BRIEF:
You are required to select one of two options presented below to complete your academic analysis. Whilst the analysis will require you to apply insights from all three chapters, some options will require specific focus on named chapters.
Option 2: Change Management: Internal and external forces of change are interrelated and influence decisions about the management of change. Consider the barriers to change and how organisational culture is affected by and influences change. Discuss the impact of these forces on an organisations’ workforce and management and how managers can best work with these. 
This option relates to content in Chapter 7-9 (to be provided).
LENGTH:
2,500 words (10% allowable either way, does not include title page, table of contents, appendix and references)
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: 
Includes journals, papers and books sourced from the library or other university resources, Harvard or APA 6th version, Journal Articles. General rule of one resource per 150 words.

 
STRUCTURE:
You may want to use the following structure to format your Subject Reflection. 
• Introduction 
• Discussion 
• Conclusions and recommendations 
• References* 
*excluded from word count

MBA – People and Culture – Subject Reflection (Assignment due date: 18 Jan 2021)

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

1. Define the problem: graduates will be able to understand the broad context and complexity of an industry and the resultant challenges faced by its constituents. Students will be able to frame complex industry problems and effectively communicate them to others possessing both specialist and no specialist expertise;
2. Gather and analyse evidence: graduates will develop and refine skills of efficiently collecting, analysing and synthesising data required to identify and illuminate the roots of complex industry challenges though both qualitative and quantitative approaches;
3. Demonstrate management: graduates will develop project management knowledge and skills and then administer projects by drawing on practical experience and theoretical approaches to management. They will be able to critically apply leading management theories to specific project contexts in order to effectively achieve project goals;
4. Develop strategic vision: graduates will develop frameworks for achieving organisational change drawing on innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. They will develop strategic visions that identify business opportunities and appropriately incorporate relevant risk reasoning into proposed business solutions;
5. Demonstrate leadership: graduates will be able to communicate vision effectively and mitigate implementation risks to achieve effective change management through both creative and pragmatic approaches. Graduates will be prepared for leading organisational change;
6. Develop knowledge and skills applicable for business and industry. They will have advanced understanding of the rapidly changing business world and will be able to critically analyse business problems, apply theory to identify and implement solutions.

BRIEF:

You are required to select one of two options presented below to complete your academic analysis. Whilst the analysis will require you to apply insights from all three chapters, some options will require specific focus on named chapters.

Option 2: Change Management: Internal and external forces of change are interrelated and influence decisions about the management of change. Consider the barriers to change and how organisational culture is affected by and influences change. Discuss the impact of these forces on an organisations’ workforce and management and how managers can best work with these. 
This option relates to content in Chapter 7-9 (bellow).

LENGTH:

2,500 words (10% allowable either way, does not include title page, table of contents, appendix and references)

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: 
Includes journals, papers and books sourced from the library or other university resources, Harvard or APA 6th version, Journal Articles. General rule of one resource per 150 words.  

STRUCTURE:

You may want to use the following structure to format your Subject Reflection. 
• Introduction 
• Discussion 
• Conclusions and recommendations 
• References* 
*excluded from word count 

CONSIDERATIONS

Upon review of my essay, have I demonstrated critical thinking aligned with my chosen analysis task option? Specifically:
• Have I Identified and defined the academic concepts related to the analysis task using current academic literature?
• Have I demonstrated an analysis of these relevant concepts and topics?
• Have I demonstrated an ability to apply and integrate the relevant concepts and topics in the analysis; have I provide evidence or examples?
• Have I developed an argument and demonstrated understanding of differing points of view?
• Have I demonstrated understandings of the relevance of the chosen concepts to the overall concept of management?
• Have I demonstrated understandings of considerations and implications for contemporary management practice?
• Did I produce a quality essay? Consider presentation, referencing and a balance between academic and industry sources. Consult with your academic regarding appropriate formatting and styling.

CHAPTERS

7.0. Chapter Overview – Types of Organisational Change
Over the course of a business’s life cycle, the business can witness many types of change. On a basic level, businesses may be forced to react to external and internal changes. This chapter will explore the nature of these forces, how they interrelate and influence decisions about how to manage change.
1. External and Internal Change.
2. External.
3. Internal.

Immersive Reader
7.1. Internal Change
The world of business is a very different place than it was even 10 years ago. Some examples of how things have changed:
· The global financial crisis and the subsequent economic downturn has changed the landscape and has created pressures of global competitiveness.
· Traditional forms, practices and systems are being replaced by new developments driven by information technology and globalisation.
· Leaders of today need to be able to deal with chaos, order and change in an increasingly fast-paced world.
· These external forces and internal responses create opportunities and challenges for today’s organisations.
External changes refer to changes outside the walls of the organisation and may refer to changes in the economy, changes in the makeup of the industry, changes in market forces, and changes in social and societal trends. These external drivers often provide motivation or impetus for internal changes. Internal changes occur within the walls of an organisation.  They may consist of increases or decreases in the numbers of employees, increased geographic locations, increased reliance upon and integration of technology, and shifts in business strategy that open up new product lines or markets. Internal changes come about either by choice, chance or necessity and depend largely on a number of internal factors.
The distinction between internal and external organisational changes is significant because while both internal and external changes may impact an organisation’s decisions and strategy, an organisation typically has less control over external change forces. Recognising and understanding both internal and external changes is critical to organisational success and are the hallmarks of an innovative organisation. An innovative organisation mobilises people, values and systems to stay abreast of and be responsive to change.
7.2. External Change
Drivers of Change
Ackerman and Anderson (2002) identify 8 drivers of change as:

Driver

Description

Social

Different attitudes toward work, products or services.

Business and economic

Economic volatility; a changing financial and taxation landscape.

Political

Shifting political agendas.

Governmental

Changing regulatory environment and agendas.

Technological

Advances in technology related to communication, production, management.

Demographic

An increasingly diverse workforce; stronger participation of previously excluded groups.

Legal

Changing industrial relations frameworks.

Environmental

Greater focus in environmental impacts.

Although these drivers can be largely construed as external, internal factors determine the extent to which an organisation is responsive. External changes often serve as a harbinger of opportunity.
Influences
The superannuation and small business taxation changes, which came into effect on July 1, 2016, in Australia represent an example of political, and governmental influences. These influences will impact on the delivery of products and services by the financial industry. In addition, these changes will require small businesses to respond as the legal landscape regarding taxation has changed, which may influence the business service delivery landscape and will impact internally on their structures and systems to ensure compliance. Changes in social attitudes and economic drivers have forced several sports codes AFL (Links to an external site.) and Cricket (Links to an external site.) to expand their reach for players and participants. This has a profound impact on the internal operations of these Codes.
Crisis Management
Crisis management is the process by which an organisation deals with a major event that threatens an aspect of organisational health. A crisis can take many forms, some of which include:

Crisis

Description

Natural

stemming from natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and hurricanes.

Technological

Stemming from a failure of critical technology, or a technological development that obviates a core business competency.

Leadership

Drawn from the sudden departure or loss of critical leadership.

Ethical

Stemming from real or perceived corporate misdeeds.

A crisis is a powerful external driver for change and demands careful management to avoid having a long term or adverse effect on an organisation. History is replete with examples of the impact that crisis management, or mismanagement can have upon organisations In 2015, Volkswagen, one of the world’s largest automakers was found to have installed a software “defeat device” that helped cars pass emission tests. Thus deceiving its customers worldwide.
When in 2014, Facebook treated their customer data carelessly, many saw this as manipulation, and although they apologised for poor communication, and it took four months to rectify internal protocols. Regardless of the nature of the crisis, the key element is that a critical change has either occurred, or is about to occur.  And this change requires the immediate attention of all levels of an organisation’s attention.
There are several crisis management models, many of which offer the following core elements:
· Diagnosis of current or pending problem.
· Curtailing or minimising of damage from problem.
· Development of a turnaround strategy.
· Implementation and monitoring of that turnaround strategy.
Considerations for Engaging with Change
From an internal perspective, Ackerman and Anderson (2002) identify 6 corresponding internal considerations for engaging with change as:

Consideration

Description

Market place requirements for success

To what extent does a business want to/can maintain its market share?

Business imperatives

What are your goals and objectives? Are they still relevant in today’s market?

Organisational imperatives

Are our structures, systems, processes responsive?

Cultural imperatives

Is our organisational culture responsive?

Leader and employee behaviour

Is our behaviour congruent with our new goals and objectives?

Leader and employee mindset

What mindsets are driving our business? What unconscious biases do we need to address.

McDonald’s Australia understood its unique advantage, but also understood that it needed a radical make-over if it was to continue to be viable in the market place.
Business Performance and Change Capability
Kirsch,  Chelliah, and Parry, (2011) identify that in order for an organisation to respond to change drivers, it needs to pay attention to two specific internal drivers: business performance and change capability.
These internal drivers are influenced by 6 factors:

Factor

Description

Turbulence

Which refers to levels of resistance created by individual and/or organisational ability to deal with ambiguity.

Resources

Refers to the availability of resources to facilitate change.

Aligned direction

Refers to how well the need for change is understood and apprehended.

Change leadership

Refers to the relationship and levels of communication between leaders and subordinates.

Work roles

Refers to the level of involvement by staff in the change processes.

Emotional energy

Refers to the level of emotional expression/involvement in the change processes.

Theoretical Change Models
Although the models introduced by Ackerman and Anderson (2002) and Kirsch et al (2011) are derived from practice, other theoretical organisational change models identify similar drivers. Kirch et al (2011) provide a particular angle of considerations related to cultural diversity. They demonstrate that the need for change and change processes are made sense of differently based on culture, and thus internal change processes need to take cultural diversity into considerations. Diversity in the workplace is an internal driver for change that has the potential to increase innovation, however, it does take conscious consideration. Follow the link below to download a document about diversity published by Forbes.
An additional driver for internal change, particularly in an entrepreneurial environment is growth. Growth is often a symptom of a successful company, and growth heralds the need for change on several levels. In particular, a growth in terms of employees can necessitate marked changes on behalf of the work of an entrepreneur or senior management. In the nascent stages of an organisation, the entrepreneur can simply manage the business while also working inside the business—in essence they manage other employees while working alongside them. As a company grows, however, this method becomes problematic.
Delineating Workflow
Given the challenges inherent to managing increasing numbers of employees, the following 4 levels of management are helpful or delineating workflow:

Level

Description

Management of Content

Working alongside coworkers and partners.

Management of Behavior

Proscribing specific behavior to be undertaken by employees.

Management of Results

Setting goals to be achieved by subordinates.

Management of Context

Managing the overarching mission, goals and culture of an organisation.

Each of these levels of management indicate a specific level of time commitment and delegation of duty on behalf of the manager. Ascending the ranks of each level of management enables the manager to focus on increasingly high-level tasks and objectives while still proscribing specific results and behaviors below them. To exemplify the importance of utilising these steps,  consider for a moment the entrepreneur who works alongside a partner at the earliest stages of their business. As the company gains its first 10 employees, the founder stops working the phones for new business and instead provides behavioural guides for the new employees to follow. As the company gains its next 30 employees, he or she promotes middle managers and provides them with sales targets. As the company reaches 100 employees the founder promotes a senior manager to oversee most operations, and focuses his or her own time primarily on the broad strategy, mission and upper level hires for the company.

8.0. Chapter Overview – Managing Organisational Change
This chapter will introduce students to theories and approaches to organisational change processes and considerations regarding communications during times of change.
1. Communication.
2. Change Management Theory & Approaches.
8.1. Communication
Good communication is important in any context in an organisation and in particular when a change occurs. Communication in a contemporary organisation is influenced by any number of external factors, yet, the one factor most often overlooked is the factor of interpersonal effectiveness. According to De Janasz, Crossman, Campbell and Power (2014), There are 3 key abilities to interpersonal effectiveness in communication:
· The ability to listen.
· The ability to communicate effectively.
· The ability to be persuasive.
Listening is the process of absorbing things we hear and the mental processes we use to make sense of what we hear. Listening is critical in communication, and in today’s diverse organisations, it is often overlooked. Hearing is different from listening. Hearing is passive listening; where information is taken on board without a focus on processing. Attentive listening, on the other hand, occurs when a listener is interested in what the speaker has to say but makes assumptions about the message based on what the listener wants to hear. This type of listening is often distorted by biases held by the listener and is often characterised by the listener working on formulating an argument to add or refute a point made by the listener, rather than comprehending and ensuring their point is understood.
Active listening as the most powerful mode of listening requires work from the listener. It is the most intensive form of listening and includes paying full attention to the speaker by focusing on the elements of the message; asking for clarification of meaning and responding in ways that enhance understanding between both the speaker and listener. Active listening is a crucial skill in organisational change as it is an essential skill in developing and enhancing personal and professional relationships. It is also important to realise that words only represent 7% of a message, and the delivery and packaging of a message represent 93% of the information we receive.
These are the nonverbal aspects of communication. Listening also involves observing and interpreting these non-verbal aspects. Communication is an interactive process that takes place between a receiver and a sender. The sender imbues a message with meaning (encodes). This message gets transmitted through a channel (i.e. face to face, email, telephone). The receiver extracts the meaning (decodes) from the message and provides feedback to the sender.
There is ample room for distortion of the message in this seemingly simple process, which then interferes with effective communication. The ability to communicate effectively is influenced by the following four considerations:

Values, attitudes, prejudices

What we believe is right.

Non-verbal behaviour

What we say when we are not talking.

Verbal behaviour

What we say and how we say it.

Communication style/conversation rules/channel

How we prefer to express ourselves.

(C.Bouten-Pinto, 2006 – Providing Culturally Responsive Service Training Materials)
Although in organisational change it is important to be conscious and intentional about all of these influences, paying particular attention to the channel through which communication takes place as often the channel of communication creates the most interference when making sense of messages. In choosing the most appropriate channel, the effects many of the other influences have can potentially be eased. Paying attention to the 4 following factors may aid in choosing the most appropriate channel:

Factor

Description

Feedback

Does the channel allow for two-way communication and does it have the ability and speed to facilitate feedback? What is required – immediate or slow?

Channel

Does the channel allow for multiple cues; i.e. combining visual with audio or no visual?

Type of communication

Does the channel allow for emotional or personal connection – is it personal or impersonal?

Language source

What type of information? Words and actions or numbers and data?

Choosing the most appropriate channel can aid in enabling employees to make sense of change in the organisation. Using multiple channels to convey messages about change and the change processes, and enabling meaningful two-way communication about the impact of change on individuals and groups within the organisation will reduce resistance and stress associated with change. Another key ingredient in communicating the change in an organisation is the ability to be persuasive.
Effective persuaders have strong interpersonal skills and:
· Are good listeners.
· Solicit and give feedback.
· Interpret the needs and perspectives of others.
· Think creatively about the common good.
· Are prepared.
· Are empathetic.
Organisations who need to persuade employees may want to pay attention to the following strategies:
· Consider the ethical implications of desired changes/behaviours.
· Start enacting the desired changes/behaviours(adoption).
· Continue to enact the changes/behaviours.
· Improve on the changes/behaviours.
· Deter from enacting undesired changes/behaviours.
· Stop or discontinue undesired changes/behaviours.
8.2. Change Management Theory & Approaches
Change is closely intertwined with creativity and innovation, however, the reality of enacting change in an organisation is not easy. A number of theories, approaches and strategies have emerged over the years that have provided managers with insights into how making planned change happen and how to manage change when it happens (planned or unplanned).
Three Phases of Organisational Change
Kurt Lewin’s ‘Three Phases of Organisational Change’ (1947) is a well-known approach, which focuses on the following process:

Unfreezing

Activities are focused on preparing for changes to take place; the need and urgency for change are created.

Changing

Change takes place; targets for change can be task, people, technology or structure and the type of change required is based on careful diagnostics and generations of alternatives. According to Lewin, this phase takes time and when change is implemented prematurely, resistance to change can occur.

Refreezing

It is the final stage in organisational change. This stage is about stabilisation and creating the environment for long term continuity. It is accomplished through appropriate performance rewards, positive reinforcement, resource allocation and evaluation. When refreezing is done poorly or too quickly, the changes may be abandoned.

Linking back to our earlier learning about sensemaking, Weick (1995) proposed an alternative to Lewin’s influential theory, which was also based on a three-stage process, but linked to how people make sense of change. Weick proposed that in order for people to understand the need for change, they first needed to understand their current way of operating. Thus he proposed the ‘Freeze’ step as the initial step to enable employees, through different diagnostics, capture the existing sequences of behaviours. Following from there, he proposes the phase of ‘Rebalance’, to enable a reflection, re-interpretation and the generation of different possibilities for new behaviours to emerge. These then inform the ‘Unfreeze’ stage where the status quo is ‘unfrozen’, in order for the changes to occur.
In his theory, Weick also proposes that managers, rather than creating change, merely certify change that occurs when employees are empowered to act. Another influential change model that arose around the same time is Kotter’s Eight Steps to Successful Change (1996). Kotter’s approach, builds on Lewin’s work, by further unpacking the three phases, and by providing 8 action steps managers can undertake to plan and manage change.
Other approaches to enabling or managing change in organisations revolve around action learning and action research. For example,  Schein (1996) identifies 7 Dimensions of learning that drive Business-driven action learning as an approach to continuous change in modern organisations.
Developing a Learning Organisation
And at approximately the same time,  Peter Senge’s influential book, The Fifth Discipline (1994), provided a pathway and tools to developing a learning organisation. In a learning organisation “… people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together. (Senge, 1994, p.1)”. The ultimate objective of a learning organisation is to establish a link between an individual and collective learning and the strategic objectives of an organisation. What these theories and approaches have in common is that they provide ways for today’s organisations to survive in an increasingly competitive environment.
The approaches introduced here, provide managers with ideas and frameworks to equip themselves to deal with ambiguity and change within the context of people and culture of their organisations. Being able to develop an organisational culture that takes into consideration that change is inevitable in today’s business world relies on being able to choose and/or tailor approaches to the context of the business. In addition, each of the theories and approaches outlined rely on effective communication taking between people in organisations. The next chapter will, therefore, provide a brief overview of key concepts to consider in communication. Follow the link below to read more.

9.0. Chapter Overview – Transforming Culture
Managing inclusion and diversity is a significant action learning and change process. As students have learned throughout this course, it requires continuous attention. This chapter will provide students with insights on the changing nature of management and a final overview and tools and frameworks to embark on a managing inclusion and diversity transformational process.
1. Changing Face of Management.
2. Tools and Frameworks.
9.1. Changing Face of Management
Ideas and discussions around the functions of management, roles and skills have revolved largely around the following:
· The functions of management as driven by organisational objectives related to planning, organising, leading, and controlling (Drucker, 1982, Dubrin, 2012).
· The 10 roles of a manager outlined by Mintzberg (1972) as consisting of interpersonal roles, informational roles and decisional roles.
· Essential skills to fulfill these functions and roles outlined by Katz (1974) as conceptual skills, human skills, and technical skills.
Although it is generally accepted that these broad frameworks continue to have merit, a recent study of 265 practising managers has begun to questions whether this is still the case (Laud, Arevallo and Johnson, 2016).
This questioning is not unreasonable, given the changing nature of organisations, the context in which they operate, and the wider diversity of people in organisations. Laud, Arevallo and Johnson’s study (2016) has shed some interesting light on what contemporary managers actually do and what underpinning skills and mindsets are most relevant in enabling their work. They concluded that the traditional managerial typologies are shifting from an exclusively organisationally driven job focus to a more holistic model that reflects contemporary managerial interests and relevance to everyday work.
They also found that organisational life itself is shifting and that today’s managers are not as strongly influenced by organisational forces, but are more driven by individual interests and the achievement of personal goals. They attribute this in part to diminished job insecurity and organisational stability. This, in turn, raises interesting questions for managers, and particularly in the people and culture space.

Immersive Reader
9.2. Tools and Frameworks
Organisational Transformation is most often associated with radically changing an organisation’s vision and structure, which has mostly resulted in large scale downsizing of an organisation. inclusion and diversity transformational change is not about the latter. Managing inclusion and diversity can be seen as a hybrid approach; it borrows from Organisational Transformation with regards to driving organisational performance to radically change an organisation’s vision to reflect an underlying moral imperative for inclusion, equality, equity and participation. And it borrows from Organisational Development, Action Learning and Learning Organisation’s approaches to enable this change to be brought about as its philosophical stance requires a change at the structural, systemic, interpersonal and personal levels of the organisation (Acker et al, 1983).
Reaping the Benefits
Previously we established that as each organisation is different therefore needs to customise its approach in transforming to an inclusive organisation. We also established some important considerations that can help shape the way they do this. In order to reap the benefits of inclusion and diversity (and manage the challenges) modern organisations must:
· Clarify and communicate commitment.
· Develop individual and organisational capability.
· Develop benchmarks and targets.
· Include inclusion and diversity considerations in every aspect of planning (business functions, people and culture).
· Understand the goals and plan activities that position inclusion and diversity as the core.
· Manage change and internal and external communications.
· Be clear on what and how progress is measured and communicate success.
These considerations link well Laud et al’s (2016) findings and the mindsets of Gozling and Mintzberg (2003) and Tatli and Ozbilgin’s (2009) conceptual framework which focuses on situatedness, relationality and praxis as it relates to diversity managers. Able to articulate, communicate and demonstrate a commitment to the business case and the moral imperative to create inclusive cultures. This then leaves managers with the challenge of how to go about this in the context of their own organisations. For this, it is important to understand the distinctions and links between organisational culture, identity, sensemaking,  and organisational change and organisational …