To What Extent is Employee Motivation Staff Employed Affected by Organizational Change - Essay Example

Change according to the ancient Greeks was tampering with the basic character of things and was a sure path to disaster. Modern western culture, however, thinks change is a means to bend fate to ones ends (Kanter et al., 1992 cited by Appelbaum et al., 1998). Globalization, internationalization and the challenge to meet international needs have made change a standard business practice to meet long term organizational goals. Organizational goals can change, strategies can change, management can change, but how do these impact the employee motivation of the departmental staff employed by any UK local authority? Various reasons for organizational and management change have come to light through studies. Change in an organization can be due to downsizing, redundancy, change of management through mergers and acquisition, change due to expansion, and most important due to the advancements in technology. UK has experienced problems in all types of organization. While there may be certain factors common to all, there are certain unique characteristics specific to the department or the organization. According to Worrall, Campbell & Cooper (1999) redundancy is the redundancy is the most evocative and fear inducing form of organizational change for many workers. A survey on organizational change in UK revealed that within one year there was dynamism, persistence and an increased pace of change. There was a visible increase in the number of people affected by restructuring. They also found that larger firms employing more than 500 people were more at risk of being affected by restructuring. They established that there were differences in restructuring over industrial sectors, with the public sector experiencing the highest restructuring. The effects of redundancy were consequently different also. Brockner et al., 1986; Kozlowski et al., 1993 emphasize that emotions synonymous with grieving such as shock, anger, denial, guilt and fear. These lead to decreased motivation, decreased trust in management and decreased levels of organization commitment even in subsequent jobs (cited by Worrall et al.,). These emotions and attitudes even affect the behavior of survivors. It makes them indecisive, they are averse to taking risks, and the workers are not willing to go ‘that extra mile’ (Thornhill et al., 1997; Smith and Vickers, 1994, cited by Worrall et al.,). Individuals become loyal to their own development than the organization (Reilly et al., cited by Worrall). Robinson and Rousseau (1994) also agree that redundancy leads to high employee turnover, decreased satisfaction level amongst the survivors, and it could reduce organizational commitment, morale and motivation. Fear creeps in and to escape fear, workers try to demonstrate their indispensability by working longer hours (Handy, 1998 cited by Worrall et al.,). Mergers and acquisitions can bring about changes in the workplace and have a demoralizing effect on the employees but Pollitt (2006) cites how Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries plc (W&DB) UK, overcame the initial imbalance due to the right organizational strategy. When W&DB took over two breweries within 12 months, the synergy resulted in closure of two head-offices, one distribution centre and downsizing. The cost-dominated and hard-nosed attitude greatly affected the ‘survivors’. The employee attitude and motivation level was affected as different employees across group doing the same piece of work did not get the same compensation. A survey revealed widespread dissatisfaction amongst the employees, and each group felt the others got favorable treatment. The staff morale was down as they felt that the company did not care for its employees. They felt the business was poorly run, training was not aimed at improving the performance of the employees and communication was inadequate. The management brought about intensive changes like grouping different activities under different names. This immediately had a profound effect on the employees as each could identify with something that was new and fresh. People were now open to changes. This demonstrated to the HR team that any change in action, decision or policy should be such that can justify to the employees and if circumstances warrant an alternate course of action, the stand should be clarified to the employees. There should be transparency in all actions and decision to keep up the employee morale and cooperation. Workplace change revealed a different picture within two years. The number of satisfied employees showed a quantum jump. Open-plan environments and removal of managements trappings helped replace the old prejudices with a new identity and optimism. This confirms to Maslow’s theory of motivation that physiological and hierarchical needs have to be satisfied to attain the optimum from the employees. Kent County Council (KCC) is one of the largest UK local authorities. Beard and Rees (2000) explored how evolution of participative, interdependent staff ‘green team’ approach at KCC helped to solve the environmental problem and tackle the move towards a culture change. Early 1990s saw a turbulent government agenda with cuts in public expenditure, local government review, compulsory competitive tendering and new legislation demanding the local authority to attain more with fewer resources. The year 1997 witnessed further cut in financial and human resources coupled with organizational restructuring. Despite these, the green team members could not integrate environmental management into the councils’ operations save resources and improve the competitive edge. The Kent County Council’s Environment program emerged in the late 1980s in which risk taking was allowed and the management took revolutionary initiatives. The organizational revolution was based on bringing private business practices and philosophies into the public sector. Although the effect was positive and exciting, some suffered identity crisis. They were demoralized and insecurity had crept in. The KCC had twelve departments including planning, education, social services, police, fire services, highways, arts and libraries, and financial services amongst others. All departments had voluntary ‘green teams’ of people from differing positions of responsibility. The planning department could not achieve much as they remained surrounded by departmental management hierarchy and focused through a minor council sub-committee of limited powers. The environmental unit too realized that cultural and organizational transformation would require much more. The green teams had a significant role in evolving the large local authority. Finally staff training was used as a means to translate environmental rhetoric into reality. Training sessions helped to sensitize the individuals and brought awareness. It also provided the tools and solutions to enable the individuals to move from a state of intent to one of implementation. They faced a lot of negative responses and even till date there is still much to gain from these practices. Success is limited in different departments but the major achievement has been that concern for environment has become synonymous with good business practice even when cost, quality and other factors conflict. The modern healthcare providers felt the need for strategic and operational changes. The nursing and finance specialists had minimal management training. Morrison (1998) observes that if courses are set at a level higher than the academic level of the individual, it could have disastrous results. With family responsibilities and job demands it is not easy to return to learning. With this is mind, a program was set at a London hospital to bring about workplace improvements, culture change and personal effectiveness. They were provided with communication, computer and presentation skills. Management models were used and they were instructed to practice, and then a feed back was used to reinforce the application. They were motivated to undergo training with the assurance this would allow them to develop to MBA in juts five years. Staff self-selection ensured motivation, and it helped them to identify what exactly they aspired for and what they expected to achieve in their careers. The program demonstrated that even at the expense of family and social life, the staff did respond positively. They could assimilate and apply the enhanced skills at the workplace. In the long run many even learnt to introduce further study into their work. This brought the change at the workplace which was the objective. The existing bridge between the hospital’s diverse healthcare and business functions was strengthened. Each participant became a driver for change. Morrison emphasizes that line support is essential if change management is to be effective through staff development programs. Staff needs recognition at all levels to sustain study and remain motivated to apply the learning at work. The peer-groups also help to build strong inter-departmental communication links. Certificates were presented to provide a mark of achievement to not only the staff but also the family who might have shared the sacrifices. Change in the workplace in the hospital has been adjudged to be a success. Landale (2004) believes motivation is the key to empower the staff and get the front line managers to take collectively responsibility. The support staff at Birmingham Voluntary Services Council (BVSC), the largest voluntary service council in the UK, was able to serve themselves, their team and the organization through a motivational attitude and by developing motivational skills. To bring about a change in people’s attitude to what they felt they could or could not do, the council introduced training programs. They observed that to keep employees motivated towards any change in the workplace, targets have to be achievable and efforts have to be rewarded. The staff should be allowed to contribute to the growth or the organization, and they should be provided opportunities to think beyond the career. Each employee should be made to feel a part of the organization, which boosts his self-worth and instills a sense of pride in him. This immediately brings about a shift in energy and enthusiasm. Service quality has become a key issue in local UK government especially with the change in the climate. Donnelly (1994) suggests that the intentions of central government policy in promoting its Citizens Charter, Performance Review, Competing for Quality, and the compulsory competitive tendering are all meant to give the citizens better value for money from local councils. This leads to fragmented contract-oriented organizations and the government shifts in its role as the direct service-provider. The consumer awareness and aspirations have increased and so has the desire for managers to provide quality service. Many who had felt threatened by this change in environment have positively responded to this challenge. This has seen growth in local citizen’s charters and various other customer care programs across the country. In this climate of change, to sustain the change and continue to provide quality service, managing people is most vital. A seminar was held to focus on the value of people as a primary source in delivering effective service. It was observed that the factors that increase the morale also serve to demoralize and de-motivate when it is absent. The factors that led to motivation could be the individual employee, the workplace environment, the job being done, organizational culture, the system of rewards and recognition and the management style (Donnelly). Need for job security and certainty affected the motivation and morale of the employees. An employer needs to be valued both by the employer and the customer. When an individual is unable to meet the customer expectations, it had a demoralizing effect on him. Factors relating to pay, training and career development, ands system of promotions were found to be other areas which affected the motivation level of the employee. Employees also wanted independence in service innovation and development. Apart from these, there are other internal and external factors also that affect employee motivation. It was felt essential to determine and communicate the organization’s objectives to the employees. When an organization has met with public failures in defining the services, these prejudices, preconceptions and perceptions can have a demoralizing effect on the employees. Before any strategic change has to take place, proper communication is vital. Individual attention and support in training is essential to keep them motivated. Employees, who feel a part of the organization, are severely affected by adverse corporate and public image of the local authority. Right delegation is essential to provide clear-cut division of responsibilities between employees. It was also observed that low level of competence in people management by line managers was due to lack of attention in the past. Improving the frequency, quality and extent of communications can have a major impact on staff motivation and morale (Donnelly). Communication organizational aims and objectives are important. Difficult issues can be resolved through discussions. Honesty, trust, openness, employee participation, all helps to achieve high motivation among staff. Recognition of staff through promotional material also helped to keep them motivated. Donnelly emphasize that the quality of service is crucially affected by the staff motivation and morale. External and internal environments continue to be affected by political uncertainties. These frustrate the development of staff motivation. Employees are willing to introduce service innovation but good corporate communications hold the key to this. Various studies have been conducted to link employee motivation and consequent business performance to management of people. A study by Patterson et al., (1997) in UK confirmed that management of people was more important than the combined effect of strategy, product, service quality, or even the manufacturing technology or the expenditure on R&D (cited by Gollan, 2006). There is a definite relationship between employee performance and their attitude. This becomes more pronounced and needs more attention in change environment. Another study of 5000 people in 42 UK manufacturing units, conducted by Patterson and West (1998) also suggests a strong link between employee satisfaction, profitability and productivity (cited by Gollan). A study of 61 hospitals in UK revealed strong connection between the extent and sophistication of appraisal system in hospitals and lower mortality rates (West, 2002 cited by Gollan). All these suggest that knowledge, skill, motivation and performance of employees enhance productivity. Schools in UK have been experiencing swing in shifts in macro, meso and micro policies (Brown & Rutherford, 1998). Operational and developmental activities have brought about legislative, societal and cultural changes in the education environment (Kelly, 1995 cited by Brown & Rutherford). Decentralization of decision making and empowerment of teachers is essential. The responsibility and accountability should lie with classroom teaching and learning. Middle management training has been felt essential to emphasize leadership and management rather than administration. Thus, it is evident that whatever is the cause of change in an organization, the employee motivation and morale can be affected due to various reasons, which in turn adversely affects the organization performance. In the case of a local UK authority, as well as in the private sector, in the field of healthcare or education, employees’ participation, recognition, proper communication, are most vital. Employees are not resistant to change provided they are well-informed of the aims and objectives of the organization. Training helps to evoke their talents and they become motivated to introduce innovation in their fields. Absence of proper communication, employee involvement in decision making and lack of training and recognition has a demoralizing and de-motivating impact on the individual. References: Applebaum, S. H. St-Pierre, N, & Glavas, W. (1998), Strategic organizational change: the role of leadership, learning, motivation and productivity, Management Decision, Vol. 36 No. 5, 1998, pp. 289–301 Beard, C. & Rees, S. (2000), Green teams and the management of environmental change in a UK county council, Environmental Management and Health, Vol. 11 No. 1, 2000, pp. 27-38 Brown, M. & Rutherford, (1998), A re-appraisal of the role of the head of department in UK secondary schools, Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 37 No. 3, 1999, pp. 229-242 Donnelly, M. (1994), Managing People and Quality in a Climate of Change, Managing Service Quality, Vol. 4 No. 4, 1994, pp. 41-44 Gollan, P. J. (2006), High involvement management and human resource line sustainability, Handbook of Business Strategy, pp. 279-286 Landale, A. (2004), Motivation muscle frees up the front line at BVSC, Human Resource Management, Vol. 12 No. 2 2004, pp. 27-29 Morrison, M. (1998), A lower academic level of first line management training for medically qualified healthcare staff can enhance workplace performance, Industrial and Commercial Training Volume 30 · Number 1 · 1998 · pp. 20–23 Pollitt, D. (2006), Raise a glass to HR at Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries, Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 14 No. 1 2006, pp. 9-12, Worrall, L. Campbell, F. Cooper, C. (1999), Surviving redundancy: the perceptions of UK managers, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 15 No. 5, 2000, pp. 460- 476. Read More