Management and Organizational Behavior: Oldham Council - Case Study Example

Management and Organizational behavior case study: Oldham Council Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Introduction It is an apparent fact that organizations in the contemporary world are operating in an increasingly dynamic business environment. This environment is thus characterized by elevated performance demands as well as rapid changes. Consequently, these institutions are confronted with the challenge of achieving two objectives which are often conflicting. These are the attainment of good performance and at the same time being capable to change aimed at adapting to their business environment. Therefore, change or evolution in organizations has evolved into becoming a constant topic of discourse in diverse realms of organizational behavior and organizational effectiveness in the recent decades. This has seen the publication of diverse literature in regard to the management of change in different organizations. The importance of change in organizations is fortified by Lawler (2005) who determined that change is imperative in contemporary business environment in guaranteeing that organizations which fail to change are bound to quickly become ‘corporate dinosaurs’. They are thus eventually destined towards extinction based on the fact that they are no longer capable of fitting in the present business environment. Thus, it is imperative to examine these factors of organizational evolution or change based on their fundamental niche in ensuring the long-term sustainability of a certain institution. There are different mechanisms which are employed by different institutions in their efforts to tackle change or evolution. These include but not limited to enhancement of leadership in the organization, elevating the involvement of the employees as well as providing incentives to the human resource to overcome the level of resistance to change. These are key in ensuring that the change which takes place in an organization is quick and culminates in adaptation to the current business environment. Against this backdrop, this paper will analyze the aspects of organizational evolution or change in local councils as examples of public institutions. These are institutions which are mandated with the roles of making informed decisions based on the interests of the local communities, provision and coordination of different public services and resources at the local level as well as developing and encouraging initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of life within the local communities among other roles. The Cantle report which was instituted in 2001 in Oldham council will be used as the trigger point for change in this public institution. Identifying the organizations Oldham council was created in 1974. In the initial years of its establishment, this council shared power with the Greater Manchester County Council until the abolishment of the latter body in 1986. Since 1986, Oldham council has effectively operated as a unitary authority. It has thus been responsible for monitoring and evaluating health services in the borough, provision of funds to schools, setting levels of council tax as well as provision of social care among other duties. Most of these responsibilities are also undertaken by other local councils in the UK, for instance, Bradford and Burnley councils among others. In regard to the area/remit, the jurisdiction of Oldham council covers an area of around 55 square miles with an estimated population of 220,000 people. In terms of revenues, the net revenue budget for the financial year 2012/13 was £225.6 million. This council has also been credited for employing approximately 2897 people who are core in the provision of more than 700 services in this area (Shafique, Kippin and Lucas, 2012). In terms of structure, this council constitutes of 60 elected members who represent twenty wards. Currently, this council is controlled by Labour which has a total of 44 seats, Liberal democrats have 14 seats and the remaining 2 seats taken by the conservatives (Shafique, Kippin and Lucas, 2012). According to Oldham Council Website (2013), the overall business of this council falls under the responsibility of the cabinet which comprises of eight elected members. All the members of this cabinet have both shared and individual responsibilities in the development and implementation of the council’s policy, performance and budget framework. In terms of the key management style, Oldham council has in the recent past shifted towards the cooperative operating model. This paradigm shift is informed by a cooperative structure for entire system change. The key reasons for this is to open up the council to increase the involvement of the citizens in decision making, working hand in hand with the residents in the co-production of services as well as opening up the process of service delivery to encompass new models, for instance mutuals and cooperatives (Shafique, Kippin and Lucas, 2012). The following section will focus on the historical position at the time chosen as the starting point. Historical position The historical position at the time chosen as the starting point was in 2001. This was whereby the spring and summer of this year saw several disturbances in the England’s towns and cities, which included Oldham. These instabilities involved massive numbers of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, and they have been cited as resulting to detrimental destruction of property as well as attack on the law enforcers. This led to the establishment of a review team, chaired by Ted Cantle which sought to seek the views of the local residents as well as the community leaders. This is in regard to the issues which needed urgent redress aimed at forging more profound and sustainable social cohesion. This review team also sought to identify ideal practices on how to handle these issues at the local level. This led to the culmination of the report commonly known as the Cantle report (Independent Review Team, 2001). There are several factors which obliged Oldham council to have to instigate the evolution process and organizational change. These are captured in the subsequent PESTLE analysis. Political factors In regard to the political factors, Oldham council was confronted by a situation whereby the political leadership did very little in fostering and cultivating cohesion and integration of the diverse communities which live in Oldham. As a result, the weakness and divisions in the political leadership played a central role in creating a vacuum which made it easy for extremist groups to get in and cause chaos. In addition, the minority groups in this regions were unrepresented in the political processes. This fueled as feeling of marginalization and thus, gradual development of these resentments were key in forging ethnic tensions in this region which ultimately resulted in the disturbances in 2001 (Independent Review Team, 2001). Economic factors The underlying economic factors in this region were the high level of unemployment, mostly among the ethnic minorities. This was key in triggering resentment among these groups who felt economically disadvantaged. On the other hand, members of these ethnic minorities suffered from significant prejudice from the employers in regard to appointments and promotions (Independent Review Team, 2001). This was attributed to several factors like inadequate skills connected to underachievement in schools, physical isolation as well as the general lack of opportunities which all contributed to unemployment among the minority ethnic groups in this region. Social factors The study by the Independent Review Team (2001) revealed a massive depth of polarization in this region. This was characterized by exclusion of some members of the community from the mainstream society based on their ethnic background. This was so extreme to the point that there was limited or absolutely no contact between members of different communities living in this region. In addition, there was segregation in terms of access to some basic social facilities in this area, mostly in the case of the ethnic minorities which saw members of some communities developing negative sentiments against other dominant communities. Technological factors Technologically, there was inequality in terms of access to communication and information technology by members of various communities. This is epitomized by the fact that the technological links between different schools which includes internet works and video conferencing were unequally distributed among diverse schools based on ethnic realities (Independent Review Team, 2001). Thus, schools which mostly harbored the minority groups, who were mostly from poor economic backgrounds, had poor technological development which explains the poor academic performance and subsequent employment disparities between members of various ethnic groups in this region. Legal factors At the basic level, there were no robust legal framework which cultivated cohesion and equality between members of different ethnic groups. This includes the minimum percentage of members from different ethnic backgrounds in public organizations and learning institutions to reflect the different ethnicities and cultures in a given local area. Environmental factors The physical environment in this region was also not conducive for cohesion between members of different ethnic backgrounds. This is exemplified by the fact that large minority ethnic populations generally occupied areas with low quality housing and poor sanitation (Independent Review Team, 2001). Analysis and evaluation of the change process The implementation of the Cantle report at Oldham council brought about some drastic changes in this institution. Nonetheless, there are some inherent challenges which made the implementation of the Cantle report to be problematic. Firstly, there was a tendency of members from different ethnic backgrounds to lay the entire burden of enhancing cohesion to the council. This is exemplified by the fact that majority of the people urged the council to do certain things, fund certain programs and organize certain initiatives to bring the people together. Nonetheless, these people did little to mold their own responsibilities including change of attitude. This made the process of advancing cohesion to be problematic (Coventry University, 2006). However, the advent of a more holistic approach in the advancing cohesion among the local communities has seen a smooth transition in this process. This is whereby the Oldham council has successfully collaborated with schools, volunteers, faith based organizations among other partners to build bridges between various communities. This has been chief in making the process of bringing cohesion more smooth in the recent times (Coventry University, 2006). The changes in terms of increased cohesion among the local communities have seen the Oldham council becoming increasingly committed towards advancing these efforts at the local level. This is in terms of increasing the partnership base and formulating initiatives to foster advanced cohesion. In addition, the political leaders in this institution have increasingly been involved in advancing this course unlike there before. Factors currently facing Oldham council There are several factors facing Oldham council at the present times. From an economic perspective, this council is confronted by the impediment of low-skill economy, low-wage with low levels of SMEs growth. There are also social and environmental factors which have been propelled by heightened demand for services and demographic dynamics. The management of these pressures has been viewed as being a novel reality at least for the rest of the decade (Shafique, Kippin and Lucas, 2012). Extensive reduction in revenue has been cited as a major challenge confronting this council. This is evidenced by the fact that the council has reduced its net budget by more than £79 million between the financial years 2008/9 and 2012/13. This reduction as a result of shrinking revenues is bound to affect the delivery of services to the local population as little amount of money will be continuously allocated in delivery of various public services at Oldham. Another challenge is the development of a convincing socio-economic vision for cooperative Oldham. This is bound to affect the effectiveness of this approach both in the short-and long term. Lastly, there is the challenge of advancing community cohesion and capabilities which is bound to affect the viability of the efforts initiated to advance the level of cohesion among members of various communities (Shafique, Kippin and Lucas, 2012). Both of the two latter challenges are important based on the fact that they influence the future viability of the operations of this organization. This is in terms of undertaking most of its fundamental roles previously mentioned in this paper. In addition, the capacity of the council to address these challenges greatly determines whether it will be in a position to adapt to future changes brought about by modern operating environment of the local councils. In response, the council has initiated several plans to address some of these challenges. Firstly, in regard to the challenge of developing a convincing socio-economic vision for cooperative Oldham, the council has fortified its democratic and corporate commitments through extensive plans. This is aimed at constructing a ‘productive place’ which will ensure the survival of enterprises. This is coupled with an analytical exploration in regard to what a cooperative council might mean in campaigning for fairness in transport and energy or tackling social exclusion (Shafique, Kippin and Lucas, 2012). In regard to the challenge of advancing community cohesion and capabilities, the council has already engaged widespread consultation as well as carried out assessments as part of its budget proposal ((Shafique, Kippin and Lucas, 2012). This is imperative in ensuring fair distribution of resources among members of diverse ethnic backgrounds which will elevate the level of cohesion and equity among local communities. Conclusion The preceding analysis has evidenced that the contemporary business environment is endowed with extensive dynamics which necessitate change in different organizations. This is evident among public institutions in different regions, for instance, local councils. Oldham council has been confronted with these changes, mostly as a result of the execution of the Cantle report after 2001 disturbances. This council operated under unique political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental realities which necessitated this change. However, this change process was both problematic as well as smooth. Lastly, this council is currently faced by a myriad of factors and challenges. It has thus instituted plans and made consultations in efforts to curb these challenges as evidenced in the preceding section. References Coventry University, 2006. Challenginglocal communitiesto change, Oldham, Available at: < http://resources.cohesioninstitute.org.uk/Publications/Documents/Document/DownloadDocumentsFile.aspx?recordId=79&file=PDFversion>(Accessed 20th February 2013). Independent Review Team, 2001. Community Cohesion: A Report of the Independent Review Team, (Online) Available at: Accessed 20th February 2013). Lawler, E., 2005. Designing change capable organizations. Los Angeles: Center for Effective Organizations. Oldham Council Website, 2013. Cabinet. (Online) Available at: < http://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/200570/cabinet> (Accessed 20th February 2013). Shafique, A., Kippin, H., &Lucas, B., 2012.Oldham’s co-operative council: A social productivity framework. London: RSA. Read More