Communicating Change

Larkin and Larkins advice about communicating change (p. 331) made alot of sense to me. I thought about a customer service initiative carried out by my company several years ago. I remember the roll out was scheduled in a large hotel banquet room at the Los Angeles airport, 35 miles from where I worked. The room was crowded with about 200 other managers and employees, there to see a pesentation by a motivational speaker who was to change the "culture" of the organization. The long afternoon featured story telling (by th speaker), videos, and a give-away of trinkets with slogans. The roll out was followed by strongly encouraged participation in commitees at each facility, tasked with coming up with ways to incentivize participation. As you can tell by now, implementation was top-down, and enthusiasm was "mandatory." Soon thereafter, the company encountered legal and ethical problems that created large gaps between espoused values and vision. The message of the change initiative was undermined. About a year ago, the division news letter contained an article by the CEO that was prompted by an employee asking: "Are we still doing that?(initiative)." Although he assured everyne that "we never stopped," it was a defense that fell on deaf ears.

Same Old Change

I am an antique car buff and have serveral cars from the 1950's. The section on the dialectic of change and stability reminded me of an adevertising slogan used to promote '58 Chevy's, which had been completely redesigned from the previous year: "New All Over - All Over Again." I think the slogan captures the dialectic of change, as well as its institutionalization. Today, I rarely pay attention when I hear the words "new" or "change" because the novelty of change has worn off, and change has become an expectation. Although necessary if an organization is to have a long term future, some referents to existing systems must be maintained so that organizations do not destabilized to the point of ineffectiveness.

Conflict Management Styles

Following an emplyee "satisfaction" survey issues surfaced about percieved favoritism, and unfair promotional practices. The department manager who had an authoritarian, style that was percieved as cold and efficient, convened a "communication team" to address these issues. Employees were informed that they had been designated to participate by email, but had no input about agenda items, team structure or processes. At the first meeting we were presented with a list of agenda items such as improving the department morale, increasing motivation, and resolving any tensions that inhibit the smooth functioning of the department. The group would have 4 one hour sessions to devise solutions to these problems and plans to implement them. After the manager walked out, there was stunned silence. Needless to say, this dominant conflict management style (p. 291) was not conducive to resolving the overarching and fundamental issues we were tasked with. Because the outcome was a forgone conclusion, the group fell apart in a few weeks, as issued continued to simmer under the surface.

Group Conflict

During the course of my college education I have participated in several group project. Statistics for productive cooperation are about 50/50 in my experience. My first time was a very positive experience, with group members working well together. The other extreme took place a few years later, when we were asked to form teams to present a chapter from our textbook. I teamed up with one other person, and we had begun working on our presentation, when the instructor placed a third student in our group. Although we were unhappy about it, we were being graded as a team, therefore felt we could not complain. The fact that our work was already half done and that the new student had missed many classes did not help matters. On the day of our presentation our third team mate did not show up for class, nor did she attempt to contact us. She later claimed she had had a family emergency. My team mate and I felt used and angry at the other student, as well as the professor.

Conflict In the Workplace

The broad definition of conflict in our text covers a lot of territory: "interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatible goals and interference from one another" (p. 275). I think line employees experience conflict primarily at the micro level, which can (or cannot) transition to a macro level through the ranks of organizational hierarchy. One mistake that high level stakeholders often make is to assume they can overcome micro level conflict by means of authority and control. Since low level members can seldom challenge authority overtly, conflict is expressed through subversion. One of the articles I am reading talks about the concept of "distancing" - doing no more than what is required to get by. I think of distancing as a form of subversion, in response to unresolved conflict.

Dissent Up - Side - Down

The expression of disagreement is an interesting topic for me to consider in vew of the fact that my facility is up for sale. I think of it as "waiting to exhale" as rumors fly, business declines and employees are look for other jobs, all the while waiting for "the announcement" that another operator will take over - talk about a rich communication environment. Management initially put on an up-beat facade, assuring everyone that another company will quickly step up. Four months, and one financial crisis later, assurances have tapered to quiet anxiety. Most employees blame upper mamnagement for souring the organizational climate for the patient referrals that are the bread and butter of the facility, as well as forcing out a number of dedicated staff members. Upper management are probably wise to direct mediated forms of dissent upward, in hopes of being transferred to other company locations, while line employees can only make their frustration known to each other. A few months ago 9x12 framed color hotographs were hung on the wall of the main corridor. As I walked by I heard one employee say to another..."its the hall of shame."

Organizational Control

Electronic monitoring is one of the insidious ways that organizations monitor employees. It used to be that checking the phone bill was one of the few ways that management could monitor employees - today however the options have increased significantly, with no end in sight. The short list at our facility is: phone bill, e-mail, closed cicuit camera, and key strokes. The other day I went to luch with a coworker, in a seldom used area of the building. On our way back, my coworker noticed a sign that said: "This entrance is monitored by closed circuit camera and voice recorder." I was suprised about the voice recording because I had thought we were in an area where we could have a confidential conversation.

Been There

The film Being There, discussed in the book, is a great example of the unintentional exercise of power. In a sense, you can look at the organization of society as a series of power relationships, where power is exercised deliberately, as well as unintentionally. The line between the two are frequently blurred for example by advertising...did your neighbor buy a Lexus for inferent status (an expression of power), or for quality? While overt power is laid out by the structure of organizations, covert power is often exercised throught chanels of communication (think grapevine). Ultimately, both influence the environment in which they operate.

Participation Paradox

Several paradoxes related to participation (p. 237/238) are present at the organization and government level. For example, the paradox of homogeneity was was evident in the findings by NASA, that the shuttle disaster was attributable in part to "group think," the idea that constructive questioning is tantemount to disloyalty to the group, and therefore silenced by peer pressure. The dialectic of exclusion-participation is also evident, and I think necessary, in all organizations. As Dr Coopman points out in her post, the Comm dept. at SJSU lists democratic participation among its values. The degree to which that plays out in the classroom depends to some extent on the professor, to some extent on the department, and to some extent on the university. Participation is usually not all or nothing but where the organization or team, fall on the scale

Getting a Handle On Power

After being promoted to a supervisory position at a former employer, I had the responsibility of managing two notoriously difficult employees who had previously been my co-workers. Initially I considered turning down the promotion but eventually decided to take on the challenge. In that situation, I had a limited amount of Reward and Legitimate power, but virtually no Coercive, Referent, or Expert power, because both employees had been with the company much longer than I had. I was able to make the situation work by focusing on the cooperative aspect of supervision, while building on the positive social relationships I had previously established. As the book points out, power is continually negotiated throughout changing relationships.

Team In Name Only

I have done some reading about teamwork, outside of class as well, and my definition is more closely aligned with the European democratic model, than the narrowly focused American model of productivity and profit. The book points out a few of the reasons the word "team" gets a bad rep at some employers: "increased responsibility - without...rewards...lack of stability...top down control alongside new forms of peer pressure"(p. 213). My present employer is one such case in point. Although all formal communication is addressed to the "team," prior financial irregularities, ethics violations, downsizing, and poor communication have undermined a spirit of community with organizational interests. In such a volatile climate the word team becomes a label for, rather than a description of organizational membership.

Participative Decision Making

One example of the trend toward participative decision making, is the group interview. In the past, most job interviews were conducted by a single individual who made the final decision to hire or not. Today, group interviews are often the norm. The practice has some pluses and minuses for employer and applicant alike. From the employer perspective, it takes the heat off the hiring manager in the event the employee turns out to be a poor choice. Additionally, a comparison of multiple perspectives can can lead to a more rounded impression. On the down side, choice by committee can negatively influence outcomes if people exercise hidden agendas to achieve goals. In my opinion, group interviews are generally not helpful to the applicant because they reduce the possibility of establishing a rapport with key individuals. I've had several interviews with as many as 6 people sitting around a table, taking turns to ask scripted questions - the experience felt more like community theater than an interview.

Leadership Letdown

The book discusses leadership in chapter seven and points out the difficulty of defining a "leader."
This issue was recently brought home to me in our department. Due to downsizing, the position of manager and supervisor were eliminated, leaving an inexperienced lead, and a director. Recently, a loud argument broke out between two employees in close proximity to both their offices, about a work related issue, yet neither one intervened. The lead later confided in me that he had not known what to do to diffuse the situation. The director also did nothing other than to ask the lead: "what was all that about?" Leadership is not the same as heavy handed control, but I feel it's the director's role to mentor and support less experienced staff members rather than ignore conflicts among the staff.

Organizational Relationships

Organizational co-worker relationships can become friendships that make a big difference in not only how you feel about work, but also in getting the job done. I worked in a busy Emeregency Room during the 1994 earthquake in LA. My coworker and I had already established a good rapport through previous interaction, but the pressure placed on us in the aftermath of the quake, cemented our friendship. What characterized the difference in the before and after, was the seamless way we were able to work together. Without having to talk about each issue that came up, we both knew what the other person was going to do, which allowed us to work together more smoothly than I was able to work with anyone else in the office.

Social Perception Skills

According to our text, Social Perception Skills involve "picking up on the subleties of social situations" (p. 149). I work for a diverse medium size organization, and our department reflects a wide variety of ethnicities and religious preferences. A few years ago a new manager was hired, and sent out a memo about an upcoming staff meeting. Next to his name he added the symbol: "<><" to resepresent a fish, a symbol of Christianity. At first I wondered if I had interpreted this correctly, since I work for a non-denominational organization, and our department is about 50% non-Christian. At the same time, this was a new manager, and I was hesitant to speak up about a sensetive issue. Ultimately, I did speak up to ask if I had "read" the memo correctly, but my real intent was to bring his attention to the issue of sensitivity. He said "yes," my interpretation was corerect and quickly added that he hoped I hadn't been offended."

Workplace Relationships

As the book pints out, workplace relationships serve many different functions. Currently, my company has placed our facility up for sale, after several rounds of downsizing. As you can imagine the "communication climate" is fraught with tension and anxiety, as well as anger at the management that has caused this situation (think echos of the current financial crisis). Workplace relationships can defuse some of the tension, as employees share their concerns and engage in the supportive dialog that has been absent from management. Part of that communication involves network with people who hold multiple jobs, in order to prepare for a scenario of the facility closing altogether.

Struggling to be Heard

The point about drowning in a sea of organizations attempting to stand out reminded me of the ubiquitous phone number acronyms. When companies first started using slogans as part of their telephone numbers, they really stood out. Today, businesses seem to feel the must have a number with a message - any seven letter abbreviation or acronym is fair game. The consequence of such copy cat marketing is exactly the opposite of the intent - it's hard to remember any of them. Originally most of the slogans attempted to sound professional or caring but in order to distinguish themselves some businesses make a point of using acronyms that sound corny or even amateurish.

A Violent Identity

Since my upcoming project concerns identity, I have been reading chapter 5 with interest. Several things stood out for me, starting with the discussion about identity and violence (p. 114). By and large, school shootings are an American phenomenon. Yes, I think the easy availability of guns contributes to the possibility of violence, but as gun rights advocates point out: guns don't kill, people do. I believe that identity based on the consumption of signs (consumerism), and devoid of real community, contributes to violence without conscience. After a violent event, everyone laments that "no one saw the warning signs." The larger point is: no one is watching. I don't think the answer lies in arming ourselves, but in fostering a community of positive relationships, with which we can identify.