Time as a Trigger for Organizational Change (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Time as a Trigger for Organizational Change

In this paper, we integrate findings from four field studies of change processes in technology-intensive organizations. Our findings suggest that temporal shifts - i.e., events that alter normal rhythms or that insert a complete break in the action - can be powerful triggers for organizational change. By contrast, problems (even when they were well-recognized) noticeably failed to generate active adaptation. In each of the cases studied, change efforts did not begin unless and until some event occurred that altered the rhythm of daily activities. We find that such breaks in the action forced people or groups to change their pace of work and the temporal focus of their work, and that only once this occurred could people devote attention to outstanding problems. Specifically, temporal shifts altered time in four important ways to enable change. (1) Time as a trigger: temporal shifts woke people up from their routines and refocused attention on possibilities for change; (2) Time as a resource: temporal shifts provided actual or perceived "time-outs" from regular, productive activities to undertake reflection and change; (3) Time as a coordinating mechanism: temporal shifts enabled all members of a group or organization to focus collectively on a change agenda; and (4) Time as symbol: temporal shifts stood as a powerful symbol of management's commitment to the need for change.

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