a change in organizations can refer to any alternation in activities or tasks,
such as minor changes in procedures and operations, or large-scale transformational changes
brought about rapid restructuring (Kanter, 1991). Worall and Cooper (1997) state that the most
forms of change experienced across industry sectors are cost reductions, redundancies, culture
changes and performance improvement.
There are many claims and counterclaims in the discussion about what change means and
the influences on the organization. These claims are often based on slight empirical evidence.

2. Paradoxes of change
Most literature on change in the 1980s still treated change in a unitary fashion as a matter
of developing and communicating top management vision, although by this period research had
begun to acknowledge the contingent factors that influence the nature of change and how
individuals cope with it. Some literature paid attention to the conditioning factors that help to
explain the degree of openness of an organization to its environment, and its responsiveness to
the changes in its environment. The factors they identified were:
- The extent to which there are key actors within the firm who are prepared to champion
assessment techniques which increase the openness of the organization.
- Structural and cultural characteristics of the firm.
- Extent to which environmental pressures are recognized.
- Degree to which assessment occurs as a multifunction activity which is not viewed as
an end in itself but is then linked to the central operations of the business (Linstead,
2009, p. 620).
Nevertheless, despite the guidelines that researchers discerned, the complexities of change
continue to present time where interventions have unintended consequences, producing both the
intended effect and its exact opposite, and where change seems to unravel more quickly than
ever regardless of how well it has been planned and executed. Linstead and Chan (1994) here
identify ´eight habitual paradoxes of successful organizational change´ which capture the flavor
of this way of life for contemporary managers and organizational leaders. They are:

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a) Enduring long-term policy versus exciting ´play on the day´ – a crisis is good for getting
people to pull together. Making sacrifices for the survival of the firm is a stirring and
motivating experience. However, many organizations that are good in coping with crises do
not know what to do to maintain this momentum without engineering the next crisis, and find
it difficult to make enduring plans and particularly commitments to their workforce.
b) Cynicism as a product of successful change – when the crisis is over, many firms are unable
to deliver any benefits to those who made the sacrifices, often benefits promised, and may
even find themselves forced to contract or restructure rather than reward. Employees come to
see culture change as having no altruistic or human content, but simply as an expedient
rhetoric to enable needed modifications to take place. The ´bottom line´ is paramount after
all.
c) Lack or total ignorance of internal care – often the key people in the management of change
become left out.
d) Disillusionment with the quick fix – when rapid change follows rapid change, the value of
these changes is thrown into question. The failure of speed and decisiveness to solve
problems once and for all produces an acknowledgement of the value of time and patience in
the management of change. Nevertheless, often the organization is unable to put these virtues
into practice.
e) Commitment versus motivation – firms require, and frequently get, commitment from their
staff without any efforts to reward this commitment. It is not motivation for advancement,
improved conditions or improved salary and wages which keeps managers in many firms at
their desks well into the evening six or seven days a week. It is a combination of
professionalism, concern for their jobs and the firm, and a kind of resignation in the face of
the inevitable. Commitment can occur, paradoxically, in the absence of motivation or morale.
f) High productivity can occur with low morale – long hours and high achievements do not
necessarily indicate high morale. In fact, increasingly they seem to occur in the firm of low
morale.
g) Bureaucracy and politics subvert empowerment – as suggested above, old habits die hard.
But simultaneously, bureaucracy and politics seek to colonize empowerment1 for their own
purposes, which is usually an important factor in any organizational failure.
h) The chief executive officer (CEO): organizer or distraction? – This occurs when the CEO
becomes locked into symbolic action to drive change. The energizing function of symbolic
management, which often emphasizes detail and can be effective early in change initiatives,
can become a distraction when the full nature and impact of the change becomes well known
to those involved in it, and demands more complex and subtle responses, which are often not
available to the CEO who is cut off from this level of learning.

3. Philosophies or approaches of change

The paradoxical nature of organizational change may seem that change is the norm rather
than the exception, and, we should have difficulties not only with dealing with it, but even in
talking about it (respectively, finding the right ´language´ to express it). This is a very complex
problem and it seems to lie in whether (a) we approach the world as though stability and fixity
are the norm, and change is a deviance from the norm, or (b) we see change as the norm and
stability vain attempt to arrest its process. Taking one or other of these views has been common
since the pre-Socratic ancient Greek philosophers. From Parmenides and his followers we view
change as difficult, requiring energy to be generated to overcome inertia and resistance, force to

1
Empowerment was one of the core terms of total quality management and movement in 1970´s yet.

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be exerted to keep the change in motion until it is completed, and control put in place to prevent
decay or slippage back into the pre-change state (Stacey, 2007). Further change requires further
forceful intervention. This view conforms to the view taken in most of the existing change
literature. However, if we take the second views, according Heraclitus, change requires
intervention into an ongoing process in which an energy and movement are already present and
only require channeling or influencing. Change has its own momentum. Indeed, change (and
movement) is the essence of organization itself. The difficulty here is that the change never fully
stabilizes, but that need not to be a problem in a system which is self-aware and self-monitoring
and can respond appropriately. This second view aligns more closely with post-modern
approaches; including those from the new sciences which draw on complexity theory and chaos
theory (see more Stacey, 2007).
Most modern change theory (and change management) is grounded in a stability view of
change rather than a process view. The contrast between the two is primarily stated in Table 1.

Table 1: Themes distinguishing modern and postmodern theories

Modern industrial theory Postmodern post-industrial theory

Polar oppositions Perpetual transformation
Depoliticized view of organizations Politicized view of organizations
Theory based on market and economic assumptions Theory based on linguistic assumptions
Universal theorizing Diversity/local theorizing
Source: White, Jacques, 1995, pp. 45-71

Modern industrial theories tend to prioritize stability of concepts, things and states, and it
is characterized by a tendency to threat ideas and processes as things, operationalized in an
either/or logic – we change from this to that, do this or that, rather than being in a state with
elements of both. Postmodern2 post-industrial theories and approaches emphasize instability,
the fact that the future is always emerging in the present, and that at any moment a state contains
elements both of what was and what is coming to be. In a state of transformation, reality can
only be grasped by thinking in terms of both/and logic – we are both a little of this and a little of
that at any one time.
Because modern theories emphasize stability, they favor the idea of absolute qualities
which do not change over time and are not subject to human construction. Thus modernism
argues that there is only one answer to a problem, or one best answer to a problem. Most
optimization methods and models are based on these principles (science based on “facts”); in
fact they are only sub-optimization ones. Modernism also tends to treat politics as irrelevant or,
where present, as aberrant behavior caused by psychological dysfunction or deeper problems
elsewhere in the system. Accordingly, modernist approaches to organizations and management
(including change management) have a tendency to look outside the organization for
determining forces such as market and economic conditions, which restrict the possibilities of
micro-behavior.
Postmodernism recognizes that in an ´open´ system that is unstable and transformative,
stability is not evidence of what is naturally fixed and true, but is evidence of human
interventions to create categories that appear fixed and true – and powerful groups have the
opportunity to stabilize those conditions that are favorable to them and get the less powerful to
accept them as truth. Postmodern theories regard politics as the very means of constructing
organized life. Accordingly, postmodernist approaches argue for the importance of the medium

2
Postmodernism can be viewed as relativism (or skepticism), the opposite of realism.

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through which the interpretation and construction of those conditions occurs, most particularly
language, arguing that micro-political conditions in communication affect the ways in which
markets and economies are created and change.
Finally, while modernists seek universal theories of change (and theories generally) that
can apply to all (or, at least, most situations), postmodernists argue that different situations
create different realities, and that the rules can change accordingly as micro-differences
accumulate. Change management then is a matter of sensitivity to diversity and responsiveness
to local factors, rather than applications of predetermined methods and models in all situations
(Linstead 2009, pp. 623-624).

3.1 Process theories of organizational development and change – basic consideration

Van de Ven and Poole (1995) executed a wide-ranging study of theoretical approaches and
developed a ´fourfold typology of lifecycle, teleological, dialectical and evolutionary
approaches´. It is represented in (distributed to) Figures 1 – 4.3
Lifecycle approaches and theories are based around the assumption of organic growth, and
consequent decline, impelled by an immanent program or rule inspired by live nature, and
preferred logic and social institution. Here, the lifecycle of organisms in which the program
unfolds through a preconfigured sequence with compliant adaptation, is linear and irreversible as
potentials present at the beginning unfold into actuality. This change is prescribed for the
organism or organization – they cannot affect its course in any significant way. Lifecycle
approaches may be augmented or renewed, but not ´rejuvenated´. These approaches usually
focus on one entity (a unit of change), it is a group or organization, and not on interaction
between entities or between components of an entity (so conflict between organizational
members would be viewed as irrelevant, and environmental effects minor). Examples of these
approaches are a product lifecycle model, and various methods of prolonging the lifecycle of the
organization by investigation new and additional lifecycles of products, technology or people.

LIFE CYCLE
Unit of change: single entity

Phase 4: terminate

Phase 3: harvest Phase 1: start-up

Phase 2: growth

- immanent program
- regulation
- compliant adaptation

Mode of change: prescribed

Figure 1: Life cycle approaches to change

Source: Adapted from Van de Ven, Poole, 1995, p. 520

3
Note: Arrows on lines represent likely consequences among events, not causation between events.

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Teleological4 approaches are based around the assumption of purposeful cooperation and
´enactment impelling by an envisioned end state´, consensus on the means of goal achievement
and recognized synergies. Here, the organization (entity) acts discretely, but reflexively self-
monitors its actions, taking part in a process of socially constructing a vision of end states,
discontinuously resetting goals accordingly, implementing consequent actions and adapting
means to ends (´equifinality´) in order to reach the desired end state. Organizational methods
here include goal settings, planning and social constructionism, which may seem to rely on a
rather restricted in not idiosyncratic reading of those traditions. 5 Although falling short of the
determinism (of lifecycle approaches), teleological approaches emphasize causality rather than
consensus. Teleology minimizes the significance of interaction beyond the organization in the
setting the goals, allows for change to be internally driven but constructive rather than
prescriptive. These approaches recognize that goals change and are reinterpreted, so an
organization does not in equilibrium constraints, resp. it means, that goals must be readdressed.
Goal setting and process monitoring are important here.

TELEOLOGY
Dissatisfaction
Unit of change: single entity

Implement
Search/interact
goals

Set/envision
goals

- purposeful enactment
- social construction
- consensus

Mode of change: constructive

Figure 2: Teleological approaches to change

Source: Adapted from Van de Ven, Poole, 1995, p. 520

Dialectical theories and approaches assume opposition and conflict as a normal state of
affairs, as colliding forces, contradictory values and events ´compete with each other for
domination and control´. The driving force here is conflict and confrontation between opposing
(antagonistic) forces and interests (or classes) operating through logic of opposition between
thesis, antithesis and achieved synthesis (if any). Such conflict occasions are discontinuous and

4
Teleology is any philosophical account which holds that final causes exist in nature, meaning that design and
purpose analogous to that found in human actions are inherent also in the rest of nature. Teleology was explored
by Plato and Aristotle, and later by Kant in his Critique of Judgment. It was fundamental to the speculative
philosophy of Hegel. A thing, process or action is teleological when it is for the sake of an end, i.e., a telos or final
cause. In general it may be said that there are two types of final causes, which may be called intrinsic finality and
extrinsic finality. In modern science teleological explanations are deliberately avoided, because whether they are
true or false is argued to be beyond the ability of human perception and understanding to judge. Some disciplines
are still prone to use language that appears teleological when they describe natural tendencies towards certain end
conditions; but these arguments can always be rephrased in non-teleological forms.
5
Herbert Simon is a father of this approach.

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recurrent, and one confrontation may take a substantial amount of time to resolve into a
productive synthesis. Conflict is here a social norm. This approach to change differs from the
lifecycle and teleological approaches in that it locates change as something that happens as a
result of interactions between entities, rather than solely the entity following its own decision
tracks – change is rooted on conflict and bargaining rather than being hindered or facilitated by
them. Furthermore, the interaction takes place between multiplicity of entities, and the change
rules (if any) emerge from dialectical interplay.6
Evolutionary theories are based on the fourth approach. These theories and approaches
assume a situation of competitive survival working through logic of natural selection within a
similar (or species) population or organizations, driven by population scarcity, commensality –
the need to coexist from the same resources, and competition for the best available resources.
The population level may be drawn across communities, industries or society at large.7 Here
change proceeds through a cycle of variation, selection of best behaviors or performers, and
retention of the successful characteristics. Variation, the emergence of new or novel forms, is
often viewed to emerge by change, and the processes of innovation are generally inadequately
theorized from this perspective. Selection is combination of competition for scarce resources and
the influence of the environment on the number and type of organizations a ´niche´ can support.
Retention also involves inertia and persistence, so the process of evolutionary change involves a
recurrent and cumulative interaction between the three. Although evolutionary theory operates
through multiple entities that interact to produce change, this change is largely prescribed
changes of lifecycle theories. Indeed, evolutionary and lifecycle theories address first-order
change, or variation on a theme, while dialectical and teleological approaches and theories
address second-order change, or a break with past assumptions or frameworks (Linstead, 2009,
p. 628).

DIALECTIC
Unit of change: multiple entities

Thesis

Conflict Synthesis

Antithesis

- pluralism (diversity)
- confrontation
- conflict

Mode of change: constructive

Figure 3: Dialectic approaches to change

Source: Adapted from Van de Ven, Poole, 1995, p. 520

6
Hegel, Marx and Freud seem to be fathers of this approach.
7
Sometimes it is called ´population ecology´.

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Unit of change: multiple entities

EVOLUTION

Variation Selection Retention

- population scarcity
- environmental selection
- competition

Mode of change: prescribed

Figure 4: Evolution approaches to change

Source: Adapted from Van de Ven, Poole, 1995, p. 520

The Van de Ven and Poole construct of the fourfold typology needs to represent the main
narratives of change more comprehensively and takes account the more philosophically
arguments (commented especially by Stacey et al.). Recently (2005), they have attempted to
compose this aspect by incorporating consideration of ontology and epistemology perspective.
Now, it includes variance versus process epistemologies8 and entity versus flux (flow)
ontologies.9

3.2 Open system theory

Ways of thinking about organizations and how they change over time is significantly
influenced by mechanical or machine-based theories of organization with a mix of approaches
(and theories) mentioned above. It has tended to see the organization operates in terms of the
best way to execute a function or perform a particular task, without the method or the function
being moderated by or in interaction with the environment. To introduce the open systems
theory10 into organization theory seems to be simple, because an organization (and its
components) can/must be viewed as an organic live system. An open system therefore is
constantly in interaction with its environment, with inputs from the environment undergoing
transformation processes and being produced as outputs back into the environment, upon which
they have an impact which affected the next environmental inputs into the organization. The
internal parts of the organization (departments, workplaces, etc.) are also inputting into each

8
Epistemology (meaning study of knowledge, science, and logos) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the
nature and scope (limitations) of knowledge. It addresses the questions: What is knowledge? How is knowledge
acquired? How do we know what we know? Many dictionary definitions may give the impression that
epistemology is closely related to critical thinking – ´the study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge
especially with reference to its limits and validity´. The author of this article believes that the contemporary
progress of epistemology and knowledge needs to work with a “new” concept – systems thinking.
9
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic
categories of being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as
metaphysics, ontology deals with questions concerning what entities exist or can be said to exist, and how such
entities can be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and differences.
10
Von Bertallanfy is a creator of the theory.

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other’s activities, and adjusting to them as necessary. An open system (subsystem or element)
has several important characteristics:
a) Embeddedness11 – any system is located within a spacious (extended) system alongside other
systems (or subsystems). Each subsystem of the ´bigger entity´ forms part of the internal
environment. E.g. the subsystem of a human resource function of an organization interfaces
with all other (including external systems), while the subsystem of a production operations
usually interfaces only with marketing and sales, and engineering functions.
b) Negative entropy – there is normally a finite amount ´energy´ in any system and this is
gradually used up in the systems processes or operations, so the system has to transact with
the environment in order to renew and add this energy for its ´survival´ and obtain additional
resources for ´growth´. These transactions are not without cost and risk, however, and most
´organisms´ are vulnerable when they seek to take in sources (feeding) or reproduce
(change). Survival and growth depend on the transactions with the environment being
favorable.
c) Homeostasis12 – this means that the system, rather like the human/animal system which
regulates temperature, when finding deviant conditions affecting one part of the system can
make changes in other parts of the system to restore the balance of the system as a whole.
The system thus preserves a steady state over time while accommodating partial change.
d) Boundedness – systems are defined by boundaries (or interfaces). They are internal and
external. Internal interface regulate subsystems or components of the system and differentiate
them from each other, while external boundary (boundaries) differentiates the organization
from other systems (external environment, spacious system), and ´filter and regulate´ the
flow of information, materials, money, etc. between the two.
e) Equifinality – systems may reach the same ´end´ by a variety of means, and differentiate
configurations are possible. There are serial or parallel configurations.
f) Cyclical – many activities of systems are repetitive and patterned (and standardized), and
tend to be in sequence of input – transformation (throughput) – output.
g) Control feedback – it is a special loops of information, monitoring and coordination actions
which allows to control the system simply. Monitoring output we find out if the system is
working properly at any time, if not, we execute correction into inputs or transformation
processes.
Figure 2 shows an organization as a simplified open system. We can identify five core
elements: outputs, control feedback, inputs, throughput and environments. Similar figures can be
created for a department or workplace but the principles of the function are the same.

4. Managing the change process

Recent theories of change have argued that it is continuous and clear beginnings and ends
are easily identified, traditional approaches to change have found it useful to recognize particular
sources of change. They may divide to external and internal forces.

4.1 Sources of change

External forces of change may include:
a) Social – rising levels of education, an ageing of population, rapidly changing of consumers
preferences, ´new´ roles of woman, work-life balance.

11
(´full´) integration
12
Equilibrium seeking

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b) Economic – rapid changes or fluctuations of oil prices and exchange rates, failure of financial
markets.
c) Market – change the paradigm of competition from business – business to supply chain –
supply chain (including linking the competitors, global competition and globalization of
market), ´new´ - dynamic – pricing practice.
d) Technological – computing advances, ´networking´ and ´internetization´, robotics and
advanced flexible manufacturing systems, dramatically increased (on-line) communication
and ability to access and process information (knowledge acquisition and ´knowledge
management´).
e) Political – public-private partnership, governmental failures to solve graduated social
tensions and balanced public expenditures.
f) Others – volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, local wars, etc.
Internal forces that usually trigger change should be:
a) Increasing operational costs and waste.
b) Increasing employee turnover, absences, and accidents.
c) Inability to react to increasing customer orders in the spirit or type of “the miracle now and
the impossibility to 3 days”.
d) Decreasing of payment morals of all parties.
e) Management decisions and problems solving postponed or never made.

C - INPUTS E–
 Material ENVIRONMENT
 Work of people, D-THROUGHPUT A - Outputs  Demands
machines and devices  goods  Constraints
(external services)  services  Opportunities
 Information (data,
knowledge)
 TIME

Transformation
process
(capacity)

CONTROL
 Function of:
E– data  INFORMATION
ENVIRONMENT B – FEEDBACK  KNOWLEDGE about
 Supplies inputs, outputs, processes,
 Monitoring
 Constraints environment
 Opportunities  Coordination

Figure 5: The organization as an open system

Source: own study

Usually, change could be seen to be an effect of the natural lifecycle of an organization,

and/or as a result of pressure for growth or high (financial) performance. The lifecycle view

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tends to see the organization as subject to natural forces of growth and decline, moving through
stages. The growth and performance approaches argue that as the passage from stage to stage
occurs, it involves responses to crisis which stimulate ´negentropic´ growth and thus renew the
life of the organization against to decline. A simple lifecycle would involve:
a) Infancy – aggressive and fast-paced start-up, non-hierarchical informal organization, few or
none procedures and rules; proactivity mode.
b) Adolescence – strong effort of a founder to process control, systems and procedures
introduced; proactivity.
c) Maturity – end of relative stability, ´comfort´ and fast growth, goals shift to long-term,
planning introduced; proactivity.
d) Middle-age – rituals became important, focus shifts to how people do things, procedures;
proactivity being started to fade and invisibly passes to reactivity mode.
e) Old age ´closed´ systems – no one takes risks and responsibility, analyses means paralyses,
defensive, fatalistic approaches to all, personification of problems, looking for external and
internal enemies; reactivity mode is dominant.
In reality it may be that different lifecycles are operating in different parts of a complex
organization, even across different products. It is usually influenced if a department is managed
by a ´manager´ or ´leader´.

4.2 The classic approach to phases of growth and change

Greitner (1998) developed the ´classic approach to phases of growth and change´ which
relates in part to the traditional lifecycle model but identifies means of reversing it. The model
(Figure 6) describes these phases:
a) Growth through creativity – the early growth of an organization is driven by the founder.
Procedures and organizational structure tend to be informal, ad hoc. When the founder finds
to be unable to solve and handle the requirements, this growth phase may come to the end.
This is a crisis of leadership and need for change.
b) Growth through direction – the crisis of leadership can be resolved by introducing grater
formalization through the appointment of professional administrators and consequent
restructuring. The results are more bureaucracy, introducing programs, divisional structure.
Whether this growth is effective and efficient depends on the quality of its management.
Some managers may demand greater self-direction in the form of more control over the
activities or operations. If resistance introduces, it lead to a crisis of autonomy.
c) Growth through delegation – the crisis of autonomy can be resolved by delegating powers
(empowerment) to lower levels of the organization. When senior management concentrates
(mainly) for long-term planning and goal setting, the crisis induces a new phase of
organizational growth, but further restructuring may result in different sections of the
organizational pulling in different directions and threating the unity and cohesion of the firm.
It results in a crisis of control.
d) Growth through coordination – the crisis of control can be resolved by establishing links
between different sections and departments of the organization to improve communication
and coordination, here, projects, committees, knowledge and information management
initiatives play important roles. However, the resulting growth may usually be choked by a
proliferation of coordination mechanisms and programs, resulting in a crisis of ´red tape´.
e) Growth through collaboration – the crisis of red tape can be resolved by attempts at
simplifying formal structures and teaching/learning managers how to cope with ´new´
situations and create synergies without creating/resolving organizational structure, thus
managing in conditions of grater ambiguity. Growth can occur in this phase only if managers

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learn how to collaborate by placing greater reliance on informality, social norms and self-
control instead of formal structures (´win-win´ approach and strategy). As this works out new
opportunities emerge, the crisis is emergent, but uncertain.

Collaboration Crisis of
uncertainty
phase

Coordination Crisis of
phase Red type
Development

Crisis of
control
Delegation phase

Crisis of
Direction phase
autonomy

Crisis of Creativity phase

leadership

Time

Figure 6: Greiner´s growth cycles model

Source: Adapted from Greiner, 1998, pp. 3-11

The point here is that initiatives to deal with organizational ´sclerosis´ have the capacity to
revitalize the organization and inject greater pace of effectiveness and efficiency growth. But
they always come with a downside which cumulative leads to the next sclerotic condition which
needs to be tackled when it reaches crisis proportions. The point of specific change initiatives
therefore could be to identify and anticipate the need for change before it becomes critical. The
crisis needs to be predicted and the change needs to be planned.

5. Concluding remarks
Over the 25 or so years, theory and practice of change management have become
increasingly importance and it has become an integral part of human resource management.
Change and an ability of individual, group or organization to cope with it seem to be a core issue
of ´big picture´ of motivation (and our day-to-day life). ´Final´ success depends on persuading
tents or hundreds of groups and individuals to change the way they think and work, a
transformation people will accept only if they can be persuaded to think differently about change
and their jobs. But, it seems, in Slovak (cultural) environment, change is the ´field unploughed´.
This article should be a call for ´communities of practice´ and academic ´learning groups´ to
study and research collaboratively change and organizational change issues, and other
´undiscovered´ approaches such as contingency theories and models, complexity theory, etc.
The author of the article deeply and sincerely thanks Palgrave and FT Prentice Hall
publishing houses for their gifts of literature, especially for Linstead et al. (2009) and Stacey
(2007) which were/are his best ´guides´ through study and understanding of change (and other
management and organizational issues). Note: It is a Slovak higher education ´standard´ that

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Human Resources Management & Ergonomics Volume V 1/2011

faculty has no possibility to study (foreign) literature, only if he/she get it himself/herself without
expenditures and boss permission.

References:
[1] EAPEN, G.: Flexibility. CRC Press. 2010, 183 p. ISBN 978-1-4398-1632-5
[2] GREINER, L. E.: Evolution and revolution as organizational growth. In: Harvard Business
Review (May – June), 1998, pp. 3-11
[3] HORST, S.: Beyond Reduction. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 2007, 229 p. ISBN 978-
0-19-531711-4
[4] IVANCEVICH et al.: Management. Boston. Irwin/McGraw-Hill. 1997, 630 p. ISBN 0-256-
18939-0
[5] KANTER, R. M.: Transcending business boundaries. In: Harvard Business Review, 1991,
May – June, pp. 151-164
[6] LINSTEAD, S. – FULOP, L. – LILLEY, S.: Management and Organization. Second
Edition. Palgrave. 2009, 848 p. ISBN 978-0-230-522221-3
[7] LINSTEAD, S. – CHAN, A.: The sting of Organization: Command, Reciprocity and
Change Management. In: Journal of Organizational Change Management. 1994
[8] SKYTTNER, L.: General Systems Theory. Second Edition. World Scientific. 2008, 525 p.
ISBN 978-256-389-7
[9] STACEY, R.: Strategic Management and Organizational Dynamics. Fifth Edition. FT
Prentice Hall. 2007, 480 p. ISBN 978-0-273-8-70811-7
[10] VAN DE VEN, A. – POOLE, M. S.: Explaining Development and Change in
Organizations. In: Academy of Management Review, 1995, 20 (3), pp. 510-540
[11] WHITE, R. F. – JACQUES, R.: Operationalizing the Postmodernity Construct for Efficient
Organizational Change Management. In: Journal of Organizational Change Management
1995, 8 (2), pp. 45-71
[12] WORALL, L. – COOPER, C. L.: The Quality of Working Life. In: Corby Institute of
Management. 1997.

Address of the author:

Assoc. Prof. Ing. Jaroslav KRÁL, CSc.
Department of Management Theories
Faculty of Management Science and Informatics
University of Žilina
Univerzitná 8215/1
010 26 Žilina
Slovak Republic
e-mail: [email protected]

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