Affecting_Change

Affecting Change Rajesh Gopinath Kumar LDR 531 May 31, 2010 Dr. Andres Carrillo Abstract In today’s business environment it is mandatory to have a proper design, structure and culture to survive in this competitive world. The organizations should have capacity and capability in altering and modifying the business environment affected by the external and internal influences. Organizational design, structure, culture and change are all interrelated with each other. Any changes mandated in the organization could have impact to the employees and their performance. It is the effective leadership style that should accommodate the employees attitudes and emotions and transform it to maximize productivity in the better interest of the organization. Change is inevitable and if organizations that do not respond to it in a timely manner are sure to struggle and would have to eventually succumb to pressure and yield to failure. Affecting Change A functional organizational structure is the bedrock of horizontal differentiation. It is the first structure that organizations adapt as they grow. The functional organizational structure normally follows top down and the different department structures roll up to the CEO who is the final authority in the organization. A manager needs to understand the formal and informal groups in the organization to understand the business climate and culture. Organizational Design Organizational design is the process of configuring the organization into various sub units to meet the functionalities within the organization and addressing the challenges to the internal and external influences. The span of control is decentralized to the department level manager, who will own the functioning of the department. All employees will be reporting to this manager. The managers in the respective levels will report one level up and in turn rolling up to the top level in most cases who will be a CEO. Some organizational designs would be complex. The current innovation in the matrix design is called a network design as well. Organizations who have outsourced their functions form into a category called network structures. They could span across the world cross shore, offshore, near shore and offshore. The wide span of control creates a flatter structure where as a narrow span of control creates a taller structure. Organization Culture Organization culture is a system of shared beliefs and values that guides the behavior of members. The strong cultures that are prevalent in most of the successful and established organizations are emphasis on team work, encourage risk taking without fear for any penalties. The culture promote and encourage creativity and innovation. It also encourages value add which would provide tangible and intangible benefits to the organization. The top management having a concern for the employees and addressing employees with employees first culture makes the headway for the organization. The employees will have a high job satisfaction and would contribute the maximum for the benefit of the organization. Generally these kinds of strong cultures are clear, well defined and widely shared among its members. The core culture within an organization are the values and beliefs shared in any organization. Value based management communicates the model and reinforces core values throughout the organization. Organization establishing core value always lead by example. They emphasize on working together in teams. They have individual respect for individuals and always seek facts and provide insight. They are generally open and very honest in communication. They are committed to their communities. On top of everything they have high integrity in whatever they do. Organizational cultures are transmitted various ways. This could be using the buildings, lobby, decoration using the Symbols. A good story on the transmission of organization culture gets relayed on very easily. The statements of principles, policies help design to define the policies and reward structure. The culture at play is when we turn the work into a place that promotes the employees and encourages them to take a chance, be themselves enjoy and have fun, We normally fuel them and unleash their creativity. Normally cultures are created and developed within the organization. Research clearly contemplated that there is no one best culture followed in organization. It is important to have one locally developed with respective to the line of business. A culture that supports affiliation among coworkers, high flexibility supported by the supervisor has always had high outcomes. It is mandatory to have a fit between the employees and the organizations culture to have a healthy relationship with the organization. This increases the commitment and satisfaction of the employees. The sub culture within the organization also needs to be considered. They could be formal as well as informal. End of the day the organizations culture is its own personality. Power and Politics Power in an organization is a capacity a manager or senior management has to influence the behavior of the subordinates in accordance with the whims and fancies of the manager or senior management. Politics in similar fashion is the attempting to influence the distribution of disadvantages and advantages. Power does not require any goal acceptance. Power has a focus on intimidation. Power extremely focuses on compliance gaining tactics. The leadership in general requires goal agreement. Leadership research always focuses on solutions. On measuring the bases of power we could converge upon coercive, reward, expert, referent and legitimate power. Coercive power is based on fear. This person could make things difficult for people and it is always good to stay off from these kind of people. Reward power resources normally provide. Legitimate power is people have authorized power in line with the assigned job responsibilities. They normally comply with legitimate requests. The expert power people have the necessary domain knowledge to earn respect. They are normally considered subject matter experts. Referent power is the respect earned and resources enjoy working with the positive energy creating people. These kind of resources make the environment so conducive enabling a smooth relationship. Effective leaders use expert/referent power in leading the employees and creating a wow factor in the organization. Authoritarian leaders may prove short term successful but will fail in long term. The key to power is dependency. The importance, scarcity and non suitability define the parameters on a large scale. This is not generally healthy. Sometimes it could land up on resource that are scare and have no substitute’s otherwise non suitability. When managers are influenced with higher authority then they are least popular. The assertiveness is high again they are less popular. If the managers are reasonable then they tend to reverse the graph and be more popular. Empowerment Managers when delegate power to the employees it gives freedom for the subordinates to make decisions and commitments. This is the ability provided in the organization to improve the effectiveness and productivity within the organization. With the advent of internet technology the delegation has made more sense and managers across the globe take aggressive decisions and keep the boss or senior management posted via email or phone. Communication channels have improved on a geometric progression helping aide the functions of the business or organization. Delegating the decision making authority with a set of clear of defined demarcation compared to the process of risk taking and personal growth as always a point of discussion in connect with empowerment. The mission and vision of the company would have provisions for empowerment. The organizations would need to help resources acquire the necessary relevant skills. The senior management would need to support the employees in the risk taking and decision making. They cannot be criticized when they attempt something extraordinary. This would improve the satisfaction and morale of the employees. The employees would need to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts to motivate and grow them further. The characteristics of empowered managers or resources are sense of determination, sense of meaning, sense of competence and sense of impact. Coalition Coalition happens when resources two or more in number join together to push their demands. Coalitions are more likely when tasks are mundane and routine. Sexual Harassment (SH) This is a behavior that is not welcomed in any organization. This behavior normally sexual in nature in workplace has a negative impact on the business. Organizations have very strict rules in dealing with such situations. Unwanted physical touching and comments in the work place is not allowed and fall into the category of sexual harassment. Inviting the opposite sex with recurring request for dates when the opposite person is not interested also falls into the category of SH and coercive threats intimidating them for loss of job in return for favors undone. Unwanted looks or comments also fall into this category. Political Behavior The activities that persuade or attempt to persuade the dissemination of advantages and disadvantages within the organization. This could be legitimate or illegitimate. We know organizations are generally made up of individuals and or groups who differ in interest’s values and goals. When resources in organization are limited they get dragged into these kind of behavior. The various type of political activity that could affect the change are blaming others, forming coalitions, controlling information, managing impressions, creating obligations. Conclusion Power is always a two way street. People respond differently to various power bases. Expert power is very consistent and most strongly related to the effective employee performance. Transactional and Transformation leadership helps to contain the impact of any change within the organization. Change is inevitable. Organizations that cannot anticipate and manage the change and if they cannot adjust to the external and internal forces will have to eventually fail. The changes that affect the organizational growth would have to be handled as adequate in the better interests of the business or organization. Reference Mintberg, L. J., Quinn, J. B., & Ghoshal, S. (2007). The Strategy Process Contexts (8th ed.). U. S. River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2004). Organizational Behavior (5th ed.). U. S. River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. YUKI, G. (2002). Leadership in Organizations (2th ed.). U. S. River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.