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Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum,
Read Week 6 Lecture Notes. (copied & pasted down below)
Weekly Learning Objectives Covered
In this discussion forum, you will:
Demonstrate a clear understanding of the organizational change process.
Discuss a productive failure and the significant lessons that emerged.
Sometimes things go wrong, and that is not always a bad thing. You can learn from failure. If the organizational members learned from the failure, the failure was productive However, if no learning occurred, the failure was not productive.
In your post,
Define and discuss the concept of productive failure.
Discuss a time in your organization’s history (or in an organization you are familiar with) when a change process failed.
Explain the situation and what you learned in the process.
Why do some organizations fail but become stronger while others fail to recover?
Your main post must be a minimum of 300 words.
Week 6 Lecture Notes
Exploring the concepts of change gave us some knowledge of the dynamics involved in designing, communicating, implementing, and committing to change within the organizational structure. The final task in the change process is to understand the principles behind sustaining change and learning from the failures associated with change initiatives. It is useful to remember that sometimes a change process may not be quite as successful as expected and this possibility comes with the overall package. The actions taken post-failure or conflict will help determine the sustainability of the intended change movement.
Leadership must be aware of and alert to the behavioral variables associated with change so that they are not manipulated by the cultural dynamics of the organization. Resistance to change and the desire to keep things as they were is a behavior typically displayed during the change process. Being open to strategic dialogue to address the fears will assist in moving in the right path of the needed change initiative.
When a change process is unsuccessful in meeting the requirements specified, or totally fails, there is often a tendency to make hasty changes or abandon the initiative for another plan of action that only worsens the failure—into something even more catastrophic. Promptly tackling a change process that fell short allows the leader and the participants the opportunity to debrief and discover what went right, what went wrong, and the correct path for future implementation.
Heath and Heath (2008) explore the concepts of why some ideas stick and others never seem to get off the ground. Is it, perhaps, the story that goes along with the idea that causes the initiative to stick? Telling a good story goes a long way and the leader who has not mastered the art of persuasive conversation may experience greater difficulty in moving the concept along. We are never too important to become part of the story or process. The ground-floor leader has a better chance of finding success and finding willing participants.
With open communication on the impact of the change on all shareholders, the leader will be able to define the parameters that will assure the sustainability of the change operative. There are numerous reasons for change to occur within the organization. On understanding the reasons for the change, the participants are more likely to cooperate and support the necessary actions required to make the change stick.
Changing the culture is not something that will happen overnight. The culture of the organization must be given the time and support necessary to allow the new behaviors to become part of the dynamics of the group. Individuals will support the concepts and follow that leader who is willing to make them part of the overall process. Understanding the “why” behind the change process is the catalyst for making the change possible and ultimately sustainable.
Forbes School of Business Faculty
Reference:
Heath, C. & Heath, D. (2008). Made to Stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House.