Communication during
Organizational
Development and Change
Presented by Al Huf
Argosy University, DBA Student
1
Introduction
 Alfred
Huf
 Background
 Argosy University

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
Program
 Lockheed

Martin
JSF – MS2 Process Standardization
2
Academic vs. Industry Literature
 Writing


Style
Academic – tends to focus on building a proof
Industry – tends to focus on best practices
 Evidence


Academic – builds a case by providing proof
via statistical analysis on research data
Industry – may or may not have data to
substantiate findings
 Utilize
both, just be aware of the difference
3
Definitions
 Communications

Schiffer, 1999
 Organization

Reinsch, 1991
 Organizational

Communication
Schiffer, 1999
4
Critical success factors to
organizational change
 Visible
management support and
commitment
 Proper preparation for a successful
change
 User/client participation
 A strong business-related need for change
 A reward system that supports necessary
changes
 A high degree of communication
Pittman, 1994
5
As the Change progresses so
does the communication
 Kurt
Lewinian Change Cycle Model
•30,000 Ft
Message
•Town Halls
•Keeping
Communication
lines open
•Small amounts of
good information
are better than no
information
Un-Freezing
•Involve
stakeholder in the
change process
•Town Halls
•Surveys
•5,000 Ft Message
•Keeping
Communication
lines open
•Town Halls
•Live the change at
all levels
•Keeping
Communication
lines open
•Assess how the
changes are
working
•Surveys
Changing or
Moving
Re-Freezing
Klein, 1996 & Goodman, Truss, 2004
6
Case of No Communication
 Corporation
“A”
 Two locations

Merging common tasks
 The
change effort was masked in secrecy
 By time the Change and Move phase were
reached much of the damage was done
 This was a clear case of:

Communication is something you do to
someone
DiFonzo and Bordia, 1998
7
Case of Communication
 NCR
Corp.
 CEO change

Mark Hurd to Bill Nuti
 There
were clearly different
communication phases in this case
 The employees didn’t know everything, but
they knew what their leaders new and
provided feedback along the way
 Clear case of listening to the stakeholders
Bird, 2005/2006
8
Summary
 Organizational
Development and Change
efforts can be stressful to everyone
involved
 Be strategic in your communication efforts
during these efforts
 Small amounts of good information early
are better than the whole picture after the
fact
9
Questions?
10
Further Reading

www.hdunlimited.net - This paper
 DiFonzo, N., & Bordia, P. (1998). A tale of two
corporations: managing uncertainty during
organizational change. Human Resources
Management, 37, 295-303.
 Goodman, J., & Truss, C. (2004). The medium
and the message: communicating effectively
during a major change initiative. Journal of
Change Management, 4(3), 217-228.
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References







Bird, S. (2005/2006). Communicating through changes in leadership at NCR.
Strategic Communication Management, 10(1), 30-33. Retrieved June 12, 2006, from
the EBSCO Host database.
DiFonzo, N., & Bordia, P. (1998). A tale of two corporations: managing uncertainty
during organizational change. Human Resources Management, 37, 295-303.
Retrieved May 10, 2006, from the LIRN, ProQuest database.
Goodman, J., & Truss, C. (2004). The medium and the message: communicating
effectively during a major change initiative. Journal of Change Management, 4(3),
217-228. Retrieved April 30, 2006, from the EBSCO Host database.
Klein, S. M. (1996). A management communication strategy for change. Journal of
Organizational Change Management, 9(2), 32-46. Retrieved May 1, 2006, from the
EBSCO Host database.
Pitman, B. (1994). Critical success factors to organizational change. Journal of
Systems Management, 45(9), 40(1-2). Retrieved June 12, 2006, from the EBSCO
Host database.
Reinsch, L. (1991). Editorial: What is business communication? Journal of Business
Communication, 28(4), 305-310. Retrieved June 28, 2006, from the EBSCO Host
database.
Schiffer, M. B. (1999). The Material Life of Human Beings Artifacts, behavior, and
communication. New York: Routledge. Retrieved April 30, 2006, from the James J.
Hill Netlibrary, eBook Collection.
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