Leadership and Motivation - Essay Example

1) In today’s globalized business environment there are few things that are guaranteed except the increasing levels of competition and the constant level of change. In order to stay competitive companies must embrace a culture of flexibility and change in order to survive and remain competitive in their respective industries. The process of changing an organization and their culture from the inside out takes a lot of effort, planning, motivating and commitment from management and their employees in order to achieve meaningful organizational changes that are beneficial to the organization as a whole (Google). There are many barriers that must be overcome in order to implement meaningful revolutionary cultural change and new ways of thinking and doing business. As managers most of the obstacles that must be dealt with a have to do with employees and the inherent fear and apprehension to change humans have in general. There are a lot of factors that affect how the employees will react to organizational change, as managers we must learn to positively help ease employee concerns, doubts, or questions. Many managers fail to communicate with their employees clearly and effectively. As a result, employee perception errors are quite common when dealing with organizational change. Since the employees are left to their own devices and their doubts, questions or concerns are not adequately addressed, employees will come up with their own conclusions. The perceptual process is complex and there are many cultural, personal, and physiological factors that affect how a person perceives, processes and interpret any given information (Hodges). In order to manage organizational change successfully managers must learn to understand the perceptual process, the stages involved, and the impact of employee perceptions. By understanding the perception process managers are better able to implement the necessary operational and cultural changes while minimizing barriers to change. An important concept for management to understand is the concept of attribution theory and how it impacts employee’s perceptions. Attribution theory attempts to interpret and understand the causes of any given event, assess responsibility, and to evaluate the personal qualities of the parties involved. By applying attribution theory managers are working to interpret how employee’s actions and behaviors are dictated by either internal or external factors or concerns (Harvey & Martinko). According to the attribution theory internal causes are within the individual’s control, therefore are more easily addressed by the manager. External causes are not directly controlled by the employee such as a company regulation or operational procedure. Therefore management by implementation of a new culture of change must work together with employees to look for solutions in order to best motivate employees and personally empower employees by participating as much as possible in the process (Google). There are some fundamental attribution errors that can become a barrier to complete a successful organizational change initiative. For example, fundamental attribution error is the tendency of individuals to underestimate the influence of situational factors and overestimate personal ones. Human beings are creatures of habit and it is hard for employees to forgo “the old way of doing things, for new unproven ones”. Fear plays a big factor in why individuals and organizations tend to resist change. Change brings uncertainty and with it additional risks for all parties involved. In most employees’ minds the risk outweighs any possible benefits furthermore there is the additional fear of failing in their new roles. The lack of feedback employee mechanisms and failure to communicate effectively is one of the biggest mistakes made by managers. Maintaining a motivated and empowered workforce is the key to a successful organizational transformation By having employees understand the importance, collectively participate in the decision making process, and be a driving force behind the new changes, the employees become a willing partner and are more motivated to follow thru with the plan (Hodges). 2) There are a variety of perception errors that are common and make the perception process error prone and at best most times, inaccurate. The main types of perception errors are that affect the process of organizational change are: (Google): Stereotypes- We all have made making some general assumption regarding someone we did not know personally just because of appearances. That is the definition of stereotyping. Stereotyping people can lead to managers and employees not really getting to know each other because of innocent or silly assumptions. It prevents individuals from communicating effectively, knowing each other and prevents employees from understanding each other needs, abilities and preferences. Selective Perception- Many individuals tend to concentrate in specific details or aspects of a situation or individual that is familiar or similar to your own views or opinions while dismissing most aspects that are probably more important or significant. Halo Effect- It occurs when a specific attribute of a person or situation is used to develop an overall impression of the individual or circumstance. The Halo effect is commonly viewed in our everyday lives. For example if we meet a person and the person does not smile or make direct eye contact we immediately assume that the individual is not friendly, or even trustworthy. Although it is not based on fact, only mere “first impression”, we treat it as such. Projection-It is the act of assigning our own personal attributes and opinions as the same as everybody else. For example manager’s expectations of the employee’s work ethic and performance might be completely different from what the worker’s see as normal or acceptable. Many initiatives can be taken in order to minimize individual and team perception errors and the inevitable negative consequences. In-house the human resources department of the company can house a monthly training sections and workshops in order to address a lot of the common misconceptions and help employees develop their interpersonal skills. The company can also make an annual training seminar, where outside consultants and experts can be brought in to deal with specific issues facing the company at the time (Alasadi, 2014). 3) Steel producer Corus, embarked in an ambitious plan to revamp their operations and create an internal culture that is more adapted to change and become more competitive in their industry. Unlike other organizational change strategies, Corus had a well thought out plan that addressed a lot of the common barriers and difficulties typically encountered with this type of organizational re-structuring. In 2005 the company embarked in a comprehensive corporate culture transformation plan called “The Journey”. Corus wanted to address a wide area of business challenges but their main focus was to change the way their people worked and did business. Corus was looking to reclaim their edge and regain valuable market-share lost to their competitors. The Journey focused on the values and beliefs of its people and stakeholders. All their employees, managers, partners, suppliers and stakeholders became part of a select community that aimed to maximize accountability, efficiency and communication between all the team members. The company focused on maintaining clear lines of communication between employees, management and stakeholders in order to minimize perception errors. By early 2007 the company had provided all their employees with a booklet that outlined what the expectations, responsibilities and values that the new Corus would have after “The Journey”. The company had suffered a series of work related accidents in the past due to worker’s neglect, so one of the main driving forces of The Journey is the need for full accountability and honesty. Corus took it upon themselves to change their culture from the inside out. The company aimed to change their workers perceptions, ethics, work standards and motivation. When Corus embarked on their mission the company knew this was a long term commitment that required years of planning and execution. Their goal was to motivate, evaluate, and reward their employees for their efforts while maximizing revenues and profitability. The firm followed the correct methodology by identifying their external and internal key drivers for change and identified their main barriers to change by informing their people and dealing with their attitudes and perceptions. The company used all available means of spreading their message to their employees. The organization used videos, intranet, meetings, seminars and billboards to make sure their worker’s were informed and up-to-date Corus identified some key inefficiency that needed to be addressed such as their poor delivery service and their sale higher prices caused them to lose some of their competitiveness compared with some foreign steel producers. The company also wanted to address their high level of wastage due to process inefficiencies and mistakes. Although most of their staff was committed to their jobs, the group lacked motivation. Many of the company’s workers were long time employees, and one of the main barriers to change for them was breaking old habits. Many had a fear of the unknown and how the changes could threaten their job stability. One of the key techniques used by Corus to embrace the change was to have employees to participate in the change process as much as possible. The company went about helping employees become actively involved and have some ownership in the change process by physically signing a contract into the program Corus suffered from an ageing workforce and there was a need to motivate new young people to enter the ranks and become trained and qualified. Corus could invest into offering apprenticeships opportunities and paid training programs, unlike most of their competitors these initiatives could help solve their workforce woes. Another area where Corus could improve is related to the way their employee reward program is structure. The way it currently works, long time employees with lower productivity than some newer employee can end up being paid more for considerably less work. The company needs to address the problem in order to motivate and provide a fair working environment for all their workers (Song, 2009). Corus needs to add a productivity component to their pay scale. This would allow for productive employees to get paid fairly, regardless of seniority. 4) Corus as a company should adopt a more transformational leadership approach instead of a transactional one in order to better deal with their new organizational plan and the new challenges it presents. A Transformational leader does not just follow a script or provide just an informational seminar; he is an agent of progress and change. A transformational leader will broaden and elevate their audience mind and interest while motivating them to continue to broaden their knowledge. References Alasadi, R. (2014). Employee Involvement and the Barriers to Organizational Change. International Journal of Informational , Business and Management, 6(1). < https://us-mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=1blvp8v62ercm#1730510830> [Accessed 4 May 2014] Google.com. Personality, Perception, and Attribution. [Accessed May 3 2014] Harvey, P., Martinko, M. Attribution Theory and Motivation. http://samples.jbpub.com/9780763763831/63831_08_CH07_final.pdf [Accessed 3 May 2014] Hodges, G. The Three Greatest Barriers of Organizational Change. http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/BUS209-6.3.2-TheThreeGreatestBarrierstoOrganizationalChange.pdf [Accessed 3 May 2014] Song, Y. (2009). The Leadership Effectiveness in the Process of Planned Organizational Chance. https://us-mg5.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=1blvp8v62ercm [Accessed 4 May 2014] Read More