Implications of National Culture on Acceptance of Organizational Change
Added on 2021-04-21
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Implications of National Culture on Acceptance of Organizational changeNameSubjectDate
LAST NAME 2Organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in the firm insuch a way as to minimize resistance from the workers and cost of change administration, whileat the same time maximizing on the changing effectiveness. In organizational change, power isused by the top managers, CEO, consultants, employees and other stakeholders who manage andinfluence the whole process of change1. National culture dramatically influences poweracceptance among different states, for example, some national cultures do not allow women andyouths to rise to top-level positions at the workplace. This essay seeks to explore the belief thatnational culture dictates the use and acceptance of power in organizational change programsthrough a comparative application of Hofstede’s cultural dimension to Australia and Singapore.The essay will be organized in five sections- the sources of power as discussed by French andRaven, the positive and negative aspects of power use in change programs, the Hofstede'scultural dimensions and a comparison of the power-related elements of Hofstede's dimensionsbetween Singapore and Australia. The last part of this essay is a general conclusion highlightingall the significant aspects discussed. However, the essay has not covered the dimensions ofchange highlighted by other scholars apart from Geert Hofstede.Different personalities require power and influence to administer organizational change.As evaluated by French and Raven, there are five sources of power- coercive, legitimate,referent, reward and expert power. First, Legitimate power is derived from the position a personowns in a firm’s hierarchy2. For example, in a job description that requires junior workers to1Pierro, Antonio, Bertram H. Raven, Clara Amato, and Jocelyn J. Bélanger. "Bases of Social Power, LeadershipStyles, and Organizational Commitment." International Journal of Psychology 48, No. 6 (2013): 1122-1134.2Fleming, Peter, and André Spicer. "Power in Management and Organization Science." The Academy ofManagement Annals 8, No. 1 (2014): 237-298.
LAST NAME 3report to the manager, the manager has the power to assign duties to the junior managers. Secondis the expert power which is earned through possessing some unique skills or expertise in aspecific field in the organization3. People with expert power form the backbone of everyorganization and may be consulted from time to time regarding strategies that relate to aparticular department such as the accounting department, finance, and production departments.The third is referent power which arises from charisma, whereby a person is admired by otherpeople. Another source of power is the coercive power which is earned from an individual’sability to influence his subjects or juniors by using threats and punishment4. The last source ofpower is reward power, which is the ability of a person to influence others using material andnonmaterial rewards like positive appraisals and salary increments among other rewards.The managers must use the power positively bestowed on them to formulate change inthe organization. Positive power in an enterprise entails encouraging commitment andproductivity5. This involves giving the workers the power to make decisions, appointing workerswho perform well to supervise other employees and rewarding workers for good performance.Positive use of power also means that people gain power through communication and respect andnot through coercive efforts. When power is used appropriately in an organization, it may3Jacobs, G., Van Witteloostuijn, A., & Christe-Zeyse, J. (2013). A Theoretical Framework for OrganizationalChange. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 26(5), 772-792.4Sturm, Rachel E., and John Antonakis. "Interpersonal Power: A Review, Critique, and Research Agenda." Journalof Management 41, No. 1 (2015): 136-163.5Geppert, Mike, Florian Becker-Ritterspach, and Ram Mudambi. "Politics and Power in Multinational Companies:Integrating the International Business and Organization Studies Perspectives." Organization Studies 37, No. 9(2016): 1209-1225.
LAST NAME 4prevent the chances of occurrence of any barriers to change such as employees opposing changesince they were not involved in the change process6. It ensures that all the employees' decisionsare incorporated in the process of formulating business strategies. When the employees feel likepart of the organization, they tend to be motivated hence leading to high employee retention rate.Employees are also given the power to express their concerns and feelings about specificstrategies freely. This makes the policymakers to make informed decisions which are fullysupported by all the workers. Conversely, if power is not used well by the managers, then it mayhave negative impacts on the organization. When the leaders in the firm do not have the respectof the workers under them, then they are said to have negative power7. In this case, the managermotivates employees to carry on their duties by threatening them with punishments and job lossor favors some employees rather than recognizing the excellent work of all the workers. Whenthe worker's opinions are not incorporated when making major strategic decisions in the firm,they may impose barriers to strategic change, by acting against the change8. They may alsobecome demoralized and leave the firm leading to high turnover rates in the firm. When theemployees impose barriers to an expected change, then this may lead to strategic failure.6Minkov, Michael, Vesselin Blagoev, and Geert Hofstede. "The Boundaries of Culture: Do Questions aboutSocietal Norms Reveal Cultural Differences?" Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 44, No. 7 (2013): 1094-1106.7Ganescu, Cristina, Andreea Gangone, and Mihaela Asandei. "Assessing the Impact of the National CulturalFramework on Responsible Corporate Behaviour towards Consumers: An Application of Geert Hofstede's CulturalModel." Amfiteatru Economic 16, No. 35 (2014): 351.8Matusitz, Jonathan, and George Musambira. "Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Technology: AnalyzingHofstede's Dimensions and Human Development Indicators." Journal of Technology in Human Services 31, No. 1(2013): 42-60.
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