Communication Gap in a Law Firm

This assignment delves into the communication issues plaguing a hypothetical law firm. It identifies a significant gap between partners and employees, stemming from differing perspectives and cultural backgrounds. The analysis emphasizes the negative consequences of this barrier, including reduced productivity and employee morale. Finally, it proposes actionable solutions to bridge the gap, such as fostering active listening and promoting cultural diversity within the firm.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational Behavior
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

2ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
1. a) Identification of the reasons that lead the employees to be resistant towards the change
regarding the open plan office approach.........................................................................................3
b) Ways that might have done by the partner to reduce the resistance power of the employees....5
2. a) Analysis of the barriers of the communication in the law firm...............................................6
b) Ways to overcome the communication barriers..........................................................................7
3 a) Discussion of the sources of power of the partners and its impact on employees...................8
b) Discussion of the effectiveness of influence tactics....................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

3ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Introduction
Organizational behavior refers to the interaction of a group of people within an
organization. However, in order to develop the business performance it is essential to improve
the organizational behavior (Gelfand et al. 2017). This study deals with the interaction of the
staffs in a fast growing law firm. The founders of such firm were Own Cheetham and Jack
Wynne. This organization is specialized for the commercial law and employees are present from
different backgrounds like finance and banking insurance organization. However, the maximum
employees are white males in this organization while some younger women are present in the
administrative departments. However, this organization has opened a new office opposite to the
harbor and some employees show resistance towards the new changes in the organization.
Employees are facing different issues in their new office, which hampers the effectiveness of the
business. Hence, the owners need to concentrate on such problem to run the business.
1. a) Identification of the reasons that lead the employees to be resistant towards the change
regarding the open plan office approach
Employee resistance is a common factor that often hampers the business of an
organization (Vasu et al. 2017). However, Owen and Jack have established a law firm in
Auckland office. The lawyers have the opportunity to go O'Connell club at every Friday
afternoon to eat, drink and play snooker. However, this opportunity is only for the male as a
result, the female candidates complain about this. The owners have moved their firm into a new
building as it provides the employees more flexibility and good working environment for the
teamwork. During the lunch near the office, Jack and Owen have discussed the responses of their
employees regarding their new office. It has been found that some seniors executives become

4ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
resistant to this new change as they have lost their position due to change of their new offices.
On the other hand, the online system of booking in the new office is not working accurately that
is the big reason for their resistance. On the other hand, Cathy who is the junior partner of this
firm has created the playpen to encourage the employees. According to Jack, this useless
approach hampers the business.
Comfort level of the employees is a prime area of the business, which motivates the
employees in their work (Lam et al. 2017). Some secretaries become resistant to this new change
as in the new office premises they are not able to talk with their boyfriends and the things are not
as like as earlier that they used to get in their previous office. However, according to the case
study, staffs are facing challenges in the new office that makes them resistant to this particular
change. On the other hand, an issue is created between the Chinese and Indian staffs. Some
employees are happy with the new changes while some prefer their old office premises. Such
reasons lead the employees to show resistance in their new opening. According to Mai Ling who
is an employee of such firm is not satisfied with this change regarding the open plan stuff as she
has to go outside to talk with her boyfriend, which is too costly. However, it is difficult to talk
with a close one in the new office premises as there is no privacy. This leads the employees to
become resistant to this change. On the other hand, the shops are too far from this new office as
well as the cafes beside it is much expensive.
Application of the social media during the office hours is very restricted in many business
sectors that are a big reason for employee resistance (Peltokorpi et al. 2017). In the present
scenario, the employees are restricted to use the social media in the office premises that
demotivate them and they think that their personal work is interrupted through this process. This
makes them uncomfortable in the new environment. On the other hand, according to some

5ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
lawyers, they need to talk with the clients personally for the business purpose, thus, it is difficult
for them to take calls in the conference room. However, it is crucial for a business to take
feedback from the employees regarding their comfort level while making any change in an
existing system (Andrews 2017). In the context of such law firm, the employees were not asked
about what is their need regarding the implemented changes in the law firm, which makes them
resistant to this new change.
b) Ways that might have done by the partner to reduce the resistance power of the
employees
A new change in the organization often leads them to feel lack of security that makes
them worried (Moliner 2017). Employees should be unaffected during the new changes in the
organization. In the given scenario, the employees show the resistance towards the movement of
the law firm in the new office as they feel lack of scopes, which they get usually in their previous
office. Hence, the partners of such office might have implemented the process that makes the
employees secure and unaffected in their working environment.
Development of the effective communication is an important way to reduce the employee
resistance in an organization (Mine 2015). However, in the given scenario, the communication
between the employees and the management is poor, which is a big factor of employee
resistance. Hence, the partner might have done good interaction with the employees in order to
reduce the resistance power of them.
Feedback collection from the employees is another good way to reduce the employee
resistance (Moliner 2017). However, in the current scenario, the employees of such law firm
become resistant, as they are not able to use social media and take private calls during the office

6ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
premises. Hence, collecting feedbacks from the employees might have done by the partners as it
will enable them to understand the employee perspectives and their comfort level regarding the
new changes in their firm. On the other hand, the participation of the employees in the decision
making while implementing a new change in the organization might have taken by the owners,
as it could be helpful for them to get suggestions from the staffs regarding their need that can
reduce the employee resistance.
2. a) Analysis of the barriers of the communication in the law firm
Communication barrier is the major issue of an organization that affects the performance
of the organization as well as the employee relationship (Lazaroiu 2015). In the given scenario,
the staffs of the law firm are not completely participated in the meeting and they made a
discussion regarding their job. Anna Ivanova is a lawyer of such firm and was unhappy regarding
her salary. She was promised by this firm that she will be rewarded by increasing the salary
based on her good performance which was not done. However, Anna has shared some
confidential information regarding her colleague to her brother and Jack the owner of the firm
has discussed it with Owen who is the another partner of this firm. Despite this Owen has not
taken any action against Anna. Hence, there is a communication gap is occurred between the
partners that make barrier to run the business. However, in this law firm, a communication gap is
also observed between the employees, as some are not happy with the new system of the
organization while some support this system. As a result, a misunderstanding is created between
them due to poor communication. Some employees feel proud regarding their work and look that
is a big reason for the poor communication in this firm. On the other hand, employees are tried to
identify the issues regarding the behavior of the other employees, which makes a barrier of the
communication and they laugh to each other.

7ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
As seen in the scenario, Mai has uploaded the cartoons of her friend in the facebook and
also said that Candy has fired from her previous office due to her alcohol addiction. There is a
clear indication that the relationship between the employees is very poor in this law firm, which
is the major factor of the communication barrier. It is important for an organization to make the
good and friendly environment that helps the employees to encourage each other by creating
effective communication (Borkowski 2015). In the present scenario, there is no positive working
culture in the law firm as a result, communication barrier is created.
b) Ways to overcome the communication barriers
Proper listening is a good way to overcome the communication barrier in an organization
(Andersson et al. 2013). According to the given scenario, the employees of the law firm are not
able to communicate with each other as there are some barriers to the communication. Hence,
proper listening will help such employees to understand each other and to share their viewpoints.
People should be open-minded while working in a stressful working environment as it
helps to build a good communication in the workplace (Leana and Meuris 2015). In the given
case study, the staffs of this law firm have no proper communication with each other and they
laugh each other regarding their behavior. Keeping an open mind will enable such employees to
take the things in an easy way as well as it will reduce the complexity among them.
Establishment of the cultural diversity in the workplace can be beneficial for an
organization to reduce the communication barrier (Graham et al. 2015). In the present scenario,
the maximum employees of the law firm are the white male that is a big reason of poor
communication. Hence, cultural diversity will be helpful for such organization to minimize the
communication barrier.

8ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
3 a) Discussion of the sources of power of the partners and its impact on employees
The two partners Cathy Wynne and Mark Cheetham are the two partners who have
started the law firm according to the given scenario. The clients of such firm have mobile,
software and Internet Company that lead the firm to grow rapidly. However, stakeholders are the
big source of an organization that gives resources to the partners to carry out their business
operation (Short et al. 2017). On the other hand, the employees are young of the organization
that is another source of power. Anand Moodly is one of the partners of this organization that is
associated with the environmental issue and has a strong connection with the Maori business and
community agencies. This enables the organization to a strong growth in their organization. such
power of sources of this partners allows them to bring change in their organization. This leaves
both positive and negative impact on the employees. However, the new change in the
organization gives some facilities to the employees in the form of new office. On the other hand,
such power of sources resists the employee to express their issues regarding their work.
However, the decision of the management is the final decision while there is no scope for the
employees to express their perspectives.
b) Discussion of the effectiveness of influence tactics
Business partners often use influence tactics to motivate the employees in their work
(Andersson et al. 2013). In the current scenario, the partners give facilities to their employees in
order to motivate them in their work. Every Friday the employees go to O'Connell club for
dinner and fun that is a good tactics to encourage them in their work. In the new office of the law
firm, the area of the staffs consists with games, beanbags, magazines and comics to give
refreshment to the staffs. This organization will give the loan to the employees to retain them.

9ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Such motivational tactics are used by the partners in this law firm to influence their employees in
their work. This might maximize the business performance.
Conclusion
The entire study highlights on the employee behavior and their perspectives on the
organizational change of the law firm that is established by Jack and Owen. However, it has been
found that some of the employees are happy with the changes while some have exhibited
resistance regarding the opening of a new office in the law firm. Therefore, there is a big
communication gap between the partners and the employees is noticed in this law firm. Proper
listening and establishment of the cultural diversity are required to reduce the communication
barrier.

10ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
References
Andersson, L., Jackson, S.E. and Russell, S.V., 2013. Greening organizational behavior: An
introduction to the special issue. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(2), pp.151-155.
Andrews, M., 2017. MBA8101-S17. Organizational Behavior. Sp17. Andrews, Margaret.
Borkowski, N., 2015. Organizational behavior, theory, and design in health care. Jones &
Bartlett Publishers.
Conroy, S., Henle, C.A., Shore, L. and Stelman, S., 2017. Where there is light, there is dark: A
review of the detrimental outcomes of high organizational identification. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 38(2), pp.184-203.
Gelfand, M.J., Aycan, Z., Erez, M. and Leung, K., 2017. Cross-cultural industrial organizational
psychology and organizational behavior: A hundred-year journey. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 102(3), p.514.
Graham, K.A., Ziegert, J.C. and Capitano, J., 2015. The effect of leadership style, framing, and
promotion regulatory focus on unethical pro-organizational behavior. Journal of Business
Ethics, 126(3), pp.423-436.
Lam, C.K., Walter, F., Huang, X., Dahling, J.J., Gutworth, M.B., Hunter, S.T., Cushenbery,
L.D., Jayne, B., Hideg, I., van Kleef, G.A. and McGrath, E., 2017. Journal of Organizational
Behavior.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Work Motivation and Organizational Behavior. Contemporary Readings in
Law and Social Justice, 7(2), p.66.

11ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Leana, C.R. and Meuris, J., 2015. Living to work and working to live: Income as a driver of
organizational behavior. Academy of Management Annals, 9(1), pp.55-95.
Miner, J.B., 2015. Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership.
Routledge.
Moliner, C., Cropanzano, R. and Martínez-Tur, V. eds., 2017. Organizational justice:
International perspectives and conceptual advances. Taylor & Francis.
Peltokorpi, V., Allen, D.G. and Froese, F., 2017. Erratum: Organizational embeddedness,
turnover intentions, and voluntary turnover: The moderating effects of employee demographic
characteristics and value orientations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(4), pp.612-612.
Short, J.C., McKenny, A.F. and Reid, S.W., 2017. More Than Words? Computer-Aided Text
Analysis in Organizational Behavior and Psychology Research. Annual Review of
Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5(1).
Vasu, M.L., Stewart, D.W. and Garson, G.D. eds., 2017. Organizational Behavior and Public
Management, Revised and Expanded. Routledge.