Fundamentals of Management, 8th ed

organization

change

Any substantive

modification to some

part of the

organization

194

Part 3: Organizing

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or changing product lines. Regulators can have dramatic effects on an organization. For

example, if OSHA rules that a particular production process is dangerous to workers, it

can force a firm to close a plant until it meets higher safety standards. Unions can force

change when they have the clout to negotiate for higher wages or if they go on strike.

Internal Forces

A variety of forces inside the organization may cause change. If top

management revises the organization’s strategy, organization change is likely to result.

A decision by an electronics company to enter the home computer market or a decision

to increase a ten-year product sales goal by 3 percent would occasion many organization

changes. Other internal forces for change may be reflections of external forces. As socio-

cultural values shift, for example, workers’ attitudes toward their job may also shift—and

workers may demand a change in working hours or working conditions. In such a case,

even though the force is rooted in the external environment, the organization must

respond directly to the internal pressure it generates.

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