Inverting the Organisational Structure from Traditional to Employee First: a Case Study Analysis

Authors

  • Jessica Maree Turk The University of Newcastle

Keywords:

organisational structure, Power Distance, Groupthink, change management, Chain Network Communication, Abilene Paradox

Abstract

This paper evaluates a case study to demonstrate the impact that personality constructs and sociological phenomena have on business performance, focusing in particular on the sub-issues of chain communication networks, resistance of senior management to change, and illusions of unanimity preventing senior managers from voicing their concerns to their peers. The paper aims to analyse these sub-issues through the application of the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality, Hofstede’s cultural dimension of Power Distance, and the sociological theories of Groupthink, Chain Network Communication Model and the Abilene Paradox. This report provides several recommendations designed to prevent the occurrence of these issues in the future. Such recommendations include a leadership workshop designed to develop change management skills, the implementation of inviting frontline employees to senior management team meetings to promote opportunities for open and fluid communication in the workplace, and designating a devil’s advocate role in each Senior Management Team meeting.

References

Abatecola, G., Mandarelli, G., & Poggesi, S. (2013). The personality factor: how top management teams make decisions. A literature review. Journal of Management & Governance, 17(4), 1073-1100.

Bochner, S., & Hesketh, B. (1994). Power distance, individualism/collectivism, and job-related attitudes in a culturally diverse work group. Journal of cross-cultural psychology, 25(2), 233-257.

Carroll, T., & Burton, R. M. (2000). Organizations and complexity: Searching for the edge of chaos. Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory, 6(4), 319-337.

Cooper, C. L., & Pervin, L. A. (1998). Personality: Critical concepts in psychology (Vol. 4). Taylor & Francis US.

McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (2003). Personality in adulthood: A five-factor theory perspective. Guilford Press.

Ghosh, A. (2011). Power Distance in Organizational Contexts-A Review of Collectivist Cultures. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 89-101.

Harvey, J. B. (1988). The Abilene paradox: The management of agreement. Organizational Dynamics, 17(1), 17-43.

Hensley, T. R., & Griffin, G. W. (1986). Victims of Groupthink: The Kent State University Board of Trustees and the 1977 Gymnasium Controversy. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 30(3), 497-531.

Hofstede, G. (1993). Cultural constraints in management theories. The Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), 81-94.

Migliore, L. A. (2011). Relation between big five personality traits and Hofstede's cultural dimensions: Samples from the USA and India. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 18(1), 38-54.

Nayar, V. (2010). A Maverick CEO Explains How He Persuaded His Team to Leap into the Future. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org

Ramaswamy, V. (2009). Leading the transformation to co-creation of value. Strategy & Leadership, 37(2), 32-37.

Downloads

Published

2017-04-12

How to Cite

Turk, J. M. (2017). Inverting the Organisational Structure from Traditional to Employee First: a Case Study Analysis. Newcastle Business School Student Journal, 1(1), 62–67. Retrieved from https://novaojs.newcastle.edu.au/uonsbj/index.php/uonsbj/article/view/3

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Case Study

License

Copyright for all material published in the Newcastle Busness School Student Journal resides with the Author.

Readers ofthe Newcastle Business School Student Journal may, however, save and/or print any files from the Journal for their personal use, as long as no alterations are made to the material and any subsequent citation is properly acknowledged. For any other use/reproduction of material (e.g. for course materials), express prior permission must be obtained from the Journal's editorial board.

Authors are welcome to re-use/reprint their work elsewhere, as long as such publication includes due acknowledgement of the work's prior appearance in the Newcastle Business School Student Journal.

Authors are individually responsible for obtaining any necessary copyright permissions for images, photos or other materials reproduced in their articles and for including any required credits. Copyright clearance for their use must be lodged with the Journal if a submission is accepted for publication.