Course: Organizational Change Week 6 Overview Organizational human resources exercises a potent form of control over the interactions of organizational members with each other and with outsiders

Course: Organizational Change

Week 6 Overview 

Organizational human resources exercises a potent form of control over the interactions of organizational members with each other and with outsiders through values, norms, and rules. Human resources can be a tool used by organizational members to help handle organization change and resulting stress. Human resources works hand-in-hand with organizational culture, which s a set of shared values that provide organizational members with a common understanding of how they should act in a situation. There are two kinds of organizational values: terminal (a desired end state or outcome) and instrumental (a desired mode of behavior). Ideally, organizational culture affects organizational effectiveness because it can: (a) provide an organization with a competitive advantage, (b) improve the way an organizational structure works, and (c) increase the motivation of employees to pursue organizational interests.

Week 6 Objectives 

Upon successful completion of the week, you will be able to:

• Differentiate between values and norms; understand the way culture is shared by an organization’s members, and why organizations have different types of culture.
• Describe how individuals learn culture both formally (that is, the way an organization intends them to learn it) and informally (that is, by seeing what goes on in the organization).
• Identify the four building blocks or foundations of an human resource interventions.
• Understand how an organization’s human resources, like its structure, can be designed or managed.
• Discuss an important outcome of an organization’s human resources.

Week 6 Discussion 

Managing Stress 

At this point in your MBA program, you are unquestionably familiar with the stressors associated with graduate-level academic achievement.  Most of you juggle demands in multiple sectors of your lives—e.g., school, work, and/or family.   Before you begin your discussion for this week, take a minute to give yourself credit for everything you are accomplishing. 

Let’s shift to stress in the workplace. 

1. What is the most stressful aspect of the work you currently do or work you did in a former job?
2. How could leaders support employees who are experiencing similar stressors?
3. You may want to conduct brief research on this topic and bring some ideas from your search into this week’s discussion.  Remember to include references.

Back up all opinions with the readings and outside research in academic journals at the KU online library.

• 250 word minimum for initial post
• Include at least two references
• Respond to  two learner's initial post.

KU online library:  https://keiseruniversity.libguides.com/home/home?preview=afb5d66ab3b853fa361847ea7dfda322

Reference requirements:

2020-2023 (Peer Review)

APA format 

Student reply 1:

1. What is the most stressful aspect of the work you currently do or work you did in a former job?

A work environment can be a stressful place, and it can be made worse when personal differences begin to develop between employees. Of the major causes of workplace conflict, personal relationships can be particularly counterproductive, because problems may be generated both at home or in the office. 

I used to work in a manufacturing company that began its operations 43 years ago. They manufacture plastic sheeting, can liners and plastic bags made of polyethylene. The main industries they serve are: beverage & food, building supplies, industrial supplies, textile, agriculture, bedding & furniture. 

My job position was to search for bids, fill out and submit the proposals or bids, prepare price quotes for the customers, answering phone calls, resolve customers' complaints, register orders from customers in a Data Entry that the company has, track orders for the customers, send bag samples to our customers so that they could test the thickness and quality of the bag and other administrative duties. 

Customer complaint plays a large role in an organization; this is because through a complaint an organization realizes that there is a problem in its internal process. When a customer complains it means that there might be a problem in the employees within the organization. The organization can acquire valuable information from the complains of the customers.  

The most stressful aspect of the work was trying to resolve customers' complaints when the bags were not received on the estimated delivery date. I had to call one of the operators of the plants that were manufacturing the bags to figure out why the bags were delayed and provide a reasonable explanation to the customers to have a better understanding. 

Customer Complaints Improve and Strengthen the Relationship between Customer and Organization

Complaints make the clients to feel that the organization thinks about them. The positive part of a dissension is that it can enhance faithfulness between a client and the organization. This is on account of when the protestation has been understood, it is simple for the administration to feel fulfilled by how they are dealt with. This can help them to manage the difficulties that happen in the organization and help in taking care of the issues that may develop inside the organization (Yilmaz, Varnali & Kasnakoglu, 2016).A well-handled complaint assures the customer know that the business thinks about them. This would likely make them to return later on.

When an organization solves a customer’s complaint quickly, the customer will be motivated to come back and might end up being a loyal customer and can even become a brand ambassador in some cases (Knox & Van Oest, 2014). This is because when the organization acts on these complaints, the customer will know that his/her views are being listened to.  The organization is also able to offer the best quality products and services to its customers. Prior to receiving the complaints and acting on a timely manner to resolve the problem, the organization will strengthen its’ believes in the costumers products and services.

It is important for the organization to provide friendly and helpful assurance to the customer that his/her complaint is being attended to.  Through emphatic expression in the right tone and a sincere way without admitting to faults, the complainant’s customer will feel that the organization has him/her in their best interest. This will make the client feel that their complaints are given first priority which will in turn make them develop a positive relationship with the organization (Yilmaz, Varnali & Kasnakoglu, 2016). When a problem is solved as soon as possible, the person tasked with the issue should try and analyze facts from the organization and complainants, when coming up with the final response, there is need to make sure that it is fair, proportional and appropriate. When a complaint is addressed in a timely manner by the organization, the customer will feel that the company values their patronage. The organization is therefore recognized as one that cares and values its customers. By doing this the relationship between the customers and the organization is strengthened. There is a need for the company to check on its customers occasionally, this will help in creating a positive relationship between the organization and the complainant.

2. How could leaders support employees who are experiencing similar stressors?

Maurer (2002) stated that stress-induced illnesses are prevalent in the workplace today, and stress is the problem of the sufferer and the employer. Stress causes absenteeism and can lead to other problems such as drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, and poor job performance. Schorr (2001), a stress-management consultant, stated that stress causes problems in the workplace which negatively affect employee health and organizational productivity. Leaders could support employees who are experiencing similar stressors by:

1. Offering various stress reduction programs to help employees manage stress because stress is prevalent in the workplace.
2. Conducting a survey of the programs they already offer to discover which programs are the most effective for managing their employees' stress.
3. Employess sharing their ideas for managing stress with their leaders to help their leaders implement appropiate stress reduction programs.
4. Incorporating educators into their business curriculum discussions of stress in the workplace and ways to manage stress.
5. Researching other areas that are affecting negatively the employee's life by stress. In addition, other factors should be examined to learn what the personal and work-related causes and symptoms of stress are for an individual.

References 

Maurer, Marcia K. "Is Stress Running Your Life?" Modern Office Innovation, February 2002, 27–28.

Knox, G., & Van Oest, R. (2014). Customer complaints and recovery effectiveness: A customer base approach. Journal of Marketing, 78(5), 42-57.

 Schorr, Leslie. "Coping with Stress, Boosting Productivity." Employment News, Spring 2001, 23–26.

Yilmaz, C., Varnali, K., & Kasnakoglu, B. T. (2016). How do firms benefit from customer complaints?. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 944-955.

Student reply 2:

Good morning, Professor and Class,

Stresses are normal in our daily lives and professions. I have encountered many stressors in the workplace. However, the most stressful aspect that stands out is when I do an assignment without clear instructions and expectations. Clarity is a critical aspect of meeting expectations and avoiding miscommunications. I like to do assignments with clear instructions and expectations for a quality job. Besides unclear expectations and instructions, I was unprepared and untrained for the project. As a result, this confused me about where to start or end. The time was also on my side, increasing the pressure to deliver. I like completing tasks within the schedule in my professional and personal life. Hence, I felt overwhelmed when I could not beat the deadline. From my experience, I feel that no person should undergo the similar experience I underwent.

Leaders should embrace a supportive leadership style to help employees overcome stressors they encounter in their daily lives. By training and preparing the team, a leader can support employees experiencing similar stressors, including unmanageable tasks, inability to hit deadlines, and unclear expectations (Wang et al., 2020). Before an assignment or project begins, a leader should ensure that team members are adequately trained and equipped with vital skills to tackle difficult and complex aspects. If I had been trained to perform the task, I would not have spent too much time doing the work. Training also ensures that the team members are confident in their work (Rodriguez & Walters, 2017). Lack of confidence increases stress and undermines work quality. Another way to empower staff is to clarify expectations and instructions. Clear instructions and expectations eliminate room for ambiguity or miscommunication (Panigrahi, 2016). The next method to support the staff is to consider and respond to employee’s emotional concerns. For example, a leader could consider reassigning the job to another person if the team member initially assigned the job cannot perform the work (Panigrahi, 2016). Reassigning can make the stressed employee feel relieved.

Stress is among the major obstacles to quality of life and job satisfaction. Employees encounter various stressors in their work, hurting their quality of life and productivity (Chen et al., 2022). Leaders can relieve stress among the employees by providing work-life balance and flexible working arrangements. In addition, leaders can have occupational counselors to help employees navigate challenging work environments (Panigrahi, 2016). Therefore, this exposes the importance of managing stress among employees to sustain their quality of life and foster productivity.

References:

Chen, B., Wang, L., Li, B., & Liu, W. (2022). Work stress, mental health, and employee performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1006580.

Panigrahi, C. M. A. (2016). Managing stress at the workplace. Journal of Management Research and Analysis, 3(4), 154-160.

Rodriguez, J., & Walters, K. (2017). The importance of training and development in employee performance and evaluation. World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 3(10), 206-212. 

Wang, Z., Zaman, S., Rasool, S. F., Zaman, Q. U., & Amin, A. (2020). Exploring the relationships between a toxic workplace environment, workplace stress, and project success with the moderating effect of organizational support: Empirical evidence from Pakistan. Risk management and healthcare policy, 1055-1067.