BUS272 TB

514 Part 5 Reorganizing the Workplace
OB at Work
2. Encourage uncompromising straight talk. Communication cannot be
based on hierarchy, but must allow everyone to contribute freely to
the discussion.
3. Manage from the future. Rather than setting goals that are directed
toward a specific future point in time (and thus encouraging everyone
to stop when the goal is achieved), manage from the perspective of
always looking toward the future and future needs.
4. Harness setbacks. When things do not go as planned, and there are
setbacks, it’s natural to blame yourself, others, or bad luck. Instead,
teach everyone to view setbacks as learning opportunities and opportunities
for improvement.
5. Promote inventive accountability. While employees know what the
specific targets and goals are, they should also be encouraged in the
change process to be inventive and take initiative when new opportunities
arise.
6. Understand the quid pro quo. When organizations undergo change
processes, employees are put under a lot of stress and strain.
Organizations must ensure that employees are rewarded for their
efforts. To build appropriate commitment, organizations must develop
four levels of incentives:
a. Reward and recognition for effort
b. Training and skill development that will make the employee
marketable
c. Meaningful work that provides intrinsic satisfaction
d. Communication about where the organization is going and some
say in the process for employees
7. Create relentless discomfort with the status quo. People are more
willing to change when the current situation looks less attractive than
the new situation.
These points indicate that effective change is a comprehensive process,
requiring a lot of commitment from both the organization’s leaders and
its members.
Practising
Skills
You are the nursing supervisor at a local hospital that employs both emergency
room and floor nurses. Each of these teams of nurses tends to
work almost exclusively with others doing the same job. In your professional
reading, you have come across the concept of cross-training nursing
teams and giving them more varied responsibilities, which in turn has
been shown to improve patient care while lowering costs. You call the
two team leaders, Sue and Scott, into your office to explain that you want
the nursing teams to move to this approach. To your surprise, they are
both opposed to the idea. Sue says she and the other emergency room
(ER) nurses feel they are needed in the ER, where they fill the most vital
role in the hospital. They work special hours when needed, do whatever
tasks are required, and often work in difficult and stressful circumstances.
They think the floor nurses have relatively easy jobs for the pay they receive.
Scott, the leader of the floor nurse team, tells you that his group
believes the ER nurses lack the special training and extra experience that
the floor nurses bring to the hospital. The floor nurses claim they have
the heaviest responsibilities and do the most exacting work. Because they