imperial life with notes (virtus) march 31st 2010

7/28/2019 Imperial Life With Notes (VIRTUS) MARCH 31st 2010

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IMPERIAL LIFE

Presented by:

TEAMVIRTUSCOHORT 32

ARTHUR LOK JACK GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INIDES

INBA 6750- ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR & DEVELOPMENT

CHERESE LAPTISTE IAN AKONG

CRYSTAL GUILLEN SHAD ALI

JEFFERS JOHN-CHARLES KYREN GREIGG


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Table of Contents Imperial Life company profile 3

Case summary

Overview of Imperial Life

Organisational structure

Main characters

Timeline

SWOT analysis PESTLE analysis

Problem Identification

Problem statement

Ishikawa diagram

Problem Tree

Problem Analysis

Leadership

Organisational Control

HR

Culture

Communication

Imperial Life successes

Recommendations

Solution Tree Alternatives

Solution

Action Plan

Conclusion

References

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Imperial Life Company Profile

Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada was incorporated in 1896

and its business is in life insurance and financial services.

Imperial Life comprised a complex network of holding companies, life and

health insurance companies, investment fund management companies,

and other businesses.

It is a subsidiary of the Laurentian Group of Montreal, Quebec and its

Head Office is located in Toronto whose focus was on sales. (Focus of the

case)

Imperial Life operates more than 50 offices in Canada and the Bahamas

with a network of subsidiaries and branches in Great Britain, Hong Kong

and the United States and has over 2,800 employees worldwide

(including 1,422 agents).

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OVERVIEW

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IMPERIAL LIFE ORGANISATIONAL CHART

Claude Bruneau

Board of Directors

Chairman

Claude Bruneau

President

& CEO

Kenneth BeaugrandExecutive VP

& COO

VP Asia

VP InvestmentsVP Coperate

Planning & Chief

Actuary

VP Agencies

VP General

Councel and

Secretary

Sr. VP Ind.

Marketing

VP Product

Development

and Support

VP Group Marketing

Pres. & CEO

Laurentian/Imperial

Co.

VP Info

Systems &

Services

VP Alternate

Distribution

Sytems

VP FinanceVP Individual

Administration

Joy Bollen

VP Human

Resources


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Main CharactersClaude Bruneau

Claude Bruneau was by all means a visionary with an acute eye fordevelopment and progression. Claudes style of leadership was very selloriented in that he made decisions recognizing the possibility of someresistance but nevertheless attempts to persuade subordinates to accept hisdecision.

Claude was of the view that the company was very traditional and nottapping into the resources which were readily available namely the female.Claude held the view that women were more dedicated to their work.Women to him constituted a reservoir of talent and was the change thatthe company needed in order to move forward progressively.

Claude held three senior and very important positions at Imperial life:

t

6

Chairman

President CEO


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Main CharactersJoy Bollen

Joy Bollen Human Resource Vice President at Imperial lifeAssurance Company was the first woman to be appointed tosuch a high level position within a traditional male managedorganization.

Joy came to Imperial Life in 1985 with twenty one yearsexperience in management/consulting and human resourcemanagement. Starting off as the Director of Planning andDevelopment, within one year Joy was quickly promoted to VP-HRdespite the many objections to her promotion.

Joy used a team oriented approach as a means of inculcating theideas and mission of Imperial Lifes new directives under ClaudeBruneau.

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Johari Window

Virtus Group

Joy BollenClaude Bruneau

Public

UnknownHiddenUnknownHidden

BlindBlind Public

Kno

wntoothers

Unknowntoothers

Known to self Unknown to self

Visionary

Decisive

Aggressive

Sociallyconscious

Paternalistic

Exerted too

much power

Exploitative

Understands

minorities workharder

Incongruent

style with Joy

Incongruent

style with Claude

Indecisive Heavily team

based

Strives for

consensus

Not ready for VP

HR Role

Known to self Unknown to self


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Imperial Life Timeline

TEAM VIRTUS

1896 1945 1979 1983 1985 1986

ImperialLife

founded

Aggressive. Rigid.

Innovative. Successful.

Imperial

Life Boom

over

Imperial Life

acquired byLaurentian Group

Company struggled and stagnated. Insurance

industry becoming sub-set of expanding financial

world . (IA note: See SWOT and PESTLE for changes

Leading up to the environment in the 80s)

CLAUDE BRUNEAU

appointed President,

CEO, Chairman of the

board

Claudes vision was to regain the aggressive dynamism of

the organization. Culture Change Initiatives mandated by

Claude. Womens issues brought to the forefront.

JOY BOLLEN becomes

Imperial Lifes first

female Vice President.

JOY BOLLEN brought

on as director of

planning and

development

First Financial Planning Center

specifically geared to female

customers opened


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Imperial Life PESTLE

Virtus Group

Political :

Canada officially gainedindependence from UK April

17th 1982.

Political unrest in Quebec

Government deregulation of

financial services industry

Economic :

Formation of conglomerates favoured as

survival Strategy

Change in Insurance industry as subset

of financial services brought increased

competition in market.

Socio-Cultural :

Trend of political correctness

opposing racism, discrimination

toward minorities.

Joint financial decision making (man

and woman)

Large increase of women in

workplace.

Technological : Introduction of personal computers inworkplace (financial services)


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Imperial Life PESTLE

Virtus Group

Legal :

Legislation enacted to end practiceof automatically changing a womans

last name upon marriage.

Environmental :

threat of expropriation of business in

foreign countries.

The PESTLE analysis gives us an idea of the external environment surroundingImperial Life in the late 1970s into the 1980s

Women gaining ground in workplace


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PROBLEM

IDENTIFICATION

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Problem Statement

Claudes Vision:to drive the company back into a dynamic, aggressive organisation, thatwould really get the best out of its people, in order to offer excellentservices and supportthereby optimising the probability of generatinggood profits for all stakeholders.

Imperial Life experienced a gender divide due to the prejudice

held against women in the workplace. Additionally, there

existed a communication barrier between the CEO and VP HR,

which slowed the progress of change desired in the

organization. This resulted in low staff morale, resistance to

change and a high executive turnover.

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Imperial Lifes Problem Tree

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PROBLEM ANALYSIS

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LEADERSHIP

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Leadership

Leadership is at its best when the vision strategic,the voice persuasive and the results tangible. In

the study of leadership, an exact definition is notessential but guiding concepts are needed. The

concepts should be general enough to apply tomany situations, but specific enough to havetangible implications for what we do.

~ Useem


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IMPERIAL LIFE- Leadership

Early Synopsis of Imperial Life

Whilst Imperial Life history looked promising and able to hold its 10th place within its industries, the internal problems of Imperial Life

seemed to be one that would affect it later in its venture.

Within its early years the direction was set by the professional Life Insurance mathematicians, whose ideologies where one of

enforcing seating arrangements in the head office cafeteria and employees seated at specific tables with the same table partners

daily. It may be that these ideologies were weird but during the first 30-40 years of its existence it was to be the most dynamic and

creative in its trade; aggressive with dynamic ideas. However when the war was over by 1945 the country would slip into a depression

like one of the 1930s, it seemed as though Imperial Life too had given up on its war in being the competitive company it onc e was and

their leaders too had lost the war.

From what seemed promising, the company would now go from being the aggressive company it once was to being the company led

by timid types of people, they were very inward looking, traditional, risk adverse, driven by the technical side of business allowing

them to be like most insurance companies than being the one leading with its marketing ideas.

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Overview

Claude was considered to be a visionary leaderwith astute social consciousness and aphilosophical outlook, who could recognizechanges in society ahead of his peers, however, it

seemed as though his outlook would not be ableto influence those easily as he wanted change, achange that would involve women in charge havemanagerial positions and become vice

presidents, a change which was not new at allback in the 1980s and one which would be acultural change for those in Imperial Life a hardpill to swallow.

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Overview (contd)

Joy was appointed Vice President, she was toinitiate and help in this cultural change (Claudesvision) but in a position in which she was new to,she would have to further develop the leadership

and management skills to do so. Directives werecertainly given but senior and middlemanagement will have to carry them out, such adirective crucial to Imperial Life success factor

was ignored, it resulted in problems that wouldlater affect the development of the companyitself.

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Overview (contd)

Directors (senior management) was once consideredto be visionaries, innovative and succeeded in makingImperial Life leading in its industry at the time, buttimes changed, the business got stale and Imperial Life

was acquired by the Laurentian Group. Claude relayedhis vision to them not only were they against it butthey paid lip service to it, it made Joys work difficultfor change implementing this new culture. The lack ofchange would result in one where they quickly left or

were moved out, it resulted in new managementbeing brought in all the time their successors were nonexistent.

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Problem analysis

Joy V.P. H.R was not able to muster support frommiddle management efficiently

Middle management did not have a propersuccession plan

C.E.O created opportunities and a chance forwomen to get management positions

Huge difference between the leadership style ofC.EO to V.P of H.R and to middle management

No Leadership Development

Middle Management was inefficient

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Leadership overview for imperial life

Leadership is a dynamic form of behavior and theleaders influence is dependent upon the type ofpower exercised over the people. However, thereis no one best form or style of leadership. There

are many variables that underlie theeffectiveness of leadership, including dimensionsof national culture. The most successful form ofleadership behavior is a product of the total

leadership situation. Attention needs to be givento leadership development. Leaders of the futurewill face new expectations and will need to learnnew sets of skills. (excerpt pg. 396Mullins)

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The Filter effect

Directors

/Senior

VP CEO

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Cultural Barrier

Staff

Selling

Telling

Explain your

decisions and

provide

opportunity for

clarification

Provide specific

instructions and

closely supervise

performance


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Dimensions of managerial Leadership

Group InteractionAnalysis

McGregor,assumptions

about people andwork

Blake andMcCanse,

Leadership Grid

Task Functions

Theory X

Concern forproduction

MaintenanceFunctions

Theory Y

Concern forpeople

27Mullins


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Situational leadership overview

The problem analysis derived from this was

that the S1, S2, S3, S4 models did not match

up for Imperial Life, this type of situational

leadership used was not appropriate for thefollowers, thereby creating problems.

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Situational Leadership model


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R1R3R4

Situational Leadership model

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Task behaviour

(Directive behaviour)

(Low) (High)

Unable but

Willing or

Confident

Moderate

Able and

Willing and

Confident

Able but

willing or

Insecure

Unable and

Unwilling or

Insecure

R2

High Low


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Situational leadership model

In Imperial Life it was clear that a leadership

behaviour was one of a selling nature at the

Executive level here decisions were explained

and it provided and opportunity for classificationit involved a high task and high relationship.

As for lower management in Imperial Life it was a

telling behaviour where specific instructionswere told and performance closely supervised.

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Problems of leadership method used

(contd)

From the analysis the method from theexecutive level to lower management was aleadership behavior of telling, it provided

lower management with specific instructionsand were closely supervised for performancealthough the follower readiness was correctand on par. The cultural barrier proved to be a

block for Lower management to carry outtasks and directives from top management totheir staff.

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ORGANISATIONAL CONTROL

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O i i l C l & P


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Organisational Control & Power

Virtus Group

If leadership is about influencing behaviours, control is the relation of constraint of a

system or group of systems by management.

Organisation implies control Tannenbaum

Managements need to exercise control is met by most peoples desire to be subject to a

control system.

What is controlled? Systems which operate within defined boundaries. Policies

Procedures

Lawlergive three reasons why employees might want to be subject to control systems:

1. To give feedback about task performance2. To provide some degree of structure of tasks, their execution and how performance is

measured

3. Where reward systems are performance based

Is the idea of controlling another person ethical?

Ethi f C t l


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Ethics of Control

Virtus Grou

Robbins makes the following observation about control:

Why is control controversial? A democratic society is built upon theconcept of personal freedom. Therefore, the idea that one person should

attempt to get others to behave in some premeditated way, when the

subjects of that control may be unaware that their behaviour is being

manipulated, has been viewed in some circles as unethical..

Control should be viewed as an interpersonal influence over a network ofinteractions and communications page 679 Mullins

According to Zimmerman, Control Systems measure how effectively

decisions have been translated into results, which have influence on both

the organisational and the individual level.

The strategy put forward by Claude to introduce women at the higher ranks

was accompanied not only by the inherent stigma attached to control, but

also was wrapped in gender issues. External factors surrounding women at

the time had an effect on how Claudes strategy was perceived. This may

have added to the resistance Claude experienced.


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Th f l


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The nature of management control

Virtus Grou

Improvement in performance

INDIVIDUAL

BEHAVIOUR

ORGANISATIONAL

PERFORMANCEBasic act iv i t ies of

management

Clarification of objectives

Planning

Organising

Directing

CONTROLLING

Imbalance

between

control

measures for

Organisational

Performance

and Individual

Behaviours

To impact on per formance, organisations mu st impact indiv idual behaviours

and org anizat ional behaviou rs. Imper ial Life focu sed on organizat ional

per formance but indiv idual behaviours remained the same. Planning was

clear organizat ional ly. Ind ividu al ly these were blurred.


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Organisational and Individual progress

Although Organisational Performance is showing improvement, Individual Behaviours

are remaining the same.

In an effort to move up from 9th place in the

industry, the company tripled in size in three

years under Claudes leadership.

Meanwhile..

The executive group initially paid lip service to

Claudes ideas about the changing role of women.

This is just another one of the chairmans

ideaswell have to live with it for a while,

but it will go away.

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Organisat ional

Per formance

Individual

Behaviour

Stages of Organisational Control


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Stages of Organisational Control

Virtus Grou

Objectives

and Targets

Standards of

performance

Actual

performance

1. Planning 2. Establishing 3. Monitoring

4. Comparing

Deviations

5. Rectifying

Corrective

Action

Red Flags are raised


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Elements of an Organizational Control System5 essential elements to an organizational control system.

1. Planning what is desired- Clarification of the aims to be achieved. Peoplemust know exactly what is required of them. Objectives and targets must be

clearly specified.

Was this implemented at Imperial Life?

Claude as well as the VP of HR initiated clear communication to all employees aboutthe new company espoused values of innovation, trust, openness, excellence

seeking, and customer focus. Staff development programs, and suggestionsystems linked to financial incentives for critical thinking were clearly

specified to employees.Impatient with the pace of change, the chief executive officer initiated the

development of systems under which Imperial Lifes culture would bereshaped(Case page 160)


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2. Establishment of defined standards of performance- this requires realistic

measurements by which the degree and quality of goal achievement could be

measured. Planning and measurement are pre-requisites of control. Objectives,

targets, standards of performance must be stated and communicated to all those

concerned.


The redefinition and communication to staff of Imperial Lifes mission, goals, and

strategies were distributed to staff via the Blue Book and the Green Book in 1985

and 1987 respectively.

the redefinition and communication to staff of Imperial Lifes mission, goals and

strategies (the first such statement, the companys Blue Book, was distributed

in 1985; the second, the 1987 Green Book )(Case page 160)

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3. Monitoring actual performance This requires feedback and a system of reporting

information that is accurate, relevant and timely in a form that enables management to

highlight deviations from the planned standard of performance to ultimately address and

improve the system to achieve end results.


An effective and efficient monitoring system did not exist at Imperial Life. The VP of HR did

not respond to the CEOs call for dealing with the womens issues at Imperial Life in a timely

fashion befitting an Effective Control System. In addition to this there were observations,

made by Imperial Life female employees, that their gender even though qualified were often

overlooked for promotion. An efficient monitoring system would have addressed this

phenomenon.

Claude Bruneau to Joy Bollen - its already mid 87 time to get serious about womens

issues in this company. When can we have that Womens Conference we talked about?

NOTE- This statement was said in 1987, Joy Bollen was in the role of Vice President of

Human Resources for almost a year. Furthermore she not only knew of the issues

surrounding the negative perceptions women faced by senior executives but she was also

subjected to it. (case page 156)

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4. Compare actual performance with planned targets - Information is interpreted and

evaluated in order to give details of progress, deviations, and identify probable

causes. Information should then be fed back to those concerned for performance.


No specific evaluation specifically regarding the issues at Imperial Life were carried

out .

Comment made by an Imperial Life female employee As a woman in Imperial Life, I

dont know what it takes to get promoted. There is no clarity around criteria. (Case pg 165)

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5. Taking of corrective action- the final element of management control system is to

rectify the situations that have led to failure to achieve objectives or targets or other

forms of deviation identified. This requires:

1. Consideration of what can be done to improve performance.

2. Authority to take the appropriate action, to review the operation of the control

system, and to make any necessary adjustments to objectives and targets or to the

standards of performance.


No specific corrective actions were taken regarding the issues at Imperial Life were

carried out.

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Power Involvement and Compliance


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Power, Involvement and Compliance

Virtus Grou

How are Individual Behaviours being influenced by Imperial

Lifes control measures?

Mullins suggests power, at a broad level, can be interpreted in

terms of control or influence over the behaviour of other people

with or without their consent. Pg 688 Mullins

Exercising a particular type of control is usually a choice made

with the type of response, or involvement, that is desired in

mind.

Compliance is the relationship between the kinds of power

applied by the organisation to control its members and the kindsof involvement developed by members of the organisation.

Power and Involvement


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Virtus Grou

Coercive Power: Relies on the use of threats, or physical sanctions or force,

e.g., controlling the need for food or comfort

Remunerative Power: Involves the manipulation of material resources andrewards,

e.g., thorough salaries and wages

Normative Power: Relies on the allocation and the manipulation of symbolic

rewards,

e.g., esteem and prestige

Alienative Involvement: Occurs where members are involved without their

wishes.

There is a strong negative orientation towards the organisation.

Calculative involvement: Occurs where attachment to the organisation is

motivated

by extrinsic rewards. There is either a negative orientation or a low positiveorientation towards the organisation.

Moral Involvement: This is based on the individuals belief in, and value placed

on, the goals of the organisation. There is a high positive orientation towards

the organisation.



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Virtus Grou

while Imperial Life recommended the development of capable backups for

critical management positions, it allowed several key executives to treat their

immediate subordinates as little more than high-level technicians, reserving all major

decisions to themselves.

This demonstrated the manipulation of prestige and esteem bestowed on

employees.

Imperial Lifes management, by reserving or denying position and status

from employees displayed use ofNormative Power.

Youre not the assistant manager, youre the assistant TO the manager

There are a lot of highly skilled people at the lower levels, and many of them are

women. They feel blocked in a dead-end job theyve done for a long time, and

theres no where else to go. Or else theyre constantly passed over for promotion.

They dont seem to take the initiative to move on I dont know why!

The only major exodus of employees took place at the executive level driven by their

inability, or unwillingness to change during the culture change initiatives as imposed

by Claude. Employees, particularly women, seemed to stick with the company

despite the poor treatment suggesting their attachment to the organisation is

motivated by extrinsic reward.

This is indicative ofCalculative Involvement.Another day, Ano ther dol lar

EMPLOYEE COMPLIANCE @ IMPERIAL LIFE


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EMPLOYEE COMPLIANCE @ IMPERIAL LIFE

Virtus Grou

Nine logical types of organisational relationships and compliance result

from the typology as described by Etzioni.

Etzioni suggests that a particular kind of power usually goes with aparticular kind of involvement.

Coercive

Remunerative

Normative

Alienative Calculative Moral

Kind

sofPower

Kinds of Involvement

1

4

7

2

5

8

3

6

9

Incongruent

relationship

Imperial Life

Organisations with congruent

compliance structures will be more

effective than those with incongruent

structures

Congruent

relationships

N Organizational Structure


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Name: Organizational StructureFirst Name Last Name

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About Me

Purpose: I create divisions where human resources are placedto serve a common important purpose which is to completeobjectives to achieve organizational goals.

My Mission: I lay out tasks, responsibilities, work roles and

relationships, and by design outline the communicationhierarchy.

My Needs: Continual review of my form ensures that it is in

synchronicity with the growth and development of theorganization.

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Organizational Structure

Organizations are collections of people brought together for a

purpose. To achieve this purpose successfully, people need to be

organized within the best possible structure. Decisions on

structure are primary strategic decisions. Structure can make or

break an organization.

Lundy,O. and Cowling, A. Strategic Human Resource

Management(1996), p.141. (pg 570 Mullins)

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Imperial Lifes Organizational Structure

The Organizational Structure of Imperial Life is Division

of work by major purpose or function. This structure

is where work is departmentalized or groupedaccording to specialization. Further to this there is a

flat hierarchical structure which means there are less

lines to trace back to managers. (deduced from

Mullins pg 572)

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53

Claude Bruneau

Board of Directors

Chairman

Claude Bruneau

President

& CEO

Kenneth Beaugrand

Executive VP& COO

VP Asia

VP

Investment

s

VP Corporate

Planning &

Chief Actuary

VP

Agencies

VP General

Counsel and

Secretary

Sr. VP Ind.

Marketing

VP Product

Developme

nt and

Support

VP Group

Marketing Pres. &

CEO

Laurentian/Imper

ial Co.

VP Info

Systems

&

Services

VP Alternate

Distribution

Systems

VP

Finance

VP Individual

Administrati

on

Joy Bollen

VP Human

Resources


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Important to note

It is important to note that culture has a powerful

influence on organizational structure. Internal and

external influences, common values, beliefs and

attitudes will have a significant effect on organizationalprocesses including the design of structure. Mullins pg

565.

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in short, a very large proportion of the friction and

confusion in current society, with its manifest

consequences in human suffering, may be traced backdirectly to faulty organization in the structural sense

Urwick, L. The Elements of Administration, Second

Edition, Pitman (1947), pp. 38-39. (Mullins pg 586)

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Child points out certain problems arise time and time again in

struggling companies. Even at the best of times they can point to

incipient dangers that have to be dealt with. Deficiencies in

organization can play a part in exacerbating each of these

problems. High on the list are:

low motivation and morale

late and inappropriate decisions

conflict and lack of co-ordination

a generally poor response to new opportunities and external change, and

rising costs

Child, J. Organization: Contemporary Principles and Practice, Blackwell

Publishing (2005) p. 17 (Mullins pg 587)

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Imperial Life suffered from at least 3 of these symptoms which


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Imperial Life suffered from at least 3 of these symptoms which

resulted in a faulty structure. Using Child to understand Imperial Life

we find the following:

issue cause Examples at

Imperial LifeLow motivation and

morale

Inconsistent decisions,

lack of delegation, lack of

clarity in job definition

Imperial Lifes managers

failed to delegate to

subordinates.

Late and inappropriate

decisions

Lack of timely, relevant

information to the right

people.

It took Joy Bollen almost

a year to finally get

serious about the women

issues at Imperial.

Conflict Conflicting goals, people

working at crosspurposes, failure to bring

people on teams.

Claude Bruneau was both

Chairman of the Boardand CEO. He also failed

to bring executives to

accept his vision of

equality within the ranks

of the company, often

resorting to a paternalistic

style of threats. 57

Th i i f I i l Lif O i i l


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The situation of Imperial Lifes Organizational

Structure

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A Lethal Combo.

Devastator is the combined form of several Constructicons. The

combined form takes on a composite role which limits, and in

some cases inhibits the roles of the individual elements of the

structure and can in turn become detrimental to the existence of

the whole. Therefore the whole is not greater than the sum of allits parts- no synergy, as postulated by Gestalt psychology.

This is characteristic of Imperial Life where the whole

organization was affected by poor HRM practices, ineffective

organizational control, a gender divide, and a paternalisticculture, while financially the company performed well.

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C y


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Claude Bruneau : A Tale of Many rolesCEO Role Functions Chairman of the Board role functions

1. LEADER

Advises the BoardAdvocates /promotes organization and stakeholder

change related to organization mission

Supports motivation of employees in

organization products/programs and

operations

2.VISIONARY / INFORMATION BEARER Ensures staff and Board have sufficient

and up-to-date information

Looks to the future for change

opportunities

Interfaces between Board and employees

Interfaces between organization and

community

(taken from

http://managementhelp.org/boards/

brdjobs.htm#anchor321357)

1. Is a member of the Board

2. Is a partner with the Chief Executivein achieving the organization's

mission

3. Provides leadership to the Board

of Directors, who sets policy

and to whom the Chief

Executive is accountable.

4. Chairs meetings of the Board after

developing the agenda with the

Chief Executive.

5. Encourages Board's role in strategic

planning6. Appoints the chairpersons of

committees, in consultation with

other Board members.

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Claude Bruneau : A Tale of Many rolesCEO Role Functions Chairman of the Board role functions

3. DECISION MAKER

Formulates policies and planning

recommendations to the Board (he may

suggest policy that he himself will have to

approve, therefore no checks and balances)

Decides or guides courses of action in operations

by staff

4. MANAGER

Oversees operations of organization

Implements plans

Manages human resources of organization

Manages financial and physical resources

5. BOARD DEVELOPER

Assists in the selection and evaluation of board

members

Makes recommendations, supports Board during

orientation and self-evaluation

Supports Board's evaluation of Chief Executive

7. Serves ex officio as a member of committees

and attends their meetings when invited.

8. Discusses issues confronting the organization

with the Chief Executive.

9. Helps guide and mediate Board actions with

respect to organizational priorities andgovernance concerns.

10. Reviews with the Chief Executive any issues

of concern to the Board.

11. Monitors financial planning and financial

reports.

12. Formally evaluates the performance of the

Chief Executive and informally evaluates theeffectiveness of the Board members.

13. Evaluates annually the performance of the

organization in achieving its mission.

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The backlash of the clash of many roles :

CEO goneWild!

The roles of CEO, President and Chairman of the Board areall essentially different functions. From the previous tablethe CEO is primarily the visionary and decision maker, theChairman of the Board is primarily the one who representsthe interest of the shareholders on the board and thePresident executes the business plan. Hence the presidentreports to the CEO who in turn reports to the Chairman ofthe Board who acts as the bridge between the shareholdersinterests and concerns and that of the senior executiveteam. In the case of Imperial Life Claude holds all 3positions simultaneously. It is therefore necessary to split

these roles to ensure proper checks and balances.

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According to the Business Week article, Splitting theCEO and the Chair:

In large scale business organizations the CEO must manage ina complex, challenging and time consuming environment.

Many roles takes away from organizational effectiveness.

To extract the knowledge and skills board members possess

requires a leader who can draw that out in absence of the

CEO whose presence may silence members from being critical

of management.

In a CEO/Chairman role there can be no fair assessment and

monitoring of self.

McCaferty, J. (2009)

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359

612.htm

63

H I i l
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htm


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However at Imperial

Claude Bruneau held the role of CEO and Chairman of the

board in one of Canadas largest insurance companies at atime of great economic change.

High turnover in board as people left due to none buy-in of

Claudes vision. Furthermore his paternalistic, authoritarianstyle could not have been kept in check as there was no

sentinel, in the form of another person, to add balance.

Therefore with Claude in different roles it would have been

challenging for him to recognize those aspects of his

personality that could have been harming the organization,

for example his paternalistic style.

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Pros and cons of Claude holding major positions

Pros Cons1) The different positions

allowed Claude to provide

opportunities for women to

advance at Imperial Life.

2) Decisions were made fasterholding these major roles as

bureaucracy was minimized.

1) With no checks and balances

Claudes paternalistic style

clashed with some senior

executives which influenced

their decision to leaveImperial Life.

2) Claudes rate of change was

so fast that communication to

lower level staff became

lagged and left many in thedark about exactly what was

taking place.

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In Conclusion

The organizational structure is therefore not static and

is influenced by factors such as culture, strategy, and

personalities.

Holding multiple important roles in any organization, as

in this case, resulted in an unbalanced organizational

structure which diminished managerial effectiveness

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HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

67

What is Human Resource


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What is Human Resource

Management?

According to Torrington et al (1995):

Human resource management is a series of

activities which: first enables working people and the

organization which uses their skills to agree about

the objectives and nature of their working

relationship, and secondly, ensures that the

agreement is fulfilled.

OBD Text, page 481

68

The HRM Function -


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The HRM Function -

Who is responsible?

The HRM function is the responsibility of all managers and supervisors and it is therefore

not confined to an HRM department or HRM specialist. The HR manager would be

concerned mainly with the broader aspects of procedures for example, HR panning,

recruitment and selection, HR planning, HR policies etc., acting as a specialist advisor and a

support for line managers offering advice when needed. The line manager would be

responsible for the operational aspects of HR within his/her own department. Such activities

would include delegation, on-the-job training and ensuring certain standards of work are

met and maintained. According to Johnson et al, for the HRM function to be effective there

must be good teamwork, co-operation and consultation between line managers and the HR

manager.

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HRM at Imperial LifeWhat they did well:

Bill Stanley managing the womens centre

Integrating women into upper level management.

What was lacking:

Delegation and empowerment of staff

Lack of proper control mechanisms to monitor individual performance

Training and development of lower level staff

Minimal succession planning

No clear goals and objectives as a measure for individual performance

Evidence:

Low staff morale

Demotivated staff

Perception of inequality, discrimination and unfairness among lower level staff, particularly towards women

Lack of women in high positions

Women lacking the skills and training to obtain/fill higher level jobs

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DELEGATION AND EMPOWERMENT

72


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Delegation

What is delegation?

According to Mullins, delegation is the process of entrusting

authority and responsibility to others throughout the various levels of

the organization. It is the authorisation to undertake activities that

would otherwise be carried out by someone in a more senior position.

73

Wh d l t ?


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Why delegate?According to Guirdham, Managers who neglect to, or cannot, delegate are failing to

develop the human resources for which they have responsibility.

Leads to the optimum use of human resources and improved org l performance.

Allows managers to make maximum use of their time to concentrate on the more important

tasks at hand. More time managing and less time doing.

Provides a means for the training and development of staff and a test for subordinates

suitability for promotion.

Increases strength of the workforce. Gives employees greater scope for action and

opportunities to develop their aptitudes and abilities.

Increases job satisfaction and employee morale with increased responsibility and participation

in the planning and decision-making process. Helps the employee to satisfy higher level

needs.

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Delegation at Imperial Life


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Delegation at Imperial Life

Delegation was lacking at Imperial Life and was evident because many women were

overlooked for promotion and therefore the training and delegation of work and

responsibility required to be considered for a higher position was something that did not

seem necessary or practical. Managers also withheld the power and authority for decision-

making. In cases where tasks were delegated, managers would reserve the authority of the

decision-making to themselves.

Women need help to advance. There is still savvy that you dont get from an MBA which is hard to pick

up in an organization where you dont have a mentor

And as women get into management ranks, and into a position where they can begin to exert some

influencewe havent taught them, or society has taught them, how to be able to impact on that

circumstance

many policies and procedures remained stuck in the 60s and 70s. For example, while Imperial Life

recommended the development of capable backups for critical management positions, it allowed several

key executives to treat their immediate subordinates as little more than high-level technicians, reserving

all major decisions to themselves.

75

Delegation and the women of IL


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At Imperial Life, there was a lack of delegation of higher order work particularly to thewomen in the organisation due to a perception held by the men in the organisation, the

society and in some cases, even the women themselves of the general place and role of

a woman.

Women were seen to have a more supportive role in the organisation than a decision-

making one. This perception of women seemed to have existed mainly at the middle

management which appeared to have prevented them from equipping the female staff

with the necessary skills and know-how to move up the corporate ladder.

76



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This was contradictory to Claudes vision as he saw women as a vital resource. He was concerned about the lack

of women in senior positions and initiated an attempt to get the commitment of the Executive team to have a

female candidate among the finalists for every management position. We need to build a solid base which will

force the maintenance of our course of action, by bringing young women into the system who will eventually

become directors and officers.

Pg 160 in case.

I felt the need to take a meaningful position and send a message from the top down, particularly to skeptical

officers. So I decided to use the opportunity of four openings on the 21-member board of directors to appoint

three women.quite a shock for some of the board members.

Pg 161 in case

77


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Delegation and women in IL

Claude laid the foundation for his vision and set the example by hiring these 3 women to the Executive Team as well as

Joy Bollen who got promoted twice; from Director of Planning and Development to Executive Director of people issues (a

position created just for her) then to VP-HR the following year, making her officially part of the senior management team.

Claude clearly demonstrated his vision which was to delegate responsibilities and empower women to see them advance

and be treated as equals within the organization. The salary range for a Vice-President isand thats what youll pay her.

Pg 163 in case.

Between 1978 and 1987, the percentage of women in managerial and supervisory levels grew by 51% and women

comprised approximately 52% of all the managers and supervisors at Imperial Life. Most of these changes in the male-

female balance however arose as a result of women being brought into the organisation. Women who were already

working in the company encountered some resistance from middle management who opposed the delegation of

responsibilities to assist in their advancement. Evidence of this was reflected in staff comments from a survey conducted

at Imperial Life on the topic of womens issues.

78

l l


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DelegationA managers role

According to Fayol and Drucker in their

organising function of management,

delegation is a must role for a manager for

the benefits previously outlined and inaddition it also serves to motivate staff who

seek autonomy, responsibility and strive for a

sense of achievement in work (Mc GregorTheory Y worker.)

79

Reasons for lack of delegation


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Reasons for lack of delegation

Perception of womens place in society

Fear of women outperforming the men

Fear of women incapable of doing a sufficiently good job

Managers fear of being blamed for subordinates mistakes

Lack of training of how to delegate and identifying the need for it.

Lack of appropriate staff

80

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT


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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

81

l f


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SYNOPSIS Imperial Life

Joy- Lack of sufficient training for VP-HR roleIt is morally wrong to give a person a leadership role without some form oftraining- wrong for them and those who work with them. J. Adair, The Path ToLeadership.

Many women in the organisation could not be promoted because they lacked thenecessary skills and know-how to advance to the next level.

A possible reason for a lack of delegation may have been due to the managerslack of knowledge in knowing how and what to delegate. Many new managers were hired between 1978 and 1987.

Mullins stated that in the 80s, delegation underwent a crisis of confidence.

Implementation of proper control systems for performance with an adequateunderstanding of how to use them.

Lack of mentoring / coaching

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The Need for Training


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The Need for Training

at Imperial Life

Why was there a need for training? For upward mobility particularly for the women

in the organisation

To upgrade skills of staff (new technology/

methods etc.) Part of succession planning

To meet the new objectives of the organisationthat the culture change may bring.

To close gaps identified (e.g. Teaching managershow to delegate/supervise and manageperformance of subordinates)

83

Benefits of Training at


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g

Imperial Life

Widened skill base for all staff in the organization

Giving women an equal opportunity to be selected for promotion, which is consistent with

the vision that Claude has for the company pg 160 My interest in promoting women at

Imperial Life is that they constitute a reservoir of talent, probably more aggressive than the

other reservoirat the end of the day, in 20 or 30 years, we will have a balanced universe.

Improved management practices

Increased confidence, motivation and commitment of staff

More efficient organization

Improved customer service

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f


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Training A management function

Drucker One of his 5 basic operations of amanager is to develop people.

Develops people directs, encourages and

trains. How well subordinates developthemselves depends on the way a manager

manages.

85

E t f th


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Excerpts from the case

Pg 164:But there was no woman in the entire organization who coulddo it. We had no eligible women at head office and none in oursales force.

Pg 166And promotion from within is very, very rare in the corporation.Somebody is usually brought in from outside.

Women need help to advance. There is still savvy that you dontget from an MBA which is hard to pick up in an organisation whereyou dont have a mentor.

86

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT


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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

87

What is Performance


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Management?

Performance management can be defined as a

strategic and integrated approach to delivering

sustained success to organisations by improvingthe performance of the people who work in

them and by developing the capabilities of teams

and individual contributors (Armstrong and

Baron, 1998).

88

Performance Management


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g

at Imperial Life

From the case it was evident that the performances of staff were not closely monitored ormeasured. This was seen when:

Managers were not evaluated based on their expected job functions. Example they did notdelegate, train staff

Many staff were unaware of the requirements for upward mobility within the organisation. As awoman in Imperial Life, I dont know what it takes to get promoted. There is no clarity on

criteria, so the question is often asked How did she get hired.Page 165 in case

Joys contribution/progress in fulfilling her duties and implementing ways by which Claudes visionfor the org can be met in her new role as VP-HR was not monitored

denied lower level staff the authority and power that came with the delegation of responsibilities.Delegation is a managerial function but which was lacking throughout the organisation and whichwould have allowed managers to focus on the more important decisions allowing them to be moreefficient at what they do.

89

The Performance Management Cycle


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g y

90

Role Profile

Performance agreement

Performance

Performance

Review

Personal development

planning

Plan

Review Act

Monitor

Developing An Effective Performance Management System


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Developing An Effective Performance Management System

1. Performance Agreement:

Defines the expectations of the individual in the form of

objectives, how performance will be measured and the

competencies needed to deliver the required results. Theseexpectations must be agreed upon with the employee.

2. A personal development plan:

Sets out the actions people intend to take to develop

themselves to increase their level of competency.

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Developing An Effective Performance


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Developing An Effective Performance

Management System

3. Managing performance:

Coaching/mentoring/training of staff to ensure staff are equipped with the necessary tools,

skills and know-how for fulfilling the objectives outlined. Providing continuous feedback.

4. Performance review:

A formal evaluation at the end of the year covering the achievements, progress, and areas

for improvement as a basis for a revised personal development plan. Some methods for

measuring performance:

a. Behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS)

b. Achieving objectives

c. Performance agreement or contract

d. 360 feedback

92

Methods of measurement and review of


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performance

1. BARS (Behaviourally anchored rating scales)

Key behavioural aspects of the job are identified

Good/average/poor performance are defined and a

scale point is developed.

Staff performance is measured against the defined

behaviours on the point scale to measure

performance

Time consuming and costly to implement

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performance

2. Achieving objectivesObjectives are set and must be SMART:

S- Specific

M- Measurable

A- Achievable

R- RelevantT- Time-bound

and the appraisal is based on the extent to which the objectives weresuccessfully met and within the timeframe given.

This method of performance review can especially be used for the

Executive Management team at IL whose performances are lessbehaviour based and more task related eg: having specific profit targets,expenses/budgets within which they have to operate etc.

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performance

360 degree feedback model

95

Manager

Individual

Direct Reports

Internal

CustomersPeers



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performance

3. Performance agreement or contractProposed by Stein.

Members of staff create a succinct document, agreed

with their superior which outlines their proposed

contribution to the business plan of the organisation. This

forms the basis of their individual performance review as

performance is rated based on whether the agreed

contributions/plans were met.

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performance

4. 360 degree feedback

This involves feedback from different groups in a work situation

example bosses, peers, subordinates and customers usually in the

form of a questionnaire.

It allows for increased self awareness (identifying any

discrepancies between how we see ourselves and how others see

us Johari window)

Enhanced self-awareness is a key to maximum performance as a

leader

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CULTURE

98

Organisational Culture


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99

Atkinson defines culture as the way things are done around here...Organizational culture reflects

the underlying assumptions about the way work is performed; what is acceptable and what is not;

and what behaviour and actions are encouraged anddiscouraged(Mullins page 721)

Prior to the arrival of Claude we can note that the culture emphasized exactness and detail down

to ridiculous extreme. The company was stuck in a phase of traditionalism with the companys

direction set by the actuaries the professional insurance mathematicians.

Schein suggests three (3) levels of culture from the shallowest to the deepest

1.Level 1 Artefacts. This is described as the most visible level including the environment and

physical layout as well as the behaviour expressed by the groups members.

2.Level 2 Espoused Values. Where cultural learning reflects the original ideas of an individual

using reality as a solution to deal with a new tasks, issues or problems.

3.Level 3 Basic underlying assumptions This is where a solution has been used repeatedly and as

such overtime is taken for granted.(Mullins page 722)

We can clearly see that the second level is what applies to Imperial life since Claude Bruneau used

this strategy to recreate the vision of the company as a means of gaining greater market share inthe financial services industry and as such creating a market specifically targeted towards women

thus maintaining a competitive advantage. Claude saw the solution to the problem of productivity,

growth, innovation and low employee morale based on the employment of women in top

management positions. As a result Claude aggressively demanded that change within the

organization be implemented at his pace neglecting the fact that resistance by other management

would be inevitable



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100

It can be noted that the culture of an organization is not innate but has to be developed over

time. There are however key influences on how this culture can be formed namely the

organizations HISTORY, PRIMARY FUNCTIONS and TECHNOLOGY, GOALS and

OBJECTIVES, SIZE, LOCATION, MANAGEMENT and STAFFING and theENVIRONMENT.

At Imperial Life we can see that the culture of the organization prior to Claudes appointment

as CEO was shaped by several factors the companys HISTORY; MANAGEMENT AND

STAFFING, FUNCTIONS as well as its GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.

Imperial Life had grown slowly but steadily emphasizing traditional products andmethods....the companys direction was set by actuaries the professional life insurance

mathematicians...In the past the company culture had emphasized exactness and detail

down to a ridiculous extreme.(Case page 156)

Because of this, change in such a rapid and aggressive manner was difficult to envision by

the already exiting management team who were accustomed to the way things were doneat the company. Lessons learnt are very difficult to unlearn.

Learning is about more than simply acquiring new knowledge and

insights; it is also crucial to unlearn old knowledge that has outlived its

relevance. Thus, forgetting is probably at least as important as learning.

Gary Ryan Blair



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101


With the appointment of Claude Bruneau in 1983 we saw a strong push for a change in the

companys culture specifically through a change in MANAGEMENT and STAFFING and company

POLICY. Claude was seen as a visionary who could recognise and understand changes in society.

This was something that was not embraced by the rest of the management team since they were

already acculturated in a traditional manner.

During the early 80s senior management was having difficulty coping with the stated objectives

of a new kind of company culture open, people-centered, performance-driven, flexible and

entrepreneurial...Impatient with the pace of change, the CEO along with the VP-HR initiated the

development of systems under which ImperialLifes culture would be reshaped.

(Case page 160)

It is not that change was not wanted at Imperial Life since they saw Claude as a visionary. Rather

people were not aware of the change that was taking place and what effects it would have on the

individual hence their resistance.



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102

g

Whittington, Johnson and Scholes 2005 in their work Exploring Corporate

Strategypresent different aspects of a proper analysis of organizational culture

in the form of a cultural web. At Imperial Life we see the amalgamation of three

(3) major cultural traits. Rout ine Behaviourswhere the members of the

organization behave in particular ways toward each other which make up how

things are done or how things should happen. Power Structureswhere the

most powerful individuals may be based on management positions and

seniority. Contro l Systemswhere the measurement and reward systems

emphasise what is important to monitor. These all lead to TheParadigmwhere

the organization encapsulates and reinforces the behaviours observed in other

elements of the cultural web.

Cultural Web


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103

THE

PARADIGM

CONTROL

SYSTEMS

POWER

STRUCTURES

ROUTINE

BEHAVIOURS



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gRESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Although organizations have to adapt to their environment, they tend to feelcomfortable operating within the structures policies and procedures which have been

in place from the initial formulation of the company thus creating a comfort zone.

Most companies fall in to a trap of relying on these innate strategies which allows them

to set up defenses against change and place more focus on the operations that they

perform well while neglecting the other factors (innovation, training and development)which gives rise to loss of market share, low employee morale as well as a loss of their

competitive advantage.

weve been lead by fairly introverted types of people very inward-looking, traditional,

risk-averse and driven by the technical side of the business

(Case page 157)

the perception of a career in life insurance sales was low in the eyes of the average

customerpublic respect for the product and for the agent himself was not very high

we feel embarrassed about the product that we sell.

(Case page 157)104



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gMullins points out that there are five main reasons why companies form a barrier to

change namely because of:

1. Organization culture (culture of an organization develops overtime and may not be easy to change)

2. Maintaining stability (The more mechanistic or bureaucratic the organizational structure the lessresponsive the organization will be to change)

3. Investment in resources (Change requires capital and resources which may have already beencommitted to other areas or strategies)

4. Past contracts or agreements (Organizations can enter into contracts or agreements with otherparties and this can limit changes to behaviour)

5. Threats to power or influence (Change can be seen as a threat to senior staff positions. Overtimewhere a group of people hold a particular perception territorialright they are likely to resist change)

At Imperial life it is clear that barriers to change existed mainly because of a fear

of threat to power or influence as well as the general organizational culture

and were very prominent when Claude embarked upon his mission to change the

companys culture.

Greatimportance was attached to the modeling by Imperial Lifes executive members of the

new values they wanted others to buy into. Unfortunately many of the senior managers were

unable or unwilling to change their values and behaviours to conform to the new standards.

This result was an almost complete turnover of the Management Committee .

105

Gender discrimination

From as early as the 1970s we notice that women have become increasingly active


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From as early as the 1970 s we notice that women have become increasingly active

in the world of work. However they have not been and in some instances still not

represented throughout the occupational structure. Haralambos suggest that this

contributes to the following

Horizontal segregation:- the extent to which men and women do different jobs.

Vertical segregation:- the extent to which men have higher status and or higher

paid jobs than women.

It is clear that both horizontal and vertical segregation existed at Imperial Life.Women in management positions were unheard of and very hard to come to terms

with. Partof the culture change within the company was the slowly shifting male-

female imbalance. The executive group paid lip service to Claudes ideas about the

changing role of women. - This is just another one of the chairmans ideas ... Well

have to deal with it for a while but it will go away.(Case page 161)

106

Gender discrimination may not only be related to unfavourable experiences of women

in the workplace but may result from a basic social psychological process i.e.


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Stereotyping. Stagnor (1988) points out that descriptive stereotypes the

constellations traits and attributes which are used to describe men and women are

applied to individuals in the work environment and become the basis for inferring their

initial stable characteristics. Thus even in situations where person A may have verylittle knowledge about person B, he or she will infer a set of characteristics about

person B from the general category of man or woman to which Person B belongs.

This was indicative of Imperial Life and mainly caused by the company's cultural

traditions of female exclusion at higher level positions.

...the industry has been a male dominated bastion..This environment has been asresistant to change as any in the financial sector. It has been the most extreme male

chauvinist faction existing in our society, in terms of believing women have two places

the kitchen and the bedroom.(case 163)

Women were not brought up to think like men-they didnthave the opportunities for

team sports, etc. I talk to our ladies about the things they should or should not do, to

help them do better at their careers; and Iwontprovide a chance for a female unless

I knowshes capable of handling additional responsibilities. (case 170)

Because of this Imperial Lifes women are not given the opportunity to be promoted to

higher level positions regardless of having the necessary qualifications and or

experience.107

Salary differences between male and female workers at

Imperial Life


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Imperial Life

108

Job differences between men and women at

Imperial Life


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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Exec.

Officers

Directors

Depart.

Heads

Supervisors

Specialists

UnitHeads

WOMEN MEN

Imperial Life

109

Organizational Culture


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Chatman and Cha suggest that everycompany has a culture-good or bad and in order

for leaders to develop, manage, and change their culture there must be the use of three

managerial tools namely recruitment and selection; social tools and training and rewardsystems.It is important to employ persons who fit the companys culture even if this

may involve overlooking some technical skills for a better fit while at the same time

developing practices that enable people to understand the values, abilities, expected

behaviour and social knowledge.

At Imperial Life it was clear that this did not take place. Was Claude the right fit forImperial Life? even though he may have had experience in senior management and

considered as a visionary its not clear if his vision was in sync with the mission of the

organization. His intentions were good but his strategy for implementation was very

poor.

This was also the case for Joy. Again we ask if Joy was the right fit for Imperial Life asChatman and Cha suggest it may be better to sacrifice some technical skills. We also see

that Joy was not informed or did not receive any matriculation into Imperial Life. She

was not brought up to date with the existing cultures of the organization and its

environment.

110

Kotter and Cohen suggests some of the following actions which can be implemented

in order to secure effective change.


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Create a senseof Urgency

This should be done among all members of the organization both upper level management and lower level staff through the

process of staff meetings, organization news letters etc.

Create Visionsfor theOrganization

The vision of the organization could be re written as a means of encouraging staff to be more focused on what the companys

intention for development would entail. Again staff should have the opportunity to be part of the process thereby making them

part of the vision for change hence minimizing resistance.

Communication

ALL staff regardless of position should be kept acura of any changes taking place within the organization since change

regardless of how small affects all parties involved. This can be done via dissemination of information at staff or departmental

meetings, use of memos, use of company newsletter, via internal e-mail etc.

EMPOWER

ACTION

Ensure as best as possible the participation of ALL stakeholders (staff, partners, customers) in decision making processes & agenuine feeling of shared involvement. Stakeholders should have an opportunity to share their opinion on change this can bedone through anonymous surveys. This should be done preferably before the actual introduction of any new systems or majorchanges. The use of working parties, liaison committees, steering groups and joint consultations may assist discussions andparticipation and help maintain the momentum of the change process.

Do not

let up

The process of change should be continuous and there should be no major lapse with its implementation.

Make change

stick

This is where nurturing of the change culture is important specifically relating to the development of group norms of behaviour

and shared value.

111


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Within Imperial Life it was clear than none of the points identified as solutions to the

problem had been explored and this should have been initiated from the managers

directive. Mullins concurs by pointing out that One of the most important factors of

successfully implementing change culture within the organization is throughmanagerialbehaviour.

According to Reis and Pena It is also clear that Claude neglected the human resistance

issues. Instead Claude should have

1. Communicated his ideas for change at a managerial level

2. Communicated his ideas for change at a non-managerial level through his VPs and

divisional managers and as a whole through staff workshops giving all parties

involved an opportunity to give feed back and open debating.

3. Formed good relationships with all staff members. make everyone feel

important.

112

According to Mullins the effective management of change must be


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based on a clear management of human behaviour at

workPeople experience a range of emotional

involvementsemotions of fear and frustration hence creatingdefence mechanisms and negative attitudes which foster

resistance to change.

Drucker contends that one CANNOT manage change. One canonly be ahead of it... We need to accept that change is

unavoidable ...In a period of rapid structural change, the only

companies that will survive are the Change Leaders. Claude

should have seen change as an opportunity In order to effect this

properly Claude should have looked for the change, find out which

change was the right change and then find a way of making this

change effective both out side the organization and inside.

113

PROBLEM SOLUTION ACTION TAKEN/TO BE

TAKEN

CHALLENGES


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LACK OF TRUST Discouraging

organizational

hierarchies

elimination of thewe VS they

syndrome

Elimination of the executive

or private dining rooms

Resistance from

management

LACK OF

GENUINE STAFF

PARTICIPATION

Claude should be

open to share his

directives forchange with ALL

other employees

The establishment of liaison

committees, steering groups

and joint consultations whereopen participation and

discussion will take place.

Staff retreats

LACK OF CO-

OPERATIVETEAM SPIRIT

Allow ALL

stakeholders tofeel and influence

the change which

may be taking

place

The organization can implement

a system of anonymoussuggestion boxes. Also they can

encourage staff social clubs

which bridges the

communication gap between

upper and lower level staff

114

PROBLEM SOLUTION ACTION TAKEN/TO BE

TAKEN

CHALLENGES


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LACK OF

INCENTIVE

PAYMENT

SCHEMES

Implementation

of incentive

schemes as

reward for hard

work

Incentive schemes can be on

an individual basis with

bonuses being paid to each

member of staff according to

effort and performance

Financial stability of

the organization

LACK OF A

CAREFULLY

DESIGNEDHUMAN

RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

ACTION

PROGRAMME

HR should recruit

people who

match theorganization and

its ideals and

ideologies for

embracing change

HR should be more specific in

relation to advertisement for

vacancies and prospectivecandidates should be able to

fit the organization. There

should also be the potential

for the introduction of

training and re-training

programmes in order tofoster and develop new skills

and to reinforce old skills.

115

Behaviour ModificationAccording to Mullins Lewin suggest that there is a three phased process used


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116

The first phase is the unfreezing stage-this is where theorganization reduces the forces which maintain behaviour in

its present form, thereby recognizing a need for the process

of change to take place and for improvement to occur. At

Imperial Life there is a need to unfreeze all the traditional

behavioural and management ideologies which exists.

The company has been asleep for anumber of years-a whole generation. The

business was stale. The Management

lacked a sense of purpose and direction.

Movement-This is where the development of new

attitudes and behaviours take place through the

implementation of change. Here is where we seeClaude and his change initiatives coming into

effect. Unfortunatelymany senior managers were

unable or unwilling to change their values and

behaviour to conform to the new standards. The

result an almost complete turnover of the

Management Committee.

g gg p p

for combating behaviour modification as a means of resistance to change and

improved performance.

Refreezing-this is where change stabilization takes place at


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Refreezing this is where change stabilization takes place at

the new level and where there is reinforcement through

supporting mechanisms. This was seen at Imperial Life

through the development of the companys Blue and Greenbooks. This refreezing process was however not fully

embraced since uncertainties and ambiguity still existed as

to the pace and structure of change.

117


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118


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Managers and other change agents use various means of mobilizing staff, exerting power and

influence over others and getting people to support planned change efforts. Each powersource has somewhat different implications for the planned change process. This can beexpressed through the following methods:-

Forced Coercion This strategy uses authority, rewards and punishment to create change.That is that the change agent acts unilaterally to command change through his or herauthority. This was indicative of Claude who nonetheless visionary was only concerned aboutimplementing his change, in his way and at his own pace regardless of the increase inemployee haemorrhaging especially at the upper management level.

Rational Persuasion This strategy uses rational argument, facts and special knowledge tocreate change. This assumes that rational people will be guided by reason and self interest indeciding whether or not to support a change. Expert power is mobilized to convince othersthat the change will leave them better off than before.

Shared Power This strategy uses participatory methods and emphasises common values tocreate change. This method actively and sincerely involves the people who will be affectedby the change by trying to develop directions and support for change through involvementand empowerment thereby building essential foundations such as values, group norms, andshared goals so that change happens naturally.

119

COMMUNICATION


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Communication


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Communication is derived from the Latin communis- to be in

common with.

In addition to communality it includes the concepts oftransmission, meaning and information.

It involves the:givingreceiving or exchanginginformation, opinions or ideas

by

writing, speech or visual means,

so that the material communicated is completelyunderstood byeveryone concerned

121

Communication


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Communication

Perceived reality, not actual reality, is thekey to understanding behaviour. How we

perceive others and ourselves is at the

root of our actions and intentions.

Understanding the perceptual process

and being aware of its complexities can

help develop insights about ourselves and

may help in reading others.

Mullins, Managing Organizational Behaviour, pp. 208

122

Communication involves all five senses


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123

Hearing

Smell

Taste

TouchSeeing

Communication- Process


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Sender

Message

Channel

Receiver

Feedback

Channel

124

Encoding

Decoding

Communication- cycle of perception


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Person B interprets Asspeech, movement and

gestures in order tounderstand As motives,emotions, assumptions,

attitudes, intentions,

abilities

B responds inspeech,

movement,gesture, etc.

A interprets Bs speech,

movement and gesturesin order to understandBs motives, emotions,assumptions, attitudes,

intentions, abilities

A responds in

speech,movement,gestures, etc.

Person Aspeaks,moves,

g

imperial life with notes (virtus) march 31st 2010

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