Showing papers in "Journal of Organizational Change Management in 1990"

The Evolution of Leadership Theory

Abstract: Leadership is one of the most complex and multifaceted phenomena to which organisational and psychological research has been applied. An evolutionary developmental perspective is used to create an evolutionary tree of leadership theory and reveal the path along which it has evolved. Nine evolutionary eras are identified, and requirements for a tenth era of leadership theory are discussed. These eras provide a broad framework for researchers and practising managers to categorise existing, and evaluate future, theories.

Enhancing Career Motivation in Late Career

Abstract: Career motivation is usually examined among young or mid‐career workers. The older worker is left alone. Unfortunately, in an environment in which the older person represents the fastest growing segment of the labour force, this critical resource is being frittered away. Examination of current practices suggests a large portion of older workers are persuaded by their employers′ actions that their careers are at an end. Alternatives to extend and increase this group′s career motivation are discussed.

Career Dynamics in the Baby Boom and Baby Bust Era

Abstract: The expansion of the US economy during the 1950s and 1960s, combined with a relatively small baby boom, created unparalleled opportunities for upward movement in organisations. The 1990s, however, with a baby bust aftermath and adverse economic trends, are turning career opportunities upside down. Organisational growth has been slowed down, and many middle and upper management jobs have been eliminated. However the baby‐boomers are now looking for such positions, with meagre prospects, whilst the baby‐boomers of the 1960s and 1970s can scarcely match up to the demand for low‐level entrants to industry. To combat this uneven situation, the established concepts and cultures of careers must be totally revised. The alternative, linear, steady state, spiral and transitory career views are all examined and their interchangeability, where possible, is discussed. It is concluded that fundamental changes must be made in the ways in which careers are structured and managed in organisations, resulting in balancing p...

Towards Mapping the Communication Targets of Organisational Change

Abstract: Four perspectives are outlined on organisational phenomena and three types of organisational change Using those categories, a framework is developed which identifies 12 major organisational communication focuses That framework facilitates identification of the nature and purpose of organisational communication from each perspective as it relates to each type of organisational change

Training as an Approach for Organisations to the Challenges of Human Resource Issues in the Year 2000

Abstract: The training challenges facing organisations resulting from changes over the next several decades are described. These include a decreasing number of persons available for entry level positions including a growing proportion of undereducated young people. Also, jobs will become more complex as a result of technological developments and yet will require more interpersonal interaction between individuals who have different values and who come from different cultures. These changes will result in the need for training systems to maximise the potential of each individual, including basic skill and support programmes for unskilled young people who will need to perform more cognitively complex tasks. Training will also be necessary to help managers work with a more diverse workforce including helping individuals understand how to provide support for persons who have not traditionally been a part of their work organisation.

The Changing Workforce and Organisation Effectiveness: An Agenda for Change?

Abstract: The changing population patterns in the industrial democracies create pressures for change which will eventually be experienced by all employers. Yet, executives are loath to face this demand. Structures, strategies and policies suited to the labour surplus which existed during the baby boom′s entry into the workforce are no longer adaptive. Change will be pressed on both the organisation and individuals within it.

Managing for Change or Stability

Abstract: Many aspects of organisational change are examined, including the cost of change, change for change′s sake and for stability′s sake, and the manager′s dilemma in having a foot in each camp, both disciplined and informal. It is concluded that stability and change must coexist and resilience is needed to balance the two, so that neither becomes overemphasised.

Strategic Change: The Search for New Equilibria

Abstract: A case study of an organisation in transition is examined. It describes a Canadian regional airline which is facing major environmental changes and challenges, and attempts to make the required organisational adjustments. The dynamics of strategic change at that company are then related to the available literature. Of particular interest are the stakeholder model and the literature on organisational learning.

Burnout among Dual Career and Single Career Families

Abstract: The organisation may suffer when individuals face problems in meeting the demands both of family and workplace. A survey in a heavy industry plant revealed differences between married workers and non‐married workers in three components of burnout. The results are analysed.

Towards a Manager′s Model for Initiating Change Projects

Abstract: Two related issues are offered. One discusses and outlines a focused model from the point of view of the practitioner, i.e. a “manager′s model”. Secondly, the model′s focus is concerned with how a manager can go about initiating a “change project”, i.e. it describes the process of selecting an appropriate way to begin to solve a perceived problem.

The Changing Demographics: Are Corporations Prepared to Meet the Challenge?

Abstract: A small sample of leading edge companies was studied to see how firms are addressing the changing workforce. Generally, HR planners and business leaders are very aware of the issues. Some companies have even begun to put in place innovative HR programmes designed to meet the needs of the changing workforce. A key challenge for many HR planners, however, is to convey urgency in addressing the issues and translate issues into specific programmes and policies.

Using Technology to Improve our Management of Labour Market Trends

Abstract: A framework is presented for the strategic use of technology choices as potential solutions for human resources problems arising from demographic trends and labour market conditions. Rather than having technology choice decisions driven by largely financial or engineering concerns, the framework starts with the availability of human resources as its major consideration in choosing technologies which will eliminate jobs which organisations may not be able to fill, and augment or capitalise on skills the workforce does possess. Combining human resource planning and technology planning can thus help organisations achieve a strategic advantage.

Risky Business: The Socialisation of Managers in the 21st Century

Abstract: The shrinking supply of labour, the rising expectations of new entrants into the workforce, the trend towards corporate downsizing, and the growth in the number of plateaued middle managers will require corporations to develop innovative ways of recruiting, selecting, training, and developing new employees by the end of the century. Companies will need to be more effective in recruiting and maintaining a culturally diverse workforce, in managing new recruits in “flat track” careers, and in using plateaued middle managers more extensively as mentors.

Restructuring within GE to Facilitate Strategic Change: A Self‐design Process Approach

Abstract: Exonomic and competitive pressures have largely caused leaner and more responsive organisations to become the primary objectives of organisational designers over the past decade. Most of these initiatives, though, have been aimed at senior management levels and have yielded mixed results. Self‐design is a strategic restructuring alternative that can potentially overcome many of the liabilities of traditional design approaches and help engender employee commitment to today′s flatter, more decentralised organisation. Though there are many prescriptions evolving from conceptualisations of the self‐designing organisation, there are very few successful examples of self‐design in practice, especially as a strategic change management tool. This case study is intended to help fill this void and intertwine theory with the practice of self‐design.

Human Resource Evaluation for the 1990s and the Workforce 2000

Abstract: Selection systems have been viewed as relatively static screens which eliminate less desirable job candidates. In an environment of scarcity this ceases to be an appropriate model. Instead, employers will use person‐focused approaches, which identify individual abilities, capitalise on those abilities, and circumvent the individual′s limitations through training, job assignment or reallocation of tasks within the work group. As a consequence, a shift is required from an emphasis on selection to a broader span of diagnostic procedures which yield information which others in the organisation will use to govern how (not if) they will work with the individual. In addition, characteristics of the diagnostic procedures must be adapted to new job and workforce conditions. Evaluation of skill development and employee qualification throughout one′s career will become the norm.

A Theoretically Based Contingency Model of Feedback: Implications for Managing Service Employees

Abstract: Through the years, positive feedback has been accepted as an effective method of improving employee performance. However, recent research reviews question across individual consistency of this effect. This inconsistency may arise from the interaction of feedback type (positive and negative) with individual differences. A Contingency Model of Feedback is proposed. This model integrates previous theory and research. It has implications which would allow service sector managers to select the most appropriate feedback type for each employee.

Interventions to Chip Successfully out of Team‐building Sand‐traps

Abstract: Ten common “sand‐traps”, selected by two team‐building consultants from their experiences in team building, are discussed along with the interventions that have worked successfully for them and with their clients, both team leaders and team members, in chipping out of the sometimes unavoidable sand‐trap. The sand‐trap metaphor also points to sharpening skills already apparent in the team, and to increasing alternatives for constructive problem solving. A consultant′s checklist is included for managing a successful team‐building effort.

Exploring the Long‐term Effects of Behaviour Modelling Training

Abstract: This study examined the effects of behaviour modelling training (BMT) on four measures of training effectiveness two years after the training. The results suggested that BMT had positive effects on trainee reactions and on subjective measures of behavioural change and organisational performance. Positive training outcomes were associated with the degree of congruence between the BMT skills and organisational norms, specific goals and feedback, and external support for the BMT programme.