INNOVATION AND CHANGE

Innovation and Change

Innovation and Change

There have been different thought methods on what form of organizational culture is required in order to be receptive to innovation and respond appropriately to change. One view is that the organization needs a level of flexibility and a degree of slack. On this end of the spectrum, the organization needs to be able to build a degree of slack and a tolerance for some degree of inefficiency. However, there are those who believe there is no room for inefficiency in a successful organization. On this end of the spectrum, the argument is that an organization needs to have a stringent system of order to ensure operational efficiency. In reality, both flexibility and order are needed for a company to thrive in innovation and change.

How might an organization establish balance between the need for flexibility with the need for stringent order in order to create a culture which is receptive to innovation?

Balance between the need for flexibility with the need for stringent order to create an innovation receptive culture can be establishes by creating organizational readiness. By making organizational readiness a collective mental state, in which the members of the organization feels committed to the implementation of change and must have confidence in their abilities to implement the change, organizations can create the proper balance. A primary reason for the success of organizational readiness is this rationale of thinking is well-matched for evaluating those changes of organization where combined changes in behaviour are required so as to implement the change without making any errors and, in various instances for the change to bring about the expected benefits.

While keeping Lewin's theory of change management in mind, experts have suggested a variety of strategies to generate readiness among the organizational members by motivating them towards change ...