Working the issue:
A six-tier game of
organizational change
MPA 8002
Organization Theory
Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.
McWhinney et al. (1997) maintain
that...

Successful management/leadership
involves dealing with the values
embedded in practice episodes...
…and requires envisioning a pathway
through a minefield of competing and
conflicting values.
This pathway necessitates self-change as
managers and leaders confront the
antecedents to their intentions and actions.
Envision a six-tier
game of chess...

where...
…each board represents
a different game being
played
…any move by an
individual on a
superordinate board
impacts any further
moves on subordinate
boards

“high leverage” (Senge, 1990) moves
occur on superordinate boards...
…meaning that change involves engaging
in a new game on a superordinate board
…a game that redefines goals, how to play
the game, and the activities that are part
of the new game
…as these will be played out on subordinate
board(s)

the foundational game...
action

where problems arise
 structural problems
 human resources problems
 political problems

symbolic/cultural problems
(Bolman & Deal, 2008)
Board #1: The game of action
The goals of
the game
To be the most competent player within
the framework of the established rules
Playing the
game
To make expert moves that earn the
most points
Winning the
game
To exercise control of the rules through
skill, expertise, or a combination of both
The mode of
change
Analytic: designing or testing reality

overshadowing this foundation at a
superordinate level...
power

how problems are dealt with
 coercive
 remunerative
 normative (Simon, 1945)
Board #2: The game of power
The goals of
the game
To create advantage for exercise on
Board #1
Playing the
game
To take charge of rule making by
setting policy and maintaining order
Winning the
game
To create new rules by shifting the
players’ logics through the exercise of
power, persuasion, or influence
The mode of
change
Assertive: establishing or inspiring
The action-power interaction...
power
action
This dynamic depicts
how hierarchical
superordinates deal with
most organizational
problems and conflict on
the part of subordinates.

exerting influence upon the exercise
of power and action at a superordinate
level...
values

how problems are defined
 antecedents
 theories of practice

organizational culture
Board #3: The game of values
The goals of
the game
To set the values defining play on
Boards #1 & #2
Playing the
game
To work on the ethical and human
relations issues involved in problems
Winning the
game
To create a value base that will become
implicit in organizational policy
The mode of
change
Influential: persuading or converting
Values exert authority...
values
power
action
This interaction expands
the exercise of power
beyond a person or office
by referencing
authoritative guidelines.
It provides insight into the
normative dimensions of
politics in organizations.

implicit in and exerting influence upon
value-based authority is an...
environment

externally-driven defining perspectives
 competition for scarce resources
 number of competitors

turbulence caused by change
(Emery & Trist, 1965; Lawrence &
Lorsch, 1967; Pfeffer & Salancik,
1978)
Board #4: The game of the environment
The goals of
the game
To clarify the change forces that players
on Boards #1 - #3 must contend with
Playing the
game
To motivate personnel to change values
and behavior in light of new factors
Winning the
game
To communicate, bargain, and allocate
scarce organizational resources
The mode of
change
Evaluative: valuing and allocating
The environment frames the agenda...
environment
values
power
action
The environment dictates
what the organization must
contend with, that is, if the
organization is to cope
effectively with and survive
the turbulence caused by
change forces erupting in
the environment.

operative behind the environment is a...
worldview

milieu defining perspectives
 educational background
 social background
 religious background
 economic background
 historical background
Board #5: The game of the worldview
The goals of
the game
To explore opportunities and heretofore
unthought of possibilities
Playing the
game
To create innovative designs and novel
approaches that unleash new potentials
Winning the
game
To “play effectively” with “playing
around”
The mode of
change
Inventive: inducing and realizing
worldview
environment
values
power
action

milieu defining perspectives

externally-driven defining
perspectives
guidelines for action

how problems are dealt with

where problems arise


framing how people interpret reality...
truth

a substantive vision

provides meaning and
purpose

rooted in culture and
perdures beyond individuals
abstract, needing to be
made concrete in human
experience

Board #6: The game of truth
The goals of
the game
To enhance the depth of meaning
experienced within the human spirit
Playing the
game
To create opportunities for others to
expand beyond their reality
Winning the
game
To create an organizational culture
that is comfortable with the “play“ of
alternative ideas and insights
The mode of
change
Emergent: facilitating and evoking
truth
worldview
environment
values
power
action

ideas about the good

milieu defining perspectives

externally-driven defining
perspectives

principles for action

how problems are dealt with

where problems arise
What is implicit in an individual’s
“point of view”...
truth
worldview
environment
values
power
action
This dynamic exemplifies the
intransigent position people
in organizations oftentimes
adopt. It also highlights the
nature of substantive
organizational change,
namely, the courage to
engage in self-change
through reflective practice.
Organizational
change involves...
truth
worldview

self-change...
…confronting one’s
antecedents
…considering alternative
views of reality
…pushing beyond one’s
comfortable status quo
environment
values
power
…engaging others in
self-change
action
truth
worldview

in order that...
environment
values
power
action
The challenge for managers and
leaders…

to probe one’s experience to discern
what’s transpiring within oneself as
well as within the organization
…in order to be able to lead others to
engage themselves in the self-change
that is the precursor to organizational
change
Some implications: “games playing”
for managers and leaders…
play on a lower game board is
restricted to play on the higher boards
 conflicts on lower game boards can be
dissolved by plays on higher boards

play on one game board gives little
guidance about how to play on other
game boards
 some people sense that, for them, play
on some boards is taboo

few people enjoy playing on more than
one game board at a time
 switching game boards without
announcing the change to other
players produces conflict

This module has focused on...
Envisioning organization change as “Working
the issue” provides managers/leaders a
conceptual understanding about where
organization change can originate in a way that
solves organizational issues, builds leadership
density throughout the organization, and allows
followers to “work the problems” they
encounter in organizational functioning...
References

Bolman, L., & Deal, T. (2008). Reframing organizations:
Artistry, choice, and leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
 Emery, F. E., & Trist, E. L. (1965). The causal texture
of organizational environments. Human Relations, 18,
21-32.
 Gallie, W. B. (1968). Philosophy and the historical
 Lawrence, P. R., & Lorsch, J. W. (1967). Organization
and environment. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate
School of Business Administration.

McWhinney, W., Webber, J. B., Smith, D. M. , &
Novokowsky, B. J. (1997). Creating paths of change:
Managing issues and resolving problems in organizations
(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
 Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. R. (1978). The external control
of organizations: A resource dependence perspective.
New York: Harper & Row.

Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and
practice of the learning organization. New York:
Doubleday.
 Simon, H. A. (1945/1997). Administrative behavior:
A study of decision-making processes in administrative
organizations. New York: The Free Press.