Organisational change at WA Police Communications - Case Study Example

? Organizational Change at Wa Police Communications Task Introduction Organizations are complex entities and they are made complex by the many factors in the organizational life that make their operations unpredictable. The role of leadership in any organization is to determine the right manner to frame the operations in the organization so that they can fit into the competitive world. Organizations are bound to face many challenges, but the leader’s ability to deal with the minor and weighty issues in the organizations, which are troublesome to the employees, will be essential in determining the success of any organization (Stadtlander, 2007). The leaders need to work together with the employees in devising the best ways to deal with the problems they face every day, and this will see the operations of the organization move swiftly hence success. Bolman and Deal’s Reframing Bolman and Deal provide a clear understanding of the forces under which organizations operate and how they function. Bolman and Deal’s reframing explain the way organizations should change their organizations in order to ensure a proper flow of operations. They put an emphasis on the roles of management and leadership in the success of any organization. They explain that organizations face many problems and the role of leaders to strategize the best ways to deal with the challenges in a way that all the stakeholders will approve Bolman’s and deal’s reframing explain that there needs to be a balance on management and leadership so that the two work together efficiently to solve organizational problems (Bolman, 2011). In the event that an organization is over managed and false short of leadership, it will lack the sense of purpose since the employees will not be answerable to anyone. Likewise, if an organization lacks management and has a good leader, it will not achieve its goals since there is no control over the operations. This paper will look at the problems facing WA police communications that are negatively affecting its efficiency by diagnosing the problems using Bolman and Deal’s reframing and develop ways of dealing with the problems. According to Bolman and Deal, with the complexity of organizations today, there needs to be managers who will be able to cope with the ever-changing nature of organizations. Organizations are faced with chaos every day, and managerial role will involve bringing about order, and simplifying the manner in which problems are dealt with every day. Therefore, managers should take care of the needs of the people their actions have an effect on by considering the effects their decisions will have on them. Leaders should always be flexible in dealing with different situations, and they should reframe their experiences and always endeavor to seek new ways of dealing with situations. Bolman and Deal explain that management should be an ethical and moral role so that leaders are able to understand the employees’ heritage and personal needs, and this will increase productivity. Therefore, leaders should thrive on combining business with values and purpose so that everyone in the organization feels comfortable when working. In reframing or changing organizations, Bolman and Deal put an emphasis on the need to concentrate on organizational practices in order to achieve productivity. They use a four frame model that will help organizations in changing their practices, Structural, human resource, po­litical, and symbolic, which give the notion that the same problem or situation can be viewed in four different ways. Each of the frames is powerful on their own, but when they are applied together, they help to get a broad picture of any organization. These frames are used to identify the problems in organizations and the measures that are best suited to cope with it satisfactorily. The structural frame puts an emphasis on organizational goals, roles and relationships in the organization. It is the blueprint for what each employee is expected to complete since it will help device the right ways to divide roles. It requires leaders to divide tasks and device methods of how to coordinate the different roles in order to increase productivity. Therefore, this frame is used to organize groups in the workforce in order to meet organizational goals while still considering the organizations capabilities. The Human Resource Frame places the organization as a body that should take care of the employees’ welfare in order to achieve productivity. Its role is to take care of the emotions and needs of the employees in order to form strong relationships in the organization, which creates cohesiveness hence increases productivity. The political frame relates s to power in the organization, and it will incorporate conflicts and politics in the organization. It can be used to deal with conflicts in the organization by creating a sense of mutual understanding and political connections, which will deal with the entire political setup of the organization. The symbolic frame sees the organization as a culture that is controlled by rituals or beliefs, and its goal is to shape the organizational culture to one that sees the organizational goals are achieved. It makes the organization associate with the outside community and builds team spirit since there are shared norms. When leaders in an organization apply the four frames, they are able to view the organization in a wide view, which will see that they are able to deal with the organizational problems satisfactorily. Leaders are able to see opportunities, which when utilized will increase the productivity of their employees since they will take care of their needs as well as those of the society. The WA police communications is a busy organization since it operates on a 24-hour basis, and this means the employees work must be stressful. Callers are always bound to call since there are many issues that require the care of police. Therefore, stress on the employees part is bound top occur since they will be required to work almost all day responding to different situations. The workers at the call center have to deal with many problems facing them ranging from false alarms to abuse from the public, and this makes their job extremely demanding. If there are no proper relations inside the call center and among the employees, there is a possibility that the operations will be undermined by stress. Stress in the communications sector is bound to occur also due to the nature of problems the callers give to the operators, which are likely to cause trauma. However, this is not the only problem at the WA police communications, and the video illustrates the problems faced in the organization. For example, change is hard to implement in the organization since the employees are not involved in making decisions that involve their daily activities (ABC Television, 2008). Structural Problems The structural problems in the organization are the lack of feedback and recognition on the tasks that the employees engage in every day. Every employee has their task, but the problem is that no one knows if they are doing the right thing or not. The structural frame requires that the employees are given tasks and roles according to their competencies, and they have an idea of what is expected of them. It requires a stable, working environment, where the employees will have clearly defined role, and this will be beneficial in carrying out their tasks since they know what the management expects from them. Feedback is significant since it will motivate the employees in their work, and it will make them work hard to see that they have accomplished their goals. The structural frame requires that activities in the organization are task oriented, and since in the WA police the workers are not aware if they are doing the right thing or not, this decreases their efficiency. Recognition is also essential in the work place since it motivates the employees to work hard because their efforts are recognized. Western Australia police communication lacks this policy and this issue needs to be addressed in order to increase efficiency and productivity. The employees complain that the management is quick to discipline someone that is caught on the wrong side, but the praiseworthy deeds are rarely appreciated. This is not an acceptable managerial practice since employees are not aware of their roles, and according to the structural frame, everyone should be aware of their tasks so that they have the responsibility of working on the specific area with dedication and have a sense of purpose. Political Problems WA police communication seems to have problems with the way they handle their internal politics, which are detrimental to their operations. Conflicts in organizations are bound to occur since people will have different views on how to approach different problems in the organization. Therefore, decision-making plays a crucial role in determining the way organizations handle their political issues. WA police communication decision-making roles are vested on the management of the organization, and employees do not participate. They complain that they have no say in the way things in the call center are run, and they are the ones to implement the decisions made by the management. The management seems to have total authority on the employees, and this is detrimental to productivity. This is because the employees will feel exploited since they have no role to play in deciding the approaches to take in dealing with situations. This creates tyranny in the organization, which may lead to conflicts in the organization. Conflicts will reduce productivity since a lot of time will be used in dealing with the conflicts rather that dealing with the daily tasks. The political frame requires that there is a proper use of power so that there is control in the organization. WA police communications lacks control in that there is no control over cars, and this is detrimental to the success of the organization. Lack of power will make the employees not to be devoted to their tasks since power will entail giving jobs to employees and expecting returns. Control will make employees be at the right place at the right time, and this will see the call center increases it productivity and employee satisfaction. The Human Resource Problems The human resource frame requires that organizations take care of the needs of their employees in order to increase their productivity. WA police communications seems to be lacking in some way in taking care of the welfare of their employees. Police staffs at the center complain that they are not given proper development for their skills, which are required to deal with their jobs (Ellis, 2007). The phone operators require a high level of training since they deal with people from different natures, and not knowing how to deal with people can be detrimental to the success of operations in the call center. There may be callers who are stubborn and if the operator does not have sufficient knowledge in dealing with people the operations of the police may fail. The employees have a huge workload since they have to work all day because of the busy channels. The human resource frame requires that the psychological, safety, and emotional needs of the employees be taken into consideration in order to guarantee employee job satisfaction. Cultural Problems WA police communications has not emphasized much on its staff relating with the outsiders, and this can be detrimental to the success of the organization. The symbolic frame requires organizations to take care of the beliefs of people in order to ensure success. The organization has not invested much in ensuring that the phone operators interact with the society since the employees have to work for long hours. Working for long hours is not culturally accepted since it denies people to interact with other people, and it is a cultural disorder. The symbolic frame illustrates that some free time will increase innovation since the employees will be able to interact with other people and share ideas. Developing a work culture where the employees at the call center will have some values to follow will be essential in increasing task accomplishment. Forces for Change Change is brought about by a hopeful beginning, turbulent proceeding and a discouraging end, which means that, the method used to work on something is not appropriate. However, change is not only considered in the event of failure, but it will be essential in ensuring that the organization is flexible in the different situations it faces. Reframing change will entail restructuring, employing new people or training the available staff in order to implement. Restructuring in the effort of incorporating change will provide clarity and job security, and employees will perform their duties satisfactorily (Kahan, 2010). Employing new people may not be approved by the existing employees, as they will argue that they should be trained to acquire the competencies they require. Organizational change will entail altering the way things are done in organizations, and this will be brought about by the issues in contention are the aspects that will force change to be administered. WA police communications’ forces for change are both internal and external since it has problems in and out of the organization. The external forces those ones from outside the company, which propels organizations to alter the way they do things. WA police communications is faced by technological advancements that make it necessary for them to change how they operate. The digital age requires that every organization be at par with advancements in technology so that they are able to conduct their operations smoothly. Societal and political pressures are other forces of change that requires the call center to change its operations. The organization is forced to adapt to the needs of the citizens, which change every day, and this means they will have to change with the ever-changing needs of those they serve. Western Australian police communications’ internal forces for change are the nature of the workforce and the tasks they conduct every day. The employees are faced with stressful situations of dealing with different people having a wide range of problems and they need to change in relation to the problems they face (Ellis, 2007). The operators will have different tasks to take care of every day and they need to change their approach in order to be effective in their jobs. Lack of change my result to reduced moral since the employees will be frustrated when they do not conduct their tasks satisfactorily. Recommendations for Change WA police communications need to incorporate change in their activities, so that employee job satisfaction is guaranteed. The employees need to have clear definitions of the work they are required to accomplish. This can be done by ensuring that each employee has a job title and has specific jobs, which they are supposed to accomplish. This will see that there are situations where employees are not aware of what is expected of them every day. The management needs to ensure that they recognize the jobs that individual employees do so that they are motivated to be productive. This can be achieved by ensuring that the productive employees are given rewards for hard work. The management needs to put an emphasis on career development where it will offer training services to its employees, and this will be essential in ensuring that work force conduct their operations with the utmost professionalism. This will see the productivity of the employees, and that of the whole organization significantly improved. Involving the employees in decision-making will play a crucial role in increasing the efficiency of the police hotline. This is because employees will feel involved in the operations of the company, and not purely forced to do things hence it will increase their motivation to work efficiently and produce new ideas of dealing with situations. The leadership of the organization needs to develop a work culture, which will see the workers form working teams and define the rules they will follow to increase their overall productivity. The teams will also aid in ensuring that the employees share ideas, which will be beneficial to the organization and the employees themselves. They will be able to grow in their careers, and this will translate to increased productivity of the police hotline. Leadership in the organization should be flexible in their operations, and it should incorporate the ideas brought forward by the employees since they are the ones that deal with the callers. Change is bound to encounter difficulties in its implementation, but if the right procedures are used in, incorporating it the organization will be revolutionized. Educating everyone in the company and communicating the aspect that has been altered in the operations will play a crucial role in helping people to accept change (Bridges, 2003). All employees will have to participate in the transformation so that the change takes effect and is accepted by the stakeholders. The management should ensure that they provide the necessary resources required for change, so that the process can be smooth and does not alter the normal operations of the call center. Manipulation will be essential in luring the employees to adapt to change, and it can be achieved by rewarding the employees who accept to change and are seen to work on altering how they perform their duties (Warrilow, 2011). The management should ensure that there is negotiation with the employees concerning a change that is to be implemented. Lastly, if the above measures do not work coercion will be instrumental in ensuring that the employees adapt to change if it is deemed fruitful. Overall, communication with employees on the alterations of operations to be effected is necessary in ensuring that everyone in the organization responds positively to the change. Managing WA police communications change will encompass developing new attitudes in the workplace, which will see that the employees love and are dedicated to their jobs. Stabilizing of change will be the next step, and it will be achieved by testing the new attitudes in order to ensure employees are satisfied. Leadership Approaches For Change to Be Effective For change to be effective, leaders need to strategize the way to deal with the employees in order to eliminate the occurrence of resistance. In the case of WA police communications, it needs leaders who have strong interpersonal skills since the employees undergo a lot of stress in their daily activities because of dealing with all societal issues. The logical approach will entail the leader focusing on innovation where he will persuade the employees by explaining the need for implementing the change. The inspirational approach will focus on creating opportunities and persuading the employees to adapt to change, and the leader will need to persuade the employees by creating trust that change is for everyone’s benefit. The supportive approach will entail the leader to focus on facilitating work by persuading the employees through their involvement in the implementing change and making decisions. However, a combination of all of the above approaches will yield favorable results since they will entail involving the employees in the initiative to bring change. Leadership should realize that people should come first before the process of change since people are the ones to implement it. If they are not involved, they may respond by rejecting the change or not working to their full potential to see that the change is implemented (Bennis, 2010). Conclusion The problems in WA police communications are diverse and range from stress in the workplace, resistance to change, lack of involvement of the employees, lack clearly defined roles and control just to name a few. To counter these problems, the management needs to ensure that the employees are adaptable to change, create excellent working environment and involve the employees in decision making. The organization needs to identify the problems facing them by using the four framing model that enable organizations to identify their structural, political, human resource and cultural problems and strategize the best ways of dealing with these problems. The key measure the organization needs to take into consideration is involving the employees in decision-making since this will lead to a dedicated work force, and they will endeavor to attain the organizational goals. For change to be effective, leaders of the organization need to put the needs of their employees as the first priority since they are the ones to implement change, hence increase productivity of the call center. References ABC Television. (2008).WA police communications, Episode 4.Stress Buster. Retrieved on September 29, 2011 from: Bennis, W. (2010). Leadership and Change. Retrieved on September 29, 2011 from: Bolman, L & Deal, T. (2011). Reframing Organizations, Artistry, Choice and Leadership John. New York: Wiley and Sons. Bridges, W. 2003. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Ellis, N. (2007). Stress audit final report. WA police operations center. Retrieved on September 29, 2011 from: Kahan, S & George, B. (2010). Getting Change Right: How Leaders Transform Organizations From the Inside Out. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Kotter, P. (2003). Leading Change. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press. Kotter, P, and Rathgeber, H. (2006). Our Iceberg is Melting. Changing and Succeeding Under any Conditions. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press. Stadtlander, C. (2007). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, Vol. 12, No. 1. Warrilow, S. (2011). What is most effective in leading change? Retrieved on September 29, 2011 from: Read More