Organizational Commitment and Organizational Effectiveness Term Paper

Organizational Commitment and Organizational Effectiveness - Term Paper Example Organizational change is primarily structural in character and it is designed to bring about alterations in organizational structure, methods, and processes. (Nilanjan, S et al,3 2006) Change is endemic to all organizations operating in business markets which involve improvements on current ways of doing things, of fine-tuning operations and implementing incremental changes on standard operating procedures. (Patrick D, and Constantine A, 2009)4 According to Whybrow (2007,p.5)5 it is necessary to act in times of immediate change, no matter how nasty it may seem or how much it impacts on staff or colleagues. In view of the changing nature of business and risks involved in it which is evident through the recession and economic depression occurring time and again challenging the business policies of the top leaders, change is necessary to face new challenges of every facet like accounting, technology, management, etc. There are certain factors that contribute to the change process in an organization like internal forces which include financial constraints, the need to do more with less, cross-functional teams, mergers and acquisitions, and empowered workers, etc. and external forces like new workforce demographics, changing expectations about quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction along with new technologies (APQC, 1999).6 The transformation of the bankrupt organization like Chrysler in 1970s to profitability which was possible due to the effective leadership of Iacocca, who revamped the internal politics and systems, changed the management structure, trimmed tens of thousands of employees, won concessions from UAW and transforming the company loser stigma of government bailout into positive cultural shift. It is pertinent to mention here that organizational change is triggered by an event which indicates the need for change like bankruptcy, in the case of Chrysler. However, it is assumed that change is followed by mixed reactions which provide positive i mpetus for change along with negative resistance from individuals and the organizations like technical systems, political systems and cultural systems (Pagan, 20087 and Rashid, Sambasivan & Rahman, 2003)8 The present paper discusses the role of culture and commitment to organizational change and provides some recommendation to maintain the commitment in the change process. Culture is often defined as that which is shared by and unique to a given organization or group and is an integrating mechanism, the social or normative glue that holds together a potentially diverse group of organizational members. (Warwick Organizational Behavior Staff, 2001, p.322)9 Smircich (cited in Iivari, n.d)10 analyzed different conceptions of organizational culture in relation to anthropological schools which have been conceived either as a variable or as a root metaphor for conceptualizing organization which is further divided into two areas: organizations have been regarded as cultures or having a cult ure. It is further mentioned that culture contributes to the overall balance and effectiveness of an organization.