unit 10 - change

Question 1

kotter x Schlesinger - overcoming barriers 2 change

Answer 1

6 ways to overcome resistance to change:

1. education + communication - educating need 4 change reduces inaccurate info
2. participation + involvement - involving in decision making helps them understand reasons for change - consultation period
3. facilitation + support - helps support employees during transition period of change e.g. training courses + resources
4. negotiation + agreement - agreements to offer incentives to not resist change can occur
5. manipulation + co option - managers can bring in someone favoured by employees to support decisions without threatening it
6. explicit x implicit coercion - force employees to accept change or otherwise face sanctions e.g. firing, no promotion, transferred jobs

Question 2

kotter x Schlesinger

Question 3

flexible organisations - restructuring

Answer 3

• could involve dismissing employees, taking out departments, closing factories or outsourcing manufacturing
• may be as a result of takeovers/mergers or change in direction for organisation
• employee responsibilities may change = temp fall in production
• remaining staff may have to be retrained + can lose highly skilled staff
• insecurity + morale issues w remaining staff
• reduced operational costs + less expensive outsourcing
• new tech = competitive advantage
• remove layers of management = improve comms + decision making

Question 4

flexible organisations - delayering

Answer 4

removal of one or more levels of hierarchy within an organisation
- produces flatter organisational structure
- managers have wider span of control
- improves decision making + communication = shorter chain of command
- reduced labour costs + improved motivation

• period of disruption as employees learn new roles
• motivational security issues w removing staff
• wider span of control can reduce comms within organisation
• less supervision

Question 5

flexible organisations - flexible contracts

Answer 5

• employees have choice over actual times they are contracted to work
  -hot desking + job sharing = reduced costs, shared office space + roles
• part time - pre agreed hrs
• homeworking - reduced commute time, work life balance
• 0 hr contracts - ethical for students, unethical for those with bills, no guaranteed hrs
• flexitime - workers choose which 8 hrs they work a day
  greater freedom
• job security issues + low morale - maslows hierarchy of needs
• employees may not work at certain times e.g. needed in morning but only few employees available
• premises may be opened longer = increased bills