Affecting_Change

Affecting Change Joline Spencer University of Phoenix Online May 10, 2010 Marcela Panizo Affecting Change Smith & Falmouth (S&F), a mail order organization, recently began an online division called S&F online. The leaders of the organization felt that having an online operation would be critical to their growth for the next few years. It is the desire of S&F’s CEO, Irene Seagraves, to expand the online market and increase the division’s profitability. In order to move forward, Seagraves hired a new Chief Operation Officer (COO). The new COO has approximately nine months to complete their goals, while working with current leaders resisting the new leadership. Ms. Spencer the new COO of the organization must develop a technique to overcome the resistance and increase the customer base without having a negative impact on the current culture. Ms. Spencer must have a great impact on the current leaders without alienating them and producing outcomes the opposite of the goals. Restructuring Department to Improve Culture and Empower Employees   Ms. Spencer the new Chief Operating Officer has worked with resistance in S&F and has developed an organizational profile to determine the culture of the current organization. It was determined that the groups worked closely together, but there was limited communication amongst the various teams. However, the project manager does have a great deal of influence over the current culture and therefore, Spencer determined that Argyle would be the best utilized partner to restructure the organization. First, Spencer invited Argyle to meet and discussed the new open door policy that would allow the team to discuss concerns or questions. Spencer also, offered to take a variable salary based on the team’s performance and set very clear vision for the team. These transformational and situational leadership tactics led to gaining the trust of the project manager and increased customers by 120%. Next, Spencer implemented a new computer system to help keep up with the increased customer demand and the new relationship with the project manager has influenced other team members and increased open communication. The team has increased the customer base by another 100% and has won the approval of Ms. Seagraves. Finally, the team is ready to improve the marketing and launches a new marketing plan. Ms. Spencer needed to empower the employees more by developing job duties and increasing the responsibilities of the team. In order to motivate the team, new bonus plans have been implemented. The organizational culture of S&F has developed employee decision making capabilities and the team would not react well to any leadership coming in to remove these powers. Transformational leaders will have the most impact on the small organization with centralized control. Methods of Control and Current Culture   S&F manufacturing operates under the control of CEO Irene Seagraves and the teams she developed to develop and implement procedure and policy. The current operations are primarily under the supervision of the project manager, James Argyle, and his team and they maintain close communication with one another, as well as, the marketing manager, Adam Searle. All the current teams are empowered and do not want any restrictions placed on their current decision making capabilities. Argyle has developed and led a subculture within the organization that has given the way to his decisions to not be compromised or questioned. The organization is hesitant to welcome and accept and outside leaders that will infringe their power and influence within. The culture that has been created by the S&F employees is one of strength that has been adopted and accepted by the employees. This type of strong culture has created a uniformed front to resist the new COO that Seagraves has hired to strengthen the customer base. Influence of Organizational Size and Structure on Control and Culture Employees want to work for an organization that has an environment that fits their needs and stable environments will produce higher levels of employee satisfaction. Regardless of the size or the structure of the organization, a manager or leader should not attempt drastic changes or it may result in a negative effect overall. The size of the organization will determine the different levels of influence the leader can have. In the situation with S&F the organization is large enough that the COO will need to have an influence over the team leaders and the influence will affect the teams, as well (Yukl, 2006). Effects of Structure and Management Tactics on Power and Politics (or Formal and Informal Networks When the structure of the environment is open to empowering employees, reducing the rules and policies and allowing for more open communication, there can be a more productive environment. There will be positive effects on both the power of the leader and politics of the organization. Management that provides something to the employee that will benefit the employee will also increase the positive power of the management by providing reliability to self, but more positive effects will be seen in the employee and therefore, their performance will increase. Managers who are supportive of career advancement and professional development will get more from their employees and reduce the negative backlash from being cohesive or forceful in the management tactics. Employees are encouraged by mutual advancement for the organization, but themselves as well. They will perform better when they are inspired by their leaders. Effective Management Practices Selection Management practices will be more selective in their hiring practices. There will be a specialized recruitment team designed to meet the specialized needs of the organization and will be trained to do so, in order to find employees with specific qualifications and characteristics. Recruitment is one of the most important divisions of an organization. Selecting the right employees is vital to the success and development of the organization and the developing goals of S&F. Hiring for fit are increasing in a variety of industries (Robins & Judge, 2007). Training Orientation practices are important for new employees to become acclimated with the organizational culture and policies. This is a critical time for new employees to become part of the organization and feel welcomed. Additional training will be offered throughout the duration of employment to refresh skills and maintain motivation (Robins & Judge, 2007). Motivation Management will provide the all employees with the opportunity to earn bonuses. These bonuses will be goal oriented and used to increase performance. Along with the bonuses all increases in pay will now be based on performance. Managers will begin monthly supervisory conferences will all employees to provide appropriate feedback to encourage employees to continue strengthening their skills (Robins & Judge, 2007). Size and Structure Affect on Organization, Individuals, Groups, and Teams, and Future The new structure of the organization can be effective by reducing the strict policies and procedures. This will allow S&F employees to be flexible with the consumers, adjust the tactics based on need and allow for more direct customer service (Robins & Judge, 2007). Implementing these changes will also increase levels of employee satisfaction and groups will become more cohesive. Summary S&F online needed to implement a management style that would not compromise the current culture and empowerment of the employees. The new COO was able reach these goals and increase the customer base by using tactics of a transformational nature. The organization was able to strengthen their profitability by utilizing empowering techniques, reward structures, and open door policies to openly communicate. Through continued team work and open communication, the organization can continue to grow as an organization. The COO was able to utilize proven tactics to motivate employees and build a more cohesive team. These tactics provided the change needed for S&F to grow and increase productivity References Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2007). Organizational behavior (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Yukl, G. (2006). Leadership in organizations (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.