The War of the Woods: Facilitators and Impediments of Organizational Learning Processes

This study examines unfolding organizational learning processes at MacMillan Bloedel, a company which, after years of resisting stakeholder pressures for change, disengaged from the field’s dominant paradigm and developed a new solution. We elaborate the Crossan, Lane and White multi–level framework of organizational learning processes, finding support for the four feedforward learning processes they identified (intuiting, interpreting, integrating and institutionalizing), and adding two action–based learning processes: ‘attending’ and ‘experimenting’. We introduce the concept of a ‘legitimacy trap’ to describe an organization’s over–reliance on institutionalized knowledge when external challenges arise. The trapped organization rejects external challenges of its legitimacy when it perceives the sources of those challenges to be illegitimate. Feedforward learning is blocked as the organization escalates its commitment to its institutionalized interpretations and actions. Taking a grounded theory approach, we discuss how individuals attend to new stimuli and engage in intuiting about them, how groups interpret, experiment with and integrate new solutions, and how the firm validates and institutionalizes the successful solution. Facilitators and impediments of each of these learning processes are identified. Our additions to the model recognize the importance of context in organizational learning processes, and suggest how power may impact organizational learning.     

On the etiology of conflict cultures

Conflict has long been conceived as a fundamental part of all organizational systems. Yet the literature on conflict is largely divorced from its organizational roots and instead focuses on general processes of conflict management at the individual and small group levels of analysis. To re-establish the organizational basis of conflict, we develop a macro-theory of conflict cultures, or shared norms that specify how conflict should be managed in organizational settings. We propose a typology of conflict cultures that draws upon two dimensions – active versus passive conflict management norms and agreeable versus disagreeable conflict management norms – and discuss the etiology of four distinct conflict cultures: dominating conflict cultures (active and disagreeable), collaborative conflict cultures (active and agreeable), avoidant conflict cultures (passive and agreeable), and passive–aggressive conflict cultures (passive and disagreeable). We discuss top-down processes (e.g., leadership, organizational structure and rewards, industry, community, and societal factors) and bottom-up processes (e.g., personality, demographics, values and social networks) through which these conflict cultures develop. We explore both positive and negative organizational outcomes associated with each conflict culture, as well as moderators of proposed effects. We conclude with theoretical, practical, and empirical implications of a conflict culture perspective.     

Employee strain and job satisfaction related to an implementation of quality in a public service organization: A longitudinal study

To date, few studies have focused on employee reactions to the quality-related aspects of the introduction of New Public Management (NPM). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects on employee strain and satisfaction of the implementation NPM in a public service organization. The study was designed as an empirical examination of the 'context-dependent approach' ( Edwards, Collinson, & Rees, 1998 ). This approach suggests that effects of an organizational change depend on the context of the implementation, i.e. organizational aspects (implementation strategies), job content and job context dimensions. They employed a single-case longitudinal design. The case was a large municipal service unit responsible for the public housing system of a city in Austria. The sample consisted of 217 employees. Measurements were taken before the organizational change, and at two different times during the change process. While the implementation of NPM can be considered to have been an organizational success (increase in customer satisfaction), it was accompanied by increases in job strain, and, at the same time, mixed results in job satisfaction. Less qualified employees mainly responsible for the customer interface experienced the organizational change most negatively. Using structural equation modelling, the context-dependent approach was empirically confirmed. Job control, role clarity and information were found to be the most important job and organizational resources.     

A process evaluation of individual and organizational occupational stress and health interventions

There is reason to believe that many health and stress interventions fail due to inattention to the effects of intervention implementation processes, but evaluations of these processes are found only rarely in the literature. The objective of the present study was to explore the issue of obstacles to implementation that may occur when stress and health interventions are introduced in work organizations. The study was conducted as a process evaluation of seven different individual and organizational interventions. Interviews were conducted in 22 post offices, 12 organizational units (such as care homes and local administrative units) of a Norwegian municipality, and in 10 shops in a shopping mall. The interviews took place before and after the interventions. The following key process factors were identified: (1) the ability to learn from failure and to motivate participants; (2) multi-level participation and negotiation, and differences in organizational perception; (3) insight into tacit and informal organizational behaviour; (4) clarification of roles and responsibilities, especially the role of middle management; and (5) competing projects and reorganization. For improved studies of interventions in the future we recommend that qualitative and quantitative methods be combined, that researchers build more on natural interventions that occur naturally within the organization, and that a pilot study be undertaken in order to investigate the cultural maturity of the organization.     

Confucian values and the implications for international HRD

Abstract

The consideration of cultural issues has become increasingly important in scholarly inquiry and explorative practice in international human resource development (HRD). We review and explore the core characteristics of Confucian-based culture in relation to organizations and unfold how these Confucian values may affect organizational and management practices in China and other Asian countries. Five major aspects of Confucianism are examined. They are: (a) hierarchy and harmony, (b) group orientation, (c) guanxi networks (relationships), (d) mianzi (face) and (e) time orientation. The impact of these values on management practices in the Chinese organizational context is presented in four areas: (a) working relationships, (b) decision-making processes, (c) ruling by man (ren zhi) instead of by law (fa zhi) and (d) HR practices. Implications for organizations and international HRD are also discussed.     

Repairing and Enhancing Trust: Approaches to Reducing Organizational Trust Deficits

Abstract

Organizational scholars have long touted the myriad benefits of trust for organizational functioning and performance. Recent surveys, however, document pervasive deficits in such trust. This article addresses the important topic of reducing these deficits. Our attack on this problem is two pronged. First, we examine approaches to repairing damaged trust within organizational settings. Specifically, we assess the state of organizational theory and knowledge regarding effective approaches to trust repair after internal or external events have weakened or damaged trust in an organization. We define what is meant by trust repair, review the most common ways that trust is broken, and then explore the three major approaches that have received the most attention in trust‐repair research. We then address the question of how trust, once repaired, can be enhanced and made more durable and stable. Specifically, we examine theory and evidence regarding the antecedent conditions that support the development and maintenance of what we term presumptive trust among organizational members. We conclude the article with some recommendations of fruitful directions for future research.     

The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational structure

There is an extensive private sector literature on organizational change management. However, recent studies have suggested that the specific context of public organizations may have consequences for the management organizational change. This study examines to what extent different change approaches and transformational leadership of direct supervisors contribute to the effective implementation of organizational change in public organizations, and to what extent the bureaucratic structure of public organizations makes the implementation of organizational change s3pecific. The implementation of an organizational change in a Dutch public organization is studied using quantitative methods and techniques. The results indicate that bureaucratic organizations may effectively implement organizational change with both planned and emergent change approaches. The contribution of transformational leadership depends on the type of change approach and organizational structure. Transformational leadership behavior of direct supervisors contributes little to planned processes of change, but is crucial in emergent processes of change in a non-bureaucratic context. Although the literature on change management mostly emphasizes the leadership of senior managers, the leadership role of direct supervisors should not be overlooked during organizational change in public organizations.     

Human and organizational factors in offshore safety

The role of human and organizational factors in predicting accidents and incidents has become of major interest to the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Some of these factors had been measured in an earlier study focusing on the role of risk perception in determining accident involvement. The current study sought to extend the methodology by focusing on perceptions of organizational factors that could have an impact on safety. A self-report questionnaire was developed and distributed to 11 installations operating on the UK Continental Shelf. A total of 722 were returned (33% response rate) from a representative sample of the offshore workforce on these installations. The study investigated the underlying structure and content of offshore employees' attitudes to safety, feelings of safety and satisfaction with safety measures. Correlations and step-wise regression analysis were used to test the relationships between measures. The results suggest that 'unsafe' behaviour is the 'best' predictor of accidents/near misses as measured by self-report data and that unsafe behaviour is, in turn, driven by perceptions of pressure for production.     

Knowledge retention in ERP implementations: the context of UK SMEs

Abstract

Knowledge retention (k-retention) is vital for various enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), though it is a highly demanding and challenging task. The aim of this paper is to investigate different types of approaches to k-retention and factors influencing k-retention in SMEs. Our study adopts a grounded theory approach with cases based on 12 ERP implementations in UK SMEs. We analyze our data using thematic analysis. The findings reveal specific elements that support the k-retention of ERP package knowledge and business process knowledge. These elements are: k-retention tools, documentation, human capital and the understanding of k-retention challenges. In addition to insights from these aspects, our study reveals two additional factors (project management and organizational culture) that influence ERP package k-retention and business process k-retention. Based on these findings, we develop an ERP k-retention (EKR) framework that can be utilized by SMEs which are considering implementing ERP systems, to facilitate knowledge retention during implementation.     

An appraisal of key factors in the implementation of occupational stress interventions

Empirical research on stress intervention in organizations, and experience from organizational change programmes in general, indicates that obtaining intended change is often more difficult than it had been conceived to be at the outset. In order to facilitate the accomplishment of stress prevention and effective organizational change, this paper examines the importance of the social and cognitive processes influencing the implementation of any intervention. It states that if change is to be managed skilfully, it is important (1) to create a social climate of learning from failure, (2) to provide opportunities for multi-level participation and negotiation in the design of interventions, (3) to be aware of tacit behaviours that possibly undermine the objectives of interventions, and (4) to define roles and responsibilities before and during the intervention period.     

Examining the Effects of Feedback Accuracy and Timing on Skill Acquisition

ABSTRACT

Feedback involves providing information about past performance and indicating how to improve future performance. Although the literature contains numerous examples of feedback as an effective method for improving performance across a range of organizational settings, much remains unknown about the specifics of how feedback acts to change behavior. This study evaluated the combined effects of feedback accuracy (100%, 80%, 20%) and timing (feedback following each trial or after a block of 25 trials) on skill acquisition in undergraduate students when presented with a computerized match-to-sample task that required participants to learn the names of shapes. Results reveal that feedback accuracy had a significantly greater effect on performance than the timing of the feedback.     

An analysis of safety culture attitudes in a highly regulated environment

Culture is a complex construct in organizations, consisting of attitudes, perceptions, values and beliefs, which must necessarily be set in context. Many authors imply that culture is organization-wide and common to all employees. In terms of safety culture, the organizational context may determine its salience and likelihood of affecting behaviour, especially in a highly regulated environment such as the nuclear industry. This study investigates the components of safety culture and how it varies in a highly-regulated nuclear power plant. A 60-item questionnaire measuring safety attitudes and values was administered anonymously to 1550 employees at two plants in the UK nuclear industry, with a 64.7% mean response rate. Principal components analyses revealed six factors conceptually common to shop floor and management (supervisor/manager/professional) groups for both plants, relating to: management style and communication; responsibility and commitment; risk-taking; job satisfaction; complacency; and risk awareness. A canonical discriminant analysis of the items suggested that the data could distinguish three employee groups. The implications of these findings and the proposal that there are two or more safety cultures in the organization is discussed.     

Implementing workforce development in health care: A conceptual framework to guide and evaluate health service reform

Abstract

The term ‘workforce development’ is increasingly popular in the health-care field. It appears to encompass a range of human and organizational development activity. However, there has been limited explication of the concept of workforce development in Australian health care at area health service levels. It is timely to develop a framework for workforce development and processes to guide any evaluation of the implementation of workforce development strategies. This paper presents a framework that has been developed through consultative processes in an area health service and an associated review of literature.     

Moving beyond the employee: The role of the organizational context in leader workplace aggression

Management and psychology scholars are increasingly seeking to examine how organizational characteristics that contextualize leadership shape the occurrence, impact, and prevention of leader workplace aggression. However, a comprehensive review of this literature has not yet been conducted, so a systematic understanding is lacking regarding questions including: (1) when, why and how is such aggression more likely to occur; (2) how do contextual factors enable or constrain effects of these leader behaviors on employees; and (3) how can organizations proactively manage their internal dynamics to prevent or reduce such incidences? Drawing on Porter and McLaughlin's (2006) components of organizational context, I review existing leader aggression research that intersects with seven categories: (1) culture/climate; (2) goals/purposes; (3) people/composition; (4) processes; (5) state/condition; (6) structure; and (7) time. I then offer theoretical propositions for future work, which are grounded in the roles and responsibilities inherent to the nature of leadership and coupled with the changing nature of organizational life. As a result, I set the research agenda for the next decade of organizational context × leader workplace aggression studies.     

The role of stress and social support in Sick Building Syndrome

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) involves seemingly healthy individuals experiencing long-lasting symptoms of physical distress in their work settings and is estimated to exist in 20 to 30% of all work settings in the USA. We examined differences in stress, social support and both physical and psychological symptoms reported by hospital personnel working in known SBS sites in Halifax, Nova Scotia (n = 297) with control employees working in relatively SBS-free settings (n = 228). We found that employees reporting that their health had been affected by the building in which they worked and those complaining of poor air quality were more likely to be found in SBS locations. In addition, those people with higher levels of organizational support and marginally higher levels of union support were also more likely to be found in SBS locations. Further analyses revealed that employees with higher role overload and greater family support, but lower levels of organizational support were more likely to report that their own health had been adversely affected by their place of work. Perceptions of poor air quality were predicted by higher levels of role conflict, role overload, and organizational stress and lower levels of organizational support. These results suggest that SBS may not be solely dependent on environmental factors.     

Wertewandel in Organisationen und Unternehmen als Fragestellung für Organisationsberater/innen

Change of values in organizations and enterprises as an issue to organization counselors Ethical issues are hardly ever explicitly formulated in the process of supervision or organizational development. However they have a strong impact on the everyday procedures of an organization in the form of conflicting values and goals. The costs of such unresolved conflicts for organizations and enterprises should not be underestimated. Organization counselors have the adequate potential to facilitate even complex processes of value changes within an organization. The following article explains by an example how the controversies about conflicting interests based on value issues can be adressed in the context of an organizational development process. This is done on grounds of the person-centered approach by Carl Rogers.     

Innovations in humanitarian supply chains: the case of cash transfer programmes

Abstract

Cash transfer programmes (CTPs) are revolutionizing humanitarian supply chains (HSCs), yet just how CTPs are to be understood as innovation, and how they impact on HSCs, remains unclear. Innovation in the humanitarian context more often than not stems from outside humanitarian organizations – that is innovation occurs in their supply chain. The aim of this study is to further the understanding of supply chain innovation (SCI) in the humanitarian context. Based on empirical evidence this article suggests a supply chain innovation model (SCIM). This SCIM is useful because it allows different processes to be understood and compared, by providing guidance on how innovations progress. The contribution of this research is threefold: First, the research presents a SCIM for the humanitarian context. Second, this is the first application of a SCIM to the humanitarian environment. Finally, the research is field based and grounded in empirical observations thus adding to the literature and offering insights to practice.     

Developing criteria for healthy organizational change

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify criteria for healthy change in organizations and to develop practical guidelines for intended change. We aimed to explore how change processes at the shop floor level can be better informed by consultants and labour inspectors. A total of 180 interviews were conducted with managers and employees in 90 units of public and private organizations in Norway. The interviews were analysed through four steps representing an expansion of grounded theory, and converted to qualitative analysis using QSR and N6 software. We found that organizational change processes were better managed by more attention to awareness of the local norms and diversity among employees in the perception and reactions to change efforts. An inspector or consultant should be aware of these phenomena in any change effort and tell the organization how to deal with them. The other three factors identified were early role clarification, manager availability, and using constructive conflicts to deal with change. They are all important coping mechanisms at the organizational level that will bring change processes onto a more optimal track if correctly managed. A healthy process empowers individuals instead of making them insecure and defensive in times of change. This will help them restore perceived control and promote job security, which benefits both them and the organization.     

Measuring impact of Lean implementation on construction safety performance: a structural equation model

Abstract

The construction industry is a risky endeavour. Therefore, it is essential to develop significant safety measures for lowering risks and ensuring safety during projects. However, current safety applications are yet to be developed given the increasing number of workplace accidents. Among these, Lean applications have the potential to improve safety standards and enhance safety performance. Within this context, this study develops components for Lean implementation and construction safety performance, and it presents a conceptual framework to study the relationship between them. A questionnaire was designed and given to Lean practitioners to quantify the impact of the components. Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyse the framework and validate the relationship between Lean implementation and safety performance. The results of the study indicate that there is a significant relationship between Lean implementation and safety performance. The findings also imply that firms that perform well in implementing Lean practices achieve better safety performance. The primary contribution of this research is to prove that Lean practices are closely related to safety performance, with the aim of encouraging construction practitioners to work in a safer environment by using well-established Lean practices. Moreover, the study aims to expand the use of Lean practices to achieve better safety performance by revealing the strong ties between safety and Lean. Finally, this study can guide construction practitioners to adopt Lean techniques and apply them in their projects to enhance safety performance.