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Develop creative and flexible solutions:Content guide
Contents
Develop creative and flexible solutions: Content guide 1
Overview 2
Key terms 2
Workplace culture 5
Identifying and analysing a variety of approaches to managing workplace issues and problems 7
Teams 7
Learning organisation 8
Innovation 9
Project management 9
Government or statute-sponsored or directed change 10
Managing risks to achieve a benefit or advantage to your organisation 10
Risk Analysis template 12
Risk Treatment Action Plan template 13
Managing to promote the development of innovative approaches and outcomes 15
Building blocks to support change in corporate strategy 16
The future with innovation 16
Managing resources creatively and responsively to improve productivity and services and reduce costs 18
Team structure 19
Virtual organisation 19
Boundary-less organisation 19
Sample answers to ‘My workplace’ questions 20
Overview
This content guide will direct you to:
· the concept of a culture of change within an organisation
· how that culture supports change
· why it is a positive course of action.
It will also raise the concept of innovation and the importance of a learning organisation in dealing with the speed and pressure of change.
Key terms
A learning organisation
A learning organisation exists where its members, including employees, owners and external stakeholders, work in a continuous way to increase their ability to achieve the results they truly desire. It is an organisation that supports and rewards new and original patterns of thinking. It is an organisation where the acquisition and sharing of knowledge among its members is a valued and sustained characteristic of the organisation.
Boundary-less organisation
This is an organisation structure which eliminates a chain of command, and replaces departments with empowered teams. Status and rank is eliminated as the vertical structure is flattened out. The system uses cross functional teams to organise activities around processes.
Change agent
A person who acts as a catalyst and manages part or whole of the change process. The change agent is often the face or representation of the change and often represents senior management in the communication process.
Communication
Communication is about striving to arrive at a mutual understanding with another person or group of people.
Communication barriers
Factors that prevent the communication from being successful.
Communication processes
More than just ways of communicating, communication processes are agreed systems and methods to communicate certain things around the organisation, for example, ideas from staff, new work to be done by the team, occupational health and safety concerns.
Co-optation
This is where the change agents attempt to “buy-off” key resistors by giving them key roles in the change program.
Feedback
Information that is passed back about something that has been said or done.
GANTT chart
A Gantt chart is used to represent all of the activities of a project in a visual overview of the project time line. A basic Gantt chart does not display the relationships between the activities; this is normally done with a network diagram. A Gantt chart lists all the activities on the left-hand side of the chart and the time line is across the top of the chart.
Innovation
A more effective or efficient process, or item, to introduce a change which is significant enough to change the item, thought, process or emotional basis, to change by planning a higher or different quality standard. The Macquarie Dictionary (1997) defines innovation as “to bring in something new; make changes in anything established; to bring in something new for the first time”.
Lateral thinking processes
Ways of thinking that encourage problem solving by indirect and unexpected means.
Maslow’s hierarchy
Maslow developed a theory of needs, which he believed described the needs of each individual. Once the basic needs, such as food, shelter and warmth are satisfied, then other needs are pursued, from the meeting of ambition, to finally a level of self-actualisation.
Multi-dimensional thinking process
This is a process which is involved mainly in the area of Innovation. It is a way of encouraging employees and stakeholders to step outside traditional thinking patterns and procedures to embrace new and imaginative ways of approaching problems and challenges.
PERT chart
Shows the sequence of events that must be completed to achieve a plan.
Planning
The process of deciding what needs to be done in order to accomplish specific objectives.
Stakeholder
Stakeholders are the individuals or organisations that are involved in, or may be affected by, the work that your team does. These may include managers, external customers, a project sponsor, internal customers, contractors, suppliers, project team, external clients, government agencies and the public.
Strategic planning
Long term planning with a directional focus. It sets a “direction” in which the organisation has decided to focus its change programs.
Task-focused transitions
This is a form or organisational change which is characterised by allowing individual mangers to manage the change in their area, but to hold them accountable for the results. It is largely a consultative strategy used where there are already in place sophisticated and well developed management structures. Usually used in manufacturing organisations.
Total quality management (TQM)
TQM refers to an integrated approach by organisational leaders to focus all levels of the business on quality. Continuous improvement systems and processes are employed to improve quality in all aspects of the business. This ultimately results in a better quality product and consequently greater customer satisfaction.
Turnarounds
This is a change strategy used when an organisation is in a difficult financial or structural position. It is often used when the organisation is viewed as unlikely to continue to operate and is characterised by a “last chance” philosophy. The leaders of this form or change do so from great power, and it is rarely consultative, usually involving instructions issued from the leader to be implemented immediately and without argument or feedback.
Workplace culture
Before we look at identifying and analysing a variety of approaches to managing workplace issues and problems, it is important to consider the culture of a workplace as this will have a big impact on the approach taken to workplace issues and problems.
Workplace culture is a variable term. It may mean a stated value system often set out in a mission statement or statement of values. It may also be a term used to describe a number of stable agreed characteristics of the organisation or workplace. The values and characteristics that comprise the culture are usually deeply held by the employees, and have developed and strengthened over time. They may represent the main reason an employee has joined and stayed with the organisation.
There must be a strong commitment by either a large number of employees to the culture, or by a number of strongly influential groups within the organisation.
An organisation’s culture is manifested in such things as:
· the overall look or feel of its physical structures such as offices, factory, employee amenities, uniforms or dress code
· the way the organisation manages its work force, including its hiring and firing and promotion practices
· its history, including its heroes and its greatest achievements
· its management and leadership style at all levels of the organisation.
Often very positive evidence of an organisation’s culture can be seen in its heroes and rituals. Most organisations that have operated for any significant length of time have ‘heroes’—men or women who by their personalities, achievements or actions have embedded themselves in the organisation’s history. Their characteristics or the characteristics of their behaviours form part of the culture of the organisation.
An organisation’s rituals also form part of the culture: the way the organisation socialises, the way its employees spend their non-work time at work, the way it responds to holidays and celebrations such as Australia Day, Christmas and individual employees’ birthdays or marriages. In addition the way the organisation provides added benefits, eg bonuses or gifts at Christmas.
Workplace culture and change
If an organisation is described as having a culture of change, it means that the very foundations of the organisation—its entrenched values—either positively seek out and embrace change or operate to accept change with little or no resistance.
Many organisations display a general resistance to change. This is often the result of what has been called an ‘operational inertia’. This may occur where the organisation operates in a heavily structured manner with strict, inflexible procedures and systems.
As a corollary of this, many organisations foster a culture of ‘constant and never ending improvement’ and this cultural approach to change and innovation supports most if not all change programs introduced to the organisation.
Management may support a culture of change, where change becomes a positive part of a workplace, by constantly communicating with their staff to lead them through:
· the continuous issues surrounding change
· the challenges of improvement
· the introduction and recognition of innovation.
The approaches can include:
· regular communications by newsletter
· suggestion box
· rewarding improvement and innovation suggestions
· regular meetings and workshops surrounding improvement and innovation.
· management recognition of goal achieving.
My workplace
1. How would you describe your workplace culture? Has it changed or does it noticeably change? Does your organisation identify and promote its culture? If so how, if not, how do you think it could promote its culture?
Answer:Identifying and analysing a variety of approaches to managing workplace issues and problems
There are a number of approaches to managing issues and problems in the workplace. By identifying and analysing these approaches effective solutions can be found and implemented. Some approaches may include:
· Creating teams
· Encouraging a learning organisation
· Effective project management
· Implementing change required by government and the law.
Teams
A recent trend in organisational management at a strategic business unit level has seen the introduction of teams as part of the general management structure. It is believed that teams are more responsive to challenges in the workplace, and change and its implementation are challenges where teams have been seen to have a positive impact.
There are a number of different types of teams. They may be:
· Permanent, such as sales team
· Project-based, such as teams that exist for the life of a project
· Special purpose teams, for example a team set up to monitor risk management issues or occupational health and safety teams
· Self-managed teams, also designed for special projects but which are managed by the team, not an individual.
Creating teams
As a manager, you need to act as a coach, especially when managing teams involved in change management and innovation.
The development of teams can often be traced through the stages of ‘forming/storming/norming/performing’ followed by the ultimate ‘separation’.
· Forming: ‘Forming and awareness’ is the process whereby the team becomes aware of itself and its members become aware of each other. At the same time they familiarise themselves with the purpose of the unit, set their own place in the team unit, and recognise the social, ethical and performance standards of the team.
· Storming: ’Storming’ or conflict is the process of challenging the process and/or each other as the information is received and people start to work on the issues.
· Norming: The ‘norming’ or cooperation stage is where the sense of involvement and general commitment envelopes each of the team members.
· Performing: Finally the ‘performing’ or productivity stage occurs when cooperation is achieved and the goals are recognised as and when they are achieved. This is also the stage of feedback and rewards.
The faster the team moves through the forming and storming stages the faster the team is able to operate in change positive approach to the change strategies or implementation process.
If a team does not proceed past the forming or storming stages, it can be seen to be dysfunctional and normally is unable to reach any goals or milestones set for it. In fact the team is not actually operating as a team, but as a group. Should this occur, as manager, you need to work with the group to mould them into a team. A failure of a group to become a team in a workplace environment usually can be traced to a failure to meet individual members’ needs.
Learning organisation
Another approach to the challenges of change and innovation is to promote ‘learning’ as an underpinning value in the organisation. In other words, to support your organisation to become a ‘learning organisation’.
A learning organisation is one in which members, including employees, owners and external stakeholders, work in a continuous way to increase their ability to achieve the results they truly desire. It is an organisation in which:
· new and original patterns of thinking are supported and rewarded
· the acquisition and sharing of knowledge among its members is a valued and sustained characteristic.
Creating a learning organisation is a significant step in the process of creating an organisation that is positive to and supportive of change. A learning organisation is almost always able to manage change in a positive and resourceful manner.
Supportive and conducive climate
To achieve this, an organisation must foster and promote an internal climate which is conducive to learning, and where individuals are encouraged to take risks and to try out new ideas. In addition the employees must be encouraged to self-assess their work and their mistakes. This is only possible in a supportive and conducive climate.
Connections between the departments or sections
Another feature of a learning organisation is that it encourages the recognition of connections between the various departments or sections, as together they move towards the ‘big picture’ vision of the senior or executive management. An example of such an approach is the successful introduction of a process such as Total Quality Management (TQF) which is usually implemented organisation-wide and involves an extensive and detailed change process.