ESCP Europe
Written Assignment:
“Organization & Management”
Term Paper
written for the course:
Organization & Management
2018
Submitted
to
PROF. DR. KERSTIN ALFES
by
Düker, Annalena eX
Ferres, Markus e183059
Lindner, Josephine eX
Schneider, Myriam e183149
Berlin, 26/10/2018
Table of Contents
Table of Contents I
1 Question 1 – TITLE HERE 1
1.1 Subtitle 1
1.1.1 Subtitle 2 1
2 Question 2 – TITLE HERE 1
3 References 2
4 Affirmation 3
1 Question 1 – Constructing Team Ethics in Organisational Change
"The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings." (Albert Schweitzer, 1952). Today, more than ever, teams account for a large amount of the activity in firms (Arce M. and Gunn 2005). Within these teams, formal or informal, the ethical implications resulting from creating new teams, working in teams and the effect of organisational change on teams are extensive.
A team can be defined as two or more individuals, who work together on a common project, service, or goal, with a meshing of functions and mutual support . Work teams can facilitate or hinder organisation effectiveness and it may therefore not be surprising that a considerable amount of research on how teams work and how to improve their effectiveness has been conducted (Tannenbaum, Beard, and Salas 1992).
In this paper, we first discuss how organizational initiatives affect teams in firms as they are constructed and how the effectiveness of change initiatives can be increased. Second, we investigate the ethical and moral implications of change in teams and the potential pitfalls. Finally, we analyse the benefits and importance of ethics within teams.
1.1 Organisational Change in Teams
With new technologies and businesses emerging every single day, organizational change continues at an alarming pace (Weber and Weber 2001). Most companies today have at least one, if not multiple, change initiatives in progress, leading to tremendous pressure in a competitive environment of constant advancements (Vives 2008). However, while companies are pursuing change and the rapid succession of it across teams, skepticism and resistance in employees are generally the first reactions to any form of organizational change (Folger and Skarlicki 1999). While this may make it more difficult or even impossible to implement change, research in organisational behaviour has shown that when trustful communication and support is shared with teams, these change efforts can be more successful (Weber and Weber 2001).
Moreover, there are two further reasons change does not have to be a sensitive topic for teams. First, a work environment previously conducive to teamwork and innovation is known to create a more receptive context for change, meaning the resistance to new initiatives is lower (Osterman 2000). Second, if employees and teams feel more supported and involved in organizational change efforts through managers and supervisors, they may be less defensive and more invested to drive the new initiatives (VanYperen, van den Berg, and Willering 1999).
This has several implications for teams in firms. For managers and employees, the aspiration should always be to construct an environment that fosters teamwork and wellbeing to improve employee morale and satisfaction. While it is well known that teamwork increases performance and results in positive synergies, the acceptance of change and improved implementation speed is vital for change efforts (Osterman 2000). Furthermore, to aid the smooth rollout of change, encouraging and connecting with all groups and teams can contribute to a greater effectiveness, especially in the long run (Schalk, Campbell, and Freese 1998).
1.2 Ethical Implications for Teams
The ethical reasoning underlying team behaviour in new environments is comprised of many different themes. In this essay, we want specifically highlight two ethical and moral phenomenons which are explicitly present in teams. The first is the diffusion of responsibility and can be defined as a psychological phenomenon in which people are less likely to take action when in the presence of a large group of people. The second is the forming of normative values in teams and groups and the challenges this task carries.
As previously discussed, the major challenge faced by firms is the scepticism and resistance to change on the side of employees and thus, teams (Folger and Skarlicki 1999). The primary phenomenon evident when change directly affects a teamwork-oriented environment is the diffusion of moral responsibility. Often related to the bystander effect, employees in a company may feel less obligated to engage in change efforts if their team members are present (Darley and Latane 1968). This is due to the belief that their team will conduct the necessary change initiatives while sharing the newly gained knowledge through the transformation with their team members. However, this may result in a snowballing effect, where all team members exert an element of “social loafing” and therefore do not fully or only gradually adapt to change in the organization.
Moreover, the diffusion of responsibility across efforts of change may result in different forms of ethical behaviour. For one, team members may agree on elements of change that they would have never agreed to on their own. In a team, every member has an equally valid opinion. However, as change is implemented from an external source, teams may feel their opinion is worth less and hence, agree to some elements of change due to groupthink (Manz and Neck 1997).
Both of the effects of the diffusion of responsibility are the result of teams, that generally have a varied portfolio of different personalities with complete knowledge, being exposed to incomplete information and the lack of power to act on their opinions and decisions in change processes alone. Therefore, teams may tend to diffuse responsibilities and engage in social loafing (Alnuaimi, Robert, and Maruping 2010).
The second phenomenon is the forming of normative values in teams (Kirkman and Shapiro 2001). Normative values are a standard set of values determined as desirable or impermissible for the purpose of evaluating behaviour or decisions (Shardlow 2009, 23–33). During the well-known five-stage model of forming teams (forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning), a set of ground rules may be established. These may later flourish into normative values, which evolve and are established with all members of the team. However, as change within companies is ever increasing, the creation and development of normative values may become disrupted and thus, weaken the effectiveness of teamwork.
This disruption is caused by the nature of change efforts, which are generally comprised of an increased turnover of employees and new employees joining existing teams (Morrell, Loan-Clarke, and Wilkinson 2004, 161–73). The chain of interpersonal relationships and normative values already internalised by teams are hereby interrupted and difficult to pass on to any new members of a team. Consequently, teams may experience a decrease in their cohesion, with a decreased level of communication and ultimately, lower creativity, morale and productivity (Carless and De Paola 2000; Paulus 2000).
From this, it becomes clear that fostering teamwork and hence, the ethical and normative values created within a company and its teams is essential to effectively implementing change in a company. Due to the fact that today change initiatives worldwide are more widely spread than ever, it is vital to harbour existing ethical team values and convey these to all new teams to avoid their eradication and the aforementioned negative connotations (loss of creativity, morale and productivity).
1.3 The Importance of Ethics in the Workplace
Ethical behaviour in teams and in companies is voluntary and related to the established normative values (Arce M. and Gunn 2005). However, due to the great benefits of ethical values in group productivity, companies should seek to pursue ethics in teams, especially when implementing or undergoing change.
There are three benefits of ethical norms in teams that we have identified. First, the external image of a team and a company are cultivated if ethical values exist and ethical choices are made. Second, the decision-making process is enhanced with accountability and transparency for all team members. Strong normative, ethical values will help the team to make more reasoned decisions. Third, team ethics are essential in fostering
These benefits are important for teams for three reasons. First,
In the context of change in organisations, ethics may often be neglected by management to prioritise cutting costs, but as we have shown can be vital to the success of the change initiatives and ultimately, the company.
In conclusion, communication which according the change management practitioners plays important roles in implementing change. Research showed that frequent communication of the effect of change to the affected employees.
2 References
3 Affirmation
Sworn Declaration
Being aware that making a false declaration is an offence punishable by law and being aware of the legal consequences of this for the examination process, which go as far as exclusion from it in the event of cheating or the attempt to cheat in accordance with the Examination Rules of ESCP Europe Wirtschaftshochschule Berlin e.V. (“ESCP Europe”), I hereby undertake the following sworn declaration to ESCP Europe:
I have written the thesis entitled
Group Assignment 1: “Management Control”
entirely by myself and independently and have used no other than the sources and resources named. Further, all the quotations and citations – including tables, maps and figures – are clearly marked as such. This decla- ration includes the data accessed on the internet. The thesis has not been presented to any other examining body; nor has it been published in whole or in part.
Furthermore, I grant ESCP Europe the right, under the provisions of §31 of German copyright law (Urheberrechtsgesetz), to use the thesis for the purpose of marking and assessing it as well as examining it from the point of view of plagiarism. This right to use the thesis includes the right of ESCP Europe to commission a third party to undertake the plagiarism check on behalf of ESCP Europe. The third party is subject to the same legal require- ments on data protection and confidentiality as ESCP Europe.
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______________________________________________________________________Signatures
In case of group work, this affirmation has to be transformed into the corre- sponding plural form. The signatures of all authors are required. Moreover, the following passage has to be added after the first paragraph:
“We confirm that we all contributed to the work in hand.”
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