Organizational Development: A Manual for Managers and ... - FPDL

uncontrollable and even unpredictable - but controllable and predictable factors also exist and
count.
The scope of predictability and controllability may be different. It may depend on circumstances
and the real authority of the manager. It will also depend on his or her skills. But in any case his or
her arena for action is what is predictable and what is controllable (always keeping in mind the
opposite – what is not controllable and what is not predictable). Some things may be controllable
directly and indirectly – let’s say, one may order a subordinate to stay longer and finish an urgent
job, or he may ensure that a subordinate knows that finishing an urgent job will be awarded – and
the subordinate makes his own decision to stay longer. In the first case, the manager influences by
operational action, using his formal power. In the second case, the manager creates a greater
opportunity for a particular thing to happen – he creates landscape.
A fisherman may create a landscape by putting fodder in a certain place in the lake, thus ensuring
the drift of certain fishes in a certain direction. It will be effective for an hour or a bit longer. Is it a
strategic decision? Yes, of course. Another strategy may be based on changing the tackle - or
changing the time of day for fishing. These would also be strategies because they do not affect
directly what is going on, but rather, address why it is going this way. What is going on takes place
once – it may be controlled by direct impact, then the next time similar impact must be repeated. If
it is controlled by changing the landscape – then it may remain effective for a long time in the
future without additional actions.
The main challenge lies in the fact that the landscape for organizational change does not exist in
reality. It is only a virtual emanation from the mind - which uses a certain mental map and certain
data about the current situation. The poorer the map is (or if very few maps are involved), or the
less data that is available (or if the information is not reliable) – the less probable that the virtual
landscape can be sufficiently accurate. This does not mean that a landscape has nothing in
common with reality. It is a reflection of reality in a mental map (individual or collective). It was
formed by reality. The more stable factors of reality are definitely fixed as stable elements in the
landscape. The known laws of nature will be the same in a map and in nature. A lot of things are
known. A lot of things are predictable. Summer will come after spring. Lowering salaries below the
market price will result in losing the best workers. Old equipment without proper maintenance will
cause waste, and so on.
Strategy is a course of action that influences predictable changes by addressing the landscape
factors that condition these changes. Strategic management is the control and alteration of the
force field in a way that would make desirable changes more likely to happen, and undesirable
events less likely. A force field is alive; it changes every moment. Strategic management must
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