Organization Behaviour: Challenges and Solutions in a Law Firm's Move to an Open Plan Office

This article discusses the challenges faced by a law firm in moving to an open plan office and provides solutions to overcome them. It also explores the sources of power and influencing strategies used by the partners and employees.

Running Head: ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR
Organization behavior September 24
2018

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR 1
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Organization behaviour..............................................................................................................2
Reasons of employees’ resistance to move in open plan office.............................................2
Possible moves of partners to minimise the resistance..........................................................3
Barriers to the communication (noise) in law firm................................................................4
Possible solution to the barriers of communication...............................................................4
Source of power for partners and their impact.......................................................................5
Influencing strategies or tactics used by the partners and employees....................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR 2
Introduction
In the globalizing world, organizations are adapting new strategies and culture to make their
business environment work effective. Organizations are making several changes into their
work place to create a more effective as well as more efficient workplace. In this order a law
firm started by Owen Cheetham and Jack Wynne, is moving to a new open plan office. In this
change the firm has so many challenges to be faced from the employees’ end. Below
discussion is all about the employee end reasons for the change and their effective solutions
that the firm can adopt.
Organization behaviour
Reasons of employees’ resistance to move in open plan office
Few months after both the junior partners started observing the employees’ reaction to their
new open plan office shift. There were many who were resisting the new open plan office
while at the same time there were people welcoming the new change in their office layout.
People were resisting the new change mostly because of their personal life issues. Only a few
among the people resisting this change were complaining professional issues. In the very
begging, senior partners were the first complaining about their new office demanding for a
separate space for them. They were opposing only their mixing with the other staff members.
After their shift to the separate enclosed corner office, they started observing people and
found so many fake people talking good in public for the new change but complaining in the
private conversations. Owen claimed that he found two people complaining about the new
office and saying that they cannot make private conversations with their relationship partners
in the new office. They were complaining that it is not safe or private to talk with their
boyfriends in the new space. Along with such examples that the two senior partners found in
the firm there was many more reason because of that people were resisting the move to a new
open-plan office. Some of the reasons both the partners identified for the resistance they
faced are as following:
 Lack of private space provided to the employees
 Lack of communication between colleagues at the workplace or less interaction
 Interference in employees personal stuff like online surfing and others
 Less connectivity the nearby market

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR 3
 The expensive market around the new office
 Privacy concerns while discussing private conversations with clients
 Difficulties in online bookings of conference rooms for client meetings
Along with the above reasons both the senior partners thought that Cathy and Mark have just
encouraged the employees to chat and loaf only. According to seniors law is a serious
business and there is no need for such things.
Possible moves of partners to minimise the resistance
Cheetham and Wynne, the law firm, can resolve its challenges that the firm is facing due to
the change they got in the form of their new open plan office opposite to the Harbour. They
have identified several problems or challenges associated with this new office but these can
be resolved with some extra efforts (Lastoe, 2018).
Lack of private space: Firm executive found that people are resisting this move to the new
office because they have a feeling of lack of private space for their family calls. For this, the
young executive can provide a separate private space, especially for personal use. A place can
be provided where; people can talk to their beloveds and make personal conversations. This
will make employees feel more comfortable to handle their personal life in this new open-
plan office. In this space only people talking with their families will visit to make their
personal conversations.
Privacy concerns while making private conversations with clients: To resolve this issue
firm can alternative private conference rooms to make conversations with clients. Although
the firm is providing the facility of online booking for meeting rooms, daily conversation
with clients about their personal information, they can provide 2-3 conference rooms where
employees can talk with their clients openly about their personal life stuff also. This will also
resolve the problem that the employees are facing in online booking of conference rooms.
Less connectivity and expensive market: Since this is very tough for the firm to relocate
the market or its office as per their requirements another location, it is better to avail basic
facilities similar to a café at their office itself (Wellman, et al., 2016). This will take only a
few efforts in allocating the tender for the work. Once they gave this tender to some
restaurant owner-employees can get what they want in their office only.

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR 4
Barriers to the communication (noise) in law firm
Barriers to the communication: In the law firm employees are facing problems related to
the noise. People feel disturbed when the other one is talking to doing some other work
making a noise. This is a serious concern for the partners to be considered at top priority as
their firm’s business is dealing with law and regulation which requires concentration while
studying every case. Noise in law firms is not to be tolerated at any cost. There are factors
affecting the professional communication of employees due to the excess amount of noise
they are getting from a different source (Lam, et al., 2015). Some, of the noise creating
sources, are ass following:
Lack of communication ease with clients: Employees are facing a serious problem while
making a professional communication with their clients. During a client meeting, lawyers
discuss some personal information and this communication must be very serious to
understand all that the client is talking about. Therefore, noise in the new open-plan office is
creating a barrier to their professional communication.
Personal Chats: In the office, people have different tasks and do different activities. Due to
this at the same time, some employees have enough time for chatting while others have to do
their serious business. Sometimes this personal talk can be a barrier to the person sitting next
to them and doing a serious work.
Focus: In the law firm, communication needs focus while making a conversation. Noise
created by personal talks in the new office is also a significant barrier to the professional
communication that the employees need to make while dealing with their cases.
Possible solution to the barriers of communication
Above discussed noise barriers to effective communication have to be overcome to make
their work more effective and efficient as well. In law firms, people have to analyze their
cases deeply and with more concentration (Al Horr, et al, 2016). And noise creating barriers
to the communications is a very big issue for the firm. In order to overcome these barriers
firm management has to take some serious issues (Landrum, 2016). In the given case scenario
the identified barriers to an effective communication can be resolved with little efforts. Mark
and Cathy can do the following to resolve the noise barriers to the communication process.

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR 5
Buy noise-cancelling earphones: Focus being the serious concern of employees has to be
resolve at first priority. To stay focused on their job and not to feel disturbed employees can
use noise-cancelling earphones. Today, in the market there is a variety of such products.
Mark and Cathy being the firm executives can purchase such stuff for their employees or can
ask employees to purchase for themselves. With the help of such little efforts employees can
stay focused to their individual jobs without getting disturbed from other.
Switch locations: In the process of overcoming the noise barriers in effective communication
switch location can be a solution. Switch location is the facilities provided to make personal
discussions over phones or in person with colleagues in separate locations. These may be a
separate enclosed room or space provided away from the working environment. In this
facility, people are allowed to make moves to these locations to make their personal
conversations (Haynes, et al., 2017). This will reduce the effect of noise on serious work
people doing at the same time.
Client meeting spaces: Partners can provide a separate space for employees to attain client
meeting in personal space. For this purpose, space like conference rooms can be used but is
there is a high frequency of client meetings and conference meeting as well, a separate space,
especially for client meetings, can be provided overcome the disturbance due to their
discussion to other employees.
Source of power for partners and their impact
Power is the tool used by managers and leaders in an organization on a daily basis moreover,
organizations would not get any existence without power relations. In order to have things
done leaders need to influence others to do so. This power may vary from position to position
and organization to organization. There may be different sources of power in an organization
for different people. In the given case scenario of the Cheetham and Wynne law firm main
source of power to the different individuals are:
 Legitimate power
 Expert power
In the firm, Cathy and Mark are using both the power sources in this case.
Legitimate power: This comes with the position. As the name suggests this is the power that
a person holds because of his/her position in the organization. This power is most to the top

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR 6
leaders in the organization. As the position lowers in the organization impact of the power
also reduces. For example, a manager leading a team has some responsibilities and also an
authority to delegate his/her subordinates as well as review the work done by his/her team
members. They are also liable to give their feedback to individual employees working in their
team.
Expert power: As the name suggests, this power comes from the knowledge and expertise
that the employee possesses. In today’s world knowledge is the wealth of individuals and
organizations are seeking knowledge. In law firms, knowledge is the only key point to
achieve success in any case. This power also acts as a step towards the gain of legitimate
power. Employees showcase their knowledge through different acts and prove their
suitability for a higher position. This helps them to get the legitimate power also.
Influencing strategies or tactics used by the partners and employees
In the give case scenario of Cheetham and Wynne law firm, both the new partners have
joined the firm only four years ago. Both the senior partners, Owen Cheetham, and Jack
Wynne, being the founder of the firm used their legitimate power to influence people to work
as per their requirements. For the new office shift also they used the same legitimate power to
insist employees make a move in the new office. In this decision, they did not consider
employees’ comfort in making this shifting.
Along with such powers, leaders do use some influence tactics to make people do what
leaders want them to do. Influence tactics have defined a power or force that leaders use to
induce a change in the targeted employees, also to change their behavior, attitude, needs,
goals, and behavior (Bélanger, et al., 2016). This is the ability of leaders to affect the
behavior of people to work for some directed achievements. To influence people leaders to
use some strategies or tactics and some set of behaviors that are designed to influence people.
The concept of using power to influence people seems to be making quite a negative impact
on people leaders are using such tactics more and more (Bélanger, et al., 2015). There are
different strategies or tactics that leaders use such as:
 Legitimating
 Rational persuasion
 Inspirational appeal
 Consultation

ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOUR 7
 Personal appeal
 Ingratiation
 Exchange
 Coalition
 Pressure
Among all the tactics used by leaders to influence people both the senior partners, in this
case, are using the legitimating strategy to influence their employee to accept the shift. In this
process, leaders have the authority to get people to do what they wanted to be done by them.
Although, the whole idea was of junior partners, both the senior partners took the decision to
shift the office on their own and informed their employees as an essential move to make. In
this process, they did not ask for any suggestion or consider someone’s personal opinion
about the new open-plan office. They even don’t ask if there is a need for a new office or
employees want a new office to work more efficiently. Both the partners made a decision and
moved into this new office.
Another example of using the same tactic for their own demand was the demand of senior
partners for a separate space differentiating them from other employees. And they got their
separate cabins just because of their legitimate power as both the junior partners could not
deny providing separate space to their bosses.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it is concluded that organization have to face several changes from
the employees’ end to make any change into their existing infrastructure. But if there are
challenges, also the organizations have solutions for the respective challenges. In this case
study the law firm can implement the above discussed solution to make their employees feel
satisfied for the new change into their infrastructure in the form of moving to the new open
plan office.

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References
Al Horr, Y., Arif, M., Kaushik, A., Mazroei, A., Katafygiotou, M. & Elsarrag, E., 2016,
‘Occupant productivity and office indoor environment quality: A review of the
literature’, Building and environment, vol. 105, pp.369-389.
Bélanger, J.J., Pierro, A. & Kruglanski, A.W., 2015, ‘Social power tactics and subordinates’
compliance at work: The role of need for cognitive closure’, Revue Européenne de
Psychologie Appliquée/European Review of Applied Psychology, vol. 65, no. 4, pp.163-169.
Bélanger, J.J., Pierro, A., Barbieri, B., De Carlo, N.A., Falco, A. & Kruglanski, A.W., 2016,
‘One size doesn’t fit all: the influence of supervisors’ power tactics and subordinates’ need
for cognitive closure on burnout and stress’, European Journal of Work and Organizational
Psychology, vol. 25, no. 2, pp.287-300.
Haynes, B., Suckley, L. & Nunnington, N., 2017, ‘Workplace productivity and office type: an
evaluation of office occupier differences based on age and gender’, Journal of Corporate
Real Estate, vol. 19, no. 2, pp.111-138.
Lam, M., O'Donnell, M. & Robertson, D., 2015, ‘Achieving employee commitment for
continuous improvement initiatives’, International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, vol. 35, no. 2, pp.201-215.
Landrum, S. 2016, How to focus and stay productive in a noisy open office,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahlandrum/2016/10/25/how-to-cope-with-the-most-dreaded-
part-of-work/#16c7f4575d9e
Lastoe, S. 2018, 5 Really annoying open-office issues (plus, solutions for how to deal with
each one), https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-really-annoying-openoffice-issues-plus-
solutions-for-how-to-deal-with-each-one
Wadsworth, M.B. & Blanchard, A.L., 2015, ‘Influence tactics in virtual teams’, Computers in
Human Behavior, vol. 44, pp.386-393.
Wellman, N., Mayer, D.M., Ong, M. & DeRue, D.S., 2016, ‘When are do-gooders treated
badly? Legitimate power, role expectations, and reactions to moral objection in
organizations’, Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 101, no. 6, p.793.

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