The 5D Framework & Its Application towards Organizational Change - Essay Example

The 5D Framework & Its Application towards Organizational Change Introduction Appreciative Inquiry 5D framework approach is an iterative, generative, process that uses collaborative inquiry, and strategic visioning to unleash the positive energy within individuals and organizations. This problem solving tool was developed by David Cooperrider of Case Western Reserve University during the mid 1980s. This approach follows the following steps- 1. Define the problem 2. Discovery phase 3. Dream phase 4. Design phase 5. Deliver phase Definition This stage is about choosing an applicable theme for further analysis. Here we have gone through the case study and we have realized that our theme is to find out what exactly is causing the employees to abstain from their specific work and to create a changed management structure which will help the employees to feel attracted and interested towards their job. Therefore the primary thing we need to discuss is the reasons behind this extensive absenteeism. The probable cause can be many among which the environment is a strong factor. The environment consists of forces like the economy, political set up, technological factors, sociological and legal forces. These forces might affect an individual in several ways. For example economic condition of a country, specifically of an individual can force them to opt for other job opportunities. It is possible that the employees of the firm have opted for part time jobs in order to satisfy their & their family’s financial needs. It is also possible that the government of the country is offering better employment opportunities which are more preferable in terms of salary, work conditions & work structure. The technology of the firm can also be a probable reason for the constant absenteeism as the employees might find it difficult to learn the new technologies & hence they are making excuse to avoid those jobs which are highly technology oriented. The sociological factors might include that the employees are not getting enough recognition in their society for their work. It has been noted that the elderly care department is facing more absenteeism. The relevant cause might be the monotonous environment of the elderly care department. Also the elderly people suffer from more health hazards which again might pose to be a discouraging element for the employees of that department as the general people do not like to stay near ailing people as the disease might make them sick too. A poor communications structure in the organization is considered to be one of the hindrances in the way of introducing the change. Lack of faith among the administration and the employees might lead to confusion & misunderstanding and therefore the employees feel resistant to accept any change thinking that it has been implemented for the sole benefit of the organization. Changes on the cultural grounds might also cause resistance from the employee’s end (Kamel, 2012, pp.4-6). The organizational structures can also be a relevant cause for frequent absenteeism & de motivated workforce. Structures which enforce a strict flow of command & where the scope of communication between the management & the staff is very low, those structures mostly suffer from resistance from the employees. Generally there exist three basic kinds of organizational changes which are (viha.ca, n.d, p.1)- Development Change- This change is concerned with the improvement of the existing set-up. It is just an enhancement of the old condition. Transitional Change- This change refers to devising and implementing a new state; it requires breaking up of the old state and management of the change process; Transformational Change- In this type of change the conventional state is entirely eliminated from the management of the organization. The change introduced is unknown to the entire structure. It materializes from visioning, trial and error and knowledge acquisition. This type of change involves fundamental shift in perception, organizing principles, behavior and culture framed to support new business dimensions. Significant portion of the employees of the organization must function from a novel state of mind and behavior for the transformation to be successful. Thus it is evident that to tackle the situation of growing absenteeism, the organization opted for the development & transitional change policy. However these policies proved to be unsuccessful in reaping long-term benefits. People in the organization are often falling sick which might be due to the improper working conditions or prolonged working hours. Discovery In this stage the main purpose is to identify the positive factors which are present in the structure of the organization. The Silkeborg council has already implemented various changes that include enhancing the managerial & supervisory skills. Still the changes proved to be ineffective for fulfilling future needs. While discussing the leadership style applied in the organizational structure, we should go through the various leadership styles that exist in the environment. There are generally three leadership styles which are- Transformational Style- in this style the leader guides and transforms the staff. The leader makes continuous efforts to address the grievances of the employees and motivate them for improved performance. Here open communication between the staff and the leader is always encouraged and the leader follows participative style of management. The staff gets highly influenced by the leader in Transformational Leadership Style. Transactional Style- Here the main focus of the leader is on management’s objectives. In this style the leader constantly motivate his followers by offering rewards for completed tasks. These leaders are mostly work oriented; they usually follow a particular structure and practice directive style of management. In this style of management, innovativeness and creativity are ignored and people are often motivated by the use of extrinsic motivational factors like incentive and holiday trip (Bertocci, 2009, pp.48-50). Laissez-faire Style- This is also termed as Passive Leadership which exercises least control on the staff. The managers avoid the responsibility of setting objectives and making important decisions. It allows the scope for macro management and self management. Here the interaction between the leader and his followers happen on a rare basis. While each of these styles has their own pros & cons, therefore most of the organizations opt for Mixed Styles of leadership. In a mixed style most of the managers chooses the good element from all the styles of leadership. This style motivates the employees from both the intrinsic and extrinsic viewpoint. The Silkeborg council needs to introduce mixed style of leadership within its functioning. When the transformational leadership attitude and the transactional leadership related rewards will be used by the Silkeborg council, a positive co-relation is expected to be noticed among the staff of the organization. The metaphors used while speaking about an organization presents an affluent resource of information about the organizational behaviors and practices. These are potential means for building organizational culture. Ancient metaphors can act as emotional attachments as they are approved to new members; they help to preserve the logic of “how things are around here,” Some practitioners & theorists of organization change believe that metaphor can be used as a strong factor of influence, for recreating or re structuring less purposeful descriptions so that it support the direction & values of a changing organization (Roelofs, 2009).Morgan presented nine organizational perspectives, which are- 1. The machine view that governs modern management thoughts and which is emblematic of bureaucracies. 2. The organism view that focuses on environmental relations, growth, and adaptation. 3. Organizations as information providers & processors. 4. Organizations as culture based on norms, rituals, values, beliefs, and so on (Gareth Morgan’s Organizational Metaphors, n.d.). 5. The form of political organizations that is predominated by interests, power and conflict issues. 6. Some organizations are formed as psychic prisons where the employees are trapped by their perceptions. 7. Organizations which are flexible & can adapt any change. 8. The forms of some organizations are like dominating instruments with the focus on utilization and imposing the leader’s force on others. Professor John P. Kotter of Harvard has been viewing the change process for past 30 years. He states that there are significant variations between efforts of change that have proved to be flourishing, and modification efforts that have been unsuccessful (Naughtin, n.d. pp. 1-2). His area of interest is why some people succeeded & why some failed. He has come up with 8 steps to apply change in an organization- Step Lessons from successes Lessons from mistakes 1 Ascertain the logic of urgency. • scrutinize the market and aggressive realities. • recognize and converse about crises, possible crises, or key opportunities. Not establishing adequate sense of necessity. • Transformation programs need insistent assistance by many individuals. • Without enthusiasm, people won't assist and the effort goes in vain. 2 Forming a powerful guiding coalition team. •accumulate a group with sufficient energy and power to guide the change effort. •persuade this group to perform collectively as a team. Not creating a powerful guiding coalition. • Firms that fail in this stage usually undervalue the issues of introducing change and thus the significance of a guiding association with energy and influence. 3 Creating a comprehensible image expressed simply. • generate a vision to guide the change effort. • build up strategies for attaining the vision Lacking a lucid vision. • Without a clear and rational vision, a conversion effort can easily break up into a list of incompatible & confusing tasks that can lead the organization towards the wrong path or nowhere at all. 4 Communicate the vision. • apply every doable means to communicate the new strategies & vision. • implement new behaviors using the case of the guiding coalition team Not communicating the vision. • Alteration is unworkable unless hundreds or thousands of people are enthusiastic to assist, frequently to the point of making short-term sacrifices. 5 Empower others to act on the vision. • Get liberated from the hindrances to change. • Change structures that seriously demoralize the vision. • support risk taking and innovative actions, ideas, and activities. Not removing obstacles to the new vision. • Impediments can be: the organizational constitution, scarcely defined job category, payment structure or performance-appraisal systems, and, most awful of all, the bosses who turn down change and make commands that are incompatible with the overall change idea. 6 Plan for and creating short-term success. • Preparation for visible performance up gradations. •Creating those up gradations. • identify and offer remuneration to the employees concerned with the improvements. Unsystematic planning and not creating short-term wins. • Preparation and forming short-term wins is unusual from hoping for short-term success. The previous one is active, the later one is passive. • Actively searching for means to achieve clear performance improvements, establish objectives in the yearly planning scheme, accomplish the goals, and reward the employees involved with money, recognition, and promotions. 7 Secure improvements and creating still more change. • Use enhanced credibility to change policies, systems, and structures that don't fit the idea. • Hire, develop and promote staffs who can employ the vision. • Reinvigorate the procedure with new themes, projects, and change agents. Declaring victory too soon. • as an alternative to declaring success, leaders of successful change efforts exercise the reliability afforded by the short-term wins to undertake even bigger problems. 8 Institutionalize the new approaches. • express the links between the new behaviors and corporate success. • build up ways to ensure leadership development and progression. Not anchoring change in the company's culture. • Change gets fixed when it becomes the means to do things in the organizational structure, when it becomes part of the company culture. • Until new behaviors are rooted in shared values and social norms, they are subject to degradation as quickly as the pressure for change is removed. Dream This phase of the 5D model is based on the victory stories; in this phase the members share their "wildest" dreams about the selected theme. This step is about making the employees consider the fact how the organization can take the positives they recognized in the Discovery segment, and support them to build real strengths. In this phase we will employ the organizational development tools to find out what can be done with the organizational structure for fulfilling the future dreams. One of the effective tools for developing the managerial & leadership strategies is Future Search methodology of the organizational development system (Weisbord & Janof, 2003, pp.1-2). Future search can be referred to as a development of the effort of the late societal psychologist Kurt Lewin, developer of field theory and action research that has predisposed organizational session for 50 years. This procedure enables communities and organizations to quickly alter their capacity for action. In this method a meeting is arranged. The meeting is task-oriented. It brings collectively 60 to 80 people in a room or hundreds in corresponding rooms. Members tell stories related to their past, present and preferred future. Through dialogue exchange they find out their familiar ground. Only then do they create concrete action plans. Participants are motivated to observe their common interest from a broader standpoint (Reinhard Sellnow, 2006, p.1 ). Conflicts & problems are regarded as information that can be used to identify common position and advantageous futures. Another effective tool is Open Space Technology which is a technique for conducting meetings based on values and principles that enable problem solving, innovation, teamwork, creativity, and rapid change. In Open Space technique, members self-organize on the basis of what is significant to them, and as a consequence, are dedicated to implement the changes they visualize. Open Space may also be used as a tool for ongoing organizational learning (Sustainable Sonoma Country, n.d.). The Silkeborg council might implement these strategies for ensuring long term organizational changes & reducing the absenteeism practice among the employees. For implementing these strategies the council needs to provide the required time to the employees to get accustomed with the future search & open space techniques. Design This stage is built on the previous steps, both Dream and Discovery. The members will look into the feasibility needed to carry on the vision or dream of the participants. The focal point is the strategies, processes, and systems which will allow the vision to be realized. To establish the right systems, processes, and strategies the members will base on their knowledge from the Discovery step. They will look forward to the achievement stories and the already recognized factors that made the constructive experiences achievable. This knowledge is applied when planning what should be in the future. One effective approach towards achieving the desired outcome can be the application of Employee Assistance Programme. With respect to The Silkeborg council, the Employee Assistance Programme can prove to be beneficial as it will help in Reducing Absenteeism- 15% of the workers contribute towards 90% of an organization’s absenteeism. Reports shows that an employer losses 1.75% of an employee’s wage due to their absence from work. EAP will effectively address this issue & hence it will prove to be gainful for the employer. Increasing Competitive Advantage- EAP helps to reduce tension and stress which helps the staff to learn new things and apply them in their work. Innovation, creativity & risk taking activities are encouraged through EAP implementation. Lower rate of turnover- Around 65% to 80% of the terminations of employees takes place due to personal and interpersonal reasons which can be resolved with the introduction of EAP. Reducing the chances of disability- Stress & tension can lead to 85% of the accidents at workplace. Hence a proper EAP would be able to teach the employees to handle their stress. The key steps that are recommendable to The Silkeborg council for setting up an EAP would include a need assessment step at first which will bring out the requirements of the workforce followed by the development of a mission statement that would explicitly and clearly formulate the objectives of the program. The objectives should be at par with the organization’s goals. Also the objectives of the program should be attainable, specific, concrete, and time limited. (Richard, 2009, p. 168) Destiny The last step in the AI framework is Destiny and it refers to the delivery of the dream and new design. This step is the execution phase and it involves a great deal of preparation and planning. The means to successful delivery is ensuring that the vision is the strong focus for all the members in the organization. The vision must be noticeable and often referred to by managers at every level to make sure continuing levels of commitment. Resembling all other change management the managers at all levels play significant roles and they to go through tough phases to make the vision a reality. The change management interventions discussed in these is certainly effective but still it ignores the significant part that we are discussing about human beings who can’t be controlled by following a set of rules. In the first phase we tried to find out the cause behind the issue of frequent absenteeism among the employees of the Silkeborg council. We realized that there can be variety of issues & those cannot be solved until the problems are openly discussed with the employees. However even after thorough discussion, some employees feel uncomfortable to disclose their personal matters in front of their employers. This can be handled with the employee assistance program. In the next stage we discovered the approaches that can be used for solving the various issues arising within the staff. The styles of leadership applied in an organization affect the employee behavior significantly. Therefore we suggested the application of a hybrid style which will include the positive elements of both the transformational & transactional style. The concept of metaphor was also discussed, but still we tend to forget here that every individual has separate set of thoughts & every individual should be treated separately. The metaphors that dominate an organization might prove to be a vital force for de motivation of employees. If a certain employee gets motivated through the receipt of monetary reward, it cannot be expected that the other employee would also get satisfied with monetary reward. The other employee can get more motivated towards his job if they are presented with some recognition or certificate. Similarly Kotter’s approach towards forming a powerful team might not prove to be successful in every scenario as teamwork also has got some limitations. It can be concluded that with the application of the Appreciative Inquiry 5D framework we can follow a systematic approach towards introducing change in the management structure. However this model is time consuming & is not applicable in organizations which require instant change. Reference Richard, M.A. 2009. EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: Wellness/Enhancement Programming (4th Ed.) Illinois: Charles C Thomas Publisher Bertocci, D.I. 2009. Leadership in Organizations: There is a Difference between Leaders and Managers. USA: University Press of America Sustainable Sonoma Country, n.d. Open Space Technology. Retrieved from http://www.sustainablesonoma.org [Accessed 29th June] Reinhard Sellnow, 2006. Future Search Conference in Theory and Practice. Poland: Conference on Public Communication and Large-Scale Urban Regeneration Projects. Retrieved from http://www.sellnow.de [Accessed 29th June] Weisbord, M & Janof, S. 2003. Three Perspectives on Future Search: Meeting Design, Theory of Facilitating, Global Change Strategy. Retrieved from http://www.marvinweisbord.com [Accessed 29th June] Naughtin, P. n.d. Leading Change by John P. Kotter. Retrieved from http://www.metricationmatters.com [Accessed 29th June] Gareth Morgan’s Organizational Metaphors, n.d. PERSPECTIVES ON ORGANISATIONS. Retrieved from http://www.systems-thinking.ca [Accessed 29th June] Roelofs, L. 2009. Organizational Culture: Metaphor. Retrieved from http://www.polyphonic.org [Accessed 29th June] viha.ca, n.d. Types of Change in Organizations. Retrieved from http://www.viha.ca [Accessed 29th June] Kamel, B. 2012. REASONS FOR RESISTANCE TO CHANGE IN THE NATIONAL COMPANY FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRICITY AND GAS. Algeria : Bechar University. Retrieved from http://www.facultyjournal.com [Accessed 29th June] Read More