Experiential Exercise: Self Competency43
Assessing an Organization's Readiness for Change
Instructions
This questionnaire is designed to help you understand the level of support or opposition to change within an organization. Please respond to each of the following 16 items according to how true it is in terms of an organization with which you are familiar. Circle the appropriate number on the scale that follows the question.
3 = Yes
2 = Somewhat
1 = No
1. Is the change effort being sponsored by top management? 3 2 1
2. Are all levels of management committed to the change? 3 2 1
3. Does the organization's culture encourage change? 3 2 1
4. Does the organization reward continuous improvement? 3 2 1
5. Has top management clearly stated the reason for change? 3 2 1
6. Has top management presented a clear vision of the future? 3 2 1
7. Does the organization use objective indicators to measure its performance? 3 2 1
8. Does the change effort support other major ongoing activities in the organization? 3 2 1
9. Has the organization benchmarked itself against world class organizations? 3 2 1
10. Do all employees understand the customers' needs? 3 2 1
11. Does the organization reward employees for being innovative and looking for causes of problems? 3 2 1
12. Is the organization's design adaptable? 3 2 1
13. Do senior leaders communicate effectively to all employees? 3 2 1
14. Has the organization recently implemented a successful change? 3 2 1
15. Do employees assume responsibility for their own behavior? 3 2 1
16. Do senior leaders make decisions quickly? 3 2 1
Norms:
40-48 = High readiness for change
24-39 = Moderate readiness for change
16-23 = Low readiness for change
Questions
1. What type of change program (economic or organizational development) might work best in your organization?
2. Depending on your score, what are some individual and organizational resistances to change that you might encounter when making changes in your organization? How do you plan to overcome these?
3. What ethical problems might you face when implementing changes in your organization?