Introduction
The book by Goldratt and Cox presents some of the challenges that organizations face pertaining to the delivery of goods on time. The book shows that organizations should be managed in a scientific way meaning that elements of science ought to be employed in executing some of the organizational duties. The two scholars of management compare organizations to the family, which is always faced with conflicts and other problems related to communication. In the first chapter, the role that communication plays in management is worth remembering. The first chapter proves that the organization is unable to meet its targets because of lacking effective communication mechanisms. For instance, the deputy president of the organization is not aware of the challenges that the manufacturing plant is facing until one of the customers call to complain about the delivery delay.
Instead of applying scientific techniques in the management of the crisis, the deputy president interrupts work by demanding immediate answers from all the concerned employees, right from the unit manager to the mechanist. In each organizational unit, the manager in charge is always tasked with the role of controlling work hence any other person, irrespective of rank, should not interfere with the communication channel. Order 41427 is of great importance to the organization, as it belongs to one of the most loyal customers, but the deputy president should not use force to ensure that the product is delivered (Goldratt and Cox 7). The deputy president should serve as an example to other employees, by employing the best managerial practices, one of them being timely and effective communication. Communication is known to improve the performance of any organization, as it plays a critical role in resolving conflicts.
Review
Effective Communication
For any management to play effectively its main functions, communication is paramount, as it allows planning, organization, leading, and controlling. This implies that the management is unable to carry out some of the responsibilities in case communication is poor. It is factual that communication is the foundation of planning since poor development of plans results to delay and non-delivery. In the organization, the manufacturing unit is unable to offer quality customer service that is related to timely delivery mainly because it does not have an established link with the top management. Scholars of management underscore the fact that management is the building block of victorious companies implying that it acts as the organizational blood.
With effective communication, employees are motivated to undertake their responsibilities without being forced to do so. The top management, including the organization’s deputy president, should consider informing employees and clarifying to them the organization’s goals and ambitions. The urgency of any order should be communicated in time to avoid any type of delay that might bring about customer dissatisfaction. The organization can easily lose the most trusted customers simply because various departments in the organization do not respect the idea of a chain of command, which relies on communication. It is illogical for the deputy president to yell at the manufacturing unit mechanist who should be receiving orders from the unit manager. This might perhaps affect the morale of a junior employee who needs motivation from the top management to perform better. Through communication, chances are high that communication can strengthen its financial muscles in the market.
In matters related to decision-making in the organization, communication is believed to be the source of critical information to all organizational members. In this regard, communication helps line managers to identify and evaluate the alternative courses of action instead of relying on a single strategy that might bring about the delay. The attitude of members in the organization is negative hence elements of effective communication ought to be invoked in order to change the perceptions of employees. Employees have a negative attitude towards work because they have little knowledge as regards the goals and objectives of the organization. Research shows that a highly informed individual will always have a positive attitude towards what he or she intends to do while a poorly informed person will have a negative attitude towards work. In the organization, employees should be encouraged to change their attitude since it will help them deliver goods on time.
Instead of delivering the much-needed products, the manufacturing manager complains of lacking adequate personnel needed in the production of goods. The deputy president reminds him that he needs to show results with the available employees before requesting additional workers. The conversation does not comply with some of the best managerial practices, as the junior employee does not respect his seniors (Jimmesion 464). As noted, effective communication is the only solution to the problems facing the organization as it plays a role as far as the controlling process is concerned. In other words, effective communication tends to control the behavior of employees in such a way that it encourages members to respect hierarchy and the chain of command. Each employee in any organization is always expected to follow certain principles, guidelines, and rules. This means that workers have to comply with the established standards and policies for them to undertake their responsibilities without any difficulty. This would probably motivate workers to air their grievances to their seniors.
Change Management Process
Organizational change is a structured driven process that creates the roadmap for growth. The growth and development of an organization are centered on the correlation between the objectives and the processes involved (Ahmad 2000). When the need for organizational changes arises, managers must focus on their employees, which are the agents of change. The research will study the impact evaluation of the inclusion of employees in decision-making during the management of change in the telecommunication sector in the Sultanate of Oman. The study of the management of change in the telecommunication sector will focus on the inclusion of employees and the decisions taken by the employees during change management to analyze the value of the impact of change. The decision-making process during an organizational change requires careful implementation. The management can achieve success when decisions are taken with reference to other agents of change. The impact of change in an organization will influence the growth of the organization. It will strengthen its market sales and boost productivity.
The positive influences of organizational change motivate most organizations to implement change. Thus, the value of the impact of employee’s inclusion in the management of change in an organization is significant. The assessment of an organizational change is measured by the successful implementation. Thus, the model used for evaluation comprises the inclusion of employees and decision-making by employees. These concepts influence the value of the impact of change. The employees are the primary obstacles to organizational change and they determine the extent of success or failure of the change. Managers try to manage the effect of change instead of actualizing the change in the organization. The obstacles of the change cause this. Employee’s inclusion can reduce the obstacles to organizational change. The model seeks to address the impact of the employee’s inclusion in the management of change. To understand this evaluation, I will investigate the variables surrounding the inclusion of employees in decision-making during organizational change.
Feelings, attitudes, and perceptions of employees towards change
Feelings
In the book, the feelings, attitudes, and perceptions of employees towards change are negative, which affects the performance of the entire organization, particularly the manufacturing unit. Feelings can be described as the sense of touch or understanding towards a particular thing. The feelings of employees during organizational change influence the success of the process. Managers must consider several factors that could influence or change the feelings of an employee towards an organizational change
Cognitive dissonance theory proposes that an individual will always be motivated to undertake a certain responsibility in order to balance attitudes with the social environment. The theory has generated debates that have led to the creation of other related theories, particularly equity theories of motivation. An understanding of how attitudes are formed is equally important in the study of the behavior of employees in the places of work. A review of the literature shows that the process of attitude formation relies on learning from co-workers, modeling other employees, and experiences. In many cases, attitudes tend to influence the decisions of an individual, guide the actions of an employee, and determine the level of performance of an individual in terms of remembrance. Based on this, an organization or the management should put in place mechanisms of attitude measurement. To measure an attitude, a clearly established procedure ought to be followed, with a number of scholars insisting on the use of employee surveys since they are effective in extracting information as regards the attitudes of various organizational stakeholders.
Employee’s attitude towards organizational change
Each employee is saddled with the responsibility of implementing the organizational change. Thus, an employee’s attitude can limit the process of change. The communication gap in the organization can hinder the process of change. Employee’s exclusion from decision-making during organizational change will cause resistance and it is influenced by the employee’s dislike for the change. Effective communication will reduce the negative thoughts on the management change and thus influence a positive attitude). From the review of literature, it is eminent that organizations are expected to improve their chances of enhancing employee support in order to incorporate all employees into change programs. Based on this, they are expected to come up with change initiatives that are all-inclusive, comprehensive, and attainable. Studies focus on attitudinal constructs, which represent the views and opinions of employees towards change in the organization (Powell 876).
Change, as well as the process of change, is very important to any management. In fact, attitude is described as a tendency to feel, think, and behave in a way that would determine the performance of the individual employee and the organization in general. The behavior resulting from attitudes could be positive or negative, depending on the situation, the object, or the event. An attitude explains an individual’s favored or unfavorable review of another person’s behavior. An attitude entails the belief of a person towards a certain product, service, or even concept. If the product or service is good, the person’s attitude towards such a product or service is positive. The reverse is true for poor service or quality product. In this regard, the attitudes of employees in the organization have a direct influence on performance and productivity. In other words, attitudes are indicators of effective and efficient work in many organizations. As earlier discussed in the previous section, an attitude is manifested by the rationality and regularity of individual conduct, which perhaps permits investigational study. Therefore, it is noted that the attitude of employees should be positive towards certain change programs for any success to be realized.
Scholars of management identify that theories of consistency and congruity, which were mainly formulated in the late 50s, suggest that the change process is rational because an individual aspires to maintain motivation, be consistent in what they do, and avoid any form of discrepancy. A model created in 1989 proposes a valid attitude change conception. The recent study on attitude change suggested that the study of the relationship between change and attitude should be based on three concepts, one of them being cognitive while the second is effectiveness. The third principle is behavioral. The study of attitude change based on cognitive processes means that the understanding of rewards, shortcomings, profits, necessities, and knowledge is obligatory if change management is to be successful. On the other hand, affective aspects of change management entail the feelings that are related to displeasure and concerns over the process of change.
Employee’s perception of organizational change
The need for change is inevitable, and the processes for organizational change can be counterproductive. The employee is reluctant to leave his or her old job description for a new assignment. Sometimes, the resistance could be due to the fear of losing his or her relevance in the organization. Some employees perceive a loss in their inheritance should the change succeed (Piderit 789). Employees who communicate with executives are likely to accept the change without resistance. Employees without attachment to the management may resist any change in the organization.
The level of influence in the decision-making process influences the employee’s perception of organizational change. When the management gathers employee’s opinions prior to the organizational change, the chances of resistance from the employees are slim. Consequently, the level of education of the employee influences his or her perception of organizational change. The impact of employee’s inclusion in the decision-making of an organization influences the smooth transition during the change process.
Employee’s feelings towards change
The emotions of an employee towards change can be positive or negative depending on the level of responsibility attached to the employee. The employee’s profile influences his or her feelings towards organizational change. The belief of a better job description may influence his or her desire towards the change. Management of change could be achieved when the feelings, perceptions, and attitudes of the employees are captured in the processes of change. The feelings of the employees towards change affect their performance, thus, employee’s inclusion in decision-making during the management of change will provide a positive response.
Works Cited
Goldratt, Eliyahu, and Jeff Cox. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement. Great Barrington, MA: North River Press, 2008. Print.
Jimmesion, Newton. “Job uncertainty and personal control during downsizing: a comparison of survivors and victims'”, Human Relations, 58.4 (2005), 463-496.
Piderit, Sandit. “Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: a multidimensional view of attitudes toward an organizational change.” Academy of Management Review, 25.4 (2000)783-794.
Powell, Tim. “Competitive advantage: logical and philosophical considerations”, Strategic Management Journal, 22.9, (2001), 875–888.