ERG Theory of Motivation
To bring Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation in synchronization with empirical research, Clayton Alderfer redefined it in his own terms. His rework is called as ERG theory of motivation. He recategorized Maslow’s hierarchy of needs into three simpler and broader classes of needs: Existence needs- These include need for basic material necessities. In short, […]
Why Leaders Must be in Control over the Direction and Pace of Organizational Change
How Leaders Often “Lose the Plot” Midway through the Change When organizations embark on change initiatives, it is necessary for them and the leaders who lead them to be in control over the direction and pace of change. While organizations tend to plan ahead before initiating organizational change initiatives, more often than not, those in […]
The Known-Unknown Classification of Risk
The entire subject of risk management is based on the ability of the manager to identify, value, and then mitigate the correct risks. Classification of risks is a vital step in this process. It is important to realize that there is no standard framework for classifying risks. Different people use different frameworks. One such framework […]
Seven C’s of Effective Communication
There are 7 C’s of effective communication which are applicable to both written as well as oral communication. These are as follows: Completeness – The communication must be complete. It should convey all facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mind set and convey the message […]
Scott and Jaffe Change Model
This model of change is one of the unique models of change as propounded by Cynthia Scott & Dennis Jaffe in their article ‘Survive and Thrive in Times of Change’. The model derives its inspiration from the work of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, in which she highlighted through her research the ways in which people coped with […]
It is often the case that companies are faced with a dilemma about whether the change initiatives must be driven from the top or they should be organic from the bottom up. This is especially the case with organizations that are growing in size where the increase employee base or the skyrocketing sales and revenues mean that the top management’s scope of control is more and hence driving change from the top alone might not just work.
And for those organizations that initiate change from the top, they might find themselves in a situation where the middle and bottom layers of the organizational hierarchy may not be responsive or energized in the way the top managements wants them to be.
So, the existential questions as to whether there ought to a spontaneous involvement from all the levels, or whether the top management must induce the change, are very real and need to be answered for change initiatives to succeed.
The answer as to which option is preferable depends on a number of factors:
For a change initiative to be successful the top management has to communicate and the employees have to respond. Like Bees gathering around honey and being driven by the Queen Bee, organizations have to ensure that while the CEO or the other top managers initiate the change, employees at all levels must take to the change as well.
So, a mix of having the top management initiate the change and letting the employees take over from them works best for larger organizations where micro management by the top management might not work.
Examples of organizations that have embraced change successfully include 3M, Google and Facebook where the visionary leaders at the top ensured that the initial germ of an idea was seeded in the employees and then they let the trees grow by sampling nourishing them from time to time while at the same time preferring organic growth rather than transplanted growth.
The other extreme is marked by failures like HP where the top management was unable to make their employees buy into their change strategies. Of course, this is not to say that organizations need visionary leaders as essential elements of success. Though it helps, companies can make do with success if they have a combination of people enablers who take pride in their organizations and can empower the employees to participate in the change initiatives.
In conclusion, change can be driven solely from the top. However, for continued success, change has to come from within each employee and this can only happen in organizations that have an organizational culture that encourages each employee to contribute to the initiatives.
Change can thrive where there is an institutional catalyst and hence the key takeaway is that the organizational structures have to be built in such a way that no one individual can either make or mar the chances of success.
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