Session 1 - The Context of Change

Question 1

What are the 4 main external factors that impact organisations?

Answer 1

Socio-cultural factors (e.g. demographic trends, lifestyle changes, attitudes to work and employment, gender issues, etc)
Political factors (e.g. government legislation, government ideaology, international law, wars, local regulations, etc)
Technological factors (e.g. IT/the internet, new production processes, changes in transport and technology, etc)
Economic factors (e.g. suppliers, currency exchange rates, employment rates, wage rates, etc)

PEST

Question 2

3 environments surrounding the firm

Answer 2

Internal, external and temporal

Question 3

What is the temporal environment?

Answer 3

Historical developments that will create the need for change (e.g. industrial life cycle)

Question 4

Different levels of environmental turbulence (5 stages)

Answer 4

Level 1 - predictable (rare)
Level 2 - forecast-able by extrapolation (look at past for future expectation)
Level 3 - predictable threats and opportunities (more complex, ability to respond more problematic)
Level 4 - partially predictable opportunities (global future change)
Level 5 - unpredictable surprises (approaching level 5 more and more)

Question 5

Who created the 5 stages of environmental turbulence?

Answer 5

Ansoff and McDonnel (1990)

Question 6

What are the 6 external trends that may impact organisations and identify some of their contemporary challenges?

Answer 6

PESTLE

POLITICAL
blurring of the public and private sectors
decline in importance of nation state
rise of the BRIC economies

ECONOMIC
move towards service/knowledge based economy
rise in the parallel economy

SOCIAL
growth in ubiquitous information (rapidly accessible information)
growing importance of CSR

TECHNOLOGICAL
development of mass customisation
rise of GRIN technologies (tech most likely to radically transform society)
rise of social networking and innovative devices

LEGAL
increased corporate transparency
increased anti-discrimination legislation

ENVIRONMENTAL
climate change

Question 7

Fads and fashions of change - define

Answer 7

“Transitory collective beliefs that certain management techniques are at the foreground of management progress” (Abrahamson, 1996, cited in Hulks et al., 2012)

• Like to think objectively but fashion/subjectivity huge

Question 8

Explain some of the fads and fashions of change

Answer 8

Individuals influenced - try and keep up with trends to get a good name

New jargon for existing business processes
External consultants who specialise in the implementation of the fad
Amending the job titles of existing employees to include references to the fad
Claims of a measurable business improvement via measurement of a metric that is defined by the fad itsef
Big words and complex phrases

Question 9

Features of the post industrial society

Answer 9

• Shift in emphasis from goods production to service provision
• Increase in health, education, research and development and government agencies in particular
• Creation of new intellectual technology

Question 10

What is the ‘ideal type’ of postmodern organisational form?

Answer 10

Small
Utilising computerised technology
Functionally decentralised
Participative
Utilising clan (Ouchi, 1981) approaches towards control
Informal
Having a strong corporate culture to integrate people with the organisation’s mission

Question 11

List the models of structure

Answer 11

• Traditional structures
• Matrix structures
• Network organisations (internal, vertical, dynamic)
• Virtual organisations

Question 12

List the features of a mechanistic business structure (draw with leader at top and 4 sub-groups below)

Answer 12

• Clear divide between different tasks
• Obvious what duties are
• High horizontal differentiation (therefore not good at responding)
• Rigid hierarchical relationships
• Fixed duties
• High formalisation
• Formalised communication channels
• Centralised decision authority

Question 13

List the features of an organic business structure (draw with all groups interlinked)

Answer 13

• Low horizontal differentiation
• Collaboration (both vertical and horizontal)
• Adaptable duties
• Low formalisation
• Informal communication
• Decentralised decision authority

Question 14

Benefits of a matrix organisation structure

Answer 14

• Working together and coordination
• Individuals deal with conflict and lots of different tasks
• Good structure for large organisation

Question 15

Features of a loosely-coupled organic network

Answer 15

• Maintains core and sub-contracts other departments and functions
• Small core staff who set a strategic direction and sub-contracts other individual companies to perform key operational activities

Question 16

Define a virtual corporation

Answer 16

Temporary network of companies that come together quickly to exploit fast changing opportunities (Davidow and Malone, 1993)

• Different from traditional M&As because partners share costs, skills and access to international markets

Question 17

Features of a virtual organisation

Answer 17

• Not confined to a physical location
• Enabled by IT that allows communication with face-to-face meetings
• Temporary collaborations, networking and alliances

Question 18

Issues with virtual organisations

Answer 18

• Control
• How will organisational members make sense of and interpret work related activities
• Trust in temporary teams
  (Jaffee, 2001)

Question 19

What are the core groups and peripheral groups in flexible firms?

Answer 19

Core group = functionally flexible

Peripheral group = numerically flexible

Question 20

What are the features of a bureaucratic career?

Answer 20

Stable
Orderly
Progressive
Enacted rationally
Within an internal labour market (shared/agreed understanding of success)

Question 21

What are the features of the ‘new’ career?

Answer 21

Bureaucratic career less in existence now - more emphasis with range of skills and flexibility

Free form
Boundaryless
Entrepreneurial
Balanced
Liberated
Based on re-negotiated psychological contracts

Question 22

What are the features of a portfolio career?

Answer 22

Independence
Selling variety of skills to a variety of clients
About employability, not employment security
About career self-management, not organisational career ladders

Question 23

What are the components of a portfolio career?

Answer 23

Fee work (consultancy)
Waged work (annual/guarenteed)
Study work (reskill/upskill)
'Gift work' (volunteering)
Homework (domestic)

Question 24

Define ‘The Precariat’ (dark side of flexibility) and explain the varieties

Answer 24

Precariat = floating labour supply, moving in and out of jobs with no secure role in the labour market

Varieties = people who have fallen out of working class communities, migrants, young people

Question 25

Issues with the precariat

Answer 25

Anxiety
Anomie (no behaviour norms, disenfranchised)
Alienation (less satisfaction/belonging)
Anger (BREXIT?)

Question 26

AA Case study:

Advantages of flexible, home working

Answer 26

• Childcare
• Relaxed environment
• No commute costs
• Increased efficiency
• Low/no site costs
• Good worker competition
• Lower labour costs
• Increased freedom from organisation life
• Lower labour turn-over

Question 27

AA Case study:

Disadvantages of flexible, home working

Answer 27

• Socially less engaging
• No direct help
• Lack of management authority
• Unhealthy worker competition
• Lower levels of commitment
• Quality control
• Family boundaries blurred
• Lack of identity, belonging to organisation
• Invisible career progression