ARE 112 – Summer 2016 Class Notes #3 – Organizational Structures #2 and Conflicts and Systems
I. Class Notes
1.
Groups
2.
Babe the film next week – Monday
3.
Assignments
4.
The Young Woman Case – See Comment Notes #2
II. A Quick Review
III. Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Conflict Resolution: “The removal of the substantial and emotional reasons for the conflict”
A. Types of conflicts
1.
Substantive - outcomes
2.
Emotional or relationship – the way people work together
3.
Functional – something can be achieved to help task performance –
generally has a focus on “how” and “when” the outcome will be achieved
and not on the outcome itself.
4.
Dysfunctional – hurts task performance – generally has to do with the
inability of the parties to resolve the conflict such as not listening to each
other.
5.
The nature of a conflict: Example – See Notes #3a – John Gottman’s four horsemen of the
apocalyptic conflict.
a.
Criticism “involves attacking someone’s personality or character—rather than
a specific behavior—usually with blame”. Gottman says this OK but not
recommended,
b.
Contempt is the intention to purposely insult – this is a reflection of one’s
personal feelings about the criticisms.
c.
Defensiveness is when one party see themselves as the victim, which leads to
making excuses.
d.
Withdrawal or stonewalling. This final horseman is considered the most
dangerous of all because an individual begins to withdrawal from the conflict
itself, avoiding it at all costs.
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ARE 112 – Summer 2016 Class Notes #3 – Organizational Structures #2 and Conflicts and Systems
B. Causes or antecedent conditions – not the conflicts themselves
1.
Role ambiguities and expectation gaps
2.
Task interdependencies and need to rely on others to get the work done
3.
Competing objectives and resource scarcities
4.
Structural differences and incompatible approaches to work
5.
Unresolved prior conflicts
6.
And more recently from CFG – cross-functional groups
7.
Move from the vertical organization to the horizontal organization
IV. Conflict Resolution
A. Types of conflict resolution
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Avoidance
Accommodation
Authoritative command
Compromise
Consensus or collaborative problem solving
B. Sometimes accomplished with “structural approach” rather than a people approach
like separate work areas or more resources – this is sometimes called “conflict
elimination” rather than “conflict resolution.”
C. Mechanisms for conflict resolution but not the resolution itself
1.
Negotiations
2.
Mediation
3.
Arbitration
D. Resolution process in a “Getting to Yes” world – See Notes #3b
1.
2.
Rules
a.
Separate the people from the problem
b.
Focus on the interest not the positions
c.
Generate alternatives before deciding what to do
d.
Results are based on some objective standards
BATNA: best alternative to a negotiated agreement: sets the barging zone
a.
Needs to be real and actionable
b.
It is your best outcome of the negotiation if all else fail
c.
Not the “walk-away” point or the “reservation point”
d.
A form of game theory
E. Conflict resolution and The Goal: fact based and goal oriented example in the match stick
experiment
1.
Statistical fluctuations – what are they?
a.
b.
Found in processes
Occur on a random basis
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ARE 112 – Summer 2016 Class Notes #3 – Organizational Structures #2 and Conflicts and Systems
2.
How do they accumulate
a. They do not have a property of “offset” like win-loss in a coin toss
b. Once there is a “loss” it cannot be “made up.”
c. So from the Theory of Constraints, once the “drum” or the constraint falls
below full utilization the loss is permanent.
d. They are visible and measureable
V. Statistical Process Control – An Example of Fact Based Analysis Management Tool
Example from TQM – Total Quality Management: Six Sigma’s and Statistical Process
Control:
“A six sigma process is one in which 99.99966% of the products manufactured are
statistically expected to be free of defects (3.4 defects per million). Motorola set a goal
of "six sigma" for all of its manufacturing operations, and this goal became a byword for
the management and engineering practices used to achieve it.”
1.
2.
3.
Customer specification limits and process
design
a. Process control
b. Upper control limit
c. Lower control limit
Positives:
a. Quality increases
b. Process efficiency increases
Negatives
a. Rewards the status quo in terms of
products
b. Does not foster creativity but only
innovation – that difference will be
discussed later
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4.
Who uses it? Food processors, banks, hospitals, manufacturers – those organizations
that rely on processes to produces outputs
5.
Implications for the organization:
a. Edward Deming and the quality movement
b. The red-bead experiment
c. Classical approach but more process design than job design
d. https://www.deming.org/theman/theories/redbeadexperiment
Note: Why is this example important – Because it shows how facts can be used to develop the
correct beliefs about a business process. We think the process is performing correctly but the facts
will validate the performance. So drives us to a fact-based conflict resolution process.
VI. Back to Management Science School of Management: Some Comments:
Domain Analysis or the Sociotechnical Systems Approach (STS) - an example of the systems
approach: “In the middle of the 20th century some of the optimistic predictions of the impact of
technology on business efficiency and productivity were being confounded. There were many examples
of the introduction of technology being associated with implementation problems often linked to
resistance by the work force and a failure to achieve the expected benefits.”
Researchers, notably at the Tavistock Institute in London, with a background in the behavioral sciences
(Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology) suggested that what was needed was a fit between the technical
subsystem and the social subsystem1 which together made up an organization.
1
This social subsystem was the contribution of the behavioral school of management which did not yet see the impact of
technology such as data processing, automation, or industrial engineering.
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 The technical subsystem comprises the devices, tools and techniques needed to transform inputs
into outputs in a way which enhances the economic performance of the organization.
 The social subsystem comprises the employees (at all levels) and the knowledge, skills, attitudes,
values and needs they bring to the work environment as well as the reward system and authority
structures that exist in the organization.
 Later some authorities broadened the definitions to encompass the wider reach of the organization
by including customers, suppliers, and the rules and regulations, formal and informal, which
govern the relations of the organization to society at large. This became known as the
environmental subsystem.
 Finally, you might recall from the Williamson interview is comments about his academic
background at Carnegie Mellon that while focused on economics benefited from the
interdisciplinary approaches at the university that had a particular appreciation for the behavioral
sciences.
The cornerstone of the sociotechnical approach, as the
work of these researchers became named, was:
1. That the fit was achieved by a design process
aiming at the joint optimization of the
subsystems.
2. Any organizational systems will maximize
performance only if the interdependency of
these subsystems is explicitly recognized.
3. Hence any design or redesign must seek out the
impact each subsystem has on the other and
design must aim to achieve superior results by
ensuring that all the subsystems are working in
harmony.
4. In a sense, this is the application of the theory
of constraints to the organizational architecture
One way to do this is to go back to the domains: Here are the classic domains or subsystem used of
organizational analysis seen on the next page. They are not the same as the subsystems in the
organization such as manufacturing, finance, or marketing. Each one of those will have all or at least
parts of the STS.
Example: One of the earliest applications of the sociotechnical systems concept was in British coal
mining. The traditional "short wall" method utilized small, cohesive work groups working as autonomous
teams. Technological advances by engineering efficiency experts determined that the short wall method
was inefficient, and introduced an improved technical system termed the "long wall" method. See Notes
#3c.
Unfortunately, the long wall method resulted in lower performance and higher absenteeism.
Production decreased because they had failed to consider the impact of the changes on the
psychosocial or cultural system.
Researchers found, as a result of reintroducing a team approach and providing team pay incentives,
that productivity and morale improved substantially. This was different from the Hawthorn
experiments where no new technology was introduced. There, just the work setting was changed. It
is a subtle difference, but an important difference.
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ARE 112 – Summer 2016 Class Notes #3 – Organizational Structures #2 and Conflicts and Systems
The structural subsystem. This includes the formal design, policies, and procedures, and so on of the
organization or the system. It is usually set forth by the organization chart and includes division of work
and patterns of authority.
The technical subsystem. This includes the primary functions, activities, and operations, including the
techniques, equipment, and so on, used to produce the output of the system including the administrative
output of the system or organization such as payroll and reports.
The psychosocial subsystem (culture).
This includes the network of social relationships and behavioral patterns of members, such as norms,
roles, and communications. This system includes both formal and informal processes.
The goals and values subsystem. This includes the basic mission and vision of the organization. Such
goals might include profits, growth, or survival and are often taken from the larger environment in which
the organization or system operates.
The managerial subsystem. This subsystem spans the entire organization by directing, organizing, and
coordinating all activities toward the basic mission. The managerial function is important in integrating
the activities of the other subsystems.
The environmental system, not subsystem. This is the setting(s) in which the organizations exists such
as the governmental setting, market setting, or geographic setting. One important aspect of the
environmental setting is that is can set boundaries to behavior as well as force specific behaviors within
those boundaries.
So the diagnostic process in organizational behavior analysis can get complicated.
VII. Consultant Style Exercise
VIII.
Group Dynamics – Some Terms
1.
Social Facilitation:
Do you think you act differently when alone than when other people are around? The answer to
this question is typically a resounding 'yes.' We are concerned with our social image or how other
people see us; some more than others, but very few people see no difference in their behavior.
Let us start with one of the most simple theory related to organizational psychology. When alone,
we tend to be more relaxed, less concerned with the outward expression of our behavior, and are
basically “ourselves.” Add just one other person, even if we don't know that person, our behavior
tends to change, and not always for the better. Research has found that when others are present,
our level of arousal is increased. In other words, we are suddenly more aware of what's going on
around us. Because of this, we tend to perform better at tasks that are well learned or
simple. When completing a difficult or new task, however, our performance level decreases and
we tend to do more poorly.
This phenomenon is called Social Facilitation, and as we try harder due to the presence of others,
our performance actually decreases for difficult or unlearned tasks. Think about learning to play
basketball for the first time. If you are alone, you will likely be more relaxed, and better able to
concentrate. When others are watching you, however, you are more likely to be self-conscious,
and therefore make more mistakes. Professional basketball players, however, because the task is
so well learned, perform better when others are watching and they are able demonstrate their
confidence and ability.
Why is this an important point in organizational behavior?
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2.
Group Think
If you've ever been involved in a group decision making process, you've probably seen one of two
things happen: either the group agrees on all of the major issues, or there is significant dissent
that splits the group. If the group is cohesive; if they agree on most issues, they tend to stifle
dissent because group harmony is the anticipated outcome. When we all agree, and are happy
with that agreement, we typically do not want to hear opposing arguments. This phenomenon is
referred to as Group Think. It can lead to impulsive decisions and a failure to identify and/or
consider all sides of an argument.
Did you see this in The Goal?
3.
Group Polarization
Similar to this, Group Polarization refers to a group tendency to talk itself into extreme
positions. In this case, a group gets so focused and energized about a decision that it creates an
internal fuel, so to speak, which pushes itself forward faster than originally intended. Imagine a
group of protesters, all agreeing and deciding to picket. You can see how this could get out of
hand because opposing views (Group Think) are not considered and the push to move forward for
the cause is fueled internally (Group Polarization). The difference between group think and group
polarization is the movement an extreme position.
4. Social Loafing
Another phenomenon that occurs in groups is referred to as Social Loafing. This theory states
that as a group gets larger, the individual contribution decreases disproportionate to the group
size. This is due to the diffusion of responsibility created as the size of the group
increases. Imagine being assigned a project to complete by yourself. Most likely you would
complete 100% of it. Now if two people are involved, the percentage will typically not be
50/50. As more people are added to the group, you will end up with a small percentage doing a
large portion of the work and a large percentage doing a much smaller proportion. The economic
term for this is free-rider.
This is a risk of working in groups and should be addressed at the “norming” stage.
5. Self-Referencing Group
This is similar to group think but is not quite the same. In a Self-Referencing Group, the group
members reference themselves not by outside measures but by the standards or norms of the
group. So a group of back packers may think they are challenging the outdoors by referencing
each other as a standard and while maybe mountain climbers are doing a more challenging event.
A difference between group think and the self-referencing group is that the self-referencing group
is a broader validation of who they are and what they do and not limited to a particular situation
as we see in group think
6.
Fundamental Attribution Error
a. Two types:
i. Disposition or personality
ii. Situation in explaining social behavior.
b. Do the fundamental attribution error exercise on SmartSite after you read the explanation of the
error in the course pack. Submit on SmartSite.
c. Again we want to see the importance of “fact based analysis.”
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