A Machiavellian Analysis of Organizational Change - Essay Example

Managing and Leading Change Total Number of Words (Task I) = 503 Total Number of Words (Task II) = 1,996 Task I: Article Review McGuire D. and Hutchings K. (2006) “A Machiavellian Analysis of Organizational Change” Journal of Organizational Change Management. Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 192 - 209. This main purpose of this article is to analyse Machiavelli’s determinants of an organizational change. In line with this matter, the authors made a comparison with regards to Machiavellian’s analysis of organizational change to some other philosophers’ point-of-view. In the process, the authors discussed about the individual as the level of analysis; characteristics of a good leader as well as the role of power and the impact of organizational leaders and team work on the success of organizational change; the impact of reward and discipline as tools for achieving organizational change; and the roles, norms, values and uncertainty as inhibitors of organizational change. There are a lot of Machiavelli’s perception on organizational change that is not acceptable to other philosophers such as Plamenatz and Wolker (1992).1 Personally, I do not agree to Machiavelli when he stated that “people are inherently unchanging and essentially similar” because of the fact that people are often likely to follow the rule of domino effect. Let me give you an example of my personal analysis. When a manager practice good leadership, it is more likely that he could convince his subordinates to support him/her in the implementation of change within the organization. On the other hand, a manager who does not have the qualities of a good leader is more likely to fail when it comes to motivating and convincing the rest of the employees to participate in the manager’s plan. In other words, it only takes a manager with good leadership skill to change the employees’ mentally with regards to organizational change. Machiavelli stated that “fraud and force are two of the most necessary components of effective government.”2 I do not agree that fraud and the practice of authoritative power is always the best solution when it comes to implementing organizational change. Fraud alone is considered as an unethical business practice. On the other hand, the practice of authoritative power is not always the best solution when it comes to implementing change since it will only cause more employees to disrespect and will remain disloyal to the manager. According to Dessler (2001), leaders with a competent leadership skill are individuals who are capable of inspiring another person who often times have the “drive to achieve their goals; the desire to lead; self-confidence; cognitive ability; honesty and integrity; as well as having sufficient knowledge in doing business.”3 Machiavelli’s approach to organizational change strongly contradicts the norm and values of business ethics. Thus, should remain unacceptable. *** End *** Task II: Case Study: Trican Electronics Short Introduction In line with the problems related to Trican’s human resources, Penny suggests that several organizational changes should be implemented with regards to the current situation, the organizational structure, organizational leadership and the way forward. Current Situation The problem with the current situation in Trican Electronics is that the company employees are not happy with their job even though the salary they receive is much higher compared to the average wage that other company offers. Basically, the company does not have a clear business objective or goal nor even a vision and mission. Aside from the fact that the company’s organizational culture has become misaligned, several evidences show that the leadership skill among the managers in different department is weak. The lack of proper communication among the employees also contributes to the misunderstanding such as the usual debate between Paul Bates and Pete Simmonds. It is important for a company to have a vision and mission as well as a company goal since it will enable the entire workforce to focus towards a single direction. It is also essential for organizational culture to be aligned since the values and convictions of the employees are basically rooted within the organisation’s culture aside from their individual attitudes.4 Leadership in management is crucial when it comes to retaining the best talents within the business organization. The absence of managers with a good leadership skill within the business organization could result to a lot of unsatisfied employees. Losing these talents could be very costly because of the costs of training and developing new employees to adapt with the mission and vision of the company. The case of Paul Bates is that he has the best technical knowledge and skills that the company needs. However, his lack of leadership skills makes the employee within the company’s production department uninterested in dealing with him. Basically, the authoritarian type of leadership that Paul is practicing is no longer accepted in most business because it could lead to unhappy employees that may cause the business performance to be negatively affected. Organizational Culture Organizational culture such as the corporate values, behavioural norms, employees’ patterns of behaviour should be strong in terms of consistency and pervasiveness. According to Schein (1992), the tight competition in the market due to several external factors such as globalization, mergers and acquisitions as well as the development in workforces increases the need for a strong organizational culture in order to maintain a sound working environment.5 In line with the importance of organizational culture, the need for talented leaders is essential so as to keep each member of the work force aligned with the company’s cultural beliefs and practices. Organizational Leadership Managerial leadership is important since it could contribute to the success and profitability of the company. Effective leadership skills could enhance the business operations. In line with having an efficient operational system, a company could reduce its unnecessary operational costs due to mismanagement and other operational errors due to miscommunication and lack of a structured operational system. The savings that could be derived from establishing good leadership skills could result to the increases in the revenue generation of a company. Effective leadership style could increase the morale of the leaders and his/her subordinates. Creating a peaceful working environment could enhance the progress of implementing a specific organizational change. Transformational Leadership Style Transformational leaders tend to go beyond what is happening around his environment since they have the ability to implement new ideas all the time.6 Often times, these people are flexible to changes and could easily adapt with the implementation of a new strategic plan to improve the business situation. Personal charisma, a form of a referent power, is an important characteristic of a good leader since it could attract his/her subordinates to cooperate well with the leader.7 According to Bass (1985), transformational leaders possesses not only charisma8, but also the ability to create vision for future development, insinuate intellectual stimulation9 or to be an inspiration to his/her subordinates.10 Transformational leaders are able to internalize a sense of commitment to their goals in such a way that these leaders could easily convert their followers to participate with the high level of commitment; at the same time these leaders could eventually convert the leaders into moral agents.11 Since transformational leaders are focused on terminal values such as integrity and fairness, leaders become directly involved and responsible in the development of the organization.12 Transformational leaders are the ones that do not practice positional authority. Instead, they are committed to train their subordinates to become a leader in their own way by being able to work under less supervision and express themselves freely within the business organization. Thus, effective subordinates are the ones that are capable of self-management, with a strong commitment and courage to meet the organizational goal.12 Cons of Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership style is applicable to limited organizational situations. It is not effective within environment that needs a strict authority to get the subordinates to follow the leader(s). Sometimes, it is still best to mixed the use of other leadership style such as the transactional leadership in order to achieve the best result. Transactional style of leadership is good when punishing any of the team members for work undone or not meeting the pre-determined standard a certain project.13 Authentic Leadership Style Authentic leadership style is a positive leadership that is being practiced by genuine, trustworthy, reliable, and believable individuals.14 They recognize and value the personality, purpose, and potential of each individual15 aside from the fact that they are able to communicate their recognition in a way that his/her subordinates would feel valued as unique and special part of the group. According to Bill George (2004), leaders that practices authentic leadership must be able to understand one’s purpose, practice solid values, able to lead with heart, establish connected relationship with other people, and able to demonstrate self-discipline.16 In fact, the real essence of authentic leadership is to focus on what is right for employees and at the same time build-up their individual strength. Authentic type of leadership empowers the whole team within a business organization. Since this type of leadership enables each individual to go through the process of self-reflection and self-awareness, each team members will be able to learn to express themselves and inspires other people along the process.17 The close personal relationship between the leaders and his/her subordinates improves the outcome of their collective performance since this type of relationship could lessen chronic stress and burnout in the workplace.18 Cons of Authentic Leaders The practice of pure authentic leadership may not be able effective in controlling all the employees within the business or other organization. There is always the possibility that other type of leadership would work better and more effective just like in the case of the military, army, or navy. The Best Leadership Style for Trican Electronics Since both leadership styles have its own pros and cons, I would suggest combining both the transformational and the authentic leadership style. The use of these types of leadership highly depends on the situation and working environment of Trican. Personally, I believe that enabling my subordinate to become self-sufficient or as a leader in his own way is more effective than using purely transactional or authentic style of leadership. The Way Forward The way forward is to implement an immediate change within the organization. First, the management should promote team building within the organization19 followed by empowering employees through the right to voice out their personal concerns and suggestions on how the company will be able to reach the company’s objectives. A good communication among the team members is an important factor towards a harmonious work environment. In the absence of a two-way communication between the managers and his/her subordinates, the chances of having internal conflicts will be higher as compared to allowing each of the team members to verbally share their thoughts and opinions. According to Jaffe and Scott (1992), “empowerment is referring to the organizational shifts from limiting the power to determine its future and how it will get there to a few top executive including other members of the organization in the process.”20 The authors also added that empowerment should never be done on an individual process. The whole organization should also participate in making structural changes to make it work. In line with empowering the people up to a certain limit is enabling the company to be more efficient in achieving the goal of the company. Motivating people is important in getting the best job performances of the employees. Motivational forces are based on the ‘hierarchy of needs.’21 It is difficult to motivate an individual to work in case his basic needs such as food and shelter; or safety needs is not met. However, not all people are motivated by money. Motivational factors can be intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivational factors include: happiness; personal goals, values, and morals; willingness and eagerness to learn; and physiological, social, and self-esteem needs. Extrinsic motivational factors include: money, rewards, managerial style, etc.22 People can also be motivated with both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. A good leadership skill is necessary when implementation of organizational change.23 Effective leadership skill can enhance the business operations, and reduce the unnecessary internal conflicts among the stakeholders. By having competitive leadership skill, managers can handle ‘resistance to change.’24 Penny should select managers that have the qualities of a good leader. To start with, Penny should take time in talking with Jack Colman, Pete and Kate Simmonds, Paul Bates, and John Jones with regards to the new organizational plan. *** End *** References: Bass, B. (1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. New York: Free Press. Bass, B. (1998). Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates. Bass, B., & Avolio, B. (1993). Transformational Leadership: A Response to Critiques in Chemers, M.M. and Ayman R. (eds) Leadership Theory and Research: Perspectives and Directions. New York: Free Press. Burke, W. (2002). Organization Change: Theory and Practice. Sage Publication. Burns, J. (1978). Model of Transactional and Transformational Leaders. p. 4. Covey, S. (2004). The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. 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