QUESTION 3 (25 marks)
Read the following case and answer questions that follow.
Spooked by Computers
The New England Arts Project had its headquarters above an Italian restaurant in Portsmouth,
New Hampshire. The project had five full-time employees, and during busy times of the year,
particularly the month before Christmas, it hired as many as six part-time workers to type,
address envelopes, and send out mailings. Although each of the five full-timers had a title and a
formal job description, an observer would have had trouble telling their positions apart. Suzanne
Clammer, for instance, was the executive director, the head of the office, but she could be found
typing or licking envelopes just as often as Martin Welk, who had been working for less than a
year as office coordinator, the lowest position in the project’s hierarchy.
Despite a constant sense of being a month behind, the office ran relatively smoothly. No outsider
would have had a prayer of finding a mailing list or a budget in the office, but project employees
knew where almost everything was, and after a quiet fall they did not mind having their small
space packed with workers in November. But a number of the federal funding agencies on which
the project relied began to grumble about the cost of the part-time workers, the amount of time
the project spent handling routine paperwork, and the chaotic condition of its financial records.
The pressure to make a radical change was on. Finally Martin Welk said it: "Maybe we should
get a computer."
To Welk, fresh out of college, where he had written his papers on a word processor, computers
were just another tool to make a job easier. But his belief was not shared by the others in the
office, the youngest of whom had fifteen years more seniority than he. A computer would eat the
project’s mailing list, they said, destroying any chance of raising funds for the year. It would
send the wrong things to the wrong people, insulting them and convincing them that the project
had become another faceless organization that did not care. They swapped horror stories about
computers that had charged them thousands of dollars for purchases they had never made or had
Degree Sessional Structured Timed Assessment
July - December BOB611 Organisational Behaviour
©BOU 2023 Page 10 of 10
assigned the same airplane seat to five people. "We’ll lose all control," Suzanne Clammer
complained. She saw some kind of office automation as inevitable, yet she kept thinking she
would probably quit before it came about. She liked hand-addressing mailings to arts patrons
whom she had met, and she felt sure that the recipients contributed more because they
recognized her neat blue printing. She remembered the agonies of typing class in high school and
believed she was too old to take on something new and bound to be much more confusing. Two
other employees, with whom she had worked for a decade, called her after work to ask if the
prospect of a computer in the office meant they should be looking for other jobs. "I have enough
trouble with English grammar," one of them wailed. "I’ll never be able to learn computer
language."
One morning Clammer called Martin Welk into her office, shut the door, and asked him if he
could recommend any computer consultants. She had read an article that explained how a
company could waste thousands of dollars by adopting integrated office automation in the wrong
way, and she figured the project would have to hire somebody for at least six months to get the
new machines working and to teach the staff how to use them. Welk was pleased because
Clammer evidently had accepted the idea of a computer in the office. But he also realized that as
the resident authority on computers, he had a lot of work to do before they went shopping for
machines.
Questions
a. Define organisational development, highlighting at least three key features of the
definition. (5 marks)
b. Explain the reasons for resistance to change that the employees of the project
displayed.
a. Organizational development is a planned and systematic approach to improving the effectiveness and performance of an organization. It involves implementing and managing changes to the organization's structures, systems, and processes in order to enhance its ability to adapt and achieve desired outcomes. Three key features of organizational development are:
1. Planned and systematic approach: Organizational development involves a deliberate and structured approach to change. It is not a haphazard or ad hoc process, but rather a methodical and purposeful one. It requires careful analysis, planning, and implementation of change initiatives.
2. Focus on improving effectiveness and performance: The primary goal of organizational development is to enhance the organization's ability to achieve its objectives and improve its overall performance. It aims to identify and address barriers to effectiveness, such as outdated processes, inefficient systems, or inadequate skills and competencies.
3. Change in structures, systems, and processes: Organizational development involves making changes to various aspects of the organization, including its structures, systems, and processes. This may involve restructuring the organization, implementing new technologies, redesigning workflows, or revising policies and procedures. The focus is on improving the organization's ability to adapt to changing environments and meet its goals.
b. The employees of the project displayed resistance to change for several reasons:
1. Fear of job loss or insecurity: The employees were concerned that the introduction of computers could lead to job redundancies or make their roles obsolete. They were worried about the impact of automation on their employment and future prospects.
2. Lack of familiarity or knowledge about computers: Some employees expressed anxiety about their ability to learn and use computers. They may have felt overwhelmed by the prospect of acquiring new skills and adapting to new technology. The employees may have doubted their own competence in using computers effectively.
3. Attachment to current ways of working: The employees had developed a familiar and comfortable routine of manually typing and addressing mailings. They believed that their personal touch and handwriting contributed to the success of fundraising efforts. They were resistant to change because they valued the personal connection they felt with arts patrons.
Overall, the resistance to change displayed by the employees stemmed from concerns about job security, fear of the unknown, and attachment to familiar ways of working. They feared that integrating computers into their work processes would negatively impact their relationships with donors and disrupt the office dynamics.