Organizational Psychology

Question One

Some roles of a leader in an organization are to establish a vision, effective organization structure, and communication channels, provide guidance, inspiration, courage, among others. In the case study, Art establishes the need for effective communication and comes up with the safe to say program (Edmondson & Hajim, 2003). This is a transformational leadership style since it will change the attitudes of employees, managers, and the public. Besides, Art intends to increase the knowledge base of employees about the company – a cultural change. These efforts will be facilitated by the managers who direct, organize, control, and do the planning. Their leadership style is transactional since performance merits them rewards such as tips (Edmondson & Hajim, 2003).

Question Two

The first step in Lewin’s 3 Step Model of Change is Unfreezing. This entails a leader or managers creating awareness of how the current status quo may be hindering the success of an organization in some ways. For instance, Ryan found that the success of Prudential was hindered by the organization’s culture, which was product-oriented and did not foster effective communication (Edmondson & Hajim, 2003). The second step in the change model is Changing. In the case study, the executive and managers maneuver the organization change into a market-oriented organization and establish the Safe to Say culture through integrated initiatives (Edmondson & Hajim, 2003). The last step, Refreezing, is managed through strategic continuing efforts system and analysis of progress reports. It takes time to succeed in this step.

Question Three

Citing the Lewin’s Force Field Analysis, Prudential has the following driving forces: First, competition. Hillman explains that the company has lately faced fierce competition, necessitating a change (Edmondson & Hajim, 2003). Secondly, the economy. In 2002, the year was dominated by economic uncertainties. Thirdly, social conditions; the company had a bad image from the public. Fourthly, industry. For instance, the company is in a position to change from product-oriented to market-oriented. Lastly, the culture of Prudence is somewhat unstable, hence possible to reorganize. The resisting factors include the conflict between managers and employees, introduction of Art – a new leader, low satisfaction after Art lays off many employees, and enactment of a new vision, policies, culture. I would facilitate the Safe to Say program by creating a TOWS matrix, to come up with a model where the force of change outdoes the resisting factors. For instance, Art may educate the employees on the need for effective communication and organization structures to facilitate a smooth transition between former and new organizational cultures.

Question Four

Regarding the first step in cultural analysis, Prudential has an organizational climate that hinders effective communication. Some artefacts include online presence, online communication tools, communication protocols, offices, among others. One of the company values is that employees be comfortable speaking about work issues, and the mission is to ensure financial prosperity and peace of customers. Establishing the communication value is feasible using communication protocols and tools in the Safe to Say program. The company also work on its mission by changing from private to public, and from product-oriented to market-oriented. One of the shared ideas entailed that the company would create good products and customers would come to them, but this hindered progress due to increased competition.

Question Five

Organizational culture concerns the proper way to behave in an organization regarding the shared values and beliefs of the stakeholders. An organization’s climate is the perception of an individual in an organization, which illustrates life in that organization. For instance, when Art came into Prudential, the company was in crisis – everyone could barely work together (Edmondson & Hajim, 2003). After unfreezing the status quo, most managers and employees liked the proposed safe to say program and were willing to learn and improve. He says that in his executive meeting, many ideas were provided on many subjects (Edmondson & Hajim, 2003). Through the program, employees were ambitious to participate in the program. For instance, most voluntarily joined in the scheduled participatory sessions (Edmondson & Hajim, 2003).

Reference

Edmondson, A., & Hajim, C. (2003). Safe to Say at Prudential Financial. Retrieved 17 July 2020, from https://store.hbr.org/product/safe-to-say-at-prudential-financial/