Empirical Evidence for a Yin-Yang Balanced Approach to Organizational Change

Reengineering has taken off in response to the rising demands of customers and changes in technology and expectations of employees. A model that gives a macro view of how reengineering can be made to work is especially important in view of the multitude of problems reported of reengineering endeavors. This chapter discusses the importance of having a shared vision and an environment that facilitates double-loop learning. The proposed Model uses the Chinese philosophical yin-yang balanced concept to illustrate the need to balance the application of technology with the human factor. Commonly cited success factors are classified as yin and yang factors. The Yin-Yang Balanced Model was empirically tested by the first ever Singapore Public Sector Survey on Success Factors for Change, conducted in the first quarter of 1997. Analyses on the findings confirmed that having a shared vision is paramount to reengineering success and an organizational ability to learn as a mediator of the yin-yang contributions toward building this shared vision for organizational change.