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NEWPORT UNIVERSITY SOUTH AFRICAN STUDY CENTRE FULL TIME: BACHELOR IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (BBA) STUDENT NO. 0004-4452 SENIOR PAPER – BUS 499 UNDERSTANDING CHANGE IN ORGANISATIONS BY NOMATHAMSANQA E XELELO SENIOR PAPER/ PROJECT NEWPORT UNIVERSITY WHAT ARE THE ROLES PLAYED BY LEADERS IN ORGANISATIONS? WHAT MAKES SUCCESSFUL LEADERS? COMPARE AND CONTRAST LEADERSHIP APPROACHES AND MODELS AVAILABLE WITH THE REAL LIFE SITUATIONS SPECIFICALLY, SITUATIONS WHERE ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE IS IMPLEMENTED. 1. INTRODUCTION The objective of this project is to apply organisational theory particularly on the subject of leadership and change management to real-life situations and draw valuable insights as well as guidelines for future success. It is hoped that providing the answers to the following questions, this objective will be met: The questions are: • What is defined as leadership? • What are roles of a leader in a changing organisation? • What makes effective leaders? • Compare the theoretical approaches and models to practical examples.
To what extent does practice reflect the theory presented? What are some of the limitations of these models? • What are some of the lessons learnt? 2. 0VISION AND MISSION FOR THE “NEW” PUBLIC SERVICE The government of National Unity is committed to continually improve the lives of the people of South Africa through a TRANSFORMED Public Service which is representative, coherent, transparent, efficient, effective, accountable and responsive to the needs of all. (White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service, May 1995. ) 3. 0WHAT IS DEFINED AS LEADERSHIP?
Leadership may be defined as a relationship through which one person influences the behaviour or actions of other people. A leader has sufficient influence to bring about longer-term changes in people’s attitudes and make change more acceptable. Leadership is often considered as a subset of the managerial process. It differs from management in that it has greater emphasis on interpersonal behaviour, rather than merely planning, organising, directing and controlling in an organisation. Leadership is an ability to influence, inspire, and direct the actions of a person or group toward attaining desired objectives.
Ross Perot, Ronald Reagan they are well known leaders. (Management, 5th, Edition Hellriegel/ Slogum). 3. 1LEADERSHIP SKILLS Leaders come from many different backgrounds but all seem to share certain skills. There are five skills that many successful leaders develop during their careers. 1. Empowerment The leader shares power with the subordinates. By doing this the leader involves subordinates in setting objectives and planning. The leader spend time with subordinates, unlocking motivation to serve the purposes of the group in pursuing shared objectives.
The existence of unions in workplaces is fighting for the rights of the workers and power sharing. The government in power is the African National Congress (ANC) that took over from the Afrikaner regime in 1994 which was undemocratic and leading the minority rule in South Africa for a quite long time. The new democratic government felt the need to share power with other parties and citizens of this country and be part of the decision making so as to empower them regardless their race, colour, creed, culture and religion. 2. Intuition
It involves scanning a situation, anticipating changes, taking risks, and building trust. Leaders have a feel for changes that are occurring. They move quickly in serving new customers, finding new competitive advantages, and exploiting new company strengths. Mr Nelson Mandela’s secret of a rainbow nation was to bring all races, culture, religions together and build trust. There are challenges facing South Africa but it is regarded exemplary globally, which obtained its freedom through peaceful changes and negotiations. 3. 1. 3 Self-understanding
It is the ability to recognise your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses. Mr Mandela knew and he had a clear understanding that the oppressed groups, blacks, Indians and Coloureds won’t be able to make it on their own but also needed the whites to complete and fulfil the dream of a democratic South Africa and rainbow nation. He used his strengths and leadership skills to engage all stakeholders in peaceful negotiations to be able to reach solutions that will involve each South African and proudly say we are part of the outcomes of our democracy and it was realised in 1994 a dream come through. . 1. 4 Vision It involves imagining a different and better environment and how to achieve it. People are likely to make a commitment to a vision when they are actively involved in creating it. Mr Mandela’s vision was to liberate all South Africans so as to live in peace and harmony as one nation regardless their race, colour, sex, origin, culture, creed, and religion. The South Africans are just enjoying those fruits of this outstanding warrior, who realised his vision and mission through engaging South Africans in peaceful negotiations. . 1. 5 Value congruence It calls for knowing and understanding the organisation’s guiding beliefs, subordinates. It is better to knowing that you can confidently delegate much of the day to day running of the affairs to your subordinates. Mr Mandela retired as the President of South Africa and handed over to Mr Thabo Mbeki to lead this country and be the most respected country in the world. The belief of the ANC is for the ruling party to rule only for 5 years and test their leadership by going to the vote.
President Thabo Mbeki made his first speech in Parliament on 25 June 1999 as a second president, (Professor Kader Asmal, MP Minister of Education, Call to Action, 27 July 1999). 4. ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE The introduction of change into an organisation is often attempted with little or no consideration of the human elements involved. But the introduction of any new systems, machinery and procedures into the organisation will certainly affect the FEELINGS of people and will definitely affect the FEELINGS of OTHER PEOPLE in interrelated areas of the organisation.
The attitudes people hold towards the proposed change will determine their response to the change; and failure to take these into account and to deal with them appropriately very often results in an organisation’s collapse, communication breakdown, strikes, etc. Attitudes arise from: • personality history (socio-political-economic-religious, etc. ) • the work environment (codes, norms, culture, etc. ) 5. 0WHAT IS CHANGE? Change occurs when the balance between Capability vs. Challenge shifts and the status quo is disrupted.
When the degree of Capability is bigger > than the Challenge we can then talk about POSITIVE CHANGE; and when the Capability is smaller < in degree than the Challenge we talk about NEGATIVE CHANGE. Capability > Challenge = Positive Change Capability < Challenge = Negative Change 6. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANISATIONS RELATED TO CHANGE. • change is occurring all the time i. e. promotions, transfers, mergers, relocation of which may affect people each time; • groups tend to try to maintain equilibrium.
They may develop counter-pressures to proposed change; • resistance to change is common at all levels in the hierarchy of the legislation; • resistance to change is common for all levels of organisational intelligence; • resistance to change is often offset by the individual’s or group’s desire for the new experience and the regards that it is believed the change will bring; • changes are not always good; people may be right to resist the changes- but resistance that is solely emotional-based is not usually desirable; . 0LEADERSHIP IS CRITICAL IN CHANGING ORGANISATIONS Statistics indicate that 20% of organisations or institutions embarking on efforts to change will not be successful in achieving their goals. These statistics represent not only a tremendous cost to organisations in money, resources and time, but a human toll as well. One often quoted reason for this failure is the lack of leadership in driving through the change effort successfully. Despite the wide array of iterature on this subject, many leaders continue to pay lip-service to change efforts instead of being at the steering wheel creating a strategy and vision, driving the initiatives from top-down, continuously communicating the change journey to the organisation, initiating training and performance development, measuring outcomes and rewarding and recognising successes. Clearly, effective and dedicated leadership is a key ingredient for successful change.
To illustrate this point, think of President Mandela who spent 27 years in jail but still came out a peaceful leader who acted on his vision and galvanised South Africa to a worldwide success country. “We have strong, committed leadership for the 21st century. Firstly, the leadership of our education system in the field embodies remarkable qualities of patriotism, talent, experience, and commitment. The leaders I have met, and the organisations and institutions they represent, have been making heroic unsung contributions to the transformation of our education system.
I salute them. They are an essential resource for the next phase of our education revolution. What is more, they want to get on with it”. (Professor Kader Asmal, Call to Action, Mobilising citizens to build South African Education system for the 21st century, 27 July 1999). 8. 0SOURCES OF POWER IN LEADERSHIP Power is central to the leadership process. The bases of a leader’s power tell us why subordinates will follow the leader. 8. 1Legitimate power It is based on the leader’s position in a hierarchy that is the person’s formal authority.
In making decisions about new directions for the country, the State President (Mr Thabo Mbeki) has greater legitimate power than the Vice President (Mr Zuma). 8. 2Reward power It depends on a leader’s ability to reward subordinates for compliance. Subordinates comply with their supervisor’s requests in the belief that their behaviour will be rewarded. The supervisor may be able to reward them through favourable job assignments, promotions, and pay increases, the performance management system introduced by the Minister of Public Service and Administration Mrs Fraser-Moleketi serves as a good example. . 3Coercive power It is the leader’s ability to obtain compliance through fear of punishment. Punishment may take the form of official reprimands, less desirable work assignments, pay cuts, demotions, suspensions or firing. A manager who says, “I want these appliances shipped by October the fifteenth or heads will roll,” is using coercion. Normally some workers respond to coercion by falsifying performance reports rather than by improving their performance. 8. 4Referent power It is the leader’s influence on others because of their personal identification with the leader.
Often based on personal admiration, this identification usually means that followers want to be like the leader. In other words, referent power is associated with leaders who possess admirable personal characteristics, charisma, or excellent reputation. Mr Mandela is admired nationally and internationally for his role in our democracy and most of the youth so wished and want to follow in his steps. 5. Expertise power It is the leader’s influence on others because of the leader’s specialised knowledge.
Gangsters usually grant expertise power to those who can fight the best; professors to those colleagues who write journal articles and books; employees, to the company president who invented a new product and successfully built a company to manufacture and market it. This type of power is narrow in scope, because a leader’s expertise generally is limited to specific task areas. For example, a tennis star player with great expertise power on the courts may not possess any expert power in mathematics class. 9. 0WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF A LEADER IN A CHANGING
ORGANISATION? There are two identified roles that leaders need to fulfil. The first is a charismatic role that encompasses the way leaders envision, empower and energise the organisation. They should provide a strategic direction, embodied in a vision or a” battle cry” that the employees would rally under. In South Africa’s liberation this can be clearly seen that peaceful negotiations of all races and parties liberated our country without blood shed. Leaders need to get the organisation to act on this vision and to own the core values that drives it.
To achieve this, leaders need to create a working environment in which the employees are empowered and challenged. The effective leader constantly energises, motivates and moves the employees towards the strategic goal. Mr Mandela having spent 27 years in jail was never bitter instead used that as a stepping stone to free and liberate all South Africans peacefully from the chains of oppression and the minority. The second role is the instrumental role that includes organisational design, control and reward.
This involves creating structures that support the enactment of the vision such as project teams, controlling and measuring progress and rewarding promptly when successes have been achieved. The Reconstruction Development Programme (RDP) was born to re-build and collect the ashes that were created by the apartheid regime. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) mechanism was used to address the past imbalances of all those who committed politically motivated crimes to come forth and give explanations to the TRC before asking for pardoning.
Political prisoners were given a chance to speak out their minds about the crimes they committed in public in order to gain access to the communities and see if it was for political reasons or not. For the South Africans to leave in harmony and peace as a rainbow nation we needed to forgive each other and this was the strategic direction brought about by Mr Mandela and his ruling party. 10. 0THE LEADER’S ROLE IN INTRODUCING CHANGE Some of the leader’s qualities are particularly relevant in bringing about change: 1. Sensitivity To the group’s needs is essential.
The leader needs to build a climate of trust where changes will not be seen as severe threats to the security of the group or individual. 2. Objectivity The leader needs to be quite clear about the goals of the change- to be open to ideas related to the change which conflict with his/her own ideas, so that he/she can help to bring about a new situation to achieve the objectives in the best possible way for all concerned. 10. 3Openness The leader needs to be honest in presenting facts to the group, for any hint of concealment or manipulation will raise suspicion in the group. 10. 4Supporting
The leader should support the group during the implementation of the change by helping them when problems arise, reassuring them when they have doubts, listening to their suggestions and utilising them where possible. 10. 5Forecasting The leader can save him/her a great deal of trouble if they have considered the possible effects the proposed change and the possible resistance to it. During the negotiations all parties were fully represented, to avoid resistance and civil war. 10. 6Diagnosing The leader should be able to recognise resistance symptoms as they arise, so that they can get to the root of the fears and take corrective action.
The government of National Unity addressed those fears from the minority group in South Africa. 11. 0THE IMPACT OF CHANGE Change is an integral part of life. The organisation can, however, create and guide many other changes. As one author stated: Change has always been a part of the human condition. What is different now is the pace of change and the prospect that it will come faster and faster, affecting every part of life, including personal values, morality and religion, which seem almost remote from technology…. o swift is the acceleration, that trying to “make sense” of change will become our basic industry. (Management 5th, Edition Hellriegel/Slogum). In his penetrating book, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler argues that humanity has become part of an environment so unfamiliar and complex that it threatens millions with future shock. Future shock refers to individual’s inability to adapt too many types of change, occurring rapidly and simultaneously. People have always coped with change, but today so many things are changing at the same time that a new kind of “temporary society” is arising.
This new society is characterised by the temporary nature of housing, jobs, friendships, and neighbourhoods. Events move so quickly that long-term stability is threatened, and even personal values may become part of our “throw-away” society. 12. 0THE BASIC GUIDELINES DURING CHANGE 12. 1Have a good reason for making the change Culture changes are usually not fun. Take them seriously. Make sure you understand why you are making the change and that it is necessary. The culture of whites is maintained, if a family needs to relocate somewhere else he has to move with his whole family.
They need to be informed in advance of such changes and prepare the family in advance to be able to adjust. The redeployment process that affected all educators in the Department of Education brought about a number of challenges. The Department of Education find itself in court battles, being challenged for deploying teachers without considering the legal implications thereof, violating their human rights, Constitution of South Africa and the South African Schools Act, of 1996. “The teacher morale in all communities became very low.
It became obvious that many teachers were demoralised by the uncertainty and distress of rationalisation and redeployment. Since 1995, protracted consultation, bargaining, legal and labour action, and a lot of sensational rumour mongering have accompanied this process. The cause of equitable and sustainable provision of teachers is just and necessary, but the cost has been high. Teachers have a reasonable expectation of stability and job security, but that has been long in coming”. Professor Kader Asmal, MP Minister of Education, 27 July 1999. 2. 2Involve people in the change process People who are involved are less likely to resist. Being part of the planning and transition process gives people a sense of control. Ask for opinions about how they would do it. Consider conducting surveys, focus groups and polls. The Teacher Unions and Public Service Chamber and Bargaining Council (PSCBC) were involved in discussions and processes. The two bodies were part of the planning and transition process. 12. 3Put a respected person in charge of the process Each change needs a leader.
A respected person must be selected and must be seen in a positive light by the group. The Department of Education nominated the Director: Labour Relations to steer the process with all the stakeholders involved the South African Teacher’s Union (SADTU), NEHAWU, NAPTOSA etc and all others. 12. 4Create transition management teams During change there is a need of a cross-section of a group, to plan, anticipate, troubleshoot, coordinate and focus the change efforts. There was underestimation in allowing enough time for those involved in change to explore the outcomes.
Educators accepted the decision but when they reported at the new workstations they were not welcomed in those communities. The lack of accommodation, transport, shops, and clinics, rejection by communities and acts of criminality erupted in the villages where they were deployed to. Educators were deployed from urban to rural areas. They were not welcomed in these communities for the reason that they were foreigners to their land. The process started to affect them negatively. They were treated for depression, stress and attended counselling sessions.
The Departmental Task Team was established in terms of paragraph 1 of Annexure A. A Departmental Task Team was established for each department that is engaged in the restructuring process. The Departmental Task Team consists of- (a)not less than three and not more than seven representatives from the employer at departmental level; and (b)proportional representatives collectively nominated from the employee parties, “The Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council, Resolution No. 7 of 2002 Annexure A). 12. 5Provide training in new values and behaviour
People need guidance in understanding what the “new way” consists of and why it is desirable. The educators were not given guidance so as to understand what will be expected from them and what the implication thereof. Training brings groups together, but they failed or ignored this process. By failing to train they were deprived the opportunity to express their concerns. They were not given a chance of acquiring new skills through training that will equip them to cope with the change process. 12. 6Bring in Consultants (outsider help)
For some reasons, there is often more power in what an outsider says than the same suggestions coming from inside. The Teacher Unions are marked as the outsiders and were involved from the start to the end. The loopholes must have brought about by their lack of understanding the serious consequences of deploying an educator from urban to rural areas. The non-acceptance, by the communities in these areas was a contributing factor. 7. Establish symbols of the change Encourage the development of newsletters, slogans or recognition events to help celebrate and reflect the change.
We have seen the fight of HIV/Aids slogans and new logos have been developed trying to bring to the attention of the nation that this disease is a killer. In the process of redeployment they failed to embark on encouraging and developing symbols of change. The Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal brought about changes involving all people with disabilities in South Africa that they must be included in education system as all other learners. Learners with disabilities must not be isolated and placed in special schools but should be part of the mainstream/ normal schools.
The employees also working for the government are severely affected by discrimination even in the workplace. (3) The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth 12. 8Acknowledge and reward people As the change begins to work, we need to take time to recognise and recall the achievements of the people who made it happen. Acknowledge the struggle and sacrifices people have made.
President Mandela has been acknowledged through out the global sphere as the hero and the first South African Developing Country (SADC) black leader who has led South Africa to democracy without bloodshed also uniting all races, creed, and religions through peaceful negotiations. He won himself a number of prestigious international and national awards as recognition for his important role in placing South Africa high on the agenda in Continent of South Africa and internationally. The change has started working, educators are teaching but court cases are continuing on the other side.
The Teacher Unions and other stakeholders are congratulated to have made it happen. It was not an easy road to travel not a pleasant journey to take. Families have made sacrifices to and the struggle is acknowledged within the circles of education and its stakeholders. There is no change without challenges. The educators who sacrificed their cosy houses and left their families to listen to the voice of the Department of Education the word of acknowledgement was extended by the Executive Authorities through their unions and other structures. 13. FACTORS INFLUENCING PEOPLE’S REACTION TO CHANGE
When confronted with experiences of change, people generally feel uncomfortable. These feelings in most cases have an impact on how we perform and how we relate to others in the organisation. The following are the reactions: 13. 1Predisposed feelings about the change process Their fear is that the change process will kick them out of their jobs/ employment. The process will take them away from their families and homes. 13. 2Feelings of Insecurity During the redeployment and migration process within the Department of Education educators felt very insecure.
They never knew what to expect at their new workstations, whether they new colleagues will accept/ or reject them including the communities. 3. Cultural beliefs and norms The belief in the culture of blacks is that only man can leave their families and work far from them not in the case of women. In our culture women are bound to stay behind and look after the family. During the redeployment process women were also affected and had to take up and fill posts far from their spouses and families. 4. Trust Those affected by the redeployment process had mixed feelings of fear of the unknown.
They feared for their own lives, will they be accepted in their new workstations their trust was at low ebb during this process. They feared that it may happen that principals will treat the newly deployed educators differently from their staff, as well as the community there was a question of mistrust clouding their minds. In the Eastern Cape the so called Xhosa’s refuse to accept other people to join them in rural areas as educators (question of – this is our territory) you are invading our space, more especially teachers they believe that their children should take up those posts within their own villages. 3. 5Previous experience of change Educators were reallocated to the most rural areas in Transkei as far as from Port Elizabeth living behind their families. On arrival to the rural areas no accommodation was organised some had to spend nights sleeping in classrooms with their belongings. At some school one educator was raped and other lost their goods which were stolen by some youth from the community. Following those experiences the next lot was reluctant to report to their new workstations for fear of their lives and safety. The Daily Dispatch, Thursday, 20th April 2002 14. 0 WHY DO PEOPLE RESIST CHANGE? Any organisation is made up of many different constituencies, and each group is likely to be affected – and react to – any given change, differently” Rosabeth Moss Kanter Resistance to change is not an evitable bye – product of change efforts, nor is it purely emotional. Recipients resist change for reasonable and predictable reasons: Political: • the change will reduce my power base; • I will not let the centre tell me what and how to do it; • what does this mean for me/my career? • how will this affect my ability to influence? • who will win from this? Emotional: • how does this affect the people/things I care about? • ill we be true to our new values? • I am not supporting anything developed by them, which I have no control over. Rational: • I do not believe the change will actually improve performance; • how will this work? • I cannot see how savings will be made; • Is this “do – able? ” People tend to resist change for three primary reasons: • Self-interest, • Misunderstanding or lack of trust and, • Different assessment 14. 1Self-interest People resist change because they fear losing something of value. Because they focus so intensely on their own self-interest, they fail to see how the change will affect the entire organisation.
Often internal political alliances attempt to influence change. When the self-interests of these powerful groups are threatened, the political activities of the opposing parties resemble warfare between armed camps. This happened when the Afrikaners had to relinquish power to the majority rule in South Africa. They started bombing, shooting innocent people fearing to lose power and leading this country by race, colour and religion. 14. 2Misunderstanding or lack of trust People resist change when they don’t understand its implications, unless the leader or leaders quickly addresses any misunderstandings or lack of trust that are imminent.
This type of resistance often takes leaders by surprise, because they assume that people resist change only when it is not in their best interests. 14. 3Different assessment Employees may also resist change if they assess the situation differently from their leaders. The leaders sometimes initiate change believing that anyone with the same information would make the same decisions. Unfortunately, this assumption is not always correct. In the case of the redeployment process of the educators this was seen in the light of providing teachers where they are needed most with the necessary skills regardless where it will be relocated.
The teacher organisations viewed and assessed this change differently that they were moved away from their families and were being frustrated deliberately. Hence most educators resigned, absconded and others opted for legal advice. 15. 0 SOME OTHER REASONS FOR RESISTANCE • loss of control • too much uncertainty • confusion • loss of face • concerns about competence after the effect • more work • ripple effect • past resentments • inadequate information • inadequate rewards and resources 16. 0ERRORS IN MANAGING CHANGE PROCESS Change is introduced as a bottom-up rather than introduced or supported by management; • Organisations experiencing a change overload-too much is on the agenda, with the result that those involved and affected do not know what is happening; • management, in introducing the change process, raise expectations beyond what the organisation can do or achieve; • too much confidence and leadership responsibility is place on the external consultant – who generally prescribe to those within the organisation what to do; • poor planning and lack of vision resulting in becoming trapped in one part of the change cycle; • no real or genuine change is happening – emphasis is placed on changing only the sub-systems; • there is an assumption made that change is needed at that time – no thorough analysis is conducted to determine if there is an actual need for change; • failure of leadership and management to ask for help; 17. 0WAYS TO OVERCOME RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Not all resistance to change is bad. Resistance may encourage management to re-examine its proposals. Employees can thus operate as a check-and-balance to ensure that management properly plans and implements change. If the resistance is justifiable that may cause management to screen its decisions. Resistance to change will probably never cease completely. However, managers can learn to minimise and overcome such resistance. 18. METHODS FOR DEALING WITH RESISTANCE TO CHANGE 18. 1Education and communication It is commonly used where there is a lack of information or inaccurate information and analysis. Once persuaded, people will often help with the implementation of the change. One way to overcome resistance to change is to inform people beforehand. This method is ideal when: • resistance is based on inadequate or inaccurate information and analysis; • the resisters are the ones who must implement the change The use of this method requires a good relationship between the initiators of the change and the resisters. If there is poor relationship, the resisters may not believe what they hear. Drawbacks
This method can be very time-consuming if lots of people are involved. 18. 2Participation and involvement The management often involve potential resisters in some aspects of the design and implementation of the proposed changes. High acceptance of change Low Resistance High Low acceptance of change Low High Participation Figure 1. 1 Effect of Participation on Resistance to Change Figure 1. 1 suggests an inverse relationship between participation and resistance: the greater the participation, the less the resistance. A number of managers have strong feelings about participation.
Some managers feel that change efforts should always include participation, while others feel that this is a mistake. Participation works best when those proposing change need information from others in order to design and implement the change or when they need a major commitment from others to make the implementation successful. Full participation minimises resistance. On the 26th August 2003, at 10h00 I interviewed the Secretary General of the South African Teacher’s Union (SADTU) in the Eastern Cape Province regarding their participation during the redeployment process of educators. I quoted the following words in his response: “The redeployment process involved all stakeholders that are participating in the learning and teaching in our province.
But I would like to say the process was participative but didn’t yield the results expected by the educators and SADTU. The promises made by the Department of Education during the negotiations were not fulfilled but this was a learning curve for all of us and we are still committed to future negotiations as a union with the employer”. Drawbacks This method can be very time consuming if participators design an inappropriate change. 18. 3Negotiation and agreement Another way to deal with resistance is to offer incentives or rewards to potential or active resisters. This method of dealing with resistance is particularly appropriate when someone clearly is going to lose as a result of the change. Drawbacks
This method can be too expensive in many cases if it alerts others to negotiate for compliance. 18. 4Manipulation and cooptation In some situations, managers may resort to manipulation in their attempts to influence others. This normally involves selectively using information and carefully constructing events. One common form of manipulation is cooptation. Co-optation is a political method that brings people into a process in order to obtain their endorsement or, at least, their lack of resistance. Co-opting individuals usually involves giving them roles in the change process. Co-opting a group involves giving one of its leaders a role in the change process.
This is not a form of participation because those who are proposing the change do not really want advice from those co-opted. Drawbacks This one can lead to future problems if people feel manipulated. 18. 5Social Model Approach The social model is not limited by such a narrow description of activities. It takes the wider view that the ability to undertake such activities is depended upon social intervention. It can show that the limitation if activity is not caused by impairments but is a consequence of social organisation – hence the ‘social model’ the social model says that a person is disabled if the world at large will not take into account their physical or mental differences.
The change that has been brought into effect by the Disability Equity Act has made it possible for these people to fight for their rights like all other groups in our country. There are major challenges but the societies begin to understand their motto “nothing about us without us”. (Guide On Disability Equity: Empowerment Tool 1999-2009) The day-to-day problems that disabled people face are caused by the fact that they live in a hostile, disabling world which is largely designed to suit able-bodied people. This undoubtedly demands a great deal of change in the relationship between professionals and people with disabilities, changes that have engendered enormous feelings of inadequacy and discomfort in able-bodied professionals. 18. 6Disability and Poverty
People with disabilities are faced with a unique set of inter-connected barriers to economic self-reliance. These include, most importantly, fears, myths and stereotypes about the inabilities of disabled people that compound the lack of access to routine supports and resources of daily life available to able-bodied people. People with disabilities tend to lack influence, information, power, resources, access and fulfilment of basic needs more than other people. Others tend to take decisions about the lives of people with disabilities and decide even very basic things for them. Poor people tend to become disabled because of their living conditions and this makes them even poorer.
Many change agents, despite having identified the need to target people with disabilities, do not realise the need for systematic efforts to prepare disabled persons adequately for participation in skills development and other poverty alleviation programmes. Report prepared for the Office of the Executive Deputy President and the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Poverty and Inequality Report, 1998. 19. 0WHAT MAKES EFFECTIVE LEADERS? Certainly, to be able to be effective in these two roles require certain leadership qualities. I will apply some of the models and approaches to examine what enables leaders to fulfil the charismatic and instrumental role. 19. 1 QUALITIES OR TRAITS APPROACH This approach assumes that leaders are born, not made (Mullins, 1997).
However, there is little evidence to point to particular traits or behaviours that will guarantee effective leadership. Jennings concluded that “…studies have to produce one personality trait or set of qualities that can be used to discriminate between leader and non-leaders”. To illustrate this, compare former President of South Africa Mr Mandela is held in awe for his ability to bring democracy and majority rule without plunging the country into blood-shed. Let us also compare Bill Gates of Microsoft and Michael Dell of Dell Computers. Bill Gates is respected for his ability to strategise and envision the market trends while Michael Dell motivates his people with his energy and enthusiasm.
They are three great leaders, three different traits, three very successful organisations. Thus, fulfilling the role of a leader is not necessarily an inborn talent and can be learnt over time. Further, other factors impact the effectiveness of leadership. I will discuss some of these factors below. 19. 2ACTION-CENTRED LEADERSHIP John Adair’s Action Centred Leadership approach focuses on the functions of leadership. He believed that the effectiveness of the leader is dependent upon meeting and integrating three areas of needs within the work group: • the need to achieve a common task • the need for team maintenance, • and the individual needs of group members.
This approach provides valuable insights because it shows taking care of just one set of needs is not sufficient to lead effectively. Leadership of the Department of Education regarding redeployment is a classic example. Their only plan of action for the educators during the redeployment process was that they were to be rewarded for relocating to their new work stations. This approach had serious drawbacks as it did not address the team maintenance needs (educators met new colleagues with new perceptions and ideas). As a result the change process was very drawn out and met a lot of resistance. 19. 3BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH This school of thought emphasises the kinds of behaviour of people in leadership situations.
The Ohio State Studies discovered two major dimensions of leadership behaviour; ‘consideration’ and ‘initiating structure’. ‘Consideration’ gives more weight towards building personal relationships with the people which must be balanced against ‘initiating structure’ which emphasises defining group structure in order to achieve organisational goals. Having almost completely neglected the team maintenance needs during the redeployment process, there were very little motivation for the Unions like SADTU and others to be involved in the implementation of the other phase due to the reluctance of educators to further report to their new workstations.
To improve the situation, the external consultants published success stories of Phase 1 and persuaded the Superintendent General to send congratulatory messages to all educators directly involved in the effort. This was a great motivating factor. Once the ‘consideration’ behaviours were exhibited by the leader, SADTU was more willing to participate, and more importantly own the implementation of the other phases of redeployment. 19. 4CONTINUUM OF LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR Tannerbaum’s and Schmidt’s Continuum of Leadership Behaviour Approach utilises the idea of a continuum whereby one extreme is boss-centred leadership and the other extreme is subordinate-centred leadership. This model also takes into account the external forces and its impact to leadership. This model highlights different leadership styles that may be effective: telling • selling • consulting and • joining They explained that there were three factors that influenced the leadership style i. e. • forces in the manager • forces in the subordinates and • forces in the situation. Leadership gauged correctly that the quickest way to implement the new system was by “telling” the educators what, when and how to change. Speed being the deciding factor, this was the best approach. Unfortunately, leadership failed to consider the ‘forces of subordinates’ the readiness of the individual’s for the change nor the extent of de-motivation felt by the educators as a result of many harsh meetings, forums and task teams.
Leadership was not able to move along the continuum to sell the change and as such there was very limited ownership. Clearly, to be able to fulfil the leadership roles effectively requires flexibility to change leadership styles according to the driving forces. 19. 5CONTINGENCY THEORIES The Contingency Theories of Leadership are based on the belief that there is no single style of leadership appropriate to all situations (Mullins, 1996). There are many situational factors, I will concentrate on Fiedler’s and Nicholls work. 19. 5. 1 Fiedler’s Contingency Model Fiedler identified the favourability of the situation as the contingency factor, whereby a task orientated leader would be effective during very unfavourable or very favourable situations.
On the other hand, a participative leader is more effective during moderately favourable situations. This is very illuminating and practically a reflection of normal human behaviour. When things go wrong, leaders tend to put on their ‘army commander’ hat and rapidly rattle off instructions to rally the troops for action. It was observed that leadership in Department of Education was more effective during critical situations. For example, when the South African Teacher’s Union (SADTU) in 2002 engaged in a strike for failure to pay educators outstanding monies for promotions, appointments and substitutes all 24 districts experienced bank-run. The situation was very quickly contained by clear instructions from top-down.
However, leadership did not adopt a more participative style in a moderately favourable situation i. e. developing the change program-little or no reward for good performance was offered, no two-way communication occurred. The change effort was made more painful by the perpetual task-orientated style. 19. 5. 2 Nicholls’ Situational Leadership Approach Nicholls suggest that follower readiness is the contingent factor. His model advocated leaders change their role in accordance to the levels of ability and willingness of the employees. It requires a smooth progression of the leader from the role of a parent (followers are unable and unwilling) to developer (followers are more able and willing), to coach and driver.
One of the greatest shortcomings of Department of Education’ leadership was the inability to gauge accurately the follower readiness. They failed to take into consideration ability of employees to deal with changes in their processes as a result of the complete system change. Nor did they consider the willingness of employees (paid below the market rate, were generally not respected by the organisation and de-motivated) to undergo the change. They only practiced the ‘parent’ role, telling and instructing and punishing. This was a factor that severely limited the fulfilment of the charismatic leadership role resulting in the painful change process. 20. 0WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS?
Clearly, the various approaches highlighted weaknesses in Department of Education’s leadership – too task orientated, gauging the forces of the subordinate/ employees incorrectly, and inflexible in face of the different situational factors. Failure of the Department of Education to address these issues and to adapt their leadership styles accordingly lead to the painful change implementation that the educators experienced. However, it must be noted that organisations operate in environments which are multifaceted. The approaches, on the other hand, tend to feature one area or factor that impacts effectiveness of the leader. For example, the Behavioural Approach concentrated on behaviours or traits that may indicate success, Nicholls’ work focused on follower readiness, and Functional Approach paid attention to functions of leadership. This may be too limiting.
Hence, to get a more complete picture of various aspects or factors that impact leadership effectiveness, several approaches need to be utilised. Additionally, factors such as organisation structure, size and culture should be considered. For example, the bureaucratic structure of the Department of Education, the culture and the skills of the employees compliments a task-orientated, ‘tell’ rather than ‘sell’ leadership style. It is possible that the Department of Education would be even further away from implementing the change program had the leadership switched to a more participative leadership style. 21. STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH CHANGE
Developing commitment-the most prevalent factor contributing to a failed change project is a lack of commitment by the people who play important roles in its successful implementation. Commitment is a powerful yet little understood phenomenon. A person is said to be committed to a specific outcome when she/ he pursues that goal in a constant fashion. With passing of time, and in varying situations, the committed person persists in activities that, from his/her point of view, will help achieve the desired goals. The greater the commitment to a project, the more resources, e. g. time, endurance, self-control, ingenuity the person freely invests in achieving the desired outcome. Given these characteristics it is easy to see why commitment is so important to change. It is the cement that provides the critical adhesive between people and the change goals. Commitment building is necessary for successful change implementation. It is vital that managers, leaders, need to recognise the manner in which they manage groups and individuals through the different stages of change. (Government of Canada. Government of South Africa. Education Management Program -McGill University). Strategies for Dealing with Transition DenyResultExploreCommit FocusFocus [pic] on paston future Current Reality Transition Desired Future State – active listening clarify expectations – give additional information – develop action plans – create a vision – set goals – acknowledge and reward – empower and inspire – develop action plan – feedback and participation – contact – acknowledge skills required – provide with information – give information – provide training, allow for mistakes – concentrate on team – without change – answer questions building – explain the process – appeal to real needs of people – set long term goals – how will individual – promote group discussions – concern be met – provide opportunity of experience – explain what they can Expect As seen above people exhibit different behaviours depending on which phase of change they are in.
Leaders can help move people towards commitment to change by utilising different approaches. The diagram illustrates the different techniques that can be used by leaders in each of the phases. 22. 0STRATEGIES IN OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE The following are some strategies which organisations can use to overcome resistance to change. 22. 1Education and Counselling Share knowledge, perceptions and objectives with those affected by change, e. g. training programmes, face-to-face counselling, meetings, and documentation. 22. 2Participation and involvement Involve resistors in planning and implementing change – this should reduce opposition and enhance commitment; reduces anxiety and effectively uses existing skill and knowledge. 3.
Facilitation and support Provide adequate information and support to assist resistors overcome fears and anxieties. 4. Negotiations and agreements It may be necessary to establish mutually agreeable interim stages in the change process to address the concerns of the resistors. 5. Explicit and implicit coercion Abandoning any attempt to reach consensus, may involve firing, transfer, and demotion, stifling of career or promotional prospects. 23. 0CONCLUSION 23. 1WHAT ARE SOME LESSONS LEARNT? This exercise has highlighted that an effective leader is one who balances the human needs, organisational needs and environmental forces. The key word is balance.
An effective leader adapt to styles appropriately depending on these forces, one of which will normally be stronger. It is important to remember that no matter which leadership style chosen, it is vital to continue to pay attention to the other factors and not neglect them completely. The other highlight is that in order for a leader to succeed within an organizational context it is imperative that the leader be focused on issues that transcend functional boundaries. The importance of viewing the organization’s ability to adapt to change becomes an important issue that leaders will have to address, which raises the issue of vision and its influence on the leadership process.
In this regard’ “leaders who succeed are those who have a vision, or who have an image of the organization’s future. Communication is in an organization is especially important and should be performed through leaders who are instrumental in permeating the vision through the various level of hierarchy. There is no point in communicating a vision of an effective organization if leaders do not demonstrate a commitment to the values by their own behaviour. To conclude leaders influence, inspire and direct the actions of an individual or group toward attaining the desired objectives. REFERENCES • White Paper, Transformation of the Public Service, May 1995. • Burns, J. M. Leadership. New York: Harper & Row, 1978 • Chrislilp, David D. nd Carl E. Larson, Collaborative Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1994 • Slogum, Management 5th Edition Hellriegel • Mandela, Nelson R. Long Walk To Freedom • South African Schools Act, 1996, (Act No. 84 of 1996) • Professor Kader Asmal, MP Minister of Education, 27 July 1999. • The Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) in terms of Section 35 of the Labour Relations Act no. 66 of 1995 (LRA). • The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, No. 108, Chapter 2 (3) • The Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council, Resolution No. 7 of 2002 Annexure A. • The Daily Dispatch, April 2002 Guide On Disability Equity: Empowerment Tool 1999-2009. • Report prepared for the Office of the Executive Deputy President and the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Poverty and Inequality Report, 1998. • Mullins, 1996. • Mc Lennan, Anne, Government of Canada. Government of South Africa. Education Management Program – McGill University. • Employment Equity Act, 1998, 1198, No. 55 • Employment of Educator’s Act, 1998, 1998, No, 76 • Labour Relations Act, 1995, 1995, No. 66 • Rosen, Robert H. and Paul B. Brown. Leading People. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. • Yukl, Gary. Leadership in Organizations. Englewood: Prentice Hall, 1994. • Zaleznick, Abraham.
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