Communication is central to the implementation of planned change (Ch 11)

I agree with the authors that “once a change has been decided upon, it must be communicated to others”. Many times, I found out about up coming changes through the grapevine, most information was actually correct. However, each time, I was very frustrated by the silence of our managers. It did not matter who would communicate with me and how the information would circulate, what mattered to me what that someone would somehow communicate. When changes are imminent and communication does not happen, employees spend hours speculating about the details or just about whether the rumors are true or not. The lack of communication affects employee morale and eventually productivity. Awkward communication is therefore better than silence.

Box 11.1 Identifying Your Beliefs About Change (Ch 11)

I believe that change is difficult, complex but possible. People and organization do change. Based on my experience, it seems that people might agree with the goals an organization is trying to achieve but not with how the organization wants to reach these goals. In other words, employees might agree with the “what” but not the “how”. At my last company, our executive team thought that the only way back to profitability was to lay people off. While most employees agreed that we needed to get back to profitability they did not agree that the only was to lay people off. Many people thought about lowering our expenses, or cutting down on bonuses or business travel. It seems that the executive team wanted to find a short term, easy solution.

Stress versus Burnout (Ch 10)

The definition of stress on page 299 and the fact that it can be positive are interesting. I have always used the words stress and burnout interchangeably. It seem that people always complain about stress. The word is often used with a negative connotation. But I now can appreciate the difference. A few months ago, my Director, gave me a “challenge assignment”. It was an new opportunity for me that was both important and had a high level of uncertainty. I was both excited and stressed. Excited because I had been given an opportunity to show my skills and stressed because I might not be able to do what was expected of me. I can see how “stress” can be positive but I still believe that there is a fine line between stress as a positive force and stress as a negative force.

Styles of Conflict (Ch 10)

The diagram on page 290 showing various styles is very interesting. If I think about where I would position myself, I face a dilemma. For example, with my friends or socially I always place myself in the "collaborate" category. At work, in class or in more formal environment, I would place myself in the "accommodate" category but at home, I am definitely in the "compete" category. It is interesting to think about the different styles I might adopt based on situations in my life. The authors emphasize that all five styles are fine but to me they are based on specific situations. In my case, these styles are based on life “categories” not situations. I am always accommodating at work when in some situation maybe I should not be. This understanding is very consistent with what my manager wrote in my last review. He suggested that I work on becoming more assertive.

“Natural Competition” of the Market (Ch 10)

I understand how encouraging competition can benefit an organization. By trying to perform better than others, people increase their productivity and it helps the bottom line. While the short-term benefit for the company are obvious, I am not so sure about long-term benefits. A few years ago, one of my previous manager could not make up his mind about who to promote. He hesitated between me and my co-worker. So he decided to spit up our group of 6 people in two identical groups of 3 people. My co-worker managed one of the group and I managed the other. This was one of the worse decision I have seen. My co-worker and I started competing for the management of the entire group and the competition became very ugly. She, of course, never played fair. I remember about her spreading lies about me or taking credit for my ideas or always interrupting me when I was speaking at meeting to repeat exactly what I was saying. Eventually I decided to leave. My work environment has become to unhealthy for me. I was spending all my energy fighting her or defending myself. Neither one of us, nor our manager, was really thinking about what was best for the company. At the end, the company lost productivity and motivation and a great employee.

Gatekeepers and Power (Ch 9)

Five years ago, I decided that I no longer wanted to have a TV in my house. The main reason was that I realized that while people on TV did not tell me what to think, they definitely told me what to think about. This is an important distinction. I realized how information was manipulated to force me to think about certain topics. Sure, I was free to agree with X or Y, but I was not free to decided no to think about it. I know TV programs are evolving and with Tivo once has more freedom in what to think about. Yet, I don’t think we are at a point where I can completely customize the type of information I decide I want to receive.

Authority in Bureaucratic Organization (Ch 9)

Starting a new job is so fascinating for so many reasons. When I join a new team, I have a new way of looking at things. Sometimes this “new way” is encouraged, sometimes not. Questioning existing processes is often not encouraged. When I started my last job, my manager asked me to run a couple of reports once a month. I asked him who read the information and in what way the information provided helped in making decision. He could not answer. All he told me was that needed to do it because the person before me did it and that was the end of the conversation.