Technology and Its Role in Creating a Corporate Culture - Essay Example

?Technology and Its Role in Creating a Corporate Culture Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 0 Introduction 3 2.0 Problem ment 6 3.0 Literature Review 6 4.0 Analysis 9 5.0 Solutions 14 6.0 Reflection 16 7.0 References 18 8.0 Bibliography 21 1.0 Introduction Verizon Wireless is considered as one of the greatest service providers in the US that serves both local as well as wireless telecommunication. In the year 2000, the organization was initiated after merger of Bell Atlantic and General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (GTE). The organization is operated by means of three divisions namely ‘Telecom’, ‘Business’ and ‘Wireless’. The organization was developed based on the technology of 21st century in order to bring innovative changes in telecommunication industry. In present scenario, the organization is not confined to a single area rather it has approached forward to make its global presence so as to spread the name. The vertical integration strategy of Verizon Communications has performed a great role by making supply as well as saving the time and capital (Verizon, “Profile”). The organization is a service provider which encompasses of four working divisions such as ‘Domestic Telecom’, ‘Domestic Wireless’, ‘Information Services’, and ‘International’. The services of ‘Domestic Telecom’ include telephone operations and products. Services of ‘domestic wireless’ includes ‘wireless voice’ along with ‘data services’ as well as selling of equipments. ‘Information services’ includes domestic as well as global publishing businesses that comprise of print ‘SuperPages, Electronic SuperPages.com directories’ along with website creation and services of electronic commerce. The International division has wireline along with wireless communications function as well as investments in America and Europe (Verizon, “Mission Statement”). The organization has faced various hardships during the initial days. However, after the incorporation of high technology and good leadership activities the company has gained huge success in its business path. The leadership aspect was considered as the exclusive part of the company as this quality has guided the company to be in the better path. The leadership quality developed mission statement of the company that would not just direct but also assist the company to generate “Business Code of Conduct”. The code symbolizes broader concept because it is related to the achievement of the company and also facilitates to make clear issues regarding the existence of the Verizon Wireless along with its goals and objectives. The organization focused on four values such as ‘Integrity’, ‘Respect’, and ‘Performance Excellence’ along with ‘Accountability’ for achieving its goal. The organization is focused towards creation of wireless technology as well as telecommunication. The organization was previously named as Bell Atlantic and that time it had a separate mission. The corporate environment as well as culture was completely different from its present scenario. Bell Atlantic had diverse corporate policy and had no code of conduct. With change in technology within the organization there was transformation in among the employees with due course of time. Bell Atlantic was started in the year 1983 and the company was highly successful due to its specific performance appraisal. The main aim of the organization was to show a pattern of shift from Bell Atlantic to Verizon Wireless. I have been working in Verizon Wireless since its commencement of operations. I have worked in several departments of the organization such as transportation logistics and inventory control along with auditing and compliance. 2.0 Problem Statement The purpose of the study is to explain ‘how does leadership skill helps in managing change in organizational culture in terms of technology’. There is a great role of leadership activities in Verizon Wireless. The leadership role facilitated the company to build technological environment within the entire workplace. The company has provided major emphasis to leadership program as it was related to the achievement of organization’s mission. 3.0 Literature Review The literature review has been discussed regarding the problem statement of the paper. The review will facilitate to understand the leadership roles in managing change throughout an organization. According to Olga Wasyluk and Zane L. Berge, the leaders in corporate culture possess certain unique skills so that they can uphold learning programs throughout an organization. The well developed strategies of leaders show distinct direction to the employees in order to become skilled at proper utilization of technology. The corporate leaders develop network of association so that they can encourage and maintain leadership programs. An organizational leader is responsible for various tasks within an organization. A well defined practical standard connected to programs, budget as well as change management are roles of leaders. They take active part in developing the technological aspects so as to transform an organization with a view to expand learning program (Wasyluk & Berge, “Abstract”). A study was conducted by John G. Bruhn regarding leaders who create change and who manage it. It was observed that there was no principle for leading and managing the change rather every organization has leaders with unique qualities who enable to bring changes in the organizations. In order to accomplish a change in organization, leaders play significant roles. Leading changes in an organization was not subjected to personality or style of leaders rather it was their philosophy to create as well as mobilize the available resources of an organization. Change management in an organization was essentially focused on preserving constancy and holding the consequence of both redundant and sudden change. Beneficial change in an organization was completely based on the leaders and their roles (Bruhn, “How Leaders Limit Success”). According to Pagon, Banutai and Bizjak, organizational change has become a common phenomenon. Organizational changes in an organization takes place within a smaller period of time. The employees were expected to adapt to the changes as fast as possible for functioning appropriately within the working environment. The leaders were responsible for attaining those changes that might be easily accepted by an organization. The changes were essential to be executed by considering the better job performance as well as understanding the job satisfaction of each employee. Thus, a leader should place the expectation of each employee so as to understand the response of employees in accordance to organizational changes (Pagon & Et. Al., “Leadership Competencies”). A study was conducted by Russ Marion and Mary Uhl-Bien regarding the role played by leadership in organization by means of complexity theory. They were of the opinion that complexity theory explores the nature of interaction and the theory focus on the attempts of leadership on behaviors and enables effectiveness of the organizations. The relations between complexity theory and leadership theories have also been studied by them. It was observed that complexity widens conceptualization of leadership from the perspective of psychology and social psychology (Marion & Uhl-Bien, “Abstract”). According to Taylor-Bianco and Schermerhorn, organizations are considered as dynamic field of complexity which is facing challenges to fulfill the demand of change and stability. During the changes an organizational leader possesses unique skills to induce the employees to adapt with the changes. The unique leadership skills that are developed by leaders were negotiating, controlling, adapting, and as well as supporting the relevant changes. It was observed that the leaders who acted positively with the changes have brought new prospects within the organization. The internal change of an organization was greatly influenced by leaders. The strategic leaders were involved in organizational change; they focused on the changed visions as well as had the ability for change implementations (Taylor-Bianco & Schermerhorn, “Introduction”). A survey was conducted by School of Public Policy and Public Administration regarding the leadership role in public sector transformation. It was observed that leaders are required to adapt to the changing of mission, new requirements or forces of environment and learn to remain competitive with the most up-to-date technology as well as innovations. Along with these, the leaders should provide quality service. Managing change in an organization was not a simple task rather it required huge change efforts for achieving effectively. In this survey, the roles of assistant managers and leaders while initiating and implementing change efforts in an organization have been discussed. The leaders in an organization before implementing the changes at first analyze carefully whether there might be any ensuing risk that can arise so that they can develop strategies accordingly. Changes comprised of various risks and it was the role of the leaders to take part actively so as to eliminate risk from an organization (Innovation in Public Service, “Executive Summary”). According to Orlikowski and Gash about the study of technological transformation in organization, it was revealed that people act on the foundation of elucidations of the world. The existing study of information technology had disregarded the basic assumptions and expectation that people understand regarding information technology. The information technologies were considered as critical for understanding the technological use. From the study, it was observed about the changes that occurred due to the use of information technology in an organization (Orlikowski & Gash, “Abstract”). 4.0 Analysis The problem statement of Verizon Wireless can be analyzed by considering various facts, figures and models of change management. The change management in the organization occurred due to its technological improvement in workplace. This change has caused alterations in employees’ skill level in the organization. In the organization, leadership plays a significant role in managing change and in improving performance standard. The change management in the organization can be explained with the help of three step change model of Kurt Lewin. The change occurs with the driving force as this helps the employees to move in the right direction. The employees move in the opposite direction if there is restraining forces since it encumbers the change in the organization (Kritsonis, “Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory). The first model of change management is unfreezing and this stage is most significant. In this stage, an organization prepares to receive change and understand that change is required to generate more modification. Verizon Wireless has decided to bring change in the organization by merging with Bell Atlantic and GTE Corporation. The main intention of this change was to bring innovative techniques in telecommunication in the 21st century. This stage can be attained by the organization by three methods such as driving force, restraining force and combination of both. The driving force facilitates the employees to move away from the existing situation and approach towards change (Kritsonis, “Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory). The leaders acted as driving force for employees and provided confidence to them for new change in the organization. As a result, change in the organization took place. The leaders in the organization motivated and guided the employees for adjusting with the technological change within the organizational culture. The leaders built trust among the employees regarding the necessity of change management and its importance for performance development within the organization. The employees were also guided to actively take part in the change that had occurred. They knew that technological change was going to bring new phase in telecommunications in the 21st century (Kritsonis, “Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory). The second step in the change management is movement. This stage comes into existence when the changes are decided. It is the internal movement or journey that is generated in reaction to a change. This stage is considered to be insecure and apprehensive. There is a need to shift the target system towards a new stage of equilibrium. The leaders faced challenges in this stage as there is change in the behavior of the employees due to change occurrence. The step is guided by the three actions. These actions influenced the employees to become positive in their behavior towards change. The employees are convinced by the leaders that the status quo was not considered as beneficial and they are required to consider the problem from latest perspectives. The employees were encouraged to work mutually with the mission with pertinent information. They were also influenced to link the outlook of the entire groups with the powerful leaders and support the changes that took place in the organization as well. Support was extremely required in this stage the same as training and coaching; expecting mistake was also a major component of the process (Kritsonis, “Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory). The third stage of change management is refreezing. The stage comes into existence after execution of change in an organization. This step is conducted by the leaders of Verizon Wireless so that the employees may not go back to the previous behavior and the culture they had adopted. In this stage, stability is established by the organization. It is considered as the actual incorporation of latest values into the community standards as well as into that of traditions. The main purpose of this stage is to keep steady the new change that had taken place in the organization by balancing both driving as well as restraining forces (Kritsonis, “Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory). The technology change in Verizon Wireless had already occurred after merging with Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp. This merger was considered as one of the largest in the business history of the US. The main purpose of change in technology was due to innovative phase in telecommunication. The formation of Verizon Wireless is regarded as a driving force in competitive marketplace. In order to sustain in this phase, the leaders of the organization guided the employees and promoted them to be positive towards change management. Both the two companies GTE and Bell were the largest communication companies and publishers of director information before merger (Verizon, “The History of Verizon Communications”). The development of Verizon Wireless at that point of time can be regarded as the new beginning of the two companies in the market of telecommunication. The top two companies merged with a view that they can generate a combined organization that has the capability to contend in the telecommunication market as one of the biggest organizations. The leadership skills in the organization facilitate the employees to adjust with the changes in the working culture so that high performance standard will be achieved in future (Verizon, “The History of Verizon Communications”). From the entire analysis it has been observed that leaders of the organization are playing significant role for managing change that has occurred. But, the employees need to be more adaptable with the desired changes of the organization in order to improve the performance standard and increase productivity of the organization. With the role of leadership such transformation has occurred in the organization; however the leaders have to be capable to convince the employees and guide them towards the organizational vision. 5.0 Solutions The solutions that can be provided to Verizon Wireless for smoothly performing with the change management are improvement in leadership skill, improvement in process, and improvement in performance management. These three aspects are vital for management of the changes in the organization. The unique leadership skills such as self-esteem, planning, good listening, motivating, disciplining and delegating as well as empowerment are essential to be developed by the organization for successful supervision. When these skill strategies are implemented, then the employees get easily influenced by the leaders. There is positive impact of these strategies in the employees in changing scenario. The leaders can improve the self-esteem by complimenting the employees regularly, showing respect to the knowledge of the employees and providing interest towards listening to their views. The leaders should first make planning about the way through which they will intend to motivate the employees and convince for the new changes that may occur. When the employees are speaking regarding any issue, it is the duty of the leaders to listen to them properly and after proper analysis should come to a conclusion. The leaders should try to receive commitment from the employees about the improvement of task in future (CRF, “Self esteem”). Leadership skill is essential for properly managing change in the organization. If the leaders develop negative skills, then the entire planning process might get hampered. The work process needs to be improved when new changes are expected within the organization. Process improvement relates to making things better so that whatever be the changes there will be no disturbance in the operational process. The employees need to be trained properly during changes because the new technology implementation will lead to new working process. If the employees are not trained effectively, then the entire process of operations will get demolished. A team development in this case may be helpful for each employee as they will guide each other in adapting the new technology. There may be a negative influence if the team members are not cooperative and consider one to be inferior to the other. The employees may take time to accustom to with the new technology, but the employees support from each other is of prior importance (Balanced Scorecard Institute, “Introduction”). Performance management improvement is also a vital skill that is required in change management. Proper performance management by the managers will facilitate to attain mission of the organization along with improving the effectiveness. The performance management is probable to improve when the managers motivate and promote the employees to take part dynamically in the change of technological process inside the organization. The performance management is not a simple task; it requires high level of efforts from the part of managers for regularly influencing the employees (PHF, “Performance Management and Quality Improvement”). If the managers lack in efforts, then the performance management standard will be lowered. In that scenario, the employees will not be convinced and the entire performance standard will deteriorate. Among the three skill improvements, it is essential to improve the leadership skills as it is related to the activities of the organization. This skill is highly required for proper functioning of the organization and its development in future. If the organization does not have efficient leaders then there will be no improvement in quality standard and proper management in the organization. The excellent leadership skills are required when an organization decides to bring new technological changes in the entire work process. The other two skills are not much essential as it has less importance in change management. The process improvement and performance management improvement can be achieved if the organization has capable leaders. 6.0 Reflection The paper has discussed about various aspects regarding the importance of leadership skills in managing change especially in terms of technology in Verizon Wireless. I have been employed in the Verizon Wireless in several departments and have observed that the organization has developed to its present position after facing various challenges. From the paper, I have observed that the Verizon Wireless, the largest telecommunication service sector, was formed after the merging of two largest companies i.e. Bell Atlantic and GTE Corporation. The organization was established in order to bring immense change in technology in telecommunication in the 21st century. The organization while transforming into the technological phase faced various challenges. The leadership skills in the organization are responsible for the entire change. The leaders have guided the employees to adapt to the changing scenario as fast as possible so that new development can be set up and the organization may gain huge reputable image in the telecommunication market. The paper also comprises of literature review relating to the problem statement. I have connected the topic to the other existing literature that has shown that leaders have a great role in managing change in an organization. The analysis of Verizon Wireless was also conducted and found according to the Lewin’s model that the leaders of the organization function differently in the three stages for change management. The organizational leaders always actively participate in motivating and convincing the employees regarding the change issues. After overall analysis, I have recognized that the organization is required to develop skills in certain areas for proper functioning of the manpower in changing scenario and influence them for improved performance level. The three skills of leadership, process and performance management are required to be implemented in the organization. Thus, I can state that more improvement in leadership skill is highly required rather than process and performance management. If the leaders have the capability to motivate and encourage the employees regarding the change then there will be overall improvement of performance standard from the quality task of the employees. 7.0 References Balanced Scorecard Institute. “Introduction”. June 13, 2011. Handbook For Basic Process Improvement, 1996. Bruhn, John G. “How Leaders Limit Success”. June 13, 2011. Leaders Who Create Change and Those Who Manage It, 2004. CRF. “Self Esteem”. June 13, 2011. Improving Your Leadership Skills, No Date. Innovation in Public Service. “Executive Summary”. June 13, 2011. Leading Change, Managing Risk: The Leadership Role in Public Sector Transformations, 2007. Kritsonis, Alicia. “Lewin’s Three-Step Change Theory”. June 13, 2011. Comparison of Change Theories, 2005. Marion, Russ. & Uhl-Bien, Mary. “Abstract”. June 13, 2011. Leadership in Complex Organization, 2001. Orlikowski, Wanda J. & Gash, Debra C. “Abstract”. June 13, 2011. Changing Frames: Understanding Technological Change in Organizations, 1992. Pagon, Milan. & Et. Al. “Leadership Competencies”. June 13, 2011. Leadership Competencies for Successful Change Management, 2008. PHF. “Performance Management and Quality Improvement”. June 13, 2011. Home, No Date. Taylor-Bianco, Amy. & Schermerhorn, John R. “Introduction”. June 13, 2011. The Role of Self-Regulated Leadership in Organizational Change: An Exploratory Dispositional Model, 2004. Verizon. “Mission Statement”. June 13, 2011. Company Profile: Verizon Communications Inc., 2004. Verizon. “Profile”. June 13, 2011. Communication Inc., 2007. Verizon. “The History of Verizon Communications”. June 13, 2011. Corporate History, 2011. Wasyluk, Olga. & Berge, Zane L. “Abstract”. June 13, 2011. Leadership Influence on Corporate Change Involving Distance Training, 2007. 8.0 Bibliography Beerel, Annabel. Leadership and Change Management SAGE Publications Ltd, 2009. Cameron, Esther. & Green, Mike. Making Sense Of Change Management: A Complete Guide To The Models, Tools & Techniques Of Organizational Change Kogan Page Publishers, 2004. Information Gatekeepers Inc. Wireless Cellular Information Gatekeepers Inc, 2000. Read More