Approaches to organisational change and the role of emergent change
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Course
Change management
Institution
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)
This coursework explores the different approaches to change available to business organisations. It is emphasised on the emergent approach to change in this discussion. The approach is discussed from a theoretical standpoint. Then, the available empirical findings are included in order to assess th...
Table of Contents
1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................1
2 Change management......................................................................................................................2
2.1 Approaches to change.............................................................................................................2
2.2 Models of emergent change....................................................................................................3
2.3 Empirical evidence.................................................................................................................4
3 Analysis.........................................................................................................................................5
4 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................5
Bibliography.....................................................................................................................................6
Abstract
This coursework explores the different approaches to change available to business organisations.
It is emphasised on the emergent approach to change in this discussion. The approach is
discussed from a theoretical standpoint. Then, the available empirical findings are included in
order to assess the applicability of the approach in real life context.
1 Introduction
Changes in global environment and the increased interconnectedness have created a context in
which business management is characterised by unpredictability, complexity and competitiveness
(Kanter, 1999). As a result of these changes in environment, it is very difficult to perform
effective business management. It is of paramount importance for organisations to be able to
successfully adapt to constantly altering and complex business environment. In this context, the
1
, effectiveness of the traditional approaches to changes, which include planning and structured
changes, has become quite questionable as it fails to deliver the expected positive outcomes
(Livne-Tarandach and Bartunek, 2009).
As Burns (1996) summarises, organisations perceived themselves as less stable than before
because of the rapidly changing external environment. The problem is particularly severe in
relation to the global multinational organisations which face serious challenges when operating in
numerous different countries at once. Chia (1999) suggests that many organisations have altered
their attitude to change by viewing it as something that needs to be continuously implemented.
Yet, evidence suggests that many businesses tend to resist continuous change as the latter is likely
to deliver a higher degree of uncertainty and insecurity. Resisting change, however, is one of the
most common reasons for business failure in a highly turbulent and fast changing global business
environment.
2 Change management
2.1 Approaches to change
Evidence suggests the existence of two major approaches to organisational change: planned and
emergent. This section briefly examines the characteristics of these two approaches.
The planned change approach was first introduced by Kurt Lewin and it has attracted significant
research attention over the years. In general, planned change is prepared in advance and
implemented in a way that the organisation maintains complete control over the entire process.
As Schein (1964) clarifies, planned change has three stages: 1) unfreezing existing behaviour, 2)
altering the actual behaviour and 3) refreezing the newly adopted behaviour. As it can be seen,
the planned change approach assumes that the external environment has no impact on
organisations, as if the latter operate in isolation from the external influences.
The second approach to change is the emergent one and it takes into account the impact of the
external environment as a potential driver of organisational evolvement. According to Burnes
(1996), emergent change is a continuous process which promotes organisational adaption and
alternations which are not planned in advance. The emergent change approach is not structural
and there are no universally applicable rules to conduct it. It is an open-ended process which
2
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