Unit 3: Change Management and Decision-Making

3a: Utilize Lewin's three step model of change in relating types of change to the decision making process.

3a.1. Whenwe think of change in organizations today, it could bring about a variety of responses. Change could result from something as simple as a dress code or something as complex as a new President being elected. The modern manager must be aware of the various forms of change as they come to an organization and then be prepared to deal with them. Kurt Lewin was a respected scholar in the field of change/change management. In subunit 3.1, you were responsible for identifying factors (both internal and external) which could bring about change to an organization.

To make a successful transition in an organization, change should be ushered in with proper communication. Employees and their stakeholders have concerns about how change will impact their lives both at home and at work. One of the strategies that organizational behavior experts promote is that of transparency on the part of leadership. The more that employees understand change, the less fear or resistance. Lewin characterizes this phase as “unfreezing” the organization.

After unfreezing, managers may execute the intended changes. When the changes are final, organizations must ensure that changes become permanent. This involves the change becoming accepted, habitual to the employees, and takes time. This process is called “freezing,” according to Lewin.

See more about Lewin’s three-stage model of change in Principles of Management, v1.1: “Chapter 7, Section 5: Planning and Executing Change Effectively.” You want to keep in mind whether or not managers should be proactive or reactive when it comes to change and be prepared to explain in-depth why.

3b: Assess various methods of communicating change within an organization.

3b.1. Theories of Change Management: The research on change and organizations conducted by Lewin and other scholars has helped managers for decades to successfully bring change into an organization. Just as there is “no one size fits all” application for how to manage an organization successfully, neither does one exist for handling change. The intent of this section is to address the existing research on change conducted by Lewin and other scholars. You as a manager or a future manager may wish to become familiar with these methods to help serve as a basis for your strategy in dealing with change.

3b.2. Identify the leadership strategies that can be used for bringing change into an organization.

A. Review the strategies presented for successful change management and offer at least one positive about the concept and one negative

Leadership Strategies for Change: Pros / Leadership Strategies for Change: Cons

B. Unit 3 identifies six components of change for management to create and implement. Do you recall what they are? Using the chart below, list the components and give an example of how your current or most recent employer utilized those components in their management style.

Leadership Components / Example of how your leadership created or implemented it

You should refer back to Boundless Management: “Chapter 4, Section 6: Managing Change for Organizations” if you struggle filling in this table. See especially the section labeled “Leadership Strategies for Change.”

3b.3. Conner and Stopper provided research on distinct leadership styles. How did Stopper’s view differ from Conner’s and why? Explain how in a sentence or two. Please also identify how first-order change and second-order change differ.

“Six Styles for Leadership Change” in Boundless Management: “Chapter 4, Section 6: Managing Change for Organizations” can provide more direction for your response if you need it.

3b.4. The three major types of organizational change are business process re-engineering, incremental change, and technological change. Do you believe any major types of change are missing here? If so, what are they?

3c: Compare and contrast decision making based on individualized and team processes.

3c.1. Decision making as a function of leaders and managers today often require the use of a small team of experts or influential individuals. The small group often can reach a consensus and conclusion fairly quickly. The larger the group, the more discussion that takes places that requires additional debate and consideration. Managing decisions among large groups can take more time and involve more issues. Having a large group reach a consensus on a decision does not always mean the group is correct. In this section, you will want to focus on the steps leaders and managers can take in guiding the decision making process to lead to a justifiable result.

Any questions you may have in regards to group decision making can be reviewed in War Resisters’ International: “Techniques for consensus decision making in large groups: The spokesperson council method.”

3d: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of rational and “satisficing” approaches to decision-making.

3d.1. In the process of making a decision, people have two general methods at their disposal. A group may come to a decision based on what would create a satisfactory outcome for all the stakeholders – the leader of the group is a “satisficer.” The rational method differs in that the decision made by either the leader or a group comes by way of whatever information is available at hand. There may be some boundaries which have to be accepted or ignored depending upon the situation.

A. For example, if you wanted to purchase a pack of gum, you more than likely would refer back to your personal preference without seeking any additional information for consideration. This is a satisficing decision because the only stakeholder, you, is satisfied with the decision you will make.

B. On the other hand, when you want to purchase a home; you will talk to your partner, realtors, bankers, financial analysts to help establish the “boundaries” impacting the decision you will make.

C. Using the table below: Identify a time when you or someone our know used either decision making methods and identify both a good and a bad result of the decision made.

Decision Making Method / Good Decision / Bad Decision
Normative/Satisficing
Rational

3d.2. Business decision-makers and scholars do not always support the use of the rational method. Formulate your position about the rational method and defend it in a sentence or two. To learn more about what the critiques of rational decision making are and how these arguments are commonly defended, please see Boundless Management: “Chapter 10, Section 2: Rational and Nonrational Decision Making: Problems with the Rational Decision-Making Model.”

3d.3. Read Boundless Management: “Chapter 10, Section 2: Rational and Nonrational Decision Making: Non-Rational Decision Making” for alternative methods to the rational and satisficing methods of making decisions. Pay particular attention to what this reading says about the role of emotion in making decisions.

3e: Analyze the impact of biases such as anchoring, groupthink, and selective perception on the decision making process.

3e.1. Define anchoring, groupthink, and selective perception in your notes. If you have seen these biases in action in a business or work setting before, describe these experiences in a few sentences each.

3e.2. It is usually impossible to remove all forms of bias as one is making a decision. It is important to acknowledge these biases and be vigilant for the ways they manifest in your work.

See Donelson R. Forsyth's “The Psychology of Groups” for more information. The content covers how decision making and bias are interactive when participating in a large group.