An Organization as a Negotiated Order - Implications for Managers, Employees, and Others - Essay Example

An organization is a ‘negotiated order’: implications for managers, employees and others Introduction The conceptualization of negotiated order emerged in 1960s (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). The term was coined by Strauss and his colleagues in their work on psychiatric hospitals. The application of this term broadened and was applied different types of social orders and organizations. The theory of negotiated order was published in 1978. According to this publication, Strauss argued that all social order is negotiated order and therefore all organizations depend on some measure of negotiation (Sharon & Roz, 2007). In addition, Straus argued that specific negotiations depend on the structural set up of the organization (Levine, et al, 2007). These negotiations according to Strauss are patterned and therefore existing lines of communications are followed (Mills, et al, 2006). He further stated that these negations were temporal process and therefore kept recurring in the evolution and revolution of the social order. This implies that any changes in the structure of an organization require a revised negotiated order (Bennington, et al, 2003). This order and change are conceptualized under negotiated order as being dialectic, reflexive and temporal. Negotiated theory explains how negotiated interactions among different professional groups create and recreate organizational structures, which end up privileging some over others. Organization is a negotiated order Effective and competent governance often results in organizational effectiveness. Negotiated order can be used in organizations to make decisions, which can result in improvement of the organizational effectiveness. (Mills, et al, 2006) Negotiated order involves continuous recreation of patterns of behaviour, which includes structures of roles and relationships through the members’ actions and interactions. As people perform their duties, at their work place their roles, job standards and relationships with their seniors and fellow workers are usually negotiated (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). The negotiated order of organization does not involve daily creation of new social orders since subsequent social negotiations are conditioned by the existing ones. In addition, in organizations negotiation order is limited by the need to increase revenues and reduce costs, technologies being used and the markets of the firm in addition to regulations governing employment (Levine, et al, 2007). During stable periods, social actions settle down where all members of the organization have a common understanding and shared sense. Changes in conditions of the organization the negotiated order no longer works and complexities of work again arise. Often members of the organization become anxious as new rules, which are not agreed upon by all, are enforced (Sharon & Roz, 2007). This is why change organization is usually met by serious resistance from those concerned in the organization. Organizations are usually complex and in addition, they operate in a complex environment, which is ever changing. For any organization to survive in this environment it should be capable to react to the changes in the appropriate way. Negotiated order can be used to make decisions that can aid in bringing about changes to the organization to avoid resistance. Many organizations have been able to outperform others in this ever-changing environment (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). These organizations are usually referred to as high performing organizations and have unique features that set them apart from those struggling in the environment. These organizations have adopted seven elements, which are essential for their continuous outstanding performance (Mills, et al, 2006). They include core element of people, four cardinal elements (leadership, innovation, strengths and vision) and two foundational elements (trust and personal responsibility). Since these factors are essential for the performance off the organization, the paper shall consider negotiation order in all of them and their impact on the organization. Negotiation order in the core element of people and its impact on the organization Organizations that have managed to leverage their people are capable of attaining process proficiency that results in high performance. The people form the core of organization performance because all activities in an organization are performed by people (Levine, et al, 2007). When an organization is able to establish a balance of the needs of its entire people, it becomes better in terms of performance. The satisfaction of the needs of different people in an organization is determined by the employees. Engagement of employees in a better way results in excellent services to the firm and its customers. As a result, there is an increased engagement of and loyalty by the customers. This in turn results in increased returns to the shareholders. To be able to engage the employees, there is need for negotiated order in various activities affecting the employee (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). First, the performance appraisal should be negotiated between the management and the employees to ensure that measurement of performance is not biased. In addition, the measurement process itself should involve negotiation where the employee, co-workers and the management are involved in the measurement process to motivate the employees. In addition, the culture of the organization should be a negotiated one to allow independence at work place (Levine, et al, 2007). Furthermore, the performance appraisal procedure and measurements need to be done with consultation with labour unions to avoid cases whereby underperforming employees who are unionized not being punished as others are being punished. Furthermore, decision-making process should be collective and not a preserve of the upper management (Mills, et al, 2006). Thus, consultation with the employees, management and shareholders should be carried out prior to introduction of new changes in the organization to avoid cases of resistance to change. Since engagement of customers is essential for the profitability of the organization, negotiation order needs to be applied in the delivery of product and services (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). The organization need to carry out through research on the needs of the customers and tailor its products to meet these needs instead of introducing a new product in the market which without consulting the needs of the customers (Hegedus, 2010). Service delivery process should also be negotiated by the customers so as the organization can learn the best way that it can deliver its services. By involving the customers in the process of producing new services and products, the firm is able to address special needs of the customer resulting in their satisfaction (Sharon & Roz, 2007). Negotiation order in the four cardinal elements and their impact on the organization These elements are dependent on the core element of people. For an organization to grow, a balance should be struck among the four elements (leadership, innovation, strength and vision) (Mills, et al, 2006). A good vision often motivates employees to be committed to the performance of the firm. A vision makes employees to aspire greater things. To be able to devise an inspiring vision the needs of the employees should be put into consideration (Levine, et al, 2007). This implies that a vision should be a negotiated order whereby the needs of all individuals are taken into consideration prior to devising an inspiring vision that can make the employees to be involved its attainment (Hegedus, 2010). The management is expected to be involved in emotional connection the vision and the employees. Such process calls for consultations to be made in order to be able to connect the employees emotionally to the vision. Thus, negotiated order determines the successful implementation of a company’s vision (Sharon & Roz, 2007). Leadership involves all acts, which defines the behaviour of dealing with ideas and people. Leadership establishes direction through vision devising for future and required changes to enable achievement of the vision. It also involves alignment of people to understand the vision and be committed achieve it. A leader is also involved in motivating and inspiring the people (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). Leaders should give priority to the needs of other members of the organization and the needs of the organization. To be able to understand and place the needs of other members of the firm first, the leaders will be involved in negotiation process (Mills, et al, 2006). Thus, negotiated order is required in the leadership process by management in the organization to be able to understand and act on the needs of different people, at the same time inspire, and motivate them. Organizations that invest many resources in leveraging their strengths often perform better that one which concentrates on improving its weakness (Sharon & Roz, 2007). To make such a decision to invest much in strengths of the organization often involves negotiations among top management. Some of the managers may be of the view that many resources need to be used to address the weaknesses of the organization contrary to the views of others (Levine, et al, 2007). Thus, negotiations are essential to strike a balance on what needs to be done. Without negotiation, some of the management will be demoralized and may not be willing to participate actively in decision-making process (Hegedus, 2010). Thus to leverage the strengths of as organization a negotiated order need to be adopted so as the views of all involved are considered. The performance of an organization also depends on its ability to stimulate progress and at the same time preserve its purpose and values. This depends on the innovation capability of the company, which results in development new technologies, ideas, creativity and methodologies (Mills, et al, 2006). The organization should be able to react continuously to its environment and to continuously make better things. An organization culture thus needs to encourage innovation. The management need to negotiate with other employees on how much risk an individual can take (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). In addition, the management need to negotiate with other members to allow positive reception to innovations. Employees need to negotiate with the management to allow them to undergo further training to enable them to come up with innovative ways of doing things at the firm. The encouragement of innovation at the organization often results in growth and better performance of an organization. Thus, knowledge management, management of human relations and task management, which encourage innovation, need to be negotiated in an organization to spur its growth and better performance (Levine, et al, 2007). The capacities of the organization should focus the attention of people to the creation of value through solving the problems of customers instead of focusing on specific product line. This calls for senior management to develop competencies and managing the firm as a social system, middle managers to be involved in management of businesses which generate profit and lower managers to be involved in creation of products (Hegedus, 2010). Newly developed products should have more market knowledge to be successful. This implies that innovation of new products should take into consideration the various needs and attributes of the customer. This implies that some sort of negotiations needs to be done to identify these needs and attributes of the customer. Negotiations also should consider the size of the market, evolution of the market, likely segments, complementary products, government regulations, demand trends and competition (Levine, et al, 2007). To balance all these factors during innovation means that some negotiations and agreements will have to be undertaken prior to development of new products that can address these factors in a balanced manner (Bennington, et al, 2003). In addition, the knowledge of the customer should be complemented with technology knowledge. Negotiation order in the two foundational elements and their impact on the organization Foundational elements include trust and personal responsibility. Any organization that is characterized as being high performing has all its elements build on element of trust (Hegedus, 2010). Trust comprises of four components. These are straightforwardness, openness, reliability and acceptance. To attain trust, the organization needs to be involved in continuous communication of its elements for creating high performing organization and trust (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). To be able to carry out such communication, the management need to ensure that they help their employees to achieve what they are communicating to the outer community. Without negotiation, there gaps can exist on what is being communicated and what is actually on the ground. Personal responsibility ensures effectiveness and efficiency of all activities of the organization. It enhances trust in the organization (Kolb & McGinn, 2008). It allows the stage for the success of the organization to be set. Thus all individuals involved need to practice personal direction. In addition, personal responsibility calls for consultations prior to making and implementing decisions (Levine, et al, 2007). The act of consultation implies that for personal responsibility to be met there need to be a negotiated order in the organization. Conclusion Negotiated order theory in an organization calls for consultative relations among all players in the carrying pout their duties. As seen above, negotiations are almost at all stages of an organization. Organizations implementing changes in its structure are bound to meet resistance if the implementation process is not negotiated among all players and agreed upon. Managers in organization applying this theory are involved in negotiations prior to making any decisions. Employees have to consult with their seniors and co-workers before undertaking any activity that may impact on the organizations. The theory also requires that management involve labour unions, employees and co-workers in devising and implementing performance appraisal to allow fair rating and actions to be undertaken. Negotiated order affects all the seven elements that determine the performance of an organization and thus should be taken serious for any organization intending to improve its performance. Reference Bennington, A., Shelter, J. & Shaw, T. 2003. Negotiating order in inter-organisational communication: discourse analysis of a meeting of three diverse organizations. Journal of Business Communication, 40(2), pp. 118-143. Hegedus, G. 2010. An Exploration of the Connection Between Human Resource Management and Organizational Culture to Enable Business Success and Growth in the UK Magazine Publishing Industry: A Case Study of Future Plc. New York: GRIN Verlag. Kolb, D. & McGinn, K. 2008.Beyond Gender and Negotiation to Gendered Negotiations. (Working Paper) Levine, T., Park, H., & Kim, R. 2007. Some conceptual and theoretical challenges for cross-cultural communication research in the 21st century. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 36(3), pp. 205-221. Mills, A., Mills, J., Bratton, J. & Forshaw, C. 2006. Organizational Behaviour in a Global Context. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Sharon C. B. & Roz, W. 2007. Human resource management at the negotiating table: Vocabularies of motive and the NHS hospital service. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 20(4), pp.304 – 313 Read More