Research in Organizational Change and Development

Abraham B. (Rami) Shani, Debra A. Noumair, Abraham B. Rami Shani, Debra A. Noumair

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781789735550
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Organisational Development
• Index: Business

Volume 27 of Research in Organizational Change and Development introduces thought-provoking insights on inclusivity within organizations. These include: the philosophical foundation of organization development and change; positive organizational scholarship as a scientific base for sustainable change; the practice of humility and humble behaviors; a socio-economic approach to organization development enhancing the compatibility between the human system, stakeholders, and stockholders; the importance of collaborative effort across hierarchies and vertical boundaries, despite tensions that undermine middle managers' role as change agent; the use of top-down and bottom-up processes to link attitudes and enhance levels of engagement; how leaders in social enterprise development continuously respond to common paradoxes of engagement; and, finally, enhancing a culture of inclusive, agile and thriving teams in environments of continuous change. The diverse collaborative contributions by leading scholars and scholar-practitioners from across the globe provide an enriching body of knowledge on contemporary challenges in organizational change and development.

POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP AND AGENTS OF CHANGE

Robert E. Quinn and Kim S. Cameron

ABSTRACT

In this chapter, we assume the following: (1) the root cause of most organizational problems is culture and leadership, (2) executives seldom want to deal with these root causes, (3) because life is uncertain, organizational change is an emergent process, (4) most change processes unfold by reconstructing social reality, (5) the change process is inherently relational, (6) effective change efforts are enhanced by increasing the virtue of the actors, (7) change is embedded in the learning that flows from high-quality relationships, and (8) change agents may have to transcend conventional, economic exchange norms in order to demonstrate integrity and to build trust and openness. Drawing on the field of positive organizational scholarship, we focus on the change agent. We review the literature on self-change and offer several paths for becoming a positive leader.

Keywords: Positive leader; self-change; positive organizational scholarship; organizational change; change agents

We were in conversation with a young man who owns his own consulting firm and is having a great deal of success. He described in detail of the expertise and methods of the firm and of the sophisticated processes for problem identification and data generation that they use to attract clients. He said his employees listen to the symptoms articulated by the client organization, and then, they do a sophisticated root cause analysis. As a result of these analyses, an insight often occurs. The real issue, they discover, is almost always embedded in the culture and the leadership of the organization. Culture needs to change, and leadership needs to change. Unfortunately, this is often a message the senior executive clients are reticent to hear. They insist on dealing only with the symptoms of the real problems. When this is the case, our consultant friend and his colleagues terminate the relationship.

We were impressed with his courage. We know of very few consultants who are willing to forego a client relationship when clients are unwilling to tackle the difficult work of changing their approach to leadership and changing their culture. Our experience suggests that most consultants desire to be ethical but are mainly interested in the economics and ease of the intervention with which they are asked to assist. They do what they think is necessary, acceptable, or profitable, and, paradoxically, this prevents them from succeeding in facilitating the necessary change.

Our friend asked us about our intellectual tools for organizational change. One of us replied:

Our expertise legitimates us, but our content is only an excuse to be in the organization and to form a relationship. The objective is not only for clients to see the root-cause of their problems but to also acquire the courage to address the root cause. Courage is one of many virtues necessary to change, and the problem often lies in insufficient moral strength possessed by the executives. In our experience, genuine sustainable change requires a learning journey rooted in virtuousness that most people are afraid to pursue. Our job in helping organizations change is to first elevate ourselves, and then help their leaders simultaneously become more virtuous themselves. They are required to challenge their people to follow their example. We view our job as helping them do what they are reticent to do—that is, to become different people in the process of leading the change process.

Our friend responded with enthusiasm:

Yes, life is an emergent process. We all live in the uncertain now. It is natural to be fearful, and we are socially accepted when we deny our fears and appear to be experts when it is impossible to be an expert. This produces endless posturing in executives. Our expertise and credentials are merely excuses to engage with them, to form a meaningful relationship, and to help them reach a high level of awareness and courage.

OVERVIEW

This conversation surfaced several unconventional assumptions regarding organizational change including the following: (1) the root cause of most organizational problems is culture and leadership; (2) executives seldom have the expertise or the desire to deal with these root causes; (3) because change is uncertain, it is always an emergent process; (4) most change processes unfold by reconstructing social reality; (5) the change process is inherently relational; (6) change is embedded in the learning that flows from high-quality relationships; (7) effective change efforts are enhanced by increasing the virtuousness of the actors; and (8) change agents may have to transcend conventional economic exchange norms in order to demonstrate integrity and to build trust and openness.

Such assumptions may seem far from conventional approaches to planned change. Yet with the emergence of the field of positive organizational scholarship (POS), we now have a more scientific base for the study and practice of genuine, sustainable change. We now have additional insight about what it takes to become more virtuous, more courageous, and more effective in addressing change. We now have empirical evidence that implementing certain positive factors in change initiatives produce levels of performance that far exceed normal change intervention strategies. It this chapter, we review the origins and nature of POS, and we present a framework of positive change for individual change agents. Our intention is to bring an increased awareness of how to produce change that transcends the approaches that have dominated the traditional literature on change.

POSITIVE ORGANIZATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

POS is an umbrella concept used to unify a variety of approaches to organizational studies, each of which incorporates the notion of “the positive.” It is especially applicable to the study of organizational change and development because POS adopts the fundamental assumption that the most desirable change is toward extraordinarily positive, even virtuous change. This contrasts with change designed merely to resolve problems or overcome deficits. A positive approach to change and development lies at the foundation of POS work, and this chapter explains how a positive approach to change provides a unique perspective that supplements other approaches to planned change.

In past publications, several descriptions have been used to define the domain of POS, but the common core refers to “the study of especially positive outcomes, processes, and attributes of organizations and their members,” and a “focus on dynamics that are typically described by words such as excellence, thriving, flourishing, abundance, resilience, or virtuousness” (Cameron, Dutton, and Quinn, 2003, p. 4). That is, POS targets the organization level of analysis – “O” – (as opposed to individual attitudes or emotions), a scholarly, empirically based, and theoretically grounded approach – “S” – (as opposed to mere consulting advice and motivational messages), and an emphasis on the positive – P.

The “P” has been the subject of controversy. A review of dictionary definitions of the term “positive” reveals that the concept has such a wide range of connotations and so many applications that it defies the establishment of precise conceptual boundaries (e.g., Webster’s, Oxford, American Heritage). Literally scores of meanings are offered. However, some convergence on the meaning of “positive” has begun to occur as the term has been employed in scholarly work over the past two decades, and four different themes or areas of focus help specify the domain of POS. Identifying these themes helps provide a conceptual explanation of what “positive” means in the context of POS.

One theme or domain associated with “positive” is the adoption a uniquely positive lens. Adopting a positive lens means that the interpretation of phenomena is altered so that, for example, challenges and obstacles are reinterpreted as opportunities and strength-building experiences rather than as tragedies or problems (Gittell, Cameron, Lim, & Rivas, 2006; Lee, Caza, Edmondson, & Thomke, St., 2003; Sutcliffe & Vogus, 2003). Variables rarely studied or given slight scientific consideration become central, such as positive energy (Owens, Baker, Sumpter, & Cameron, 2016), moral capital (Godfrey, 2003), inspiration (Thrash & Elliot, 2003), compassion (Dutton, Worline, Frost, & Lilius, 2006), elevation (Vianello, Galliani, & Haidt, 2010), and callings (Wrzesniewski, 2003) in organizations. Adopting a POS lens means that adversities and difficulties reside as much in the domain of POS as do celebrations and successes, but a positive lens focuses attention on the life-giving elements or generative processes associated with these phenomena. It is the positive perspective, not the nature of the phenomena, which brings an issue under the domain of POS.

A second theme or domain associated with the concept of “positive” is a focus on extraordinarily positive outcomes or positively deviant performance (Spreitzer & Sonenshein, 2003). This means that outcomes are investigated that dramatically exceed common or expected performance. Investigations of spectacular results, surprising outcomes, and extraordinary achievements have been the focus of several investigations (e.g., Cameron, Dutton, Quinn, Spreitzer, & Kelly, 2017; Gittell et al., 2006; Hess & Cameron, 2006; Tutu, 1999; Worthington, 2001), each treating “positive” as synonymous with exceptional performance. Reaching a level of positive deviance, in other words, extends beyond achieving effectiveness or ordinary success in that it represents “intentional behaviors that depart from the norm of a reference group in honorable ways” (Spreitzer & Sonenshein, 2003, p. 209). For example, the closure and cleanup of the Rocky Flats Nuclear arsenal exceeded federal standards by a factor of 13–60 years ahead of schedule and US$30 billion under budget (Cameron & Lavine, 2006). An examination of how the top-rated delicatessen in America – located in Ann Arbor, Michigan – achieved that distinction (Baker & Gunderson, 2005), the cultural and organizational transformations that occurred in South Africa with the release of Nelson Mandela from prison (Tutu, 1999), and the extraordinary success of a financial services organization that adopted POS as a corporate strategy (Vanette, Cameron, & Powley, 2006) illustrate these studies. Investigating the indicators of and explanatory processes acc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Toward a Social Science Philosophy of Organization Development and Change
• Positive Organizational Scholarship and Agents of Change
• Humility as an Enabler of Organizational Growth and Change
• A Socio-economic Approach to Organizational Development: Case Study of a Socio-economic Intervention in the Belgium Subsidiary of a Large Company Traded on Wall Street
• Key Tensions in Purposive Action by Middle Managers Leading Change
• Facilitating Change through Groups: Formation of Collective Attitudes toward Change
• Leading in Social Entrepreneurship: Developing Organizational Resources in Confrontation with Paradoxes
• Exploring Agile Thriving Teams in Continuous Change Environments
• About the Contributors