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114263 1 (1981-01-01)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaduzj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Managing Organizational Change: Observations From The Front Lines Joseph P. Gabbert Dr Gabbert is an organizational develop- ment specialist with the Organizational Development Staff He has a Ph D in organizational psychology from the Univer- sity of Massachusetts and a B.A degree in psychology from Purdue University He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honorary society and the American Psychological Association Cheryl A. Stone Dr. Stone is an organizational development specialist with the Organizational Develop- ment Staff She has an Ed.D. in organiza- tional psychology and behavior from the University of Massachusetts, and com- pleted a post-doctoral fellowship for NIMH at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington She has worked as a consultant for many organizations, both public and private Dr. Stone is currently a member of the D C Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association and the Academy of Management The goal of Organizational Development (OD) is to improve GAO's productivity and quality of worklife by helping organiza. tional units throughout GAO identify and resolve issues hindering their effectiveness. In the course of their work with OD, the authors provided assistance to a number of timely organizational issues. The following article is an outgrowth of some of their work. They have seen organizational change as an important topic of discussion throughout GAO. Introduction to the Problem It seems that today in GAO, everybody Is talking about changes in budget, in personnel practices, even in the kind of work we do. Our job on the Organizational Develop- ment Staff provides us with many opportunities to observe how staff throughout GAO respond to such issues. From our experience, change is a particularly sensitive topic in this organization. Opinions on the necessity of change and how to accomplish It vary widely, as do the ways people are able to manage the adjustments that are needed. Change is an Issue largely because we've experienced so much of it in recent years, In all aspects of our lives. In GAO alone, we've seen changes in our mission, the way work is done, our structure and roles, and our personnel practices. Not too surprisingly, employee ex- pectations and managerial philos- ophies have also shifted. The economy has also affected agency growth and employee career development. Outside GAO we've seen changes in family and social structures and in the purchasing power of our hard-earned dollars, even in our way of life. GAO Review/Winter 1981 We seem to be In a period of upheaval, and some people we speak to in GAO are unhappy with the results. For them, the changes have represented hardships and a loss of important and comfortable ways of doing business. On the other hand, we also meet people in GAO who view the changes they have experienced more positively. Adjustments have been more chal- lenging and stimulating for them and have improved the quality of their working life. It seems paradox- ical, but we have seen staff In similar situations respond quite dif- ferently to the identical organiza- tional events. For example, we have had several conversations like the ones following. Perhaps one of them sounds familiar to you. Situation #1 OD Staff: Staff #1: Staff #2: How do you feel about your job, your organiza- tion? (monotone) Every- thing's fine. I get by o.k. Well me, I've got my 171 out all over. This place is driving me crazy. Management. never tells us anything. There's no evaluation; no career development. They say they care about us, but it's all lip- service. All these crazy new systems are a sham. They raise our expectations and then just waste our time. Manager #1: To be honest, It's been frustrating. There have been so many changes in the way we do work that you don't know which rules to follow anymore. Deci- sions seem to come from nowhere, and 27

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