Blue Nile College

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTIONTO LEADERSHIP

Unit Objectives
At the end of the unit the student is expected to:
 Define leadership
 Compare and contrast leadership and management
 Grasp points that make a leader effective
 Understand the importance of leadership for good governance

Introduction
Leadership is the activity of leading a group of people or an organization or the ability. To do this:
Leadership involves 
(1) establishing a clear vision,
(2) sharing that vision with others so that they will follow willingly,
(3) providing the information, knowledge and methods to realize that vision, and 
(4) coordinating and balancing the conflicting interests of all members and stakeholders.

A leader steps up in times of crisis, and is able to think and act creatively in difficult situations.

Unlike management, leadership cannot be taught, although it may be learned and enhanced
through coaching or mentoring. Someone with great leadership skills today is Bill Gates who,
despite early failures, with continued passion and innovation has driven Microsoft and
the software industry to success. 

1.1. Leadership definition

Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or a set of goals.
Leadership is something essential to any group or organization. What a leader does is usually very
difficult to describe in words. The definition of leadership seems so vague because of the many
responsibilities one holds. As difficult as it may seem, there are 3 quite famous ways in giving a
definition of leadership, coming from different perspectives.Leadership is accomplishing tasks
through others.
There are a lot of leaders that have been able to lead their groups towards great accomplishments
yet these milestones would not be achieved without the help of every member of the team. It is
just only fair to provide a definition of leadership that involves those helping hands.
Leadership means having the dominating power over your people
Even if we base the definition of leadership to other tribes and animal species, the individual that
stands out and is dominant is their leader.

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Leadership is directed to change and a better journey

In most cases, it is an intuition that leaders do have the courage to stand up and let themselves be
heard. Even if it means great risk, they decide not to conform and promote change instead. 

1.2. Leadership Vs Management

Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are
necessarily linked, and complementary. Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more
problems than it solves.
Still, much ink has been spent delineating the differences. The manager’s job is to plan,
organize and coordinate. The leader’s job is to inspire and motivate. In his 1989 book “On
Becoming a Leader,” Warren Bennis composed a list of the differences:
 The manager administers; the leader innovates.
 The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.
 The manager maintains; the leader develops.
 The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
 The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.
 The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
 The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.
 The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the
horizon.
 The manager imitates; the leader originates.
 The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.
 The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.
 The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.
Leadership Management
- About coping with change. - About coping with complexity
- Establishes direction with a vision. - Brings about order and consistency
- Aligns resources and inspires workers - Draws up plans, structures, and
to complete the vision and overcome hurdles. monitors results.
1.3. What makes effective leader
Some say great leaders are born, not made. And while there are some born leaders, many more
have honed their leadership skills through extensive practice.  So, if you're not a born leader, but
want to learn how to be, this article will show you what you need to do to become the most
effective leader you can be.  

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Be prepared for commitment:

Effective leadership is much more than simply giving assignments and direction. It requires
vision, collaboration, planning and practice. And this all takes time and a lot of hard work. If you
aren't one of those "born" leaders, be prepared for a serious commitment to honing your
leadership skills.
Assess your personal strengths and weaknesses:
A good leader excels in some areas, but also understands his or her limitations. Knowing these
strengths and weaknesses will help you delegate responsibility accordingly, hire people who
complement you, and know what areas you need to work on to become a better leader.
Learn how people perceive you:
Good leaders have a thorough understanding of how they're perceived. This knowledge will make
you better able to communicate with employees and understand what qualities you need to work
on to manage more effectively. For example, if you are known as being a bit too harsh, you can
work on your tone of voice and use more praise. It is often hard to know how employees perceive
you, so try to observe them closely or ask them in a non-threatening way such as, "If you had to
name my best and worst qualities, what would they be?" An anonymous comment box might also
elicit the information you need.
Know the traits the group values in a leader: 
There is no one-size-fits-all leader. To be an effective leader for a certain group, you will need to
understand what qualities the group values. Trust? Creativity? Organization? You should hone
whatever qualities they value (ones that will also inspire them to work smarter and harder). If you
don't know the answer to this question, observe your group members or simply ask them what
makes a good leader. They will likely appreciate your commitment to their concerns.
Develop a vision and solid goals:
Members of a group need to know what they are working toward. Your job as a leader is to work
with your employees to set measurable goals with achievable milestones along the way. Your
team members should know your vision for the group as a whole and for them as individuals.
Learn and practice your skills:
Key leadership skills include communication, team-building, vision and planning, knowing when
to take risks, motivating individuals and the group, delegating responsibility, and more. To
become a good leader, you will need to practice these skills.
Know the organization:
An effective leader knows the purpose and goals of his or her group, the purpose and goals of the
overall organization, and the best strategies to achieve these goals. The leader understands not
only how his or her group operates, but also how it operates in the context of the entire business.
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You should know what each department and individual (assuming your business is relatively
small) does and how it affects the organization as a whole. You should also understand the
external operations of the organization.
Know the industry:
You should know the industry trends, major players, marketplace and other relevant information
for the industry in which you work.
Make your meetings work:
When you call a meeting, you need to know how to make it productive and lead to concrete
action. The first step in this process is to set an agenda for the meeting and follow it. End the
meeting by clearly outlining the "action items" or important points from the meeting.
Follow up the meeting with notes about what happened in the meeting as well as any specific
action items and who is responsible for executing them.
 Learn to communicate better:
A good communicator should not only speak clearly and with confidence, but must also be
a good listener. Here are a few tips to speak with confidence and clarity:
* Prepare what you have to say
this includes thoroughly researching your subject manner and outlining your speech.
* Practice
Practice your speech in front of others if possible. It might also be useful to take a public
speaking class.
* Know your audience
Tailor what you are going to say to your audience. Make sure you make it clear why this
speech matters to them. Also, know what they want out of a speech - do they just want
you to hurry up? If so, keep it short.
* Visualize your success
* Make eye contact with your audience
* Act confident, even if you are not
* Look your best
* Be a good listener

Good listeners look for verbal and nonverbal cues from others. It is often an effective strategy to
paraphrase what the other person has said to make sure you have understood correctly.
Recognize and encourage employees:
One of the biggest motivators for employees is recognition for their good work and

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encouragement along the way. Motivate your employees to continue with a project, and then
praise them as they do good work along the way.
Build your team:
An effective leader usually does not, and should not, work alone. He or she should communicate
with members of the team, as well as show team members how to work well with each other. All
members should be encouraged to participate in the group.
Don't be afraid to innovate and take risks. An organization that neither innovates nor takes risks is
likely to fail in the long run. A good leader will step out of the safe zone for a good idea.
Learn from your mistakes:
Leaders slip up. Use your mistakes as a steppingstone for improving your leadership skills.
Exhibit leadership traits:
A good leader is usually passionate about the organization and his or her work, exudes confidence
in his or her abilities, can organizes and makes sense of complex situations, maintains high
standards and inspires others to do the same, can motivate and inspire employees, and is generally
looked up to as a person of vision.
Develop a leadership style that works for your team: 
"Situational leadership," one of the key management theories, is based on the idea that a leader
should choose his style based on the willingness and ability of the group to accomplish its goals.
If the group is unwilling and unable, the leader should be extremely hands-on, providing a lot of
help, structure, direction and encouragement to the group. If the group is willing but unable, the
leader can be more of a coach, providing direction, guidance and inspiration. If the group is
willing and able, the leader can be more of a delegator. If the group is unwilling but able, the
leader should focus on building relationships and motivating employees. These are merely
guidelines. A leader must read the group, understand what it needs to succeed and how to make
that happen, and then do it.
Practice makes (close to) perfect:
Becoming an effective leader takes practice. Work on your skills. Seek feedback so you can
improve. Try new methods when something doesn't work. The more you work on becoming an
effective leader, the more likely you are to get there.

1.4. Importance of leadership for good governance and development

Twenty-first century mainstream culture is infatuated with the idea and the practice of leadership.
We love to dissect a president’s popularity ratings, to analyze how a CEO turned around a
floundering company into a Fortune 500 company, or how an athletic coach shapes an
underperforming team into a world champion.

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It is common wisdom that behind every leader are a team that executes the vision and many
followers who support the leader’s work. Yet, we rarely talk about the accountability mechanisms
that make sure the leadership is on the right course. Any leader and all teams, organizations and
nations succeed in the long run because of the strategic support and expert oversight they receive
that keep them and their organizations on the right path. Governance, which includes boards,
monitoring systems and signaling mechanisms like codes of conduct, ensures the success of
leadership visions and organizational potential in the long run.

Corporate governance acts as an organization’s “inner ear”. Just as a person’s inner ear is not
visible to an outside observer when a person walks straight, an organization’s governance
structure and culture is rarely visible in the day-to-day operations of the organization.
However, when a person’s inner ear is not functioning, we can see the symptoms and effects in
the way a person walks: her trajectory seems haphazard, her pace is uneven and she is more likely
to lose her balance and direction. Likewise, when an organization does not have good governance,
we see the symptoms and effects of not having proper guidance and oversight. When an
organization faces an accounting, regulatory or compliance problem, it is almost always linked to
a lack of oversight. When an organization misses the mark on an important strategic milestone or
growth opportunity, it is often because the management team did not receive the strategic
guidance and support to ensure its success. In short, good governance may not be visible to the
average person, but its absence is usually apparent when a social enterprise fails to reach its
potential.

Just as we know that behind every successful leader lie a capable team and many followers,
behind all good leadership is good governance. Not investing in good governance structures is a
sure way to undermine your leadership and lose your followers. Infatuation often involves some
mystery; we don’t know why we are attracted to something or someone, but we are. Often, it is
because there is something beyond sight that is creating the illusion. With good leadership, it is
often good governance

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Summary

Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or a set of goals.
Leadership is something essential to any group or organization. What a leader does is usually very
difficult to describe in words. The definition of leadership seems so vague because of the many
responsibilities one holds. As difficult as it may seem, there are 3 quite famous ways in giving a
definition of leadership, coming from different perspectives.Leadership is accomplishing tasks
through others.

Some say great leaders are born, not made. And while there are some born leaders, many more
have honed their leadership skills through extensive practice.  So, if you're not a born leader, but
want to learn how to be, this article will show you what you need to do to become the most
effective leader you can be.

? Review Questions
1. Why leadership and management must go hand in hand?
2. Who focuses on people? The manager or the leader?
3. What makes effective leader?
4. Are leaders born or made?
5. Is effective leadership simply giving assignments?
6. Define leadership
7. Leadership is directed to change and a better journey
8. Compare and contrast leadership and management
9. Importance of leadership for good governance and development

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UNIT 2: LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND STYLES

Unit Objectives
At the end of the chapter, the student is expected to:
 Understand the different leadership styles
 Grasp the basic concept of leadership theories
 Differentiate transformational. Transactional and servant leaders
 Acquire basic leadership skills and competencies
 Compare and contrast good and bad leaders

Introduction

A leadership style is a leader's style of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating
people. There are many different leadership styles that can be exhibited by leaders in the political,
business or other fields.

Different situations call for different leadership styles. In an emergency when there is little time to
converge on an agreement and where a designated authority has significantly more experience or
expertise than the rest of the team, an autocratic leadership style may be most effective; however,
in a highly motivated and aligned team with a homogeneous level of expertise, a more democratic
or laissez-faire style may be more effective. The style adopted should be the one that most
effectively achieves the objectives of the group while balancing the interests of its individual
members.

2.1. Leadership style

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and
motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of
leadership. This early study has been very influential and established three major leadership
styles: (Lewin, LIippit, White 1939, U.S. Army Handbook, 1973):
 Autocratic or authoritarian
 Participative or democratic
 Delegative or laissez-fair
Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominant, bad leaders tend
to stick with one style (normally autocratic).
1. Authoritarian (autocratic)
This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it
accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to

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use it is when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your
employees are well motivated.
Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and
leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style, rather it is an
abusive, unprofessional style called “bossing people around.” It has no place in a leader's
repertoire.
The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and
want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the
participative style.
2. Participative (democratic)
This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process
(determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision
making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness; rather it is a sign of strength that
your employees will respect.
This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other
parts. A leader is not expected to know everything—this is why you
employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit as it allows
them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions.
3. Delegative (laissez faire)
In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still
responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the
situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You
must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.
This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style
to be used when you fully trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it,
however, use it wisely!
NOTE: Laissez Faire (or laisser faire) is the noninterference in the affairs of others. [French:
laissez, second person pl. imperative of laisser, to let, allow + faire, to do.]

2.2. Leadership theories

A leadership theory is an assumption about distinguishing characteristics of a particular kind of

leader. Theories focus on determining specific qualities, such as skill levels, that separate a leader
from a follower. Great Man, Trait, Contingency, Situational, Behavioral, and Participative
leadership theories are among the most common.

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2.2.1. Great man theory

The Great Man theory is a 19th-century idea according to which history can be largely explained
by the impact of "great men", or heroes: highly influential individuals who, due to either their
personal charisma, intelligence, wisdom, or political skill utilized their power in a way that had a
decisive historical impact. The theory was popularized in the 1840s by Scottish writer Thomas
Carlyle, and in 1860 Herbert Spencer formulated a counter-argument that has remained influential
throughout the 20th century to the present; Spencer said that such great men are the products of
their societies, and that their actions would be impossible without the social conditions built
before their lifetimes.
This theory assumes that the capacity for leadership is inherent – that great leaders are born, not
made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic and destined to rise to
leadership when needed. The term "Great Man" was used because, at the time, leadership was
thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership.

2.2.2. Trait Theory

1. Trait theories of leadership differentiated leaders from non-leaders by focusing on personal
qualities and characteristics.
a. As one of the earliest forms of leadership study, trait theories searched for any
personality, social, physical or intellectual factors that could describe leaders and
differentiate them from non-leaders.
b. This initial stream of research proved to be relatively unproductive.
2. The Big Five Personality Framework and Trait Theory. When the existing trait theory
research was organized around the Big Five personality framework (extroversion,
agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience - see
Chapter 4), a clearer picture began to emerge.
a. Extroversion. Extraversion has been found to be the most important trait of effective
leaders but more strongly related to leader emergence than to leader effectiveness.
Sociable and dominant people are more likely to assert themselves in-group situations.
1) But leaders need to make sure they’re not too assertive
2) One study found leaders who scored very high on assertiveness were less effective
than those who were moderately high.
b. Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience. These two Big Five traits also
showed strong and consistent relationships to leadership, although not as strong as
extroversion.

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1) One reason is that conscientiousness and extraversion are positively related to

leaders’ self-efficacy, which explained most of the variance in subordinates’
ratings of leader performance.
2) People are more likely to follow someone who is confident she’s going in the
right direction.
c. Agreeableness and Emotional Stability. These last two Big Five traits were not
strongly correlated with leadership.
d. Key Common Traits. Using the Big Five framework, leaders do appear to have
key traits in common: they are extroverted (individuals who like being around
people and are able to assert themselves without being too assertive), conscientious
(disciplined individuals who keep the commitments they make), and open
(individuals who are creative and flexible).
3. Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Trait Theory. Another trait that may indicate effective
leadership is emotional intelligence (EI), discussed in Chapter 3.
a. Advocates of EI argue that without it, a person can have outstanding training, a
highly analytical mind, a compelling vision, and an endless supply of terrific ideas
but still not make a great leader.
1) This may be especially true as individuals move up in an organization.
b. A core component of EI is empathy.
1) Empathetic leaders can sense others’ needs, listen to what followers say (and
don’t say), and read the reactions of others.
2) As one leader noted, “The caring part of empathy, especially for the people
with whom you work, is what inspires people to stay with a leader when the
going gets rough. The mere fact that someone cares is more often than not
rewarded with loyalty.”
c. The link between EI and leadership effectiveness is still much less investigated
than other traits.
1) One reviewer noted, “Speculating about the practical utility of the EI construct
might be premature.
2) Despite such warnings, EI is being viewed as a panacea for many
organizational malaises with recent suggestions that EI is “essential for
leadership effectiveness.”
3) But until more rigorous evidence accumulates, we can’t be confident about the
connection.
d. Based on the latest findings, we offer two conclusions.
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1) First, traits can predict leadership. Twenty years ago, the evidence suggested
otherwise. But this was probably due to the lack of a valid framework for
classifying and organizing traits. The Big Five seem to have rectified that.
Second, traits do a better job predicting the emergence of leaders and the appearance of leadership
than actually distinguishing between effective and ineffective leaders. The fact that an individual
exhibits the traits and others consider that person to be a leader does not necessarily mean the
leader is successful at getting his or her group to achieve its goals.

2.2.3. Behavioral Leadership Theory

1. As a result of the presumed failures of early trait studies, researchers from the 1940s through
the 1960s began studying behaviors exhibited by leaders as a means to separate leaders from
non-leaders.
a. They wondered whether there was something unique in the way effective leaders
behave.
B. Behavioral Versus Trait Studies. The primary difference between studying leadership
behaviors and traits is that behaviors could be taught.
1. The Ohio State Studies.
a. These studies, started in the late 1940s, attempted to find what behaviors
substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by
employees. Beginning with over a thousand dimensions, researchers narrowed the
list to two:
1) Initiating Structure. This dimension refers to the extent to which a leader is
likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the
search for goal attainment. It includes behavior that attempts to organize work,
work relationships, and goals.
2) Consideration. This dimension is the extent to which a person is likely to have
job relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’
ideas, and regard for their feelings.
2. The University Of Michigan Studies.
a. Roughly contemporary to the Ohio State studies, this set of studies had similar
research objectives: to locate behavioral characteristics of leaders that appeared to
be related to measures of performance effectiveness.
b. They also came up with two dimensions of leadership behavior that were critical:

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1) Employee Oriented. Leaders who were employee-oriented were described as

emphasizing interpersonal relations. They took a personal interest in the needs
of their employees and accepted individual differences among members.
2) Production Oriented. These leaders tended to emphasize the technical or task
aspects of the job. Their main concern was in accomplishing their group’s
tasks and the group members were seen as a means to that end.
3. Study Results. At one time, the results of testing behavioral theories were thought to
be disappointing.
1) One 1992 review concluded, “Overall, the research based on a two-factor
conceptualization of leadership behavior has added little to our knowledge
about effective leadership.”
2) However, a more recent review of 160 studies found the followers of leaders
high in consideration were more satisfied with their jobs, were more motivated,
and had more respect for their leader. Initiating structure was more strongly
related to higher levels of group and organization productivity and more
positive performance evaluations.
C. Summary of Trait Theories and Behavioral Theories. Leaders who have certain traits and
who display consideration and structuring behaviors do appear to be more effective.
1. Some leaders may have the right traits or display the right behaviors and still fail.
a. And many leaders who leave while their organizations are still successful—G.E.’s
Jack Welch or Procter & Gamble’s A. G. Lafley—have their legacies clouded by
events after their departure.
2. As important as traits and behaviors are in identifying effective or ineffective leaders,
they do not guarantee success.
Because: The context matters, too.

2.2.4. Contingency Leadership Theory

1. While trait and behavioral theories contributed to our understanding of leadership,
predicting leadership success proved to be more complex than thought so researchers
began to focus on situational influences.
The goal of such contingency theories was to match leadership style with work
conditions in order to achieve leadership effectiveness.
B. The Fiedler Contingency Model.
1. One of the first models of this type was developed by Fred Fiedler.

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2. It proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between
the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader.
3. Identifying Leadership Style: Fiedler believes a key factor in leadership success is the
individual’s basic leadership style.
a. Fiedler created the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) questionnaire, which purports
to measure whether a person is task or relationship oriented.
High LPC scores indicate a relationship-oriented leader; low LPC scores indicate
a task-oriented one.
b. Defining the Situation: Fiedler assumes an individual’s leadership style is fixed.
This means if a situation requires a task-oriented leader and the person in the
leadership position is relationship oriented, either the situation has to be modified
or the leader has to be replaced to achieve optimal effectiveness.
1) After assessing an individual’s basic leadership style through the LPC
questionnaire, the leader is matched with the situation.
2) Fiedler identified three contingency dimensions that defined the key
situational factors that will determine the appropriate leadership style.
a) Leader-member relations: The degrees of confidence, trust, and respect
members have in their leader. Measured as good or poor.
b) Task structure: the degree to which the job assignments are structured or
unstructured. Measured as high or low.
c) Position power: the degree of influence a leader has over hiring, firing,
discipline, promotions, and salary increases. Measured as strong or weak
3) Evaluate the Situation. The next step is to evaluate the
situation in terms of these three variables.
a) Fiedler states that the better the leader–member relations,
the more highly structured the job, and the stronger the
position power, the more control the leader has.
b) A very favorable situation (in which the leader has a great deal of control)
might include a payroll manager who is well respected and whose
employees have confidence in her (good leader–member relations);
activities to be done—such as wage computation, check writing, and
report filing—that are specific and clear (high task structure); and
provision of considerable freedom to reward and punish employees
(strong position power).

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c) An unfavorable situation might be that of the disliked chairperson of a

volunteer United Way fundraising team. In this job, the leader has very
little control.
b. Matching Leaders and Situations. Combining the three contingency dimensions
yields eight possible situations in which leaders can find themselves.

Fiedler believes an individual’s leadership style is fixed, there are really

only two ways to improve leader effectiveness:
(1) Change the leader to fit the situation. If a group situation rates highly
unfavorable but is currently led by a relationship-oriented manager, the
group’s performance could be improved
under a manager who is task oriented.
(2) Change the situation to fit the leader. This
can be done by restructuring tasks or
increasing/decreasing the power the leader
has to control factors such as salary increases, promotions, and
disciplinary actions.

2. Evaluation of the Fiedler theory. Considerable evidence supports substantial parts of

Fiedler's model.
a. If we use only three categories rather than the original eight, there is ample
evidence to support Fiedler’s conclusions.
b. But the logic underlying the LPC questionnaire is not well understood, and
respondents’ scores are not stable.
c. The contingency variables are also complex and difficult for practitioners to
assess.

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2.3. Transformational, transactional and servant leaders.

Transformational Leaders: those who inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for
the good of the organization and are capable of having a profound or extraordinary effect on their
followers.
a) Transformational Leader Behaviors:
(1) Pay Attention to Followers. Transformational leaders pay attention to the concerns and
developmental needs of individual followers.
(2) Change Awareness. Transformational leaders change followers’ awareness of issues by
helping them to look at old problems in new ways.
(3) Inspire. Transformational leaders are able to excite, arouse, and inspire followers to put
out extra effort to achieve goals.
b) Transactional Leaders: those who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of establish
goals by clarifying role and task requirements. These leaders were described the Ohio State
studies and Fiedler's model.

Transactional and transformational leadership aren’t opposing approaches to getting things done.
They complement each other, though they’re not equally important.
a. Transformational leadership builds on transactional leadership and produces levels of
follower effort and performance beyond what transactional leadership alone can do.
b. But the reverse isn’t true. So if you are a good transactional leader but do not have
transformational qualities, you’ll likely only be a mediocre leader.
c. The best leaders are transactional and transformational
c) Servant leaders
Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds
better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world.

While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “servant leadership” was coined by
Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that
essay, Greenleaf said:

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to
serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different
from one who is leader first; perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to

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acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types.
Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other
people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do
those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more
autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least
privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?“
A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities
to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and
exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-
leader shares power puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly
as possible.

2.4. Leadership skills and competencies

Leadership skills
The ability to lead effectively is based on a number of key skills. These skills are highly sought
after by employers as they involve dealing with people in such a way as to motivate, enthuse and
build respect.
Ideally a leader wants people to follow them because of the trust and respect they have earned –
not because they are told to.  In order to achieve this, a leader needs credibility.
Leadership roles are all around us, not just in a work environment, and although these pages focus
on leadership skills from the perspective of working in an organisation, the skills can be applied
to any situation where you are required to take the lead.
People with vested interests in the subject of leadership (academics and those offering leadership
training or literature of some sort) are convinced that leadership skills can be taught.  Many
successful leaders however have never had any formal training; for them it is a state of mind, it is
their personalities and personas that make them successful leaders.  You can of course learn about
effective leadership skills and practices but being able to implement them yourself may require an
altogether different set of skills and attitudes.  The question “Can leadership be taught?” has no
simple answer and we do not want to argue for one side or the other, but rather keep an open mind
on the subject and provide information about the skills good leaders need.
Skills a Good Leader Needs:
Perhaps the most important skill a leader needs is to be able to make decisions; leadership is all
about having a vision of where you want to be and making decisions along the way to get closer
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to achieving this vision.  Decision-making in leadership however involves other people as leaders
need followers, so the decision-making process will usually have an impact on your team of
followers.  With this in mind, a good leader also needs strong ‘people skills' since a leader needs
to be able to communicate the vision and motivate the team to follow. Along the way to achieving
the vision the leader will come upon many problems - effective problem solving is therefore
another key leadership skill. 
Problems come in all shapes and sizes, from those related to the people in your team when
mediation skills may be needed, to those of a more strategic nature and everything in between.  A
good leader will not be afraid of problems and, with trust and respect, followers will not be afraid
to discuss problems or potential problems.
With a positive attitude, problems can become opportunities and learning experiences.  A leader’s
biggest asset is information as the more information a leader possesses about the how to achieve
the vision or individual goals along the way, the more the leader learns about the direction needed
to get there.  Problems provide information and therefore good problem solving is a very
powerful skill for the leader. See our Problem Solving pages for more about solving problems
effectively.
As with anything in life, things do not always go according to plan and leadership is no exception.
The direction a leader takes in order to realise their vision is likely to change.  Strong leaders
embrace change and can adapt quickly and efficiently to new situations since they learn to
balance opportunity and risk while being aware of their (and their team’s) strengths and
weaknesses. See our pages on Groups and Teams starting with: What are Groups and Teams?
A leader also needs to be a strong facilitator - that is providing the support necessary for the team
to achieve their goals.  Support may be as simple as words of encouragement or a specific tool
needed to perform a task.  By listening to team-members, a leader can often learn about the
barriers preventing a goal from being achieved and, through facilitation, find a way to an
appropriate solution.
A common mistake of a leader is to try to do everything themselves.  A good leader will delegate
responsibility to team members and, with the help of motivation and facilitation, aim to enable
success.  Delegation also allows the leader to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of
the team members and therefore make better informed decisions about individual roles and
responsibilities.

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Leadership competencies
Leadership competencies are leadership skills and behaviors that contribute to superior
performance.  By using a competency-based approach to leadership, organizations can better
identify and develop their next generation of leaders.2  Essential leadership competencies and
global competencies have been defined by researchers.  However, future business trends and
strategy should drive the development of new leadership competencies.  While some leadership
competencies are essential to all firms, an organization should also define what leadership
attributes are distinctive to the particular organization to create competitive advantage. 
Leadership competencies are: -
1. Leading the organization:
 managing change
 solving problems and making decisions
 managing politics and influencing others
 taking risks and innovating
 setting vision and strategy
 managing the work
 enhancing business skills and knowledge
 understanding and navigating the organization
2. Leading the self:
 demonstrating ethics and integrity
 displaying drive and purpose
 exhibiting leadership stature
 increasing your capacity to learn
 managing yourself
 increasing self-awareness
 developing adaptability
3. Leading others:
 communicating effectively
 developing others
 valuing diversity and difference
 building and maintaining relationships
 managing effective teams and work groups

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2.5. Good Vs Bad leaders.

Most people are actually somewhere between being a good leader and a bad leader, with the
majority uncertain of the connection between their leadership and performance. A deeper
knowledge of what good (or great) leadership is will then enable you to break-through and affect
change in the performance of your team, organization or company like never before.
Leadership in the workplace applies to managing people, not to managing things. And as I have
previously defined leadership in the workplace, (watch and read here), leadership denotes the
sending of value standard messages that most people then use to conduct their work. This means
how industriously, cooperatively, openly, respectfully, caringly, honestly, neatly, cleanly, and the
like to perform their work. Thus, we say that employees have been led in the direction of those
standards.
How does an employee experience leadership? They experience it through the support provided
by management and the quality of this support dictates the quality of their work. The support an
employee uses comes in two forms: tangible and intangible.
Good Leadership
In order to produce the absolute best products and services in the marketplace, all employees must
treat their work and their customers with great respect and care. Everyone knows this. It follows
then that good leadership requires treating employees with great respect and care — the better the
respect and caring, the better the outcome.
Remember this is a Natural Law (inexorible, inescapable). Treat employees as if they are very
important and valuable and you will cause them to feel and become this way. They will then treat
their work, customers, peers and management this way. They will follow your lead.
What then characterizes good (or great!) leadership?
 Listening to your employees including subordinate managers/bosses — addressing their
complaints, suggestions, concerns, and personal issues at work.
 Coaching people when necessary to raise them to a higher standard.
 Allowing everyone to put in their two cents.
 Trusting them to do the work.
 Not giving orders or setting visions, goals and objectives, but instead soliciting this from
them so that everyone is fully involved in how the company will be successful.
 Providing direction when needed to ensure that everyone is on the same page (the one they
devised). A good leader communicates the vision that was set by all. If it is a vision of
little interest, then another one must be found.
Every person wants to be heard and respected. Everyone has something to contribute. Listening
and responding respectfully makes it worthwhile for employees to apply 100% of their
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brainpower on their work thus unleashing their full potential of creativity, innovation and
productivity and making them highly motivated, committed and productive. All of this gives them
very high morale, enables them to take great pride in their work and then they will literally love to
come to work. Good leadership multiplies whatever creativity, innovation and productivity top
management has by however many employees they have.
What does that mean for bad leadership?
Bad Leadership
Bad leadership is characterized by attempting to control employees through orders, policies, rules,
goals, targets, reports, visions, bureaucracy, and changes all designed to almost force employees
to work and to create and deliver what management considers to be satisfactory products and
services. In this mode, management on its own decides what to do, when to do it, and how to do it
and listens only perfunctorily, if they listen at all, to what employees have to say.
What characterizes bad leadership?
 Dishing out orders, policies, rules, goals, targets, reports, visions and changes to force
employees to work the way management believes it should be done.
 Failing to listen or only perfunctorily listening to complaints and suggestions.
 Trying to motivate employees.
 Exhibiting the “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality
 Providing inadequate support
 Withholding information
 Treating employees as if they don’t want to do a better job, don’t care about their work,
don’t want to accept responsibility, or don’t really want to work.
 Treating them as if they are lucky to have a job
 Being afraid to discipline and never disciplining anyone
 Staying in your office or in meetings at your level or above
 Us versus them mentality—“Why aren’t they performing better?”— “What’s wrong with
that person? Why don’t they know their job? They should know their job.”
These actions or inactions are bad because they lead employees to believe that management
disrespects them and does not care a whit for them. It also puts employees in the state of having to
guess what management wants and management must be right about everything because no one
else is allowed to make decisions. Bad leadership shuts off the natural creativity, innovation, and
productivity of each employee and slowly but surely demotivates and demoralizes them. With the
“I know better than you” and the “be quiet and listen to me” mentality often projected from
management, the majority will act like robots waiting for instructions, even if that is not what
management intended.
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Most bad leadership is the result of a top-down, command and control style of management,
where the employee is rarely if ever listened to. This style is prevelant in the workplace and
ignores every employee's basic need to be heard and to be respected. It also results in a
knowledge barrier and top management becoming ignorant of what is really going on in the
workplace and the marketplace, which in turn makes their directives misguided at best and
irrelevant at worst.

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Summary

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and
motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) led a group of researchers to identify different styles of
leadership.

A leadership theory is an assumption about distinguishing characteristics of a particular kind of

leader. Theories focus on determining specific qualities, such as skill levels, that separate a leader
from a follower. Great Man, Trait, Contingency, Situational, Behavioral, and Participative
leadership theories are among the most common.

Transformational Leaders: those who inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for
the good of the organization and are capable of having a profound or extraordinary effect on their
followers.

The ability to lead effectively is based on a number of key skills. These skills are highly sought
after by employers as they involve dealing with people in such a way as to motivate, enthuse and
build respect.

? Self-Test Exercises
1. When is authoritarian leadership used?
2. What does a participative leadership style involve?
3. What type of leadership style allows the employees to make the decisions?
4. What does the great man theory of leadership propose?
5. What does the trait theory to management stipulate?
6. What characterizes behavioral leadership theories?
7. Discuss leadership styles
8. Explain a leadership theory.
9. Compare and contrast leadership theory and leadership style.
10. Discuss the two dimensions of leadership behavior proposed by the studies of Michigan
University.
11. Elaborate the contingency theory of management.

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UNIT 3: OVERVIEW OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Unit Objectives
At the end of the chapter, the student is expected to:
 Identify forces of organizational change
 Understand the process of organizational change
 Mange resistance to change
 Apply strategies for planned organizational change

Introduction
Planned organizational change aims to prepare the entire organization, or a major part of it, to
adapt to significant change in the organizations goal and direction.

Change programs are necessary today precisely because of the shift in time and relationships that
we have seen thought the organizational world. The sophistication of information processing
technology, together with the increase in the globalization of organizations, means that managers
are bombarded with more new ideas, new products needs challenges than ever before.

To handle such an increase in information, accompanied by a decrease in the decision-making

time mangers can afford to take; managers must improve their ability to manage change.

This unit discusses the approach to handle planned changes in an organization.

3.1. Meaning and implications

Change management is the [application of] the set of tools, processes, skills and principles for
managing the people side of change to achieve the required outcomes of a change project or
initiative.
The definition has three distinct clauses that will be addressed in more detail in this tutorial:
 The set of tools, processes, skills and principles
Change management requires structure and intent. It is no longer enough to simply have a
communication plan or a training plan. The people side of change plays too important of a
role in meeting objectives to approach it in an ad hoc manner.
Tools: Effective change management draws upon a number of tools to enable successful
individual change.
Processes: A change management process provides the structure for managing the people
side of change.

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Skills: Change management is not done by a single individual, or even a team dedicated to

change management.
Principles: Finally, there are key guiding principles for change that are evident in the
tools, processes and activities of change management.
 For managing the people side of change
The "people side" of change refers to the reality that when a new process is introduced or
a new technology is implemented, individuals will have to do their jobs differently.
 To achieve the required outcomes of the project or initiative
It is important for change management practitioners to have this clause be part of their
own definition of change management. Change management is not applied on a project
simply to keep change management professionals busy, or because it seems like a good
idea. Change management is a tool for enabling project success, and it is important that
this focus be part of the change management discussion and definition.

3.2. Forces for Organizational Change

Today’s organizational domain includes unpredictable and uncontrollable domestic and
international forces. Discussions and writings of merger’s, regulation, privatization, downsizing,
union-management collaboration, high-involvement participation, plant closings, technological
re-engineering, managing culturally diverse workers, and environmental protection fill the library
shelves, boardrooms, and airways. These and many other forces from outside and inside the
organization demand attention.

3.2.1 Internal Forces

Internal change forces are pressure that comes from a worker, a group, or a department.
Sometimes the pressure is the cost of production a microchip or car. For example unit cost
increases; therefore pricing the product at a reasonable amount to make a sale is a force that may
signal a need for change. If the product costs too much to produce, it can’t be priced
competitively.

Poor worker morale over some inequity in the reward system could be an internal pressure point
that a manager becomes aware of and must address. Although attitudes may be difficult to
observe directly, increased grievance rates, absenteeism, or turnover may suggest poor of
decreasing morale. Identifying internally driven forces for change is sometimes difficult. Is the
poor morale caused by the culture, the structure, or the manager, or does the worker bring this
attitude to work? It’s difficult question to answer.

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3.2.2 External Forces

External (outside-the-organization) forces can signal us that change is needed. Government
regulations could suggest the need to change a firm’s work area layout or recruitment and
selection program. Health care costs, suggest that organizations may need to change their health
care coverage program or the type of fringe benefits provided to employees.

Market competitors and how they reward employees; distribute products, service customers, or
form alliances with foreign partners may signal the need to change.

The wave of cultural diversity is a powerful external force that necessitates change. Integrating
and utilizing the talents of a more diverse work force, and effectively rewarding this culturally
diverse work force will require changes in attitude, interpersonal interaction, and perception.
Changes in manger’s cultural awareness are also needed.

3.3. Process of organizational change

Kurt Lewin studied the process of bringing about effective change. Most efforts at change fail for
two reasons, he thought. First, people are unwilling (or unable) to alter long-established attitudes
and behavior. Tell a manager he or she must learn a new analytic technique and that manager he
or she must learn a new analytic technique and that manager will probably accept the suggestion.
Tell the same manager he or she is too aggressive and abrasive in dealing with others, and he or
she may be resentful and resistant to change.

Lewin believed that after a brief period of trying to do things differently, individuals left on their
own tend to return to their habitual patterns of behavior. To overcome obstacles of this sort,
Lewin developed a three-step sequential model of the change process. It involves “unfreezing” the
present behavior pattern, “changing” or developing a new behavior patter, and then “refreezing”
or reinforcing the new behavior.
1. Unfreezing involves making the need for change so obvious that the individual, group, or
organization can readily see and accept it.
2. Changing involves discovering and adopting new attitudes, values, and behaviors. A
trained change agent leads individuals, groups, or the entire organization through the
process. During this process, the change agent will foster new values, attitudes, and
behavior though the processes of identification and internalization. Organization members
will identify with the change agent’s values, attitudes, and behavior, internalizing them,
once they perceive their effectiveness in performance,

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3. Refreezing means locking the new behavior pattern into place by meant of supporting or
reinforcing mechanisms, so that it becomes the new norm.
3.4. Resistance to Change

The corporate entity or organization doesn’t respond to internal or external forces of change, but
people do react. Unfortunately individuals in key positions or locations may overtly of covertly
resist change. Some of this resistance is concentrated enough that it stops change dead in its
tracks. This resistance can be cause by self-interest, habit, fear, peer pressure, and/or
organizational culture.
(i) Self-interest: Some individuals resist change because they have a personal self-interest in
the way things are done. They enjoy the work flow or their position-and change threatens
these. For example, working in an office affords individuals an opportunity to interact
socially, compare work situations, and examine problems with others. Sales people work
alone from their homes. Once a month they meet to compare notes and projects. The move
from the office to the home based operation was openly resisted for months.
(ii) . Habit: The comfort of working the same way day after day has a certain appeal to
people. For many individuals, life is a pattern of getting up, going to work, coming home,
and going to bed. Steinway piano workers liked to work on specific tasks to produce the
best piano possible. People become accustomed to sameness; they get in the habit of doing
tasks a certain way. Changes in personnel, work flow, structure, or technology threaten the
continuation of a pattern or set of habits.
(iii) . Fear: Change introduces uncertainty and degree of fear. People fear having to learn a
new way or to become accustomed to a new leader, and possibly failing. Employees are
sometimes provided with and opportunity to relocate and take a different, better-paying
job in the firm. But this change is considered risky and introduces the possibility of
failing.
(iv)Peer Pressure: Peers often apply pressure to resist change. For example, peers may resist
the introduction of automation because they assume, sometimes correctly, that
(v) Organizational culture. Of the three forces, culture may be the most important in shaping
and maintaining an organization’s identity. Culture is a primary force in guiding
employees’ behavior. As a general rule, employees stay with an organization because the
work helps them meet their life goals and because their personalities, attitudes, and beliefs
fit into the organizational culture. Indeed, many employees identify with their organization
and take its gains and losses personality. As a result, they may feel threatened by efforts to
make radical changes in the organization’s culture and ‘what we do things.’

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3.5. Managing Resistance to Change

To overcome resistance to change the following techniques should be applied:
 Facilitation: - through working with employees and assisting them to achieve their goals
which are also aligned with organizational goals.
 Education: - help employees realize the reason the change is needed and what is required
from them. Provide them with development in cases where new skills are required.
 Involvement: - get employees involved so they can get their hands muddy and then they
will realize the mud is not as bad as they thought. This is self-justification that the
organizational change is actually a positive direction.
 Negotiation: - when an employee is not easily persuaded, have a discussion and find out
what they are looking for and what they will not consider. Negotiate a mutual solution for
the employee as well as yourself, the practitioner.
 Manipulation: - control employee environment to the point where they are influenced by
their surroundings. Only use this when change is needed quickly and there are no other
alternatives.
 Coercion: - this is extremely manipulation and should be considered only when time is of
the essence and they have exhibited damaging actions in public which may be damaging
to the organizational goals.

3.6. Planned Change

An organization can be changed by altering its structure, its technology, its people, or some
combination of these features.

Structural Change

Changing an organization’s structure involves rearranging its internal systems, such as the lines of
communication, work flow, or management hierarchy.
(i) Organizational design. Classical organizational design focuses on carefully defining job
responsibilities and on creating appropriate divisions of labor and lines of performance. As
we have noted frequently, one of the most significant structural trends is toward the flat,
lean organization, in which middle layers of management are eliminated to streamline the
interaction of top managers with non-management employees, who are given more
responsibilities.
(ii) Decentralization. One approach to decentralization involves creating smaller, self-
contained organizational units that are meant to increase the motivation and performance
of unit members and to focus their attention on high-priority activities. Decentralization
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also encourages each unit to adapt its structure and technology to its particular tasks and to
its environment.
(iii) Modified work flow. Modification of the work flow and careful grouping of specialties
may also lead to an improvement in productivity and morale. One expression of this trend
is the amount of money employees can spend without getting authorization.

3.7. Strategies for Planned Organizational Change

Organizational change efforts often run into some form of human resistance. Although
experienced managers are generally all too aware of this fact, surprisingly few take time before an
organizational change to assess systematically who might resist the change initiative and for what
reasons. Instead, using past experiences as guidelines, managers all too often apply a simple set of
Beliefs—such as "engineers will probably resist the change because they are independent
andsuspicious of top management" This limited approach can create serious problems. Because
ofthe many different ways in which individualsand groups can react to change, correct
assessments are often not intuitively obvious and requirecareful thought.Of course, all people who
are affected bychange experience some emotional turmoil. Evenchanges that appear to be
"positive" or "rational"involve loss and uncertainty. Nevertheless, for a number of different
reasons, individuals orgroups can react very differently to change—frompassively resisting it, to
aggressively trying to undermine it, to sincerely embracing it. To predict what form their
resistance mighttake, managers need to be aware of the four mostcommon reasons people resist
change. These include: a desire not to lose something of value, amisunderstanding of the change
and its implications, a belief that the change does not makesense for the organization, and a low
tolerancefor change.

Many managers underestimate not only the variety of ways people can react to
organizationalchange, but also the ways they can positively influence specific individuals and
groups during achange. And, again because of past experiences,managers sometimes do not have
an accurate understanding of the advantages and disadvantagesof die methods with which they are
familiar.

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Summary

Change management is the [application of] the set of tools, processes, skills and principles for
managing the people side of change to achieve the required outcomes of a change project or
initiative.

Today’s organizational domain includes unpredictable and uncontrollable domestic and

international forces. Discussions and writings of merger’s, regulation, privatization, downsizing,
union-management collaboration, high-involvement participation, plant closings, technological
re-engineering, managing culturally diverse workers, and environmental protection fill the library
shelves, boardrooms, and airways.

The corporate entity or organization doesn’t respond to internal or external forces of change, but
people do react. Unfortunately individuals in key positions or locations may overtly of covertly
resist change. Some of this resistance is concentrated enough that it stops change dead in its
tracks.

? Self-Test exercises
Answer the questions in your notebook. Do not look into the text while writing your answer.
However, at the end, refer to the text and see how many of the questions you have answered
correctly.
1. What are the causes of change resistance?
2. Discuss the types of change.
3. What are Strategies for Planned Organizational Change?
4. What does changing an organization’s structure involve?
5. Discuss the techniques that should be followed to overcome resistance to change.

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UNIT 4: TYPES OF CHANGE

Unit Objectives
At the end of the chapter, the student is expected to:
 Compare and contrast planned and unplanned change
 Compare and contrast revolutionary and evolutionary change
 Understand the process of BPR
 Identify the process of implementing BPR

Introduction

Planned change,an alteration of the status quo by means of a carefully formulated program that
follows four steps: unfreezing the present level, establishing a change relationship, moving to a
new level, and freezing at the new level. The program can be implemented by collaborative,
coercive, or emulative means.

A goal of planned change is a strategy whose aim is to improve the ability to adapt to the
environment. In an organization it is an intentional goal oriented activity that is proactive and
purposeful and is intended to change employee's behaviour. A goal of planned change is mainly
used in staff stress management.

4.1. Planned Vs Unplanned Change

Unplanned Change

“Unplanned change usually occurs because of a major, sudden surprise to the organization. 
This causes its members to respond in a highly reactive and disorganized fashion.”
 [

“At times, organizational change happens when it becomes necessary to react to a sudden
development.  All kinds of emergency can force organizations to introduce new ways of doing
things, or of structuring themselves.”
 Unplanned change usually occurs because of a major, sudden surprise to the organization,
which causes its members to respond in a highly reactive and disorganized fashion. Unplanned
change might occur when the Chief Executive Officer suddenly leaves the organization,
significant public relations problems occur, poor product performance quickly results in loss of
customers, or other disruptive situations arise.

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Planned Change
 “Planned change occurs when leaders in the organization recognize the need for a major
change and proactively organize a plan to accomplish the change.  Planned change occurs with
successful implementation of a Strategic Plan, plan for reorganization, or other implementation
of a change of this magnitude.”

Planned change occurs when leaders in the organization recognize the need for a major change
and proactively organize a plan to accomplish the change. Planned change occurs with
successful implementation of a Strategic Plan, plan for reorganization, or other implementation
of a change of this magnitude.

Note that planned change, even though based on a proactive and well-done plan, often does not
occur in a highly organized fashion. Instead, planned change tends to occur in more of a chaotic
and disruptive fashion than expected by participants.

4.2. Revolutionary Vs Evolutionary Change

Organizations face two types of changes, evolutionary and revolutionary. Evolutionary change is

change that happens over time to ensure the survival of the organization. Evolutionary change is
typically change brought about by either outside pressure or incentives. For example, many
hospital and healthcare providers have evolved by transforming their paper medical record
keeping to electronic medical record keeping due to external financial incentives. Retail and food
chains typical evolve by outside pressure from competition. A new salad offering at one chain of
fast food restaurants and invariably a salad offering is picked up by all the others. Whether
healthcare, fast food, retail, or a service industry, evolutionary change keeps everyone in the
game.

In contrast, revolutionary change occurs when organizations make radical transformations to their
product or service in an effort to be on their game rather than simply in the game. These
organizations engage in revolutionary transformations at key points of their
evolution. Revolutionary change is when the organization anticipates a market change before it
happens and views these potential market changes as a business challenge.
Advantages of revolutionary change
 Low risk of the change failing to take effect.
 Change will occur quickly.
 Change will have any resources needed.

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 Political cover. For example if another department doesn’t like the change for some
reason, and they escalate to their management, whoever mandated the change feels
ownership over it and will be unlikely to back down. (Aside: this is not necessarily a good
thing if the change is at the expense of the larger organization.)
 Looks good on résumés and annual reports.
 Feels planned. Mandates that come from the same person often fit together–for example a
change this year to create a new Service Desk, followed by a change next year to
implement a new Service Desk tool.
Disadvantages of revolutionary change
 Change may not become part of the culture before focus shifts. The change may roll back
a few months after leadership changes focus.
 Loss of political capital: because the change was less inclusive up front, political capital is
lost.
 Job security for the leader: if the change does not provide the benefit expected, or
otherwise fails, the people who mandated the change may lose their job. (Aside: setting
this expectation is definitely a bad way to manage, as it creates huge incentives for leaders
to make the change look like it worked.)
 Opportunity cost: other improvements may be needed but everyone is tied up working on
the mandated improvement.
 Not necessarily a “good fit” for the organization: the current situation was likely not
understood well, so the solution applied often leaves pain points or gaps.
Advantages of evolutionary change
 Highly likely that, if the change is implemented, it will become part of the culture. More
people have been involved in the design. More people identify with the change.
 Likely that the change fits the organization, understanding the current situation.
 More brains around the problem, leading to more thoughtful solutions.
Disadvantages of Evolutionary change
 Very risky up front. High likelihood that people will not understand or will not buy in to
the change. Hard to build momentum.
 Haphazard. Changes may be introduced that do not move the organization towards where
it needs to go. This is compounded if there is not an organizational “True North” or target
condition.
 Can be “design-by-committee” where a sense of central direction is lost. Especially true if
there is not one clear owner/change agent.

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 Hard to find people who are good at making evolutionary change. It is a skill. What’s
more, these people rarely take credit for their work so you might not know who they are.

4.2.1. BPR

Business process reengineering (BPR) is the analysis and redesign of workflow within and
between enterprises. 
BPR reached its heyday in the early 1990's when Michael Hammer and James Champy published
their best-selling book, "Reengineering the Corporation". The authors promoted the idea that
sometimes radical redesign and reorganization of an enterprise (wiping the slate clean) was
necessary to lower costs and increase quality of service and that information technology was the
key enabler for that radical change. 
Hammer and Champy felt that the design of workflow in most large corporations was based on
assumptions about technology, people, and organizational goals that were no longer valid. They
suggested seven principles of reengineering to streamline the work process and thereby achieve
significant levels of improvement in quality, time management, and cost:
1. Organize around outcomes, not tasks.
2. Identify all the processes in an organization and prioritize them in order of redesign urgency.
3. Integrate information processing work into the real work that produces the information.
4. Treat geographically dispersed resources as though they were centralized.
5. Link parallel activities in the workflow instead of just integrating their results.
6. Put the decision point where the work is performed, and build control into the process.
7. Capture information once and at the source.

4.2.1.1. BPR process

BPR aimed to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to

dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-
class competitors. In the mid-1990s, as many as 60% of the Fortune 500 companies claimed to
either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so.
BPR seeks to help companies radically restructure their organizations by focusing on the ground-
up design of their business processes. According to Davenport (1990) a business process is a set
of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering
emphasized a holistic focus on business objectives and how processes related to them,
encouraging full-scale recreation of processes rather than iterative optimization of sub processes.

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Business process re-engineering is also known as business process redesign, business

transformation, or business process change management.

Business Process Reengineering involves the radical redesign of core business processes to
achieve dramatic improvements in productivity, cycle times and quality. In Business Process
Reengineering, companies start with a blank sheet of paper and rethink existing processes to
deliver more value to the customer. They typically adopt a new value system that places increased
emphasis on customer needs. Companies reduce organizational layers and eliminate unproductive
activities in two key areas. First, they redesign functional organizations into cross-functional
teams. Second, they use technology to improve data dissemination and decision making.

4.2.1.2. BPR techniques and tools

Techniques and tools of BPR include:

 purpose analysis (to identify the objectives)
 competitive comparison( competitive criteria plus SWOT analysis)
 Process quality management
 Strategic capacity analysis:
- Resource capability
- Core competence (Make VS Bus analysis)
 Critical success factors VS performance drivers analysis
 Change management (force field analysis and relationship mapping) (to identify cultural
constraints)
 Brown paper flowcharting
 Process activity analysis is our own
 Waste analysis (to identify waste in the current process)
 Ownership analysis (to identify changes of ownership of material, information or
documents during their life cycle)
 Benchmarking (to identify alternative strategies, organization, processes, procedures and
methods)
 Resource domination analysis, which aims to identify what products or services consume
what resources.
 Product life cycle analysis ( to identify whether investment in particular products and
processes are worthwhile)
 Pareto analysis (to sort the wheat from the chaff, in products, processes, value, space
utilization, etc)
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 Segmentation (A method of virtually, or actually segmenting the business or processes)

 Input/process/output diagrams ( a method of defining a process)
 Control systems design (A method of identifying appropriate control systems techniques
for the new situation)
 Measure of performance design ( a method of identifying how the new process will be
measured)
 Risk analysis, SWOT ( method of identifying which aspects of the process or development
are risky and which need close monitoring or preventative measures to avoid problems)

4.2.1.3. Implementation of BPR

BPR is a discrete, one-time event and it needs to be treated as a project, which is critical to the
future of the organization. So, like any other project Reengineering will have an analysis phase, a
design phase and an implementation phase. The following flow diagram indicates the complete
process of reengineering.

Successful implementation of BRP involves defining and deployment of several critical success
factors. To date, different researchers have defined different Critical success factors for successful
BRP implementation. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, viewpoints of the
academics and interviews with several SME managers, 7 BRP critical success factors have been
identified. Some supportive studies and a brief explanation of these critical success factors are
presented in this section.

Collaborative working environment

Collaborative working environment is one of the most widely cited factors in the literature. In
organizations, employees work together. Having friendly interactions is a main feature of any
dynamic environment. Collaborative climate reduces resistance to change and simplifies BPR
implementation

Top management commitment and Support

Top management plays the most important role in the organization and determines the strategic
direction of the organization. The degree of top management support in BPR implementation is
very critical.

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Top management should have adequate knowledge about BPR implementation and make
important decisions in BPR implementation process. In addition top management should motivate
employees and have a friendly interaction with BPR team.

IT infrastructure

To achieve the expected results of BPR implementation, appropriate IT infrastructure is needed.

In most projects, BPR starts from IT department. IT is a natural partner of BPR and plays a
critical and central role in BPR projects. IT not only speeds up the process to be carried out but
also integrate processes and reduces errors, hence improves productivity.

Training

Training plays a crucial role in BPR implementation. Since BPR changes the organizational
processes, employees should have adequate skills to do the new tasks. Through a proper training
program, employees will have an in-depth comprehending of their new tasks [[13], [14], [15]].

Less bureaucratic structure (flatter structure)

A flexible organizational structure enables BPR to encourage creativity and innovativeness in the
organization. Therefore having a less bureaucratic and more participative structure is essential for
successful BPR implementation.

Culture

Culture has been recognized as a CSF for BPR implementation in the literature.
Coordination, employees’ involvement and friendly interactions are the standard feature of an
innovative organizational culture. Effective utilization of employees’ ideas enables organizations
to achieve their expected results. Further, a strong appropriate culture makes positive changes,
avoids stress and reduces resistance to change.

Adequate financial resources

Obviously, implementing BPR without adequate financial resources is unthinkable. Budget

allocation to BPR is a long-term investment for achieving favorable results. BPR implementation
is a costly process. Therefore, organizations should have adequate financial resources for
implementing changes and facing with unpredictable situations

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4.3. Other kinds of Change

Incremental Change
Incremental change is a method of working by adding to a project using many small (often
unplanned), incremental changes instead of a few (extensively planned) large jumps. Wikipedia,
for example, illustrates the concept by building an encyclopedia bit by bit. Logical
Instrumentalism focuses on "the Power-Behavioral Approach to planning rather than to the
Formal Systems Planning Approach." In public policy, instrumentalism refers to the method of
change by which many small policy changes are enacted over time in order to create a larger
broad based policy change. This was the theoretical policy of rationality developed by Lindblom
to be seen as a middle way between the rational actor model and bounded rationality, as both
long-term goal driven policy rationality and satisfying were not seen as adequate.

Technological Change

Technological change (TC) is a term that is used to describe the overall process of invention,
innovation, and diffusion of technology or processes. The term is synonymous with technological
development, technological achievement, and technological progress. In essence, TC is the
invention of a technology (or a process), the continuous process of improving a technology (in
which it often becomes cheaper), and its diffusion throughout industry or society. In short,
technological change is based on both better and more technology.

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Summary
Planned change occurs when leaders in the organization recognize the need for a major change
and proactively organize a plan to accomplish the change. Planned change occurs with successful
implementation of a Strategic Plan, plan for reorganization, or other implementation of a change
of this magnitude.

Unplanned change usually occurs because of a major, sudden surprise to the organization, which
causes its members to respond in a highly reactive and disorganized fashion. Unplanned change
might occur when the Chief Executive Officer suddenly leaves the organization, significant public
relations problems occur, poor product performance quickly results in loss of customers, or other
disruptive situations arise.

Evolutionary change is change that happens over time to ensure the survival of the
organization. Evolutionary change is typically change brought about by either outside pressure or
incentives.
In contrast, revolutionary change occurs when organizations make radical transformations to their
product or service in an effort to be on their game rather than simply in the game.

? Self-Test Exercises
Answer the questions in your notebook. Do not look into the text while writing your answer.
However, at the end, refer to the text and see how many of the questions you have answered
correctly.
1. When does unplanned change usually occur?
2. When does planned change take place?
3. Why is initiating unplanned change necessary?
4. When does revolutionary change occur?
5. What situations favor the occurrence of evolutionary change?
6. What is meant by BPR?
7. Identify techniques of BPR.
8. What is required to implement BPR?
9. Compare and contrast planned and unplanned change.
10. Explain the advantages of revolutionary change.
11. What is the difference of similarity between evolutionary and revolutionary change?
12. Discuss the disadvantage of revolutionary change
13. Elaborate advantages of evolutionary change.
14. Explain the BPR process.
15. What is the concept of technological change?

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UNIT 5: CONFLICTS AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Unit Objectives
At the end of the chapter, the student is expected to:
 Define conflict
 Identify sources of conflict
 Understand the outcomes of conflict
 Analyze conflict situations
 Manage interpersonal relations

Introduction

Conflict is an unavoidable aspect of everyday life. Whether it be with others, yourself or an

organization, conflict is an inevitable aspect of life experience. Understanding how it starts and
how it escalates goes a long way towards knowing how to use it to your advantage. This article
will address how to spot the seeds of conflict in a situation and take advantage of the possible
outcomes that conflict can provide.

Conflict occurs between two or more people who disagree on an issue that threatens their
respective goals, values or needs. How the participants in a disagreement perceive this threat
determines to a great extent how heated the conflict can become. With only so many resources
and opportunities available within any social setting, it's not uncommon for conflicts to arise. On
the contrary, when handled effectively conflict can lead to personal growth and create the change
needed to improve interpersonal relations overall.

5.1. Meaning and Nature of Conflict

Conflict can be defined as a disagreement between two or more individuals or groups, with each
individual or group trying to gain acceptance of its view or objectives over others. Because people
differ in their attitudes, values and goals, conflict among them becomes unavoidable.
Accordingly, the management is concerned not so much with eliminating conflict, which would
be impossible, but to contain it and manage it for organizational and individual benefit.

The personal conflict is more emotional in nature and reflects feelings, anger, distrust, fear,
resentment, clash in personality, antagonism, tension etc. the organizational conflict, on the other
hand, involves disagreements on such factors as allocation of resources, nature of goals and

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objectives, organization policies and procedures, nature of assignments and distribution of

rewards. This conflict at its worst can lead to unnecessary stress, blockage and communication,
lack of cooperation, increased sense of district and suspicion and this results in lost friendships
and reduced organizational effectiveness.
Conflict has always been considered as undesirable so that it should be avoided when possible
and resolved soon if it occurs.

The modern management view is not so negative about conflict. It believes that conflict can be
helpful and constructive if handled properly. As a matter of fact, moderate level of conflict is
helpful in such organizations as Reassert and Development firms, advertising agencies, public
policy groups etc. some of the positive consequences of conflict are:
i) Conflict may induce challenge to view, opinions, rules, policies, goals, plans etc., which
would require critical analysis in order to justify these as they are or make changes as
required.
ii) Conflict between different organizations develops loyalty and cohesion within an
organization and a greater sense of group identity in order to compete with outsiders. It
helps in dedication and commitment to organizational goals.
iii) Conflict promotes competition and hence it results in increased efforts. Some individuals
are highly motivated by conflict and severe competition.
iv) Conflict with the status quo is a pre- requisite to change. Creative and innovative people
are always looking for grounds to challenge the status quo. These challenges lead to
search for alternatives to existing patterns, which leads to organizational change and
development.
Conflict, when expressed, can clear the air and reduce tension. Some disagreements if
unexpressed can lead to imaginative distortions of truth, sense of frustration and tension, high
mental exaggerations and biased opinions resulting in fear and distrust. However, when it is
expressed, it may show the cause of conflict to be minor, resulting in cooperation and
compromise.

5.2. Sources of Conflict

Basically, the causes of conflict fall into some distinct categories. These are:
1. Behavioral aspects of conflict. These conflicts arise out of human thoughts and feeling,
emotions and attitudes, values and perceptions etc. this conflict can arise by a simple
misunderstanding or an error in communication. This conflict can also arise due to
differing viewpoints about various issues. Another aspect of the conflict can be based on

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emotions, feelings perceptions and values. These feelings may be the feelings of anger,
distrust, and fear or simply dislike due to personality differences.
The value based conflicts arise due to different values which may be culturally based. For
example, manager may want to fire some workers to save costs while another manager may
have human sensitivity and support other methods of cutting costs. As another example, a
professor may value freedom of teaching methods and close supervision of his techniques
may cause conflicts.
2. Structural aspects of conflict. These conflicts arise due to issues related to the structural
design of the organization as a whole as well as its sub-units. Some of these issues
involve:
(a) Role ambiguity
A role is a set of activities associated with a certain position in the organization or in the society.
According to Kahn, if these work activities are will defined, then the person who is carrying out
these activities will not behave as others expect him to because his role is not clearly defined. This
will create conflict, especially between this individual and those people who depend upon his
activities. A hospital or a medical clinic employing a number of physicians with overlapping
specialties might cause conflict due to role ambiguity. Such conflicts can be reduced by
redefining and clarifying roles and their interdependencies. In addition to role ambiguity, there
may be a role conflict. The role conflict occurs when two or more persons have different and
sometimes opposing expectations of a given individual.
(b) Design of work – flow
These are primarily inter group problems and conflicts which are the outcomes of poorly designed
work – flow structure and poorly planned coordination requirements, specially where the tasks are
interdependent. A poorly designed work – flow and uncoordinated activities between the units
would create conflict and problems.

5.3. Conflict Outcomes

One of the most common outcomes of conflict is that it upsets parties in the short run. However,
conflict can have both positive and negative outcomes. On the positive side, conflict can result in
greater creativity or better decisions. For example, as a result of a disagreement over a policy, a
manager may learn from an employee that newer technologies help solve problems in an
unanticipated new way.
Positive outcomes include the following:
 Consideration of a broader range of ideas, resulting in a better, stronger idea

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 Surfacing of assumptions that may be inaccurate

 Increased participation and creativity
 Clarification of individual views that build learning
On the other hand, conflict can be dysfunctional if it is excessive or involves personal attacks or
underhanded tactics.
Examples of negative outcomes include the following:
 Increased stress and anxiety among individuals, which decreases productivity and
satisfaction
 Feelings of being defeated and demeaned, which lowers individuals’ morale and may
increase turnover
 A climate of mistrust, which hinders the teamwork and cooperation necessary to get work
done

5.4. Conflict Management

Being able to mediate a disagreement and help others to find a reasonable solution can be a
difficult task. The following is an advice on how to step by step manage conflict.
Step 1: Listen to both sides of the conflict.
Step 2: Assess the whole situation. Check their non-verbal communication makes sure you are
aware of what caused the conflict.
Step 3: Be sure they want to resolve the conflict. Negotiate where they want to meet up. Make
sure they understand that everything will be kept confidential unless it harms themselves
or somebody.
Step 4: Make it clear that you are there only to help them resolve the issue, not solve it for them.
They must do that themselves.
Step 5: Make it clear that you will be helping both sides, and make sure the people you are
mediating for also want a win-win resolution.
Step 6: Ask each side to tell you what they think the issue is.
Step 7: Ask them the reason for why they think so. Often at this point, you may realize that the
issues they are talking about are not the real problem.
Step 8: Keep them talking, if those involved aren't working to resolve the conflict, you can't
resolve it for them
Step 9: Keep them calm. You need to be in charge, not their anger and irritation.
Step 10: Once you feel that you have identified the real issue, point it out to them and ask them if
they agree.

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Step 11: Ask each side what they would like to see happen, in order for them to feel that the issue
has been resolved.
Step 12: Remind them to be reasonable with each other
Step 13: Point out that generally, it does require some degree of compromise and maturity to be
reasonable.
Step 14: The negotiations are only at an end when both sides agree to a compromise that is fair
and reasonable, do not let either side walk away unsatisfied or don't try to force an
agreement that the sides aren't happy with.
Step 15: Take everyone out for a tea- coffee, or any other relaxation program, depending on the
age bracket.

5.4.1. Analysis of the Conflict Situation

Conflict analysis or conflict assessment is an initial stage of conflict resolution in which parties
seek to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics in their relationship.
An important part of mediating a conflict is analyzing it and understanding the people involved
the roots of the conflict, and how it can be resolved. Without analysis, a mediator does not have
understanding. Without understanding, it is difficult, or even impossible, to craft an effective
solution. 
So, to analyze a conflict you need to talk to the people involved separately. Let them tell their
stories, figure out what they have to gain or lose, and assess how much each person has been
affected by the conflict. With this information, you can put together the best available solution.
Instructions
1. Ask open-ended questions when talking to each of the people involved. This makes it
easier to gain information and insight without putting words in people's mouths. Don't just
ask them to tell you the story; ask a series of specific questions to focus their thoughts
more effectively.
2. Analyze the people involved, and their circumstances. Gauge how much each party may
be willing to compromise. Assess whether anyone seemingly uninvolved has a stake in the
conflict, either positive or negative.
3. Look into the conflict's underlying issues. If you can find similarities between each party's
interests, you should be able to craft a solution that addresses the shared interests of both
parties.

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4. Assess the nature and magnitude of each party's leverage over the other. For example, one
party may have financial leverage while the other has emotional leverage. Be aware that
power takes many different forms, and people use it in many different ways.
5. Examine solutions that have been discussed or attempted in the past, and the reasons they
haven't worked or been tried. This can help give you a road map for what kind of solution
may work this time.

5.4.2. Conflict Stimulation

Conflict stimulation is the process of encouraging conflict between people especially in

organizations so as to cause change. There are different methods that you can use to cause
conflict. Some of these include communication, bringing in new people into the company and
creating competition.
Conflict improves group and organizational effectiveness. The stimulation of conflict initiates the
search for new means and goals and provides the stimulus for innovation. The successful solution
of a conflict leads to greater effectiveness, to more trust and 
openness, to greater attraction of members for each other, and to depersonalization of future
conflicts. In this write up we are discussing how the stimulating conflict can provide benefits to
the organization.

Conflict is a means by which to bring about radical change. It's an effective device by which
management can drastically change the existing power structure, current interaction patterns,
and entrenched attitudes

Conflict facilitates group cohesiveness. Whereas conflict increases hostility between groups,

external threats tend to cause a group to pull together as a unit. Inter group conflicts raise the
extent to which members identify with their own group and increase feelings of solidarity. 

Conflict brings about a slightly higher, more constructive level of tension. When the level of
tension is very low, the parties are not sufficiently motivated to do something about a conflict. 

Groups or organizations devoid of conflict are likely to suffer from apathy, stagnation,

groupthink, and other debilitating diseases. In fact, more organizations probably fail because they
have too little conflict, not because they have too much. Take a look at a list of large
organizations that have failed or suffered serious financial setbacks over the past decade or two.
The common thread through these companies is that they are stagnated. Their management
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became complacent and unable or unwilling to facilitate change. These organizations could have

benefited from functional conflict. 

It may be true that conflict is an inherent part of any group or organization. It may not be possible
to eliminate it completely. However, just because conflicts exist there is no reason to deify them.
All conflicts are dysfunctional, and it is one of management's 
major responsibilities to keep conflict intensity as low as humanity possible. A few points will
support this case.

The negatives consequences from conflict can be devastating. The lists of negatives associated
with conflict are awesome. The most obvious are increased turnover, decreased employee
satisfaction, inefficiencies between work units, sabotage, labor grievances and strikes, and
physical aggression.

Effective managers build teamwork. A good manager has a coordinated team. Conflict works
against such an objective. A successful work group is like a successful sports team; each member
knows his or her role and supports his or her teammates. When a team works well, the whole
becomes greater than the sum of the parts Management creates teamwork by minimizing internal
conflicts and facilitating internal.

Any manager who aspires to move up in such an environment (of conflict) would be wise to
follow the traditional view and eliminate any outwards sign of conflict. Failure to follow this
advice might result in the premature departure of the manager.

Managers who accept and stimulate conflict don't survive in the organizations. The whole
argument of the value of conflict may be moot as long as the majority of senior executives in
organizations view conflict from the traditional view. In the traditional view any conflict will be
seen as bad. Since the evaluation of a manager's performance is made by higher-level executives,
managers who do not succeed in eliminating conflict are likely to be appraised negatively. This,
in turn, will reduce opportunities for advancement.

5.4.3. Conflict Resolution

Except in very few situations in which the conflict may lead to competition and creativity so that
in those situations the conflict can be encouraged, in all other cases where conflict is destructive

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in nature it should be resolved once it has developed, but all efforts should be made to prevent if
from developing.
(a) Goal structure. Goals should be clearly defined and the role and contribution of each unit
towards the organizational goal must be clearly identified.
(b) Reward system. The compensation system should be such that it does not create individual
competition and conflict within the unit.
(c) Trust and communication. The greater the trust among members of the unit the more
honest and open the communication among them would be. Individuals and units should
be encouraged to communicate openly with each other so that they can all understand each
other, understand each other’s problems and help each other when necessary.
(d) Coordination. Coordination is the next step to communication. Properly coordinated
activities reduce conflict. Wherever there are problems in coordination, a special liaison
office should be established to assist such coordination.
Dealing with behavioral conflict
Even though different authors have given different terminology to describe these strategies, the
basic content and approach of these strategies remain the same. These are:
1. Ignoring the conflict. In certain situations, it may be advisable to take a passive role and
do nothing about the conflict. This is especially necessary when getting involved in a
situation would provoke further controversy or when conflict is so trivial in nature that it
would not be worth the manager’s time to get involved and try to solve it. It could also be
that the conflict is so fundamental to the position of the parties involved that may be best
either to leave it to them to solve it or to let events take their own course.
2. Smoothing. Smoothing simply means covering up the conflict by appealing for the end for
unity rather than addressing the issue of conflict itself. An individual with internal conflict
may try to “count his blessings” and forget about the conflict.
3. Compromising. A compromise in the conflict is reached by balancing the demands of the
conflicting parties and bargaining in give and take position to reach a solution. Each party
gives up something and also gains something. This technique of conflict resolution is very
common in negotiations between the labor unions and management.
4. Foreign. This is a technique of domination where the dominator has the power and
authority to enforce his own views over the opposing conflicting party. This technique is
potentially effective in situations such as a manger firing a manager because he is
considered as a trouble maker and conflict creator. This technique always ends up in one
party being a loser and the other party being a clearer winner.

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5. Problem solving. This technique involves “confronting the conflict” in order to seek the
best solution to the problem. This approach objectively assumes that in all organizations,
no matter how well – managed, there will be differences of opinions which must be
resolved through discussions and respect for differing viewpoints.
(e) Dealing with Structural – Based conflict

Structural based conflict is built around organizational environment and can be resolved or
prevented by redesigning organizational structure and work – flow.
i) Identify and clarify poorly defined and poorly arranged interdependencies so that these
can be studied for possible source of conflict are rearranged either to reduce
interdependencies or to make
ii) Make the units totally independent of one another.
iii) Clarify wheat each individual and each sub-unit is expected to accomplish. This would
include authority – responsibility relationship and a clear line of hierarchy.
iv) Planning ahead about the proper distribution of such resources, instead of making
haphazard and last minute allocations.
Individuals work with different groups so that they tend to know each other better and understand
each other better. Care should be taken, however, so that these individuals art technically capable
of fitting in these various groups. This mutual understanding will result in trust and respect, thus
reducing the likelihood of conflict.

5.5. Interpersonal Relations Management

No matter your job or your workplace, dealing with people effectively is a must for success.
Dealing with everyday people successfully will make work more fun and inspiring. Dealing with
people is both a joy and a challenge. But, dealing with people successfully is the most significant
factor determining whether you will have the impact and influence you need to accomplish
your mission at work. Dealing with people effectively is a skill that you can learn. Here is how
you can become the most successful at dealing with people at work.
How to Demonstrate Respect at Work
Ask anyone in your workplace what treatment they most want at work. They will likely top their
list with the desire to be treated with dignity and respect. You can demonstrate respect with
simple, yet powerful actions. Demonstrating respect is the most important interaction that you can
have dealing with the everyday people who populate your work life. Here's how to demonstrate
respect when you're dealing with people.

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Trust and Be Trustworthy: Trust Rules

Trust is the cornerstone when dealing with people interdependently at work. Trust forms the
foundation for effective communication, positive interpersonal relationships, and employee
motivation and contribution of discretionary energy, the extra effort that people voluntarily invest
in work. When trust exists in an organization or in a relationship, almost everything else is easier
and more comfortable to achieve. In dealing with people, trust is critical to forming supportive
relationships that enable accomplishments and progress.
Provide Feedback That Has an Impact
Feedback is communication to a person or a team of people regarding the effect their behavior is
having on another person, the organization, the customer, or the team. Make your feedback have
the impact it deserves by the manner and approach you use to deliver feedback. In dealing with
everyday people, your feedback can make a difference if you can avoid a defensive response.
How you approach and provide feedback in dealing with people is the difference between
effective work relationships and conflict and hard feelings.
Receive Feedback with Grace and Dignity
Are you interested in how other people view your work? Make it easy for them to tell you. If they
think you'll appreciatively consider their feedback, you'll get lots more. And, that is good, really.
In dealing with people, objective feedback from people who care about you can stimulate
continuous improvement or confirm that you are on the right track. Feedback allows you to adjust
your course and direction in dealing with situations, people, and challenges at work. Your
objective in dealing with people and their feedback is to get more - how you receive feedback is
the key.
Show Appreciation: Here Are the Top Ten Ways
You can show appreciation every day when dealing with people. You can tell your colleagues,
coworkers and employees how much you value them and their contribution any day of the year.
Trust me. No occasion is necessary. In fact, small surprises and tokens of your appreciation
spread throughout the year help the people in your work life feel valued all year long.
Demonstrating appreciation in dealing with your everyday people is a powerful way to interact
with and demonstrate your care. Your coworkers feel cherished when you are dealing with them
as if you really do care about and appreciate them - when you do. Fake, fake gets you nowhere
here.
Build Alliances: Why You Need Allies
An ally is an associate who provides assistance and often, friendship. Your allies are likely to
support your views and causes. They help solve problems, provide advice, act as a sounding
board when you need a listening ear and offer a different perspective so you can view your
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organization more broadly. Sometimes allies tell you that you are wrong in your assumptions,
uninformed in your choices, and heading in the wrong direction. In dealing with the everday
people in your work world, nothing is more important than having allies who tell you the truth.
They are critical to your success at work. Developing alliances that allow you to accomplish yours
and your company's mission is key. Here are ten tips that will help you develop work alliances
that will help you accomplish your work mission and goals.
Play Well With Others: Develop Effective Work Relationships
You can submarine your job and career by the relationships you form at work. No matter your
education, experience, or title, if you can't play well with others, you won't succeed. Effective
relationships create success and satisfaction on the job. Learn more about seven effective work
relationship musts. Combat dealing with difficult people with these work relationship musts.
Overcome Your Fear of Confrontation and Conflict
Meaningful confrontation is never easy but conflict is often necessary if you want to stick up for
your rights at work. Whether the confrontation is over shared credit, irritating coworker habits
and approaches, or about how to keep a project on track, sometimes you need to hold a
confrontation with a coworker. The good news is that while confrontation is almost never your
first choice, you can become better and more comfortable with necessary conflict. Find out how
dealing with difficult conflicts at work is easier and more positive with these steps.

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Summary

Conflict can be defined as a disagreement between two or more individuals or groups, with each
individual or group trying to gain acceptance of its view or objectives over others. Because people
differ in their attitudes, values and goals, conflict among them becomes unavoidable.
Accordingly, the management is concerned not so much with eliminating conflict, which would
be impossible, but to contain it and manage it for organizational and individual benefit.

The value based conflicts arise due to different values which may be culturally based. For
example, manager may want to fire some workers to save costs while another manager may have
human sensitivity and support other methods of cutting costs. As another example, a professor
may value freedom of teaching methods and close supervision of his techniques may cause
conflicts.
One of the most common outcomes of conflict is that it upsets parties in the short run. However,
conflict can have both positive and negative outcomes. On the positive side, conflict can result in
greater creativity or better decisions.

No matter your job or your workplace, dealing with people effectively is a must for success.
Dealing with everyday people successfully will make work more fun and inspiring. Dealing with
people is both a joy and a challenge.

? Self-Test Exercises
1. What is the meaning of conflict?
2. Discuss the nature of conflict?
3. Why conflict provides some positive results?
4. What are the two main categories of the causes of conflict?
5. What constitute the structural aspect of conflict?
6. Discuss some of the positive consequences of conflict?
7. Explain the common outcomes of conflict.
8. Provide examples of conflict’s negative outcomes.
9. Provide an advice on how to step by step manage conflict.
10. What is meant by conflict analysis?
11. What is meant by conflict stimulation?
12. Discuss the techniques of conflict resolution

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References
Stephen R. Robins (1996), Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies and applications, 7th
Edition
Plunkett and Attner, Management 6th Edition.
Koonerty Wethrich, Management, 9th edition.
Georgerr Terry, Principles of Management, 5th Edition.
Other relevant books to Organizational behavior, management, Psychology, etc.

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