Mba520 Week 2

LEADING CHANGE

Leading Change

University of Phoenix

Abstract

This study examines the effects of organizational culture, leadership styles, and conflict

management styles on job satisfaction and performance. While directive leadership and

controlling the information flow had a negative impact on the performance at Good Sports,

changing the leadership style to participative and achievement oriented styles has a

positive response on the performance and motivation aspect of the organization. Style of

leadership and how the work is performed in an organization also impacts the resistance to

change in policies and procedures. The website Changing Minds stated that, "People are less

competitive and more collaborative when they are working on joint goals. When people make

decisions together, the social commitment to one another is greater and thus increases their

commitment to the decision. Several people deciding together make better decisions than one

person alone."

Leading Change

Good Sports, based in Coral Springs, Florida manufactures fitness equipment such as treadmills, bikes, steppers, and rowers. A former NBA basket ball player Jason Poole founded the company and CEO Marvin Wallace led the company forward by investing in sales, production, and the research and development (R&D) departments. Good Sports supplies equipment to hospitals, clubs, hotels, and residential houses.

Organizational Structure and Culture

The organizational structure at Good Sports, resembles a functional structure, a kind of departmentalization. A functional structure organizes employees around a specific area of expertise. According to McShane & Von Glinow Ch. 15, (2005). "A functional structure organizes employees around specific knowledge or other resources. Employees with marketing expertise are grouped into a marketing unit, those with production skills are located in manufacturing, engineers are found in product development, and so on." The structure of Good Sports has four departments: production, sales, finance and research and development (R&D), and each department is staffed with employees who have experience in that particular field.

Good Sports' organizational culture is a synthesis of many sub cultures. According to (Ouchi 1980, and Ashforth and Mael 1989), "Organizations consist of subgroups that have specific characteristics and a sense of identification. Within organizations, people can easily classify themselves and others into various social categories or groups based on identification with their primary work group, occupational or professional skills, union membership, or age cohort." This statement holds true in the case of Good Sports, where each department has its own culture that in turn is aligned with the ideologies and values' of the organization. According to McShane & Von Glinow Ch. 16, (2005). "They encourage constructive conflict and more creative thinking about how the organization should interact with its environment. Subcultures prevent employees from blindly following one set of values and thereby help the organization to abide by society's ethical values." For example, at Good Sports' sales department, they prefer a more informal culture and they value the consumer preferences and proto types, while production department is convinced only with hard facts, their culture is to get involved in the project and would be more willing to take on a creative challenge. These different subcultures at Good Sports foster good values in the employees and each department looking at different values in determining the value of the product that they want to bring to life, helps the dominant organization's culture of finding a better, cost effective, customer appreciated, and profitable product to the market.

As the organization's structure is based on the functional departmentalization, each department tends to work its own way as they do not interact with other departments as all their expertise is within their own team and the interdependencies are minimal between the departments. This encourages the departments to have their own subcultures which they adhere to and which are aligned with the organizational values and culture. According to McShane & Von Glinow Ch. 15, (2005). "Direct supervision is easier, because managers have backgrounds in that functional area and employees approach them with common problems and issues. Finally, functional structures create common pools of talent that typically serve everyone in the organization." This holds true at Good Sports and having the functional departmentalization and a synthesis of subcultures as the organization's culture are compatible and serves the organization in funding a profitable product in the end.

Power Structures and Politics

Sales Department

Referent Power. According to Steve L. McShane, Mary Ann Von Glinow, Chapter 12, (2005). "People have referent power when others identify with them, like them, or otherwise respect them." By inviting Frazier O'Donnell, the referent power was used, using this power, made the sales department view the proto type through the eyes of Frazier O'Donnell which made them identify themselves with him and finally respect him for such a good product. This aligns with the sales department's culture of being inspired by the corporate icons.

Expert Power. According to Steve L. McShane, Mary Ann Von Glinow, Chapter 12, (2005). "It is an individual's or work unit's capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that they value." and by presenting a customer report for the sales department to review, the expert power was used to win the trust of sales department. Knowing the product thoroughly and presenting it along with the customer report made them see that the worthiness of the product. This power aligns wit h the sales department culture of believing that the customer is the king.

Legitimate Power. As Samuel Olsen, VP of sales fosters informal organizational culture in Sales department, inviting him