Organizational Change Process - Assignment Example

Case Study: The Big Move Introduction Organizational change involves the deliberate introduction and management of discontinuity. The purpose is to increase an organization’s level of adaptation to its environment. The conceptual scheme for organizational change takes into account an interplay of diverse variables such as organizational structure, corporate strategy, technological developments, products and services, and human resources. The organization tries to reach a new level of performance with the change factors by adjusting its internal functions and processes as well as modifying organizational objectives. Any or all of the variables may be changed to realize the necessary adjustment. The system’s elements are highly interdependent and interrelated, and any change in one will have an influence on the others. In this regard, the essay is written to discuss issues and perspectives pertinent to organizational change of a Further Education (FE) college by addressing and responding to the following questions: (1) how would one personally measure the success of this change initiative? (2) Do you regard any issues as dysfunctional? (3) What socio technical issues are raised by this case study? And (4) what management issues are raised by the case study? Case Background Although not explicitly identified, the narrator in the case appears to be a tutor of the FE college with teaching responsibilities. The college underwent structural changes and all personnel were required to transfer to a new multi-million building located just outside the town. There had been changes in the staff due to restructuring but the composition of the senior managerial team remains the same. The change in structure brought about complaints in terms of housing the service staff composed of 100 personnel. The various departments were lumped in one room with no allotments for bookshelves. The facilities were limited and necessitate sharing of computers, telephones and printers. The change brought about low morale, stress, anxiety and high employee turnover. The management style used was basically autocratic and leadership centralized. There was no initiative for consultation and participation from the staff. Short-term goals were deemed to be achieved without regard for long term organizational objectives. (1) How would one personally measure the success of this change initiative? The success of any endeavor is measured in terms of achievement of explicitly defined goals. This is one of the underlying problems of FE College. There was no explicit mention of the mission and vision of the organization, nor the need for the change. According to the narrator, the old college was largely functional and fit for purpose as a place to engage with students. The purposes of most FE colleges are to provide vast opportunities for both faculty and students to interrelate with each other, to learn in a cooperative community, and to engage in counseling and career planning. These objectives were previously met in the old college. The need for change was not clearly established in the case. Facts revealed that the change process created more negative outcomes for the staff and status quo for the senior management team. Therefore, from the point of view of the narrator, as a member of the staff, the change was not successful in terms of failing to provide personal and professional growth and development, demotivated the staff, lowered their overall morale, caused high turnover, high absenteeism, high incidents of stress and low smooth interpersonal and group communications. From the standpoint of management, the change process enabled them to reach their short-term objectives, to wit: “prestige led to rapid promotion for managers, the façade of the college looks elegant; senior management was mentioned in dispatches” (Grieves, 2010). Accordingly, the change was more of a show, an external improvement in structure without any regard for quality education and the welfare of the instructors and the students, in the long run. (2) Do you regard any issues as dysfunctional? There are a lot of dysfunctional issues in the case. For one, the change process was not appropriately and effectively managed by the leaders. The change process did not go through the steps proposed by Lewin (1951) which stipulates that change, to be effective, has to go through unfreezing, changing and refreezing stages. The narrator revealed that they were never consulted in the change process. Thus, the unfreezing stage which constitute a necessary first step to stimulate people to feel and recognize the need for change never existed. The management team should have created a motivation for change and solicited inputs from the staff for better arrangements for the working environment. Another dysfunctional issue was the leadership style. The dictatorial style was not suited to the personalities of the followers and the situation at hand. Since the leader was known to be a previous hairdresser without any managerial training, she failed to acknowledge basic human resources functions that need to be practiced in the college. The human behavior problems of lack of motivation, low morale, high turnover, high absenteeism, high incidents of stress and low smooth interpersonal and group communications are reflections of deep seated dilemma which could be addressed by an effective manager. The change in structure itself was dysfunctional in terms of failing to accommodate requirements for spaces to provide consultations with students and to contain the much needed books in the academe. There were no provisions for function rooms for performing arts, music and languages which could have provided opportunities for personal and professional growth of both students and teachers. The new structure sacrificed the space needed to accommodate instructional facilities to enhance educational endeavors. The government initiatives to make provision for the 14- to 19-year-olds in the drive to offer vocational subjects were not duly planned in terms of space to accommodate them. Their inclusion in a limited space contributed to stress and lack of focus in direction for an appropriate scholastic program. The Ofsted inspection raved exceptional review despite the internal flaws. Preparation was duly made by management to achieve a high grade on pretentious façade: impression management was practiced, classrooms were filled with students’ work, send students to Outward Bound programs, use ICT equipment, and the like. Further, the staff’s performance is being appraised and evaluated by outside consultants who grade them upon observation. The managers’ performances are never evaluated, on the contrary. These are all dysfunctional because they should not have existed in an academic environment where high standards of quality education is expected and usually strived to be achieved. (3) What socio technical issues are raised by this case study? Socio technical issues are those that affect the social structure and the technological factors in the academic environment due to the change process. Babylon Dictionary (2009) defines social issues as “matters which directly or indirectly affect many or all members of a society and are considered to be problems, controversies related to moral values, or both. Social issues include poverty, violence, pollution, injustice, suppression of human rights, discrimination, and crime, as well as abortion, gay marriage, gun control, and the teaching of evolution, to name a few. Social issues are related to the fabric of the community, including conflicts among the interests of community members, and lie beyond the control of any one individual.” Using the definition, the social issues in the case appear to be the problems of the staff in terms of being treated unfairly: threatened by managers, being berated, bullied, unjustly evaluated, made to accept bullying or harassment from students because they are the customers, among others. These are social issues because there is definitely injustice, suppression of rights to be heard, discrimination which ultimately will reverberate and affect their interrelationships with members of the society. On the other hand, technical issues pertain to concerns of or relating to technique or proficiency in a practical skill. The case manifests technical issues with regard to problems ensuing from practicing the tutors’ and managers’ fields of endeavors. The social issues preclude tutors’ ability to encourage a more professional practice of their profession due to constant harassment from the managers and due to the poor working environment. The managers, on the other hand, were untouchable. Their performance have never been appraised nor evaluated. Their leadership styles were never compromised nor frankly criticized in their failure to motivate, maintain, and develop their staff. The very existence, mission, vision of the FE college was not maximized due to failure of the staff to actively communicate their views and comments on the leadership style, change process and other academic policies and procedures that need to be improved to serve a more productive population of students who deserve higher quality of education and exceptional scholastic programs. (4) What management issues are raised by the case study? Managers are expected to undertake their basic functions of planning, organizing, directing and controlling various operations of an organization. Management needs to understand that there is indeed a strategy to manage change, as a process. Change disturbs the existing equilibrium in order to attain a new one. As such, it creates tension and anxiety among people that makes them respond in various ways. The one that most concerns change managers is resistance to change for it has to be minimized if change is to succeed. Further, managers as leaders should be concerned with the creation of an environment for performance. They integrate tasks, structure, technology, resources, and people into a productive configuration. They achieve goals through the efforts of other people. They have to influence the behavior of other people in order to get things done. The case reveals management issues which are contrary to what is expected of leaders and managers in the organization. The application of a particular leadership style should depend on an assessment of various factors including the personalities of the subordinates, the work environment, the situation at hand, among others. The case manifested the leader as exerting her own power on the personnel to make them attain goals without necessarily trying to achieve job satisfaction. One such leadership style that emphasizes the leader’s authority over subordinates is the autocratic style (Awan & Mahmood, 2010, 256), as exemplified by the leader in the case. Leaders of this type centralize decision-making in themselves so much so that members have little opportunity to make contributions. The leaders expect discipline, obedience, and compliance from members. Threats and punishments are used to deter what is deemed by the leader to be undesirable behavior. Subordinates with leaders using the autocratic style act of the servant-master relationship (Adair, 1984). They are not motivated and are not satisfied with their jobs. Short term goals are therefore accomplished but there are disadvantages eminent from this particular style. Since workers are not satisfied with their jobs, they tend to resign and transfer to other departments or organizations where leaders are more supportive and democratic. Further, the case revealed that due to the leadership style applied, there were human behavior problems of lack of motivation, low morale, high turnover, high absenteeism, high incidents of stress and low smooth interpersonal and group communications. These problems could have been addressed using motivational theories and development programs for the staff. An important ingredient in boosting the morale of the individual worker and in improving productivity is motivation. This very elusive dimension propels people to think, feel, and act in certain ways. Motivation is predicated mostly on his values and needs. As averred by Martires (2004, 57), “an efficient manager endeavors to know and understand the motivation of his constituents and uses such knowledge to help them meet their needs and improve their productivity.” This was validated by Rad & Yarmohammadian (2006, xi) when they proffered that “organizations need effective managers and employees to achieve their objectives…Job satisfaction is critical to retaining and attracting well-qualified personnel”. An effective leader is sensitive to the needs of the subordinates. Broadly speaking, when a leader motivates his subordinates, it means that he structures the work environment in such a way that their drives and needs are brought into play, instead of being neglected. This environment should be conducive to the satisfaction of those drives and needs so that workers may act in desired ways. To facilitate change, management should create a climate for it through adequate consideration of human needs. This climate is characterized by open communication, consultation, participation, shared rewards, and employee security. The dynamics of group behavior can be used constructively to effect changes in individual behavior. To this end, groups may be used as a medium of change. Conclusion In creating an environment for performance, organizations must continuously innovate to survive and to lead as well. Innovation deals with searching for creative solutions to human relationships, structures and processes, and ability to assess and adjust to the changing environment. Change is initiated, implemented, and maintained in organizations to increase the level of competitiveness and boost the productivity of its people. Changes can be made in strategy, structure, technology, products and services, or people. The relevant thing to remember is that effecting the necessary changes in the organization could temporarily disrupt existing equilibrium. Management can minimize any resistance to change by emphasizing that the benefits for all far outweigh any costs associated with it. The process of change rather than the outcome requires managing. Change is an intricate and complex process that needs to be managed and addressed. The need for change has to be established despite success in an organization. The demands of the changing environment necessitate parallel appraisal of the organization’s adaptation to the clients’ needs. Managers, therefore, must be vigilant of their own leadership style and the various forces in the environment that interplay and affect the operations of the organization. In the end, the success of the change process is measured in terms of the long term positive outcomes and the achievement of organizational goals. Reference List Adair, J. (1984). The Skills of Leadership. Gower, Aldershot. Awan, M.R. & Mahmood, K., 2010. “Relationship among leadership style, organizational culture and employee commitment in university libraries.” Library Management, Vol. 31, No. 4/5, pp. 253 – 266 Babylon Dictionary, 2009. Definition of Social Issues [Online]. Available at: http://dictionary.babylon.com/social%20issue/ [Accessed 09 August 2010]. Lewin, K., 1951. “Frontiers in Group Dynamics,” In Field Theory in Social Science. Harper, New York. Martires, C.R. & Fule, G.S., 2000. Management of Human Behavior in Organizations. National Bookstore. Philippines. Rad, A.M. & Yarmohammadian, M.H., 2006. A study of relationship between managers’ leadership style and employees’ job satisfaction.” Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. xi – xxviii. Read More