ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project would not have come to fruition without the help of several individuals to whom we owe many thanks.

Our deepest thanks to our Lecturer, Mrs Divya V.N, without whose constant guidance, support and time, this project, would have been a distant reality.

We express our thanks to our Director, ( ) for providing us with the right kind of environment in the college, which helped us in the realization of this project.

We would also like to thank our families, friends and other well-wishers, who supported us on all accounts, during the preparation of this project.

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INDEX

Sr no. Topic Pg no.

1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

2 INDEX

3 WHAT IS ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE?

4

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

5 FORCES FOR CHANGE

6 RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

7 MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

8 THE ROLE OF CONFLICT IN TODAY’S ORGANIZATIONS

8 APPROACHES TO MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE

LEWIN’S THREE STEP MODEL

9 APPLICATION OF KURT LEWIN’S MODEL: A Case Study

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STIMULATING INNOVATION

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11 BPO Industry in India

12 Research in BPO Industry

13 Survey Findings:

14 Survey Suggestions

15 Conclusion:

16 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE?

Also known as reorganization, restructuring and turnaround.

Organizational change occurs when business strategies or major sections of an organization are altered. It is defined as a change that has significant effects on the way work is performed in an organization.

Organizational change may be apparent when there is a gap between how the work area is operating and how it should be operating to ensure successful future growth. Organizational change may be a result of the work area identifying goals that they want to achieve.

Organizational Change: Today it’s getting very important that the organization has to come out the books of management and start thinking in a strategic way to survive and sustain for a longer period of time.

i.e., the organization need to move beyond the buzzwords into deciding what actions they need to perform that will help them grow and develop.

There are four levels of organizational change:

Shaping and Anticipating the Future (Level 1)

Defining what Business(es) to be in and their "Core Competencies” (Level 2)

Reengineering Processes (Level 3)

Incrementally Improving Processes (Level 4)

Level 1- shaping and anticipating the future : In this level management generates alternate scenarios of the future, defines opportunities based on these possible futures, assesses its strengths and weaknesses in these scenarios changes its mission, measurement system etc.

Level 2 - Defining what Business(es) to be in and their "Core Competencies : Many attempts at strategic planning start at this level, either assuming the future will be predictable, the vision for the future, etc. After a mission has been defined and a SWOT an organization can then define it’s measures, goals, strategies, etc.

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Level 3 - Reengineering (Structurally Changing) Your Processes : Rather than focus on modest improvements, reengineering focuses on making major structural changes to everyday with the goal of substantially improving productivity, efficiency, quality or customer satisfaction.

Level 4 - Incrementally Changing your Processes : changes are focusing in making many small changes to existing work processes. Oftentimes organizations put in considerable effort into getting every employee focused on making these small changes, often with considerable effect.

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CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Change management is a structured approach to shifting individuals, teams and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organizational process aimed at helping employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment.

Kotter defines change management as the utilization of basic structures and tools to control any organizational change effort.

Goal of change management is to minimize the change impacts on workers and avoid distractions.

Change agents are responsible for managing change activities. They see a future for the organization, which others have not identified, and they are able to motivate, invent and implement this vision. Change agents can be managers or non-managers, current or new employees, or outside consultants.

In this era of globalization, Organizations need to cope up with the dynamic and inevitable changes, which take place very often. Because of these changes the competition among firms is becoming intense and every organization should be flexible enough to implement the changes whenever required for its survival.

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SOME BASIC FORMS OF CHANGE

Planned changeIt is a change resulting from a deliberate decision to alter the organization. Companies that wish to move from a traditional hierarchical structure to one that facilitates self-managed teams must use a proactive, carefully orchestrated approach. Not all changes are planned.

Unplanned changeIt is imposed on the organization and is often unforeseen. Changes in government regulations and changes in the economy, for example, are often unplanned. Responsiveness to unplanned change requires tremendous flexibility and adaptability on the part of the organizations. Managers must be prepared to handle both planned and unplanned forms of change in organizations.

Radical ChangeIt is a process by which firms regain competitive advantage after it has been lost or threatened significantly. The type and extent of change undertaken depends upon the firm’s resources and capabilities; its competitive environment; and its leadership.  Radical change is divergent, meant to fundamentally change the firm’s processes, systems, structures, strategies, and core values.”

Transformational changeTransformational change occurs when organizations incur drastic changes and must essentially transform themselves.  This can occur when an organization faces different technologies, significant changes in supply and demand, unexpected losses etc

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FORCES FOR CHANGE

Given a choice, most organizations prefer stability to change because the more predictable and routine activities are, the higher the level of efficiency that can be obtained. Thus, the status quo is preferred in many cases.

But organizations are not static; they are continuously changing in response to a variety of forces coming from both inside and outside. For leaders, the challenge is to anticipate and direct change processes so that the performance is improved.

EXTERNAL FORCES

The major external forces for change are:-

1. Nature of the workforce: Almost every organization must adjust to a multicultural environment, demographic changes, immigration and outsourcing.

2. Technology is continually changing jobs and organization. Ex: faster, cheaper and more mobile computers and handheld devices.

3. Economic shocks rise and fall of global housing market, financial sector collapse, global recession.

4. Competition is changing. Competitors are as likely to come from across the ocean as from across town. Ex: increased government regulation of commerce.

5. Social trends don’t remain static. Companies must continually adjust product and marketing strategies to be sensitive to changing social trends. The State Bank of India did the same when it started a zero-balance bank account program for villagers

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INTERNAL FORCESPressures for change that originate inside the organization are generally recognizable in the form of signals indicating that something needs to be altered, such are the internal forces.

1. Declining effectiveness is a pressure to change. A company that experiences its third quarterly loss within a fiscal year is undoubtedly motivated to do something about it. Some companies react by instituting layoffs and massive cost – cutting programs, whereas others look at the bigger picture, view the loss as symptomatic of an underlying problem, and seek the cause of the problem.

2. A crisis situation also may stimulate change in an organization. Strikes or walkouts may lead management to change the wage structure. The resignation of a key decision-maker is one crisis that causes the company to rethink the composition of its management team and its role in the organization. A much-publicized crisis that led to change with Exxon was the oil spill accident with Exxon’s Valdez oil tanker. The accident brought about many changes in Exxon’s environmental policies.

Changes in employee expectations also can trigger change in organizations. A company that hires a group of young newcomers may be met with a set of expectations very different from those expressed by older workers. The work force is more educated than ever before. Although this has its advantages, workers with more education demand more of employers. Today’s workforce is also concerned with career and family balance issues, such as dependent care . The many sources of workforce diversity hold potential for a host of differing expectations among employees.

3. Changes in the work climate at an organization can also stimulate change. A workforce that seems lethargic, unmotivated, and dissatisfied is a symptom that must be addressed. This symptom is common in organizations that have experienced layoffs. Workers who have escaped a layoff may grieve for those who have lost their jobs and may find it hard to continue to be productive. They may fear that they will be laid off as well, and many feel insecure in their jobs.

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RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Resistance to change is understood to be a natural phenomenon. But not all change is resisted. In fact, if we look at any organization closely we would probably find that more changes are accepted than resisted. Accepting the fact that people have a natural instinct to adapt to their environment is the first step towards effective management of change. It has the advantage of placing people in a more positive light, but also suggests that resistance to change is unnatural behavior. If managers accept this principle, then they can proceed to analyse the situation to find the (unnatural) cause of resistance. Failure to understand this characteristic of resistance can cause many managers to attempt to run through changes rather than try to understand the sources of the resistance.

Sources of resistance to change may be rational or emotional. Rational resistance occurs when people do not have the proper knowledge or information to evaluate the change. Providing information (in the form of data, facts, or other types of concrete information) reduces the resistance. Emotional resistance involves the psychological problems of fear, anxiety, suspicion, insecurity, and the like. These feelings are evoked because of people’s perception of how the change will affect them.

(a) Causes of ResistanceAll changes are not resisted. Some are wanted by the workers. For instance, if the workers have to stand before a machine throughout the shift, they will like the introduction of a new machine which will allow them to sit while working. Thus, resistance to change is offset by their desire to have better working conditions. Sometimes, people themselves want change and new experience as they are fed up with the old practices and procedures.Resistance to change is caused by individual’s attitudes which are influenced by many economic, psychological and social factors.

Economic Factors

These factors relate to the basic economic needs of the workers like necessities oflife, job security and safety. These factors are:

Workers apprehend technological unemployment. General new technology is expected to reduce the proportion of labor input and, therefore, people resist such change as it will affect their jobs security;

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Workers fear that they will be idle for most of the time due to increased efficiency by new technology;

Workers may fear that they will be demoted if they do not possess the new skills required for the new jobs; and

Workers resist the change of getting higher job standards which may reduce opportunity for bonus or pay incentive.

Psychological Factors

These factors arise when workers perceive that factors relating to their psychological needs will be affected adversely by the proposed changes. These needs are sense of pride, achievement, self-fulfillment, etc. These factors are

Workers may not like criticism implied in a change that the present method is inadequate and unsuitable;

Workers may fear that there will be fewer opportunities for developing their personal skills because new work changes will do away with the need for much manual work. This will lead to reduction of their personal pride;

Workers may apprehend boredom and monotony in the new jobs as a result of specialization brought by the new technology;

They may fear that harder work will be required to learn and adapt to new ideas; Workers may resist a change because they do not want to take trouble in learning

the new things; and Workers may not have the knowledge of entire change or they may be incapable of

the implications of new ideas or methods.

SELF INTERESTEgo often interferes with the ability to adapt to change. Some want to maintain the status quo to better advance their own personal agendas; others have different motivations. In the end, employees acting in their own self-interest, instead of the organization's greater good, will resist change.

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWNChange often brings with it substantial uncertainty. Employees facing a technological change, such as the introduction of a new computer system, may resist the change simply because it introduces ambiguity into what was once a comfortable situation for them. This is especially a problem when there has been a lack of communication about the change.

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FEAR OF LOSSWhen a change is impending, some employees may fear losing their jobs, particularly when an advanced technology like robotics is introduced. Employees also may fear losing their status because of a change. Computer systems experts, for example, may feel threatened when they feel their expertise is eroded by the installation of a more user – friendly networked information system. Another common fear is that changes may diminish the positive qualities the individual enjoys in the job. Computerizing the customer service positions at Southwestern Bell, for example, threatened the autonomy that representatives previously enjoyed.

FEAR OF FAILURESome employees fear changes because they fear their own failure. Introducing computers into the workplace often arouses individuals’ self – doubts about their ability to interact with the computer. Resistance can also stem from a fear that the change itself will not really take place. In one large library that was undergoing a major automation effort, employees had their doubts as to whether the vendor could really deliver the state–of–the–art system that was promised. In this case, the implementation never became a reality – the employees’ fears were well founded

POOR COMMUNICATIONChanges within an organization start with key decision makers. It is up to them to pass along the details to team members and ensure all questions and complaints are handled before changes go into effect. Unfortunately, as news of a change spreads through the hierarchy, details are sometimes skewed and members end up receiving inaccurate, second-hand information. Poor communication can therefore cause resistance to change.

DISRUPTION OF INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPSEmployees may resist change that threatens to limit meaningful interpersonal relationships on the job Librarians facing the automation effort described previously feared that once the computerized system was implemented, they would not be able to interact as they did when they had to go to another floor of the library to get help finding a resource. In the new system, with the touch of a few buttons on the computer, they would get their information without consulting another librarian.

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PERSONALITY CONFLICTSWhen the change agent’s personality engenders negative reactions, employees may resist the change. A change agent who appears insensitive, to employee concerns and feelings may meet considerable resistance, because employees perceive that their needs are not being taken into account.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL POLITICSOrganizational change may also shift the existing balance of power in the organization. Individuals or groups who hold power under the current arrangement may be threatened with losing these political advantages in the advent of change.

CULTURAL ASSUMPTIONS AND VALUESSometimes cultural assumptions and values can be impediments to change, particularly if the assumptions underlying the change are alien to employees. This form of resistance can be very difficult to overcome, because some cultural assumptions are unconscious. Some cultures tend to avoid uncertainty may be met with great resistance.

LACK OF TRUSTTrust plays a big role in running a successful organization. When organization members feel they cannot trust each other or key decision makers, it becomes difficult for them to accept organizational changes. They may ascribe the changes to some negative underlying reason or even assume they will eventually lose their jobs.

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(b) Symptoms of Resistance

How does resistance to change manifest itself? There are several ways. But it does not mean that these symptoms always indicate resistance. Sometimes they may be indicators of other difficulties in the organization.

1. Hostility or aggression is the immediate reaction of an individual to change. The hostility may only be expressed verbally, in the way the individual strikes at the boss, a fellow workers, or even at subordinates, but hostility and aggression can also take physical forms where the striking out is of a more intense character.

2. The individual may develop apathy towards his work. He loses interest in his work. There is more spoilage of materials, excessive idling of time, and decline in performance.

3. Absenteeism and tardiness are often signs of resistance. Perhaps these are forms of apathy or attempts on the part of the individual to escape his work environment. Separation, for example, may be an extreme illustration of this attempt to escape.

4. The development of anxiety and tension is a sure sign that resistance exists. The individual finds himself uncomfortable, shaky, and tensed up on his job.

5. At the group level additional signs of resistance are exhibited. Slow downs and strikes are the usual symptoms of group resistance. Another strategy adopted by a group to resist change is “restriction of output”. Often great care is exercised in timing operations, setting standards, and otherwise working out details of a wage incentive system, and yet at least part of the work group forms into an informal group, under a leader of its own choice. This group decides what a fair days work is and develops methods of keeping the non-conformist in line. The individual who starts to respond to the incentive is held in a check by sanctions which the informal group is able to bring to bear against him.

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MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

The traditional view of resistance to change treated it as something to be overcome, and many organizational attempts to reduce the resistance have only served to intensify it.

The contemporary view of resistance holds that resistance is simply a form of feedback and this feedback can be used very productively to manage the change process.

One key to managing resistance is to plan for it and to be ready with a variety of strategies for using the resistance as feedback and helping employees negotiate the transition.

STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION The details of the change should be provided, but equally important is the rationale

behind the change. Providing accurate and timely information about the change can help prevent

unfounded fears and potentially damaging rumors from developing. Open communication in a culture of trust is a key ingredient for successful change.

It is also beneficial to inform people about the potential consequences of the change.

Educating employees on new work procedures is often helpful. Studies on the introduction of computers in the workplace indicate that providing employees with opportunities for hands – on practice helps alleviate fears about the new technology.

Communication can help dissipate some fear of unknown elements. Management should also see that there is a two way communication between the management and workers so that the so former comes to know about the reactions of the latter directly without delay.

Delaying the announcement of a change and handling information in a secretive fashion can serve to fuel the rumor mill.

The drawback of this approach is that it is expensive to implement and does not always yield the desired results.

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PARTICIPATION AND INVOLVEMENT Employees must be engaged and involved in order for change to work Participation by a large group can move change further along. Participation helps

employees gain understanding about the change. Prior to making a change, all those persons who are going to the affected by the

change, can be brought into the decision making process. Their doubts and objectives should be removed to win their cooperation. Getting

opinions out in the open, so that they are looked at and evaluated is an important trust building task. This involvement of the workers can overcome resistance, obtain personal commitment and increase the quality of the change decisions

FACILITATION AND SUPPORT Change agents can offer facilitation and supportive efforts to overcome resistance. Facilitative support means removing physical barriers in implementing change by

providing appropriate training, tools, machinery etc. Supportive efforts include listening, providing guidance, allowing time off after a

difficult period and providing emotional support. Emotional support is provided by showing personal concern to the employees

during periods of stress and strain. The drawback of this method is that it is time consuming and expensive and its

implementation offers no assurance of success.

LEADERSHIP A capable leader can reinforce a climate of psychological support for change. Greater the prestige and credibility of the person who is acting as a change agent,

the greater will be the influence upon the employees who are involved in the change process.

A strong and effective leader can exert emotional pressure on his subordinates to bring about the desired change.

Most of the times, there is no resistance from the subordinates and if they resist, the leader tries to overcome resistance by leadership process.

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NEGOTIATION AND AGREEMENT Negotiation and Agreement technique is used when costs and benefits must be

balanced for the benefit of all concerned parties. If people or groups are losing something significant in the change and if they have

enough power to resist strongly. Negotiation before implementation can make the change go much more smoothly,

even if at the later stages if some problems arise, the negotiated agreement can be referred to.

EFFORTS AT THE GROUP LEVEL A group is a cluster of persons related in some way by common interests over a

period of time. Although change can be obtained individually; it is more meaningful if it is done

through a group. Therefore, management should consider the group and not the individual as the basic unit of change. Group dynamics offer some basic help in the regard.

The more attractive the group is to the members, the greater is the influence of the group to accept or resist a change.

Groups can exert pressure on those factors of the members which are responsible for the group being attractive to the members. Normally attitudes, values and behavior are more common factors determining the group attractiveness.

The degree of prestige of a group, as interpreted by the members will determine the degree of influence the group has over its members.Group interactions should be encouraged; it should be provided full information by the management. The management should also explain the rationale of change and try to convince that the interests of the group members would not be adversely affected.

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THE ROLE OF CONFLICT IN TODAY’S ORGANIZATIONS

Traditionally, the approach to organisational conflict was very simple and optimistic. It was based on the following assumptions:1. Conflict is by definition avoidable.2. Conflict is caused by troublemakers.3. Legalistic forms of authority such as “going through channels” or “sticking to the book” are emphasized.

Management traditionally relied on formal authority and classical organization restructuring to solve their “conflict problem”. Individual managers often became hypocritical in order to avoid conflicts from above or below. They tried to either ignore conflict or rationalize it away with the position that there is nothing that can be done about it. This development has, at least indirectly, been caused by the overall societal concern with conflict on national, organizational, group, and individual bases. The outcome has been a new set of assumptions about organizational conflict, which are almost the exact opposite of the traditional assumptions.

Some of the new assumptions about conflict are the following:

1. Conflict is inevitable.2. Conflict is determined by structural factors such as the physical shape of a building, the design of a career structure, or the nature of a class system.3. Conflict is integral to the nature of change.4. A minimal level of conflict is optimal.

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APPROACHES TO MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

LEWIN’S THREE STEP MODEL

The concept of "change management" is a familiar one in most businesses today. But, how businesses manage change (and how successful they are at it) varies enormously depending on the nature of the business, the change and the people involved. And a key part of this depends on how far people within it understand the change process.

One of the cornerstone models for understanding organizational change was developed by Kurt Lewin back in the 1940s, and still holds true today. His model is known as Unfreeze – Change – Refreeze, refers to the three-stage process of change he describes.

Kurt Lewin, a physicist as well as social scientist, explained organizational change using the analogy of changing the shape of a block of ice.

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CONCEPTS

Driving forces• Driving forces are forces that push in a direction that causes change to occur.• Driving forces facilitate change because they push the person in the desired direction.• They cause a shift in the equilibrium towards change.

Restraining forces• Restraining forces are forces that counter driving forces. • Restraining forces hinder change because they push the person in the opposition

direction• Restraining forces cause a shift in the equilibrium which opposes change.

Equilibrium• Equilibrium is a state of being where driving forces equal restraining forces and no

change occurs• Equilibrium can be raised or lowered by changes that occur between the driving and

restraining forces.

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UNFREEZING

• Unfreezing is the process which involves finding a method of making it possible for people to let go of an old pattern that was counterproductive in some way.

• Unfreezing is necessary to overcome the strains of individual resistance and group conformity.

• Unfreezing can be achieved by the use of these three methods. • Increase the driving forces that direct behavior away from the existing situation or

status quo. • Decrease the restraining forces that negatively affect the movement from the

existing equilibrium. • Find a combination of the two methods listed above.

MOVEMENT

• This stage involves a process of change in thoughts, feeling, behavior, or all three, that is in some way more liberating or more productive.

• Once team members have opened up their minds, change can start. The change process can be dynamic and, if it is to be effective, it will probably take some time and involve a transition period.

• In order to gain efficiency, people will have to take on new tasks and responsibilities, which entail a learning curve that will at first slow the organization down.

• A change process has to be viewed as an investment, both in terms of time and the allocation of resources: after the new organization and processes have been rolled out.

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REFREEZING• Change will only reach its full effect if it’s made permanent. Once the

organizational changes have been made and the structure has regained its effectiveness, efforts should be made to cement them and make sure the new organization reaches the standard.

• “Re-freezing” gives people the opportunity to thrive in the new organization and take full advantage of the change.

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APPLICATION OF KURT LEWIN’S MODEL: A Case Study

BACKGROUND

The oil company had three divisional offices in the West, located in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The decision was made to consolidate the divisions in to a single regional office to be located in San Francisco.

The reorganization meant transferring over 150 employees, eliminating some duplicate managerial positions, and instituting a new hierarchy of command.

A move of this magnitude was difficult to keep secret. The rumor of its occurrence preceded the announcement by several months. The decision itself was made unilaterally. It came from the executive offices in New York.

The people affected had no said whatsoever in the choice. For those in Seattle or Los Angeles, who may have disliked the decision and its consequences – the problems inherent in transferring to another city

Undergoing the reassignment of responsibilities their only recourse was to quit. Actually only less than 10 percent quit.

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1. UNFREEZING

The status quo can be considered to be an equilibrium state. To move from this equilibrium to overcome the pressures of both individual resistance and group conformity unfreezing is necessary. It can be achieved in one of three ways.

The driving forces, which direct behavior away from the status quo, can be increased.

The restraining forces, which hinder movement from the existing equilibrium, can be decreased.

A third alternative is to combine the first two approaches.

Companies that have been successful in the past are likely to encounter restraining forces because people question the need for change. Similarly, companies with strong cultures excel at incremental change but overcome it by restraining forces against radical change.

2. MOVEMENTThe oil company’s management could expect employee resistance to the consolidation. To deal with that resistance, management could use positive incentive to encourage employees to accept the change, such as these;

Increase in pay can be offered to those who accept the transfer. The company can pay liberal moving expenses. Management might offer low cost mortgage funds to allow employees to buy

new homes in San Francisco. Employees could be counseled individually. Each employee’s concerns and

apprehensions could be heard and specifically clarified. Assuming that most of the fears are unjustified, the counselor could assure the employees that there was nothing to fear and then demonstrate, through tangible evidence, that restraining forces are unwarranted.

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If resistance is extremely high, management mat have to resort to both reducing resistance and increasing the attractiveness of the alternative if the unfreezing is to be successful.

To be effective, change has to happen quickly. Organizations that build up to change do less well than those that get to and through the movement stage quickly.

3. REFREEZINGOnce the consolidation change has been implemented, if it is to be successful, the new situation needs to be refrozen so that it can be sustained over time. Unless this last step is taken, there is a very high chance that the change will be short lived and that employees will attempt to revert to the previous equilibrium state. The objective of refreezing, then, is to stabilize the new situation by balancing the driving and restraining forces.

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How could the oil company’s management refreeze its consolidation change?

By systemically replacing temporary forces with permanent one. For instance, management might impose a permanent upward adjustment of salaries. The formal rules and regulations governing behavior of those affected by the change also be revised to reinforce the new situation Over time, of course, the work group’s own norms will evolve to sustain the new equilibrium. But until that point is reached management will have to rely on more formal mechanisms.

THE ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING: CURVE FORCHANGE

STIMULATING INNOVATION

Change refers to making things different. Innovation is a more specialized kind of change.

There is no guaranteed formula with which an organization can become innovative; certain characteristics surface again and again. They are grouped into structural, cultural, and human resource categories.

Innovation is a new idea applied to initiating or improving a product, process, or service.

All innovations involve change, but not all changes necessarily involve new ideas or lead to significant improvements.

Innovations in organizations can range from small incremental improvements to significant change efforts

SOURCES OF INNOVATION

Structural variables are the most studied potential source of innovation.

First, organic structures positively influence innovation because they facilitate flexibility, adaptation and cross-fertilization.

Second, long tenure in management is associated with innovation. Managerial tenure apparently provides legitimacy and knowledge of how to accomplish tasks and obtain desired outcomes.

Third, innovation is nurtured where there are slack resources.

Finally, inter-unit communication is high in innovative organizations. There is a high use of committee, task forces, cross-functional teams and other mechanisms that facilitate interaction.

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INSPIRING INNOVATION

1. Make it the normMany companies make innovation front page news, and that special attention has a peeradonical effect by serving it up as something anoetic, you isolate it from what’s normal. Companies don’t trumpet their quality assurance processes or their peenaging as special practices because they are pent of the fibre of what they do they are ordinary business. The same has to be true of Innovation.

2. Put aside egoOne of the hardest things about innovation is getting people to accept that the way they work just might not be the best. For being innovative, people must broaden their perspective.

3. Mix people upOne of the surest ways to get a job done more innovatively is, quite simply, to reorganize frequently. When you put people into a new structure, it stimulates them to rethink what they’re doing on a day to day basis.4. Don’t Fear FailureInnovation is about taking risks and learning from failure. You need to encourage innovation when your company’s doing well. The last thing you want to do when you are in the lead is become complacent.

5. Hire OutsidersEmploying people with diverse skills and talents helps us challenge the status quo when developing business strategies. Most banks, for example, look at in- store banking as a service for existing customer.

9. Fight NegativityInnovation is like professional sports: It looks easy, but when you’re on the field, you see how complicated and difficult it is. When companies get discouraged by these challenges and lose conviction, they make mistakes.

10. Merge Patience and PassionIf the tools you’re working with the hammers, you don’t want all problems to be seen as nails.

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11. Make It MeaningfulOne way we try to foster innovation-both the technological innovation that leads to new drugs and the organizational innovation that improves the way we do business is to align our business objectives with our ideals. Doing so reaches people’s intrinsic motivation. “People do a better job when they believe in what they do and in how the company behaves, when they see that their work does more than enriching shareholders.

12. Don’t Innovate, Solve ProblemsInnovation is good only if it’s useful. Some company’s reorganize every six months just to do something different what they really need is better internal communication, not a new reporting structure. So how do you encourage useful innovation? By doing two things. One you have to promote risk taking-be open to experimentation and be philosophical about things that go wrong. And two, you have to give people a reason to be enthusiastic about trying new tools, whether you’re selling the tools or trying to get them used internally. To new drugs and the organizational innovation that improves the way we do business is to align our business objectives with our ideals. Doing so reaches people’s intrinsic motivation.

OBSTACLES TO INNOVATION

1. Very Large organizations foster resistance to changeA large corporations is a formalized structure which maintains and manages the successes of the past. Procedures have been designed to achieve efficiency in “doing what we do best”. Innovation may disrupt the stable state of corporate society and interfere with the corporation’s vigorous and continuing efforts to be efficient. In a large, established organization, innovation thus meets a wall of resistance.

2. Innovation may threaten current successesFrequently, large corporations are reluctant to innovate in areas which would compete with their already existing products, markets, and/or technologies. Honeywell, for instance might not be expected to develop a digital thermostat because it currently commands the dominant position in the mechanical thermostat market. In addition, huge sums have been spent to automate the production of its mechanical thermostat. The company is not likely to risk losing market share and its capital investment for the sake of innovation.

3. The corporate Hierarchy breeds conservative subordinatesThe relationship of boss and subordinate may lead to conservatism. Subordinates who take risks are exposed to the possibility of bad outcomes. Since bosses tend to spend more time worrying about problems than thinking about successes, bad outcomes are more likely to

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be noticed and remembered than good outcomes. The subordinate who takes risks thus may turn up as the one who seems to cause the most problems. When the subordinate and the boss are not in daily contact, it is difficult of the boss to evaluate the appropriateness of the subordinate’s risk taking. At higher levels, where subordinates and bosses have even less frequent contact, negative consequences of risk taking by subordinates may be more pronounced. To the extent that this observation of corporate life pertains, truly innovative people are not as likely to be promoted and rewarded vis-a vis their conservative counterparts. As a result, large corporations tend to be staffed with more conservative people

4. Product/market boundary charters sometimes preclude innovationWhen development work goes on within a corporate divisional structure, division business charters sometimes cut off potentially successful innovations because they do not match the current narrow objectives of that division.

5. In a large organization, the separation of power constitutes a “weakest link” constraint on innovationInnovation requires both development and marketing of the product. These functions are usually separated in large organizations because specialization is believed to enhance efficiency. As a result, coordination is more difficult, and inflexibility is likely. The separation of development and marketing may lead to a “propose and dispose syndrome”, where each function is free to propose something which must be disposed of, or acted upon, by the other function. Since enthusiasm and vision are critical to innovation, it is difficult for one function to sell its idea to the other. The result is conservative moves that satisfy the minimal vision of both functions.

8. The rotation system of training managers at large corporations develop a short-run perspective in managersLarge enterprises train their managers by rotating them through the organization. Assignments for fast-track, bright managers are seldom made for more than two years.Thus, these individuals do not see innovations are being within their horizons on any particular assignment.

11. For large organization, growth opportunities exist through acquisitionSometimes large organizations think in terms of achieving acquisition. Such a strategy is essentially evidence of the greater difficulty of being innovative within the existing corporate structure. But the decision to emphasize a strategy of absorbing already successful innovations may discourage new developments at home.

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CREATING A LEARNING ORGANIZATION

What’s a learning organization?

A learning organization is an organization that has developed the continuous capacity to adapt and change. All organizations learn—whether they consciously choose to or not; it is a fundamental requirement for their sustained existence.

Most organizations engage in single-loop learning. When errors are detected, the correction process relies on past routines and present policies.

Learning organizations use double-loop learning:

When an error is detected, it’s corrected in ways that involve the modification of the organization’s objectives, policies, and standard routines.

Like second-order change, double-loop learning challenges deep-rooted assumptions and norms within an organization.

It provides opportunities for radically different solutions to problems and dramatic jumps in improvement.

Learning organizations are also characterized by a specific culture that values risk taking, openness, and growth—it seeks “boundary lessens”.

Managing learning:

What can managers do to make their firms learning organizations?

Establish a strategy. Redesign the organization’s structure. Reshape the organization’s culture.

Management sets the tone for the organization’s culture both by what it says (strategy) and what it does (behavior)

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Employees conflict towards Organizational Change:

The changes occur in the organizations are time to time and these changes are necessary to be done. Without which an organization won’t sustain for a longer period of time on long run. Therefore, the changes done in the organization is greatly effects to the employees and many times these changes affect the employees to a large extent.

The employees resist to these changes but some how they need to be cope up with the changes in order to work in the organization. The perception of the organization is that the organization should consult the employees before carrying out the change.

BPO Industry in India:

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a broad term referring to outsourcing in all fields. A BPO differentiates itself by either putting in new technology or applying existing technology in a new way to improve a process.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the delegation of one or more IT-intensive business processes to an external provider that in turn owns, administers and manages the selected process based on defined and measurable performance criteria. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is one of the fastest growing segments of the Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) industry.

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Types of Services offered by the BPO Industry:

The following are the services offered by the BPO industry:

Customer Support Services Technical Support Services Telemarketing Services Employee IT Help – desk Services Insurance Processing Data Entry Services/Data Processing Services Data Conversion Services Scanning, OCR with Editing & Indexing Services Book Keeping and Accounting Services Form Processing Services Internet/Online/Web Research

Recent Changes witnessed by the BPO industry:

The following are the recent changes occurred in the recent days, are as follows: Down Sizing. Attrition. Incentives Cuts. Salary Cuts. Rosters. Cross Training. Forced Leave.

Data Collection:

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The Data is collected through a quite popular method called as Questionnaires which is being adopted by many private individuals, research workers, private and public organizations. The questionnaire consists of a number of questions printed or typed in a definite order on form or set of forms.

Data Analysis

1. In which age group do you fall?a. 18 – 25 b. 26 – 35 c. 36 – 45 d. 45 and above

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Age Group % Response18 - 25 44 4426 - 35 36 3636 - 45 15 15> 45 5 5Total 100 100

2. What is your sex?a. Male b. Female

4. Do you like changes in your organization?a. Yes b. No

Here the Pie Chart itself shows the number of employees opted for yes are more than No (i.e. 56% & 44%).

As the above Pie Chart clearly shows that more that 50 percent has opted for the yes. That’s true that many people love to see the changes in an organization. But the changes which comes in a positive form.

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Gender % ResponseMale 45 45

Female 55 55

Total 100 100

Support Changes % ResponseYes 56 56No 44 44Total 100 100

For example, the employees going out of the job won’t say yes for this question. And the employees who have been imposed with the lot of work which lead to the overloading of the work

. When these changes take place?a. When company doesn’t have money to mobilize there funds.b. Due to Recession.c. To adapt a new technology.d. All of the above.e. If others, specify______________________.

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Reasons for Changes % ResponseNo Money to utilize 18 18Due to recession 20 20To Adabt 15 15All of the above 35 35Others 12 12Total 100 100

Here the Line Graph shows that the employees have opted for all the above options (i.e. 35 percent).

The above Line Graph clearly shows that most of the people have opted for the All the above, which indirectly means the all the options.

From the past one year many changes occurred due to the many reasons in which Recession one of the common reason for all which lead to other small reasons.

Do you think that the changes takes place is more employee oriented or organization oriented?

a. Employee oriented b. Organization Oriented

Here the Pie Chart shows that the employees have changes are mostly oriented to the organization (i.e. 62 percent).

The above Pie Chart clearly shows that more than 50 percent of employees have said that changes occurred in the organization are mainly oriented towards the organization.

The changes which took place in recent days are done with respect to save the organization from getting the organization get collapsed

. When an employee doesn’t except organizational change?

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Change Support % ResponseEmployee 38 38Organization 62 62Total 100 100

a. He is unhappy b. He is unsatisfied c. The changes are going to be down sized. d. Others, _____________

Here the Line Graph shows that employees Downsizing is more often opted by the companies (i.e. 30%).

The above Line Graph clearly shows that more companies are opting for the downsizing.

Because, the downsizing is the easiest method to reduce the operating cost. But the downsizing effects the employees very much, because they have been asked to leave the job, which is the basic need provider to any employee

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Changes Opted % ResponseDown Sizing 30 30Attrition 12 12Incentives Cuts 10 10Salary Cuts 20 20Rosters 8 8Cross Training 15 15Others 5 5Total 100 100

. If the organizational change is not supported by the employees then does the management tried to negotiate with his employees?

a. Yes b. No c. Some times d. Can’t say

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Management Negotiation % ResponseYes 55 55No 30 24Sometimes 10 10Can't Say 5 5Total 100 100

Here the Line Graph shows that employees most of the employees said yes (i.e. 55 percent).

The above Line Graph clearly shows that more than 50 percent of the employees said that the organization come down to the employees to negotiate with the employees, so that employees can except the changes.

Negotiation is one of the key factors for any management, so that they can convince the employees to work with the organization.

Does government should intervene between the employee and employer, so as to maintain good relations with respect to the change?

a. Yes b. No

Here the Pie Chart shows that whether the govt. should come in between to solve the conflict (i.e. 75%)

The above Pie Chart clearly shows that the govt. should intervene in between to avoid the massive conflict like last year we had seen a massive strike by the employees of Jet Airways.

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Govt. intervention % ResponseYes 75 48No 25 32Total 100 100

And if the govt. has certain kind of policies due to which companies can carry out the changes but those changes should be beneficial for both organizations as well as employees.

The better organization is, who ______________________.a. Forces the employee to go with the change.b. Convinces the employee, without telling the reason.c. Tell the reason that why they need a change.

Findings:

The major findings are as follows: More than 40 percent of employees working in BPO belongs to the age group of 18

– 25. More than 50 percent of employees working in BPO are females. Half of the respondents support changes. Recession is the major cause of the changes occurred in the organization. Changes done in order to support the organization and its survival. More than half of the respondents agreed that management is negotiating with the

employees so as to except the changes. Down Sizing of work force is the major change. A large number of employees (75 percent) agreed for Government Intervention.

Suggestions:

After the whole study, following are the suggestions; The changes has to be brought in such a manner that every one can except it. Companies should follow the cross training policies, which will help the companies

to sustain and survive in the future. The government should develop the policy which will be beneficial to both

organization and employees. Down Sizing and Attrition should be stopped by the companies. Organizations should follow the policy of transparency with their employees.

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Organizations should tell the reason for the changes in organization to the employees before implementing it.

Conclusion:

The study on Employees conflict towards Organizational Change is completed successfully. The inferences which I can draw are that the change has to be made from time to time in order to meet the competition in the market.

But that doesn’t mean that the organization should follow any changes without having any policy plan. The organization should a play a role model and win the trust of employee by maintaining the transparency level with the employees.

And even the recession is playing a major key role in recent changes took place in the organization. Recession has created a problem but the removing the employees is not a good decision. The organization should apply some other policy and methods.In this era of globalization, Organizations need to cope up with the dynamic and inevitable changes, which take place very often. Because of these changes the competition among firms is becoming intense and every organization should be flexible enough to implement the changes whenever required for its survival.

Employees tend to resist changes due to several reasons. But organizations are not static; they are continuously changing in response to a variety of forces coming from both inside and outside Pressures for change that originate inside the organization are generally

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recognizable in the form of signals indicating that something needs to be altered, such are the internal forces.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Book Name Author

Organization theory structure ,Design And Application

Stephen P.Robbins

Mary Mathew

Human Resources Management K Ashwathappa

SOURCE: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/driving-forces.html

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