Change Scenario

Olusanya Oyeyemi

Walden University

MMSL 6661

Dr. Evan Duff

16 December 2015

Abstract

For any organization to measure up to the millennium standard, it must implement frequent development changes which must be discovered by someone and implemented after unanimous agreement by leaders. This paper shows the change I have nursed in my organization for years and its pros and cons for both the organization and the employees.

Understanding the Organization

I have served four years plus in the military and within those years my observation for significant change was that graduate employees both as enlisted and officers were not employed into a relevant discipline to their degree. It is very common to see a historian or an economics by profession heading engineering division where technical skill is necessary. Even though the officers might be more of management but even the enlisted are not considered for their previous college degree, which might be of assistance and consistency in their career.

The problem encounter was that most of these people have to start studying new career from scratch, in many cases, the career that have nothing to do with their initial degree. Therefore, military have to start training them from the beginning, in most cases they are not interested or passionate about the newly enforced career but because they don’t want to lose their job they will just follow the order. That is, they cooperate without commitment. For instance, I studied electrical/ electronics engineering in college and was employed into the military as enlisted, even with my four years of experience in electrical design in oil and gas, the military still changes my career into engineman, maintaining and repairing auxiliary equipment.   Even though I was employed within engineering yet, I was not allowed to work on any electrical fault on wiring or troubleshooting. Many officers or enlisted were employed into a totally different profession.

As a leader in the position of making or suggesting changes, from recruiting station, I will introduce or suggest that personnel should wait for relevant vacant to their initial profession or background are available before going to boot camp or commission. This idea will aid both officers and enlisted who have a degree to cope fast, remain on course in their career development and work within their interest.

The risk is that to make a change it must go beyond my command to training and recruiting centres of the military, which means the whole body of the military has to come to an agreement to effect the change that is a long process. The benefit is that it will reduce the time and money spends on training while the risk is that some degree holder may still need to train and retrains to do their job.

Making Decision

Addressing each of the four categories of Roberto’s suggestion on how the managerial lever could help an effective change leader in the decision process, Navy is my case study on how to minimize the potentials of enlisted college graduates.

Composition

Navy is a big organization, and to make such change one have to involve Commander naval education and training command, Naval education and training command, Naval education and training command force master chief petty officer, Commander naval service training command, Naval service training command, command master chief petty officer, Command officer recruiting training command, Recruiting training command, Command master chief petty officer, Executive officer recruiting command military training director, Fleet commander (RTC), Fleet leading chief petty officer (RTC). All these people in the top position plus some chiefs and first class petty officers that work directly with the enlisted in the field are the perfect teams to deliberate on such decision. The chief and the first class petty officer have enough facts and data of how many enlisted college graduates that retain navy job up to ten years compare with those that were able to be commission as an officer. Chief and first class will “offer a fresh point of view” (Roberto, 2009, p.35), different from those top executives but they are better as devil’s advocate.

Context

I will make sure that chiefs and first class are allowed to talk freely and if possible present the fact and figure before lesser executive members to reduce the fear of intimidation. I will also encourage all executive to obey the Richard Hackman’s ground rules of “being polite and courteous to one another for smooth and harmonious interaction among participants” (as cited in Roberto,2009, p.41).

Communication

To coordinates a successful deliberation, I will employ both structured and unstructured approaches to encourage free and open deliberations. Roberto inferred that leader’s ‘light touch’ encourage participants to engage in a free exchange of ideas and opinions (2009, p. 43). Finally, I will make sure we end up in reconciling our differences and find a common ground before the final decision is taken.

Control

My main job as an effective change leader in the deliberation is to moderate and mediate the deliberation. If we are unable to reach a common ground then I will turn to arbitrator orientation as Roberto suggested, making sure that everybody find satisfaction at the end of the day. Despite the fact that “announcing an initial position may discourage individuals from expressing dissent and offering minority view” (p.61), I will “provide a clear process roadmap to the discussion with a prepared mind (p.55), and show members that I am not creating the appearance of consultative process (p.49), assuring them that their contributions are valuable and count.

Expectancy Theory (Cognitive): Vroom/Lawler

Both Lawler and Vroom based their theory on three assumptions that; behaviour is related to performance – output expectancy, rewards mean different thinks to different people, and that behaviour influences success. These views corroborate Burke point that worker is highly motivated when they realise that there is a reward attach to their behaviour and it is worth vying for (p.182).

In 2010, I was chatting with a church member in Nigeria on our way from a church meeting. During our conversation, he told me his son had an accident that day in school and his employer has taken care of the boy even before they told him. In his commendation and praise, he said, “ even if it require flying the boy out of the country, they will not hesitate. Oh! God, help me, never to step on their toes “. He was satisfied with his job, he never dreamed of any better offer anywhere else and was ready to abide by all his organization’s rudiments and could go the extra length to satisfy them in other to protect his job. Lawler and Porter argued that job satisfaction influences absenteeism and turnover (1967).

In U.S. military, employees look at the benefit, not the job risk. They have one of the best medical programs any employer could enjoy in the country, their educational benefit cannot be compared to any other organization; Tuition Assistance when on active duty, Gi Bill when out of active duty plus the housing allowance and Textbook stipends. When I was on deployment and my wife gave birth to my first child, the kind of caring Navy Fleet and Family gave could not be monetized. Service members are rewarded for good conduct every three years in service, which keep them out of trouble to protect their job. Petty et al inferred that “individual job satisfaction and job performance are positively correlated” (1984). 

The most interesting thing is that, the expectation of reward shape both behaviour and performance of employee, this is in agreement with the expectant theory of Vroom and Lawler which Burke concluded that “it is imperative that organizational members believe that the measuring and reward processes are administered in a fair and just manner (p.182). As a leader, I will not only make sure the there is provision to reward employees’ behaviour but also involve them in the relevant decision – making for assurance of transparency in reward measurement.

Creating a strategy for Change

Leading change in Navy will require a long process and many procedures because is a big organization. Sequel to the rank of people listed that will involve, at my prelaunch phase, I would reflect on my proposed change of making sure all college graduate employ are commission into officer not as enlisted. Employing college graduate into commissioning program and aligning, their discipline with their post will enhance their performance and commitment to the job. In self-awareness, I would re-visit my evidences in relation to performance. For instance, the attitude of college graduates that were employ as enlisted compare to those that were employed, as officers would be evaluated with data and figure of those that retain their job after ten years.

Establishing my motive that is, to maximize employee’s potentials, Burke inferred that “ the emphasis is on which motives are the more important ones for leading change…and that ambition is the ‘only inherent character trait that is essential for effective leadership ‘” (O’Toole, 1999, as cited in p. 304). Align individual needs and value with the organization’s culture, maintain the culture of the organization of one on one training by modifying it with just using college graduate as officer, for faster understanding of their responsibilities. These will establish the need to for change before the resistors, because it will give a clear vision to the change. Burke pointed out “a robust vision mobilizes appropriate behavior” (p. 312).

At the launch phase, I would involve those aforementioned executives and enlisted. Communicating the necessity of the change, how it will save the organization millions and time they spent in training officers.

The change process will be implemented gradually so that, people would not even notice when the change leaves it’s comfort zone, even with whatever associated stress the change process is still under control. I would also avoid blaming others, using people as scapegoat, and appealing to authority figures for answers (p.318), but rather exercise patient and perseverance to allow the creative idea to do their work. Here, I will apply self-control to “listen, not defensive when people come up with their own view, and display patience as mush as necessary (p.320). I would employ my buy-in attitude by matching my behavior with my words and finally make sure I have a reliable successor who believes in the change possibly a new talent or an outside professional. Burke suggested that it is better to hire from the outside or shift over from other parts of the organization (327), which has good understanding of the change and show a strong buy-in attitude.

Making a Persuasive Point

To design my persuasion plan, I will search and collect real data of enlisted sailors with bachelor degree cadre in navy for the past ten years  in comparison with number of those that retain their job till dates with the officers that join same period as well. Do the same thing by getting data of those that their career is different from their area of concentration in their bachelor degree program that still retain their job after ten years in comparison with their counterpart that maintain their professionalism of same career. These data will help me to make a realistic point in reference to facts and figure available.

In the process of gathering information for reliable fact and figures, I will also request a survey in which sailors both the enlisted and officers give their feedback on their altitude to work – only the enlisted that have bachelor degree. Develop a program that will show fulfillment differences in sailors that were employed into career same as their bachelor degree and those that were giving different job responsibility. Like History student or economics heading engineering while engineering student is heading administrative or food and supply.

In this circumstances, negotiation will be employ to address the issue. First, I will meet all the executive members one on one prior to the general debate on the issue. Showing them my fact and proof of the benefits of aligning employee degree in job placement. This is where my persuasion skill will come in, it is very easy to persuade individual than a group of people. From experience, when you meet people one on one, it shows a kind of respect, and that you cherish their opinion – meaning that you value their integrity and contribution. It is possible to win seven out of ten prior to the general deliberation.

In most cases, some of them will even tell you who to meet to properly channel your course for approval. Roberto corroborated this when he said that “a high degree of mutual respect among team members tends to enhance their ability to disagree with one another in a constructive manner. Individuals listen more carefully and give more weight to opposing view if they value the capabilities and expertise of their colleagues and if they high regard for the manner fellow team members tend to conduct themselves” (2009, p.122-123).

To address conflict at different stages, first I will brief the people working closely to the information source the purpose of my findings, second, I will use those that will benefit from the change by requesting data within their reach to buttress my point. These people will be overjoyed to be a contributor to a movement that will benefit them, and release any information within their reach. Thirdly, I will give individual that I met and are supportive roles to play at the general discussion, so that I won’t be the only one talking. Set a ground rules that we must all abide by during the deliberation, reframe opposition’s point of view instead of been defensive when confronted. Roberto inferred that “instead of rejecting their hardline position, you treat it as an informative contribution to the discussion (2009, p.125).

Genuine persuasive process will require research and investigation so that those who might have been hurt by direct confrontation during the deliberation are comforted. Such reconciliation will repair wounds to secure the deliberation from further or future conflict during implementation stage. Roberto argued “if leaders discover that some fallout has taken place after a difficult debate… They need to address those issues head on before another contentious decision process takes place (2009, p. 133). This action will assure one voice, because all that silent to avoid further confrontation may nurse a saboteurs ideas that will disrupt the whole deliberation if not recognize and take care of immediately after the deliberation.

Analyzing Groups

We can do much more with are team – Shawn Shatten. If we have this thought we will use every means to maintain harmony by resolving conflict within our working group to maximize opportunities. In the Deutsch large-group methods for dealing with change and conflict, under that method that create the future, the model I like most is future search that create a future vision for the organization. This group will search the past, present and future and set format for the action planning of the organization. They will involve stakeholder participation, minimize differences, search for common ground, self-managed small groups. Deutsch et al. inferred future search begins with a statement of purpose from the sponsors, and then everyone is asked to participate at their tables in an activity that reviews the history of the community, the world, and each person over the past thirty years (2014, p.925). The purpose of every change is to meet up with the global demand to remain in business in the competitive market and maximize profit. Whitney pointed out that “The new millennium brings with it a context of globalization and a demand for organization development processes that engage large numbers of people, on line, and in person simultaneously in the co-creation of our shared future (1998).

Under methods for work design, the model I like most is participative design. Here, the process is bottom up, where each unit will design, coordinates, and controls its own work. Management responsibility is the norm using six design principle to redesign work. There is always joy of inclusive where members have the opportunities to contribute, it usually enhances trust of fairness. McGarry inferred that the bottom-up approach in large-group method for work design assume every development organization must first completely understand its process, products, software characteristics, and goals before it can select a changes meant to improve its process (1994). This is corroborated by Deutsche et al that the underlying principle here again is that there is a great deal of wisdom and experience in the people who do the work and deliver the service (2014, p.931).

The third method is the method for discussion and decision making where a conversational process that helps a group explore an important issue by overarching theme or question to be explore. The most important thing of this model is that they listen to diverse viewpoints and suspending premature judgement encouraged. Brown and Isaacs pointed out that this method is useful in settings with potential conflict because it does not allow people to cluster in their interest group, but continually expose them to different viewpoints in a very personal and relational setting” (Deutsch,2014, p.936).

My four stage plan will look like this, preparation; I will define the purpose of deliberation, give a set rules that will guide over discussion. Second stage, I will encourage building relationship with the other party, here they will introduce themselves and make sure we have all necessary representative to ensure trust. Third, exchanging information to know each other better for better negotiation. The forth one, inventing and exploring options to give room for flexibility and “uncompromising stance on resolving the interests that motivated the negotiation (Deutsch, 2014,p.803).

These are the people that I will involve in the change process in navy; Commander naval education and training command, Naval education and training command, Naval education and training command force master chief petty officer, Commander naval service training command, Naval service training command, command master chief petty officer, Command officer recruiting training command, Recruiting training command, Command master chief petty officer, Executive officer recruiting command military training director, Fleet commander (RTC), Fleet leading chief petty officer (RTC). Some chiefs and first class petty officers that work directly with the enlisted in the field, their roles are as follow; all the commanders of training commands will present the data of all enlisted with college degree that they have recruited in their various command for the past ten years, as well as data of their counterpart in officer. In addition, they will provide the financial budget used in training those candidates for that period. Fleet leading chief petty officer’s role is to provide the data all his enlisted crew with a college degree that retain their job for the period of ten years. Show what navy gain or lose in line with degree holder over that period. The selected chiefs and first class petty officers’ role are to supply a real figure for those data and realistic viewpoints of personnel’s attitude to work – both officers and enlisted with the same degree.

Potential roadblock for gaining a consensus may be the fear of intimidations; chief, and 1^st class petty officers may be afraid or scare by some executives to speak their mind. In addition, representatives of affected enlisted may fear that they may lose their job or being challenged of selfishness and hold reasonable points that may be very useful. Set rules will help in this scenario to help every participant to contribute free without fear of any intimidation.

From the larger group method, the first one that I will use is “’the search conference’ to create a future vision” (Deutsch et al, 2014, p. 924). This group will set format that will scan their environment for history, present and future of the navy if we succeed to implement a changing or retain the present system. We are going to use the in-house member; no expert will be necessary, make sure we rationalize conflict and encourage open discussion. Secondly, I will use “’Appreciative inquiry summit meeting’ to build the future on recognizing and expanding existing strengths (Deutsch et al, 2014, p.925). These people will use storytelling method from their daily experiences to strengthen the deliberations. They will address the system change as needed to support the desired future and plans the implementation and sustainability of the change outcome.

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