Ron B. (Yogev Consultants) 2006: “The correlation of management styles, level of workers; satisfaction, perceived motivation to the positions towards organizational changes in Jordan Plains LTD”, University of Derby
ABSTRACT
Jordan Plains Development Company is jointly owned by the Jordan Plains Regional Council and Agricultural Society, and the farming community within the region. The company’s core business is providing sorting, packing and marketing services for agricultural produce. Over the past two decades, the company operated as a bureaucratic organization under a leadership style that did not encourage creativity, effectiveness and excellence since it worked on a cost plus price basis. The leadership style of the organization’s top management led to conservatism, lack of response to innovations within the industry and changes in the customer needs.
As of the current season compelled changes are underway, the supply-chain is managed exclusively by the marketing companies. The company is an important element in the supply-chain: sorting, packing and shipping for export. The cost for this service is at a fixed price and therefore the company should adopt a lean organization strategy. The risk involved in the failure of the transition to a lean organization strategy could cause the company financial losses of up to five million new-shekels a year.
The research question is how to minimize objection to the changes required for the transition to a lean organization strategy within a traditional organization working on a cost-plus basis so as not to incur losses by introducing effective management style, worker incentives and job satisfaction. The objective of the study is to find which managerial factors could harm the successful implementation of the changes required to become a lean organization and thereby prevent anticipated losses.
The study gathered information for the purpose of variable comparisons. The data collected came from statistically analyzed figures. For this purpose, the study used a theoretic research method which is conducted at a specific point in time, over a short research period. The study made use of one hundred and seventeen anonymous questionnaires for collecting data from the sample population. The sample was performed out of the ninety-three accepted questionnaires. The results were analyzed statistically after neutralizing statements with very low internal credibility.
The primary findings were as follows:
Assumption 1: The existence of positive correlation between both people-oriented and task-oriented management styles and worker motivation was not confirmed, is contradicted. Correlation was found indicating moderate positive correlation between task-oriented management style and worker motivation. Nonetheless, no correlation was found between people-oriented management style and motivation.
Assumption 2: The existence of positive correlation between both people-oriented and task-oriented management styles and worker satisfaction was not confirmed, is contradicted. Weak correlation with weak statistical significance was found between people-oriented management style and internal and external satisfaction, nevertheless, moderate correlation with moderate statistical significance was found between task-oriented management style and internal worker satisfaction.
Assumption 3: The existence of positive correlation between both people-oriented and task-oriented management styles and worker attitudes towards change was not confirmed is contradicted. Correlation was found indicating moderate positive correlation with high statistical significance between task-oriented management style and attitude towards change.
Assumption 4: Positive correlation was found between worker satisfaction and worker motivation. Correlation was found indicating moderate positive correlation with high statistical significance between internal satisfaction and general motivation and weak positive correlation with weak statistical significance was found between internal satisfaction and functional motivation. No correlation was found between external satisfaction and motivation.
Assumption 5: Positive correlation was not found between the level of worker satisfaction and worker attitudes towards change. Disparity with low statistical significance exists between production workers and other workers in their rational attitudes towards change, the attitudes of the other workers are better than those of the production workers. Disparity with high statistical significance was found between production workers and other workers in their active attitudes towards change, the attitudes of the other workers are better than those of the production workers.
Assumption 6: The existence of positive correlation was found between worker motivation and attitudes towards change. Correlation was found indicating moderate positive correlation with moderate and high statistical significance in all the dimensions with the exception of weak positive correlation with low statistical significance between functional motivation and emotional attitudes towards change.
Active objection was recognized in the study as low, which stemmed from the fact that the transformation process did not go beyond the old paradigms. Despite the foregoing, the new compromising management style that was created in the company, especially in the task-oriented dimension which was adapted to the maturity of the workers in the organization, creating positive attitudes towards the changes, low and moderate internal and external satisfaction and moderate to high motivation in all the dimensions. The motivation that was created affected the attitudes of the workers towards the changes. These moderate positive attitudes motivated all the workers to assimilate the changes successfully.
The change was generated after the senior management delegated authority to the first-line worker to cope with the objectives, taking the initiative and accepting responsibility. This created external satisfaction and repressed opposition when matters were managed by a compromising leadership that was suitable for the situation, creating change-generation field forces that are more powerful that the change-prevention field forces.
It was recommended to raise the perceived moderate level of each variable by at least one notch with internal and external organizational activities aimed at reinforcing the organization’s existing advantages; by raising the task-oriented management style which was found to be very effective in the organization; to raise the internal organizational satisfaction which was recognized as the effective and controlling dimension in the organization; and to raise the organizational motivation which was recognized as the most effective preventative dimension in the organization.
Manager training was recommended to improve management style by focusing on task-orientation, which was found to be the most effective for the maturity of the organization, immediately when the current date sorting season ends, no later than the end of March.
It was recommended to obtain external organizational consultation assistance for improving the definition of the company’s shared vision by brainstorming in heterogenic groups.
It was recommended to obtain external organizational consultation assistance for developing group learning processes and assimilation, mainly for the managers.