DIALECTICAL THEORIES OF CHANGE:Unit of Change, Strategic planning

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Change Management MGMT625

LESSON #10

DIALECTICAL THEORIES OF CHANGE

Dialectical theories of change

Perhaps the oldest learning philosophy as Aristotle and Plato used the dialectical philosophy some

2000 years ago. Hegel and Marx, in modern era used this method to describe movements towards

truth and change. This method is considered very powerful method of approaching objectivity and

truth. To Van de Ven , "Dialectical theory rests on the assumption that the organisational entity

exist in a pluralistic world of colliding events, forces, or contradictory values that compete with

each other for domination and control"

Here three things stand significant:

1. Pluralistic world of colliding forces

2. Values that compete, opposing and are contradictory to each other

3. Domination and control is the purpose

In other words "Every phenomenon contains within it a contradiction. This contradiction itself

becomes a phenomenon over a period of time". Opposing and balancing forces are internal to an

organisational entity

Entity may have several conflicting goals or interests groups competing for priority. In a dialectical

process stability and change are explained by reference to the balance of power between opposing

entities. Struggles and accommodations that maintain the status quo between oppositions produces

stability. Change occurs when these opposing values, forces, or events gain sufficient power to

confront and engage the status quo.

The dialectical process is identified here as Thesis - Antithesis - Synthesis (New Thesis). This is

also known as dialectical cycle. The relative power of an anti-thesis may mobilise an organisational

entity to a sufficient degree to challenge the current thesis and set the stage for producing a

synthesis. The synthesis or new thesis is different from both thesis and anti-thesis. However there is

no assurance that dialectical conflicts produce creative synthesis. At time anti-thesis is powerful

enough to replace the thesis. Or many organisation (thesis) persists by maintaining sufficient power

to suppress and control the opposition (or anti-thesis)

Unit of Change

Dialectical theories operate on multiple entities while OLC and teleological operate within a single

entity. The theory requires at least two entities to fill the role of thesis and anti-thesis. For e.g.

individual and its environment or organisation and its environment engaged in dialectic. Here four

forces operate, two within individual and two with in environment.

Mode of Change

Dialectical theory incorporates constructive mode of change (2nd order). Since by its very nature

there is a struggle and confrontation between thesis and anti-thesis which may be resolved by

diverging or breaking away from the current or existing system, hence the type of change is second

order.

Application

Famous scholar Karl Marx applied on history of economics, came forth with the concept dialectical

materialism, and showed how agrarian society owing to its inherent conflicts transformed to a

capitalistic society and visualised that in future will be synthesised to a socialistic society. For

Hegel dialectics means the process of change, logic and a method. But we are more interested in

Change Management MGMT625

knowing its application in context of organisation or corporation.

First question is, how can this be applied to corporate decision making? One such application is

known as Strategic Assumptions Analysis (SAA), and the technique is utilized for effective

planning and generating strategies before a final strategy is opted. For example e.g. in creative

problem solving organization use plan (affirmative) & counter plan (negative proposition - to play

devil's advocate) to look for solutions and counter solutions quite analogous to thesis anti thesis

synthesis. The purpose is to deliberate the surfacing of assumptions and counter-assumption

especially under complex, dynamic and ambiguous phenomenon and situation.

Second, this can be used as a tool for group decision-making, particularly to know the reaction of

group members. Organization is generally composed of various groups two common types are

ruling group and being ruled (opposition) just like that of a state system where one is government

and other is opposition party. Similarly there are other formal and informal groups and pressure

groups in organization. So it is important for managers to know how do various groups think of a

given policy matter

Strategic planning

Man lives by his imagination and so is the case with organisation. The success or failure depends

upon a particular set of belief or assumptions about the world, and in the fact how our belief or

assumption is closer to the real world. And planning is nothing but systemic allocation of words

and numbers to such assumptions. There are three components of planning:

1) Concerned with future state of the world and hence to predict about it.

2) Preferred future status underlying value system

3) A choice among two or three behaviour pattern (plans) for the firm's activity (means)

Each of these items involves' management basic assumption about the planning problem it faces.

Therefore we see that management and management science focus on well-structured problem but

the concern of strategic planning/management is to deal with ill-structured problem and issues.

Hence the role planning in organization should be the followings:

1) To expose the assumptions underlying a proposed plan

2) To develop relevant assumptions upon which the planning process can proceed

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