IBM Managing Organisational Change and Innovation 31 Oct 2005

Managing Organisational Change and Innovation. IBM Lect 31 Oct 2005

i. Discuss how management might set about implementing strategic change in an organisation.

ii. Discuss the main problems that might occur and strategy to overcome.

Organisations are constantly undergoing change – be it planned or unplanned. those which can’t adapt to change will probably not survive. There’s 2 different types of changes, Planned change involving one’s organisation strategic decisions to improve / serving a better goods and services in the future (intended). Unplanned change may also involve making strategic decision, but these are decisions forced by particular circumstances rather than being the initiative of top managers.

The triggers of one’s management to having changes may be vary, but from generally speaking, there’s 2 forces. which is from External environment (PEST, politics, econs, social and tech), and Internal environment forces.

There’s 2 types of strategic changes. first one is incremental changes, and the second one is transformational changes. 2 types of reaction from management roles are, Proactive and Reactive. when there’s a change in a certain organisation, there will be a resistance who against or resist it. 2 types of resistance are Individual Resistance, and Organisational Resistance. why do people resist from a change? according to Woodward, 1968, resistance is actually a “natural” process that needs to be understood.

There are several theories that focus in overcoming resistance to change.

1. Kurt Lewin’s Force Field analysis. ( Used for transformational changes ) He indicates that there’s 2 forces in the field of change. one is Driving Forces (positive, forces that direct behaviour away from the status quo), and another one is Restraining Forces (Negative, which hinder movement from the existing equilibrium). restraining forces including: individual’s: self interest, lack of trust and understanding, uncertainty, organisational’s: limited resources, threats to power and influence, structure, etc.

To increase Restraining forces in its organisation, Kurt Lewin make an approach to managing organisational change: 3 Step Model of change. the first step is

a. Unfreezing: change efforts to overcome the pressures of both individual resistance and organisational resistance, change its attitudes, values, believes, behaviour. This is the initial stage for change. The effort for change is to overcome the resistance to change which could be individual / organisations. It involves gathering informations to determine the resistance to change. The gathering of information must be accurate otherwise wrong solution may be implemented and make the problem more serious than before.

b. Moving: changing towards new objectives, good leadership style is essential. This involves moving the behaviour of the employees from the status quo. an important step. effective leadership is essential to convice the workers of the need to move towards the new desired level.

c. Refreezing: accept changes, new values, changed attitude, adopt new believes and changed behaviour.

2. Cole’s Organisation Development. ( Used for incremental changes only ). This method ensures that the organisation employees have the right attitude to cope changes by using following steps:: sensitivity training, survey feedback, process consultation, team building, Action Research (including Diagnosis, Analysis, Feedback, Action, Evaluation). OD usually involves a third party to act as the change agent/behavioural science consultant. The manager’s role in organisational change is a very important one.

3. Kotter and Schelsinger’s 6 different approach: education and communication (time consuming), participation and involvement (time consuming), facilitation and support, negotiation and agreement, manipulation and co-optation, explicit and implicit coercion (used in crisis).

Organisations are likely to have 3 following stages, and each of stages need changes.

1. Founding and early growth. incremental change through evolution, insight, Innovation, promotion within the culture. (adidas’s impossible is nothing slogan, and microsoft’s windows.)

2. Midlife. change through systematic promotion from selected subcultures, planned change through Organisational Development, and technological development.

3. Maturity and decline. why company would like to decline? 1. because competition, high cost, PEST and etc. This is when an outsiders is required to examine, ( Rejuvenate, and revitalise using Action Research OD, Diagnosis, Analysis, Feedback, Action, and Evaluation.). and also, using Lewin’s Force field analysis. Unfreeze, Moving, and Refreeze 3steps model.

End Of the Story

eXeQzaLie

Read Full Post »

SOO cute!!! 

Read Full Post »

Pastamania.. ❤ 

Read Full Post »

The Concept of Risk and Return + Portfolio Mgt

The Concept of Risk and Return + Portfolio Mgt Corp. Finance Lect 27 Oct 2005

As an investor, they’re pursuing 2 types of return. one yield in the interest and dividend, and the other one is capital gain. e.g the price of stocks appreciated. (price of securities invested appreciated). So when we talk about return, we must to understand the concept behind it. under the certainty of framerwork of capital market, decision making is single-dimensional, the investments with higher return preferred. but in imperfect market (real world), decision making becomes 2 dimensional. risks vs returns. there’s a risk in every return. the greater the return, the bigger the risk. this is when a person’s decision must be made accordingly.

Concept of risks can be measured by statistical model of variance and standart deviation. the greater the variance or std deviation, the higher the risk. The total risk of investment contain 2 components, unsystematic risk plus systematic risk.

a. Unsystematic risk is also known as diversifiable or spesific risk or unique risk, or business risk. FYI: these risks CAN be diversified (eliminated). this risk will not give any return (will not compensated), also, a typical example of unsystematic risk is management waste, production waste.

b. Systematic risk is also known as non-diversifiable market or residual risk, or market risk. this risk CAN’T be eliminated because it does concern economy as a whole. for example, changes in interest rates , changes in oil price, etc. fyi, altough you can’t eliminate systematic, you’ll be rewarded (compensated) for undertaking the risk also.

Risk reduction can be achieved through portfolio diversification provided returns on securities in portfolio are Not highly positively related. Market as a whole is the “most diversified” portfolio with no specific risk (unsystematic risk is not available)

Basic concept of statistical tool::

1. Correlation :: relation between 2 things. there are 2 types of correlation, positively related or inversely related. the value given is minus one until plus one ( -1 indicates inversely related, vice versa).

2. Standart deviation :: provides a measure of the spread of the probability distribution. larger the std deviation, the greater the dispersion of the distribution. variance is std dev qu ping fang.

3. coefficient of variation :: provides us with a measure of the relative dispersion of a probability distribution. i.e risk per unit of return. Coefficient of variation : risk / unit per return. the final statement, example, “for every additional 1 unit of project b taken, you must to take 0.14 unit of risk. the smaller the risk the better it is.

A portfolio is a collection of different assets held by a given investor.

A rational investor when choosing between two investment will prefer the one with the lower coefficient of variation. i.e the lower risk per unit of return.

The objective of the study of portfolio management is to arrive at the statistical characteristics of the expected returns and return variances on the entire portfolio, given the statistical features on each of the constituent assets.

Total risk approach :: to calculate portfolio variance, need to consider NOT ONLY the individual security’s variances but also the respective covariances.. covariances can be positive or negative, depending on the correlation coefficient that measures the extent to which the returns of pairs of securities vary with one another.

The calculations of expected portfolio returns and variances reveal 2 main conclusion.

1. the variance of the portfolio return is lower than that on any individual component’s asset return.

for ex:: std dev project A + std dev project B must be GREATER than std dev project portfolio return. (stdA + stdB > stdPortfolio.) note that the expected return and portfolio variance lies BETWEEN the return of individual assets (big number times small number divided by 2 = between them). Investor witha portfolio of investments are more concerned with the risk and returns associated with their portfolio and NOT with individual asset.

2. Hence by forming bundles of assets, i.e diversification, risk can be ELIMINATED. (proved)

Read Full Post »

IBM Decision Making 24 Oct 2005

IBM Decision Making 24 Oct 2005

Disscuss the extent to which decision-making models can help a manager make complex decisions in a climate of uncertainty.

Decisions are made at all levels of the organisation, either by individuals or groups of individuals. There are a few models for decision making, depending on which situation does it concern.

The first model so called “Rational Model” this model is based on assumption that managers should be able to make logical decisions. also describes “how” the decision makers should make decisions. this model applies only for a certain criteria, more likely to occur in a stable environment of an organisation. the decision should be made by lower management level, supervisors. this decision is based on the rules and regulations, and also depends on what we called “SOP” , Standard Operating Procedure. also, this decision is considered as a rational choices by selecting the option that will bring wmost benefit / maximum economic return. hence the name “economic man model”. Disadvantage :: This so called rational model is actually not applicable in the real life situation. the assumption of a stable environment itself has a problem. in real world, nowadays we’re facing uncertainty and complex situations. and also, when a manager makes a decision, the information provided may not also fully complete.

The second model so called “Bounded Rationality / Satisficing model approach”. (Herbert Simon). This model states that an environment in an organisation may not stable, and also the information provided by its subordinates maybe uncomplete, so that a manager, has to make the decision “that will do”, (Satisficing Approach). not simply the best decision, but pls note that under these circumstances, the decisions may irrational, but based on this bounded conditions the decisions made become rational. Disadvantage :: this model can lead managers to make the easiest or first decision possible. it may also result in managers continually using old decisions and applying them to new situations, also, it limits opportunity for creativity and innovation.

Another rational method is called “Decision Theory”. Including, 1. Decision Tree, and 2. Game Theory. i guess i’ll discuss the game theory instead. ok.. So called game theory, this theoretical approaches relate to more specific situations and decisions, rather than applying generally to the process of decision making. (Neumann and Morgenstern 1947) The outcomes from this method comprise 2 output. a zero sum game, or a non – zero sum game, or we just call it positive sum game.

Game theory is a study of alternative strategies that oligopolist may choose to adopt, depending on their assumptions about their rival’s behaviour. in a zero sum game, or so we called non-cooperative game, one person wins what the other person losesw while achieving their individual goals. in this zero sum game gains and loses may be unequally distributed. the theory proposes several solutions.

1. “Maximin” the person will opt for the alternative that will maximize its minimum possible profit, in this case, cutting down the price. (the strategy of choosing the policy whose worst possible outcome is the least bad.)

2. “Maximax” the person will opt for the alternative that will maximize its possible profit. (the strategy of choosing the policy which has the best possible outcome).

Given that the 2 person are smart enough to think about this game, and lead to the same strategy, this is also known as a

3.”Dominant strategy game” (where the same policy is suggested by different strategies), they will both end up earning a lower profit than if they had charged the higher price. Thus collusion, rathen than a price war, would benefited both.

4. “Prisoner’s Dilemma” (When two or more firms (or people), by attempting independently to choose the best strategy for whatever the other(s) are likely to do, ,end up in a worse position than if they had co-operated in the first place.

The forth model is “Garbage Can Model” this decision is made by highest level management, recognises complexity and uncertainty of its environment. (Cohen, March and Olsen, 1972). this is particularly relevant to turbulent situation, and introduces the element of chance or randomness. The organisatoin is seen to contaion individuals, problems and possible solutions, but these are floating around separately. It is the job of the manager to bring the right ones together at the right time, and the results may involve RADICAL decisions and may be Less Rational.

Another type of decision making using statistical tool and mathematical calculations is Net Present Value method. (NPV discounted cashflow approach). and also, Break-even analysis. (TR-TC=0), break even.

Read Full Post »

a part of me 

Read Full Post »

Added new loop song..

Added ::

Title :: Warlock Terrorism movie OST.

Duration :: 56secs

Bitrate :: 60~80kbps

Size :: 549kb

Read Full Post »

IBM Motivation and Controlling 17 Oct 2005

a. Explain and assess the relative merits of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Hertzberg’s two factor model.
b. Briefly discuss how the role of a manager as a leader is related to their role as a motivator.

Ans : a. Merits about Maslow and Herbertz :: Both are content theory, answer the question about “what motivates people” as long as the basic needs are satisfied lower needs of Maslow (PS). And the hygiene needs of Hertzberg (SSWIC) which actually concentrates on Job context rather than the job content. Employees are likely to do their job. In the context theory those two theories are similar.

The differences probably at the job context level ( Maslow’s growth needs (SES)) and hertzberg’s motivators and similar in objectives. They relate to career development. The difference is in the applicability to career movement. Maslow is weak in this issue thought he does explain about SES. Herzberg’s is more convincing in his explanation for career advancement. Hence Herzberg’s theory is more sophisticated and is more compelling (convincing) compared to maslow.

Ans : b.by using RRAAW, leader has to use both formal and informal means of developments. Formal means: job solution, MBO, project, assignment, action learning (transfer to other departments or units to gain experience). Informal means, leader as a couch, mentor and counsel, to guide subordinates in the career. This leads to commitment in their jobs, and employees experience (OCB, organizational citizen behavior). Another approach related theory X and theory Y in their leader styles. Note theory X and Y can also related to blacke and mouton managerial grid. Concern for production : for the theory X, concern for people : for the theory Y worker. Or use paul Hershey, situational theory.

Management Control.

Ensuring that actual events conform to planned targets. Why is control in management important? Because we’re living in high degree of uncertainty, example a project is undertaken, control may be essential. The complexity of the operation/project also needs one of the reason why an organisation needs control. Control may also be essential due to the human limitation – that is the probability that mistakes would occur is high. (Air traffic control, cashier at the bank) etc.

When we’re talking about control, it is highly related to one of the previous topic of leadership style. Different occasion must need different style of leadership. Leadership also has somewhat relationship with power. And in order to effectively implement strategic change, the appropriate use of power and influence is therefore essential.

French and Ravens. Five bases of power. Coercive, Reward, Expert, Legitimate, and Referent.

Each power concludes to different actions of their employees. Coercive refers to the use of force to get things done. The response of the employees is more likely to having a resistance. Reward has the power to influence behavior by having the right to give reward. The response is employee’s compliance. Legitimate power means appointment a person may have. Expert power refers to specialist skill a person has. this also will result in commitment by employees. The last one is referent power, a power by informal relationship with higher authority. Power is affected by 5 other factors also, which is centrality (more information and central positions), critically (critical task done e.g marketing personnel), flexibility (discretion in decision making), visibility (which the task performance is seen by higher management), and relevance (positions closely related to important goals.)

The consequence of doing such power including 3, Commitment, the subordinate accepts and identifies with the leader (the result of expert and referent power). Compliance, the subs perceived as a duty or because a reward is expected, commitment and enthusiasm for the project is lacking. (the result of legitimate and reward power). And also Resistance, engage in series of tactics to defeat the leader’s efforts (the result by using coercive power).

Read Full Post »

this particular issue explains why am i getting richer and richer.. limited supply, huge demand, and of course, competitive price that i’m offerin to the market.. btw i’m hearing maxim’s exodus, also studying IS test for tomoro… gg 

Read Full Post »

what i meant by multitasking.. it contains several different subject, fishing stonescale eel, MSN chatting, prompt pinging, word disclaimer pasting, and browsing.. gg 

Read Full Post »