Task 1

Organisational Structure and Its Importance

Johnson and Scholes (2002) noted that organisational structure can be defined as
the established pattern of relationships in context with an particular organisation.
Hartle (1995) further pointed out that organisational structure in its essence is a
formal system by means of which an organisation controls, co-ordinates and
motivates its employees. Furthermore, Armstrong (2006) points out that
organisational structure describes an organisations framework in such a manner that
hierarchical relationships between the supervisor and the subordinates are defined,
tasks are allocated to different person(s) and departments. In summary
organisational structure is a set of policies, procedures and standards and the
methods of evaluation of performance that are formulated so as to guide the people
and their activities. Armstrong (2006) notes that having a sound organisational
structure enables an organisation to establish clear authority generates a common
communication pattern and properly allocates decision centers within an
organisation. Furthermore Brewster et al. (2007) noted that an sound organisational
culture stimulates creativity and initiative among the organisational members by
providing a defined pattern of authority. Armstrong (2008) added that an effective
organisational design consist of five key inter-related elements.


These elements are responsible for a clear and streamlined organisation that
assertively has distributed clear roles and accountabilities for decisions, an
organisational structure that supports objectives. It also recruits and retains individual
talent necessary for success. These elements lead to a clear communication
amongst the key stakeholders, the upper management and the middle level
management, thereby resulting in a successful organisation.
Hughes et al. (2006) pointed out that symptoms of an ineffective organisation include
lack of co-ordination that leads to unfinished work, isolated teams and internal and
external conflicts. Furthermore the author mentioned that ineffective organisational
structure shows resistance to adapt and accept changes in the business environment
that leads to misused resources and gap in skills, and conflicting communication with
internal and external stakeholders.
On comparison with the two organisations Piers Mail Order and Greenwell limited, it
can be seen that Piers Mail order has a defined and structured organisational
structure. The roles and responsibilities within the organisation and divided and sub-
divided within teams and constant training and career development opportunities are
given to the employees. On the other hand in Greenwell Limited, it is seen that the
role of human resources is mainly limited to payroll management and a vey small
number of people are responsible for overlooking the welfare management system
of the organisation. It is imperative to note that Greenwell limited has a significant
number of directors in comparison with Piers Mail Order. As already pointed out with
a centralized human resource system in place, this would lead to stakeholder
confusion and therefore such an organisational structure is prevalent amongst the
organisation. The organisation lacked a conclusive or delegators body that would
oversee its efforts in terms of providing welfare benefits to its employees. This would
lead to an aura of mistrust within the organisational members and massively lower
the employee morale and lead to a dissatisfied workforce for the organisation.
Task 2
Hersey-Blanchard Situational Theory

Hersey and Blanchard developed also a theory that bases the leadership style on the
given situation. The Situational Leadership theory, created by Hersey and Blanchard,
includes four situational leadership styles: telling, selling, participating, and
delegating. According to Paul Hersey, a situational leader adapts "leadership
behaviors to features of the situation and followers."
Managers leadership style must be adaptable and flexible to meet the changing
needs of employees and situation. It should be matched to the maturity of the
subordinates. Maturity is assessed in relation to a specific task and has two parts:
Psychological maturity: Their self-confidence and ability and readiness to accept
responsibility and be able to manage the given tasks.
Job maturity - Their relevant skills, technical knowledge and ability to carry
Responsibility, the ability to put up high goals, and still manage them.
Kaplan and Norton (2002) further pointed out that management style in this theory
can be directive or supportive in behavior. They pointed out that in directive style of
management there is one-way communication, the subordinates roles are chalked
out and close supervision of performance is also present. Henderson (2008) argued
that this style of management leads to a decrease in employee communication and
feedback, leads to lower employee morale and job dissatisfaction of employees.
Also, Armstrong (2008) mentioned that directive style of management does lead to
downward vertical communication and therefore employee engagement levels are
low. On the other hand supportive management style encourages two-way
communication, employee encouragement and providing support to employees is
given priority. Also, one of the key elements of the supportive style of management is
delegation of authority and involvement in decision-making.
Dessler (2008) argued that employees of an organisation perceive the actions and
the behavior of a manager as the actions of the organisation itself. Bratton and Gold
(2007) pointed out that if the management style of the managers is bureaucratic and
authoritative, then a conducive environment for fulfillment of tasks and duties is not
created.
In relation to the case study at hand, it is seen that Piers Mail Order deploy a
management style that is participative, supportive and transformational. This is
pointed out by the fact that training and development of individuals is given key
priority, delegation of authority is also practiced in the organisation. Also, the
management is participative in nature. This is highlighted by the fact that senior
managers of Piers Mail Order are active members of the trade union and the
organisation is tying to facilitate communication between the management and the
trade unions. On the other hand, Greenwell limited have adopted an autocratic,
transactional and non-participative management style. As already pointed out this
would lead to less employee engagement, lesser participation in organisational
activities, lower the productivity levels of the members.
Task 3
Employee relations
Henderson (2008) define employee relations as an overall philosophy of formal and
informal policies that contribute to maintaining strong employer-employee relations
that directly have an impact upon the productivity, motivation and morale of the
employees. Beardwell (2007) defines employee relations as a psychological contract
that takes into consideration that employees are treated fairly and honestly, the
relationship between employees and the employer is characterized by a concern for
equity and justice, keeping the employees informed about the changes and
developments that occur in the organisation. Also, employee loyalty should be
reciprocated with job security and employee inputs should be recognized and valued
by the employer. In terms of the employee relation changes at Greenwell, Mrs.
Clarke should ensure that it gives the employees of the organisation security of
employment and aim to create a sociable work environment. It is also important that
access to training and development should be provided to the employees of the
organisation. This can be done by having a meeting with the trade union leaders of
the organisation and chalking out a step by step plan to implement and introduce
changes pertaining to employee development and integration. Also, from the case
study it is seen that Greenwell limited treats its employees as commodities rather
than intellectual capital. Introducing sound welfare benefits for the employees of the
organisation should change this. Also, Mrs. Clarke should set up divisions for specific
departments, particularly the human resources department and a grievance cell by
means of which employee complaints and feedback are handled, thereby reducing
the dissatisfaction level among the employees of the organisation. In terms of the
operational activities to be aligned between Piers Mail Order and Greenwell Limited,
the organisational dynamics in terms of structure, culture and the general
organisational philosophy should be aligned. From the case analysis it can be seen
that Piers Mail Order is using high performance work practices strategy whereas
Greenwell limited have a bureaucratic management style. This would have to be
addressed by the former in order to align and co-ordinate with Greenwell limited.
First of all, Mrs. Clarke should assess the overall situation by meeting with the senior
members of the organisation, the managers and department heads of the various
processes. Also, as the organisations are operating in the same industry, it would
beneficial for the managers and members of Greenwell to undergo a tacit learning
program at Piers Mail Order and some managers of Piers Mail Order should be
temporarily transferred over to Greenwell, so that the organisations vision is in line
with Piers Mail Order. Armstrong (2008) pointed out that the trade unions are an
important element in the transformational phase of any organisation. This is based
on the fact that the bargaining power of the trade unions increases manifold with a
change in management or leadership. Thus, Mrs Clarke should ensure that the trade
unions in Greenwell limited are the front-runners and the communicators of change
in the organisation.






Task 4
Change Management




Nilakant and Ramnarayan (2005) Model of Change

The case study describes two organisations with entirely different perspectives on
people management. However, with one of the organisations acquiring the other, a
process of change needs to be initiated so that both the organisations have similar
outlook, and enjoin a similar organisational culture. The HR Director needs to
undertake an assessment for introducing and maintaining the changes that would be
introduces in the organisation. As per the case analysis presented in the assignment,
the model of Nilakant and Ramnarayan (2005) is deemed to be the most appropriate.
There are four logically sequenced stages in this model namely, appreciating
change, mobilizing support, executing change and building change capability.
Appreciating change as per the authors, mainly deals with examining the mental
modes and routines that are prevalent in the organisation. In this step, an
organisation should carefully delve into the routines that the employees are used to,
LEADERSHIP
MOBILIZING
SUPPORT
EXECUTING
THE CHANGE
BUILDING
CHANGE
CAPABILITY
APPRECIATING
CHANGE
the management structure, the functioning mechanisms of the organisation. Further
to this a careful planned approach should be chalked out and measuring the current
productivity of an organisation to its ideal productivity levels.
In the second stage i.e. mobilizing support, the aim is to gauge an organisations
willingness towards change. This is the most important step in the change
management process. In this stage, the change agent (Piers Mail Order) can
influence change in essentially two ways. The first one is non-participative, in which
the organisation undergoes changes and employees eventually get used to the
changes. However, the main focus of Peirs Mail order should be to introduce
participative change. This would mean that employees of the organisation are
positive towards the change and the workforce is convinced about the positivity of
change. Nilikant and Ramnarayan (2007) further pointed out that in this stage the
change the middle level managers usually do implementation and facilitation. This
can be challenge for Piers Mail Order as the middle level managers at Greenwell
limited are used to an autocratic and bureaucratic style of leadership and
management. Hence, it is important that the change facilitation is participative.
The third step in the process is change implementation. In the model four types of
change implementations are classified. However, in particular reference to the case
study at hand it can be seen, that Piers Mail Order has opted for an Incremental and
complex change. Nilakant and Ramnarayan (2007) pointed out that a complex
change involves a complete overhaul of systems, policies and procedures. However,
Piers Mail Order has opted for an incremental i.e. step by step change. It is
mentioned in the case study that for the time, Greenwell would continue to operate
as an independent entity.
The fourth and the final step in the change management process is building change
capability. Nilakant and Ramnarayan (2007) pointed out that when a change is
implemented it needs to be sustained and constantly improved upon. This is
achieved by taking into account the mission and vision of the organisation, the
internal and external factors affecting the organisation and radical changes in the
management structure of the organisation. It would be appropriate in the fourth step
for Piers Mail Order to introduce concepts such as high performance work practices,
strategic human resource development and welfare mechanisms. This would ensure
that the first three steps of the change process deal with upgrading of the systems
and the technical ability of the employees and the last step concentrates on evolving
and redefining the workforce management on a constant basis.






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