Page 223 - Managing Change in Organizations

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Chapter 12 ■ Diagnosing change
2 Performance appraisals
(a) to ensure more rigorous enforcement of appraisals;
(b) to develop more commercially orientated targets;
(c) to ensure that remuneration is linked to performance.
3 Effective systems and information
(a) to ensure relevance to individuals;
(b) to be user-friendly;
(c) to provide a commercial focus.
4 Effective communication
(a) of strategies;
(b) of responsibilities;
(c) of commercial requirements.

Understanding the ‘human’ dimension of change

Diagnosis for change is partly a matter of analysis and partly a matter of under-
standing the human dimension of the organization. While it is important that any
diagnosis gives full weighting to the commercial and organizational issues, this is
not enough. Attention must also be given to the people involved. Can they work
more effectively? Could they be managed more appropriately? Can we engage their
commitment to change? These questions turn on whether or not we believe that
there is potential for improvement within our people. If the expectations that man-
agers have about their people are relatively low then the response elicited will be
low. Achieving higher levels of performance involves believing in the potential of
the people involved, equipping them appropriately, training them where necessary
and much more besides. Therefore the assumptions that managers make about
people are very important. The wrong assumptions may tend to lower managers’
expectations and thus lower performance. The wrong assumptions may also lead
to the use of management styles not conducive to commitment and change.
The jobs that people actually perform are the fundamental ‘building blocks’ of
any organization. Moreover, they form a key aspect of the experience of working.

The extent to which valued skills are used, the discretion available to the indi-
vidual, the degree of specialization and the extent to which the individual pro-
duces a ‘worthwhile’ product are all important. At the same time, however,
individuals appear to differ in the extent to which they would wish these various
attributes to be present in their job. There appears to be no simple link between
the type of job that an individual does and his or her satisfaction with that job.
Similarly, there is no simple link between job satisfaction and productivity. Other
factors are also important. Nevertheless, many people find the jobs they do repet-
itive and boring, or at least will tell an interviewer that this is the case. In the
1960s and 1970s there was much concern over the design of jobs. Today the
introduction of new technology provides organizations with the opportunity to
review jobs, and perhaps improve them.
Both managers and employees have expectations about each other, and in par-
ticular about what motivates them to work. Schein (1965) has identified four sets

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