Dialectical theories of change

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A DIALECTICAL APPROACH TO ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY AND PLANNING >>

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 knowing its

Change Management MGMT625

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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