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IMPERIAL LIFE
Presented by:
TEAMVIRTUSCOHORT 32
ARTHUR LOK JACK GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INIDES
INBA 6750- ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR & DEVELOPMENT
CHERESE LAPTISTE IAN AKONG
CRYSTAL GUILLEN SHAD ALI
JEFFERS JOHN-CHARLES KYREN GREIGG
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Table of Contents Imperial Life company profile 3
Case summary
Overview of Imperial Life
Organisational structure
Main characters
Timeline
SWOT analysis PESTLE analysis
Problem Identification
Problem statement
Ishikawa diagram
Problem Tree
Problem Analysis
Leadership
Organisational Control
HR
Culture
Communication
Imperial Life successes
Recommendations
Solution Tree Alternatives
Solution
Action Plan
Conclusion
References
2
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Imperial Life Company Profile
Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada was incorporated in 1896
and its business is in life insurance and financial services.
Imperial Life comprised a complex network of holding companies, life and
health insurance companies, investment fund management companies,
and other businesses.
It is a subsidiary of the Laurentian Group of Montreal, Quebec and its
Head Office is located in Toronto whose focus was on sales. (Focus of the
case)
Imperial Life operates more than 50 offices in Canada and the Bahamas
with a network of subsidiaries and branches in Great Britain, Hong Kong
and the United States and has over 2,800 employees worldwide
(including 1,422 agents).
3
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OVERVIEW
4
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IMPERIAL LIFE ORGANISATIONAL CHART
Claude Bruneau
Board of Directors
Chairman
Claude Bruneau
President
& CEO
Kenneth BeaugrandExecutive VP
& COO
VP Asia
VP InvestmentsVP Coperate
Planning & Chief
Actuary
VP Agencies
VP General
Councel and
Secretary
Sr. VP Ind.
Marketing
VP Product
Development
and Support
VP Group Marketing
Pres. & CEO
Laurentian/Imperial
Co.
VP Info
Systems &
Services
VP Alternate
Distribution
Sytems
VP FinanceVP Individual
Administration
Joy Bollen
VP Human
Resources
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Main CharactersClaude Bruneau
Claude Bruneau was by all means a visionary with an acute eye fordevelopment and progression. Claudes style of leadership was very selloriented in that he made decisions recognizing the possibility of someresistance but nevertheless attempts to persuade subordinates to accept hisdecision.
Claude was of the view that the company was very traditional and nottapping into the resources which were readily available namely the female.Claude held the view that women were more dedicated to their work.Women to him constituted a reservoir of talent and was the change thatthe company needed in order to move forward progressively.
Claude held three senior and very important positions at Imperial life:
t
6
Chairman
President CEO
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Main CharactersJoy Bollen
Joy Bollen Human Resource Vice President at Imperial lifeAssurance Company was the first woman to be appointed tosuch a high level position within a traditional male managedorganization.
Joy came to Imperial Life in 1985 with twenty one yearsexperience in management/consulting and human resourcemanagement. Starting off as the Director of Planning andDevelopment, within one year Joy was quickly promoted to VP-HRdespite the many objections to her promotion.
Joy used a team oriented approach as a means of inculcating theideas and mission of Imperial Lifes new directives under ClaudeBruneau.
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Johari Window
Virtus Group
Joy BollenClaude Bruneau
Public
UnknownHiddenUnknownHidden
BlindBlind Public
Kno
wntoothers
Unknowntoothers
Known to self Unknown to self
Visionary
Decisive
Aggressive
Sociallyconscious
Paternalistic
Exerted too
much power
Exploitative
Understands
minorities workharder
Incongruent
style with Joy
Incongruent
style with Claude
Indecisive Heavily team
based
Strives for
consensus
Not ready for VP
HR Role
Known to self Unknown to self
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Imperial Life Timeline
TEAM VIRTUS
1896 1945 1979 1983 1985 1986
ImperialLife
founded
Aggressive. Rigid.
Innovative. Successful.
Imperial
Life Boom
over
Imperial Life
acquired byLaurentian Group
Company struggled and stagnated. Insurance
industry becoming sub-set of expanding financial
world . (IA note: See SWOT and PESTLE for changes
Leading up to the environment in the 80s)
CLAUDE BRUNEAU
appointed President,
CEO, Chairman of the
board
Claudes vision was to regain the aggressive dynamism of
the organization. Culture Change Initiatives mandated by
Claude. Womens issues brought to the forefront.
JOY BOLLEN becomes
Imperial Lifes first
female Vice President.
JOY BOLLEN brought
on as director of
planning and
development
First Financial Planning Center
specifically geared to female
customers opened
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Imperial Life PESTLE
Virtus Group
Political :
Canada officially gainedindependence from UK April
17th 1982.
Political unrest in Quebec
Government deregulation of
financial services industry
Economic :
Formation of conglomerates favoured as
survival Strategy
Change in Insurance industry as subset
of financial services brought increased
competition in market.
Socio-Cultural :
Trend of political correctness
opposing racism, discrimination
toward minorities.
Joint financial decision making (man
and woman)
Large increase of women in
workplace.
Technological : Introduction of personal computers inworkplace (financial services)
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Imperial Life PESTLE
Virtus Group
Legal :
Legislation enacted to end practiceof automatically changing a womans
last name upon marriage.
Environmental :
threat of expropriation of business in
foreign countries.
The PESTLE analysis gives us an idea of the external environment surroundingImperial Life in the late 1970s into the 1980s
Women gaining ground in workplace
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PROBLEM
IDENTIFICATION
13
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Problem Statement
Claudes Vision:to drive the company back into a dynamic, aggressive organisation, thatwould really get the best out of its people, in order to offer excellentservices and supportthereby optimising the probability of generatinggood profits for all stakeholders.
Imperial Life experienced a gender divide due to the prejudice
held against women in the workplace. Additionally, there
existed a communication barrier between the CEO and VP HR,
which slowed the progress of change desired in the
organization. This resulted in low staff morale, resistance to
change and a high executive turnover.
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Imperial Lifes Problem Tree
15
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PROBLEM ANALYSIS
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LEADERSHIP
18
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Leadership
Leadership is at its best when the vision strategic,the voice persuasive and the results tangible. In
the study of leadership, an exact definition is notessential but guiding concepts are needed. The
concepts should be general enough to apply tomany situations, but specific enough to havetangible implications for what we do.
~ Useem
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IMPERIAL LIFE- Leadership
Early Synopsis of Imperial Life
Whilst Imperial Life history looked promising and able to hold its 10th place within its industries, the internal problems of Imperial Life
seemed to be one that would affect it later in its venture.
Within its early years the direction was set by the professional Life Insurance mathematicians, whose ideologies where one of
enforcing seating arrangements in the head office cafeteria and employees seated at specific tables with the same table partners
daily. It may be that these ideologies were weird but during the first 30-40 years of its existence it was to be the most dynamic and
creative in its trade; aggressive with dynamic ideas. However when the war was over by 1945 the country would slip into a depression
like one of the 1930s, it seemed as though Imperial Life too had given up on its war in being the competitive company it onc e was and
their leaders too had lost the war.
From what seemed promising, the company would now go from being the aggressive company it once was to being the company led
by timid types of people, they were very inward looking, traditional, risk adverse, driven by the technical side of business allowing
them to be like most insurance companies than being the one leading with its marketing ideas.
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Overview
Claude was considered to be a visionary leaderwith astute social consciousness and aphilosophical outlook, who could recognizechanges in society ahead of his peers, however, it
seemed as though his outlook would not be ableto influence those easily as he wanted change, achange that would involve women in charge havemanagerial positions and become vice
presidents, a change which was not new at allback in the 1980s and one which would be acultural change for those in Imperial Life a hardpill to swallow.
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Overview (contd)
Joy was appointed Vice President, she was toinitiate and help in this cultural change (Claudesvision) but in a position in which she was new to,she would have to further develop the leadership
and management skills to do so. Directives werecertainly given but senior and middlemanagement will have to carry them out, such adirective crucial to Imperial Life success factor
was ignored, it resulted in problems that wouldlater affect the development of the companyitself.
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Overview (contd)
Directors (senior management) was once consideredto be visionaries, innovative and succeeded in makingImperial Life leading in its industry at the time, buttimes changed, the business got stale and Imperial Life
was acquired by the Laurentian Group. Claude relayedhis vision to them not only were they against it butthey paid lip service to it, it made Joys work difficultfor change implementing this new culture. The lack ofchange would result in one where they quickly left or
were moved out, it resulted in new managementbeing brought in all the time their successors were nonexistent.
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Problem analysis
Joy V.P. H.R was not able to muster support frommiddle management efficiently
Middle management did not have a propersuccession plan
C.E.O created opportunities and a chance forwomen to get management positions
Huge difference between the leadership style ofC.EO to V.P of H.R and to middle management
No Leadership Development
Middle Management was inefficient
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Leadership overview for imperial life
Leadership is a dynamic form of behavior and theleaders influence is dependent upon the type ofpower exercised over the people. However, thereis no one best form or style of leadership. There
are many variables that underlie theeffectiveness of leadership, including dimensionsof national culture. The most successful form ofleadership behavior is a product of the total
leadership situation. Attention needs to be givento leadership development. Leaders of the futurewill face new expectations and will need to learnnew sets of skills. (excerpt pg. 396Mullins)
25
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The Filter effect
Directors
/Senior
VP CEO
26
Cultural Barrier
Staff
Selling
Telling
Explain your
decisions and
provide
opportunity for
clarification
Provide specific
instructions and
closely supervise
performance
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Dimensions of managerial Leadership
Group InteractionAnalysis
McGregor,assumptions
about people andwork
Blake andMcCanse,
Leadership Grid
Task Functions
Theory X
Concern forproduction
MaintenanceFunctions
Theory Y
Concern forpeople
27Mullins
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Situational leadership overview
The problem analysis derived from this was
that the S1, S2, S3, S4 models did not match
up for Imperial Life, this type of situational
leadership used was not appropriate for thefollowers, thereby creating problems.
28
Situational Leadership model
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R1R3R4
Situational Leadership model
29
Task behaviour
(Directive behaviour)
(Low) (High)
Unable but
Willing or
Confident
Moderate
Able and
Willing and
Confident
Able but
willing or
Insecure
Unable and
Unwilling or
Insecure
R2
High Low
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Situational leadership model
In Imperial Life it was clear that a leadership
behaviour was one of a selling nature at the
Executive level here decisions were explained
and it provided and opportunity for classificationit involved a high task and high relationship.
As for lower management in Imperial Life it was a
telling behaviour where specific instructionswere told and performance closely supervised.
30
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Problems of leadership method used
(contd)
From the analysis the method from theexecutive level to lower management was aleadership behavior of telling, it provided
lower management with specific instructionsand were closely supervised for performancealthough the follower readiness was correctand on par. The cultural barrier proved to be a
block for Lower management to carry outtasks and directives from top management totheir staff.
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ORGANISATIONAL CONTROL
33
O i i l C l & P
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Organisational Control & Power
Virtus Group
If leadership is about influencing behaviours, control is the relation of constraint of a
system or group of systems by management.
Organisation implies control Tannenbaum
Managements need to exercise control is met by most peoples desire to be subject to a
control system.
What is controlled? Systems which operate within defined boundaries. Policies
Procedures
Lawlergive three reasons why employees might want to be subject to control systems:
1. To give feedback about task performance2. To provide some degree of structure of tasks, their execution and how performance is
measured
3. Where reward systems are performance based
Is the idea of controlling another person ethical?
Ethi f C t l
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Ethics of Control
Virtus Grou
Robbins makes the following observation about control:
Why is control controversial? A democratic society is built upon theconcept of personal freedom. Therefore, the idea that one person should
attempt to get others to behave in some premeditated way, when the
subjects of that control may be unaware that their behaviour is being
manipulated, has been viewed in some circles as unethical..
Control should be viewed as an interpersonal influence over a network ofinteractions and communications page 679 Mullins
According to Zimmerman, Control Systems measure how effectively
decisions have been translated into results, which have influence on both
the organisational and the individual level.
The strategy put forward by Claude to introduce women at the higher ranks
was accompanied not only by the inherent stigma attached to control, but
also was wrapped in gender issues. External factors surrounding women at
the time had an effect on how Claudes strategy was perceived. This may
have added to the resistance Claude experienced.
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Th f l
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The nature of management control
Virtus Grou
Improvement in performance
INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOUR
ORGANISATIONAL
PERFORMANCEBasic act iv i t ies of
management
Clarification of objectives
Planning
Organising
Directing
CONTROLLING
Imbalance
between
control
measures for
Organisational
Performance
and Individual
Behaviours
To impact on per formance, organisations mu st impact indiv idual behaviours
and org anizat ional behaviou rs. Imper ial Life focu sed on organizat ional
per formance but indiv idual behaviours remained the same. Planning was
clear organizat ional ly. Ind ividu al ly these were blurred.
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Organisational and Individual progress
Although Organisational Performance is showing improvement, Individual Behaviours
are remaining the same.
In an effort to move up from 9th place in the
industry, the company tripled in size in three
years under Claudes leadership.
Meanwhile..
The executive group initially paid lip service to
Claudes ideas about the changing role of women.
This is just another one of the chairmans
ideaswell have to live with it for a while,
but it will go away.
38
Organisat ional
Per formance
Individual
Behaviour
Stages of Organisational Control
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Stages of Organisational Control
Virtus Grou
Objectives
and Targets
Standards of
performance
Actual
performance
1. Planning 2. Establishing 3. Monitoring
4. Comparing
Deviations
5. Rectifying
Corrective
Action
Red Flags are raised
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40
Elements of an Organizational Control System5 essential elements to an organizational control system.
1. Planning what is desired- Clarification of the aims to be achieved. Peoplemust know exactly what is required of them. Objectives and targets must be
clearly specified.
Was this implemented at Imperial Life?
Claude as well as the VP of HR initiated clear communication to all employees aboutthe new company espoused values of innovation, trust, openness, excellence
seeking, and customer focus. Staff development programs, and suggestionsystems linked to financial incentives for critical thinking were clearly
specified to employees.Impatient with the pace of change, the chief executive officer initiated the
development of systems under which Imperial Lifes culture would bereshaped(Case page 160)
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2. Establishment of defined standards of performance- this requires realistic
measurements by which the degree and quality of goal achievement could be
measured. Planning and measurement are pre-requisites of control. Objectives,
targets, standards of performance must be stated and communicated to all those
concerned.
Was this implemented at Imperial Life?
The redefinition and communication to staff of Imperial Lifes mission, goals, and
strategies were distributed to staff via the Blue Book and the Green Book in 1985
and 1987 respectively.
the redefinition and communication to staff of Imperial Lifes mission, goals and
strategies (the first such statement, the companys Blue Book, was distributed
in 1985; the second, the 1987 Green Book )(Case page 160)
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3. Monitoring actual performance This requires feedback and a system of reporting
information that is accurate, relevant and timely in a form that enables management to
highlight deviations from the planned standard of performance to ultimately address and
improve the system to achieve end results.
Was this implemented at Imperial Life?
An effective and efficient monitoring system did not exist at Imperial Life. The VP of HR did
not respond to the CEOs call for dealing with the womens issues at Imperial Life in a timely
fashion befitting an Effective Control System. In addition to this there were observations,
made by Imperial Life female employees, that their gender even though qualified were often
overlooked for promotion. An efficient monitoring system would have addressed this
phenomenon.
Claude Bruneau to Joy Bollen - its already mid 87 time to get serious about womens
issues in this company. When can we have that Womens Conference we talked about?
NOTE- This statement was said in 1987, Joy Bollen was in the role of Vice President of
Human Resources for almost a year. Furthermore she not only knew of the issues
surrounding the negative perceptions women faced by senior executives but she was also
subjected to it. (case page 156)
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4. Compare actual performance with planned targets - Information is interpreted and
evaluated in order to give details of progress, deviations, and identify probable
causes. Information should then be fed back to those concerned for performance.
Was this implemented at Imperial Life?
No specific evaluation specifically regarding the issues at Imperial Life were carried
out .
Comment made by an Imperial Life female employee As a woman in Imperial Life, I
dont know what it takes to get promoted. There is no clarity around criteria. (Case pg 165)
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5. Taking of corrective action- the final element of management control system is to
rectify the situations that have led to failure to achieve objectives or targets or other
forms of deviation identified. This requires:
1. Consideration of what can be done to improve performance.
2. Authority to take the appropriate action, to review the operation of the control
system, and to make any necessary adjustments to objectives and targets or to the
standards of performance.
Was this implemented at Imperial Life?
No specific corrective actions were taken regarding the issues at Imperial Life were
carried out.
44
Power Involvement and Compliance
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Power, Involvement and Compliance
Virtus Grou
How are Individual Behaviours being influenced by Imperial
Lifes control measures?
Mullins suggests power, at a broad level, can be interpreted in
terms of control or influence over the behaviour of other people
with or without their consent. Pg 688 Mullins
Exercising a particular type of control is usually a choice made
with the type of response, or involvement, that is desired in
mind.
Compliance is the relationship between the kinds of power
applied by the organisation to control its members and the kindsof involvement developed by members of the organisation.
Power and Involvement
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Power and Involvement
Virtus Grou
Coercive Power: Relies on the use of threats, or physical sanctions or force,
e.g., controlling the need for food or comfort
Remunerative Power: Involves the manipulation of material resources andrewards,
e.g., thorough salaries and wages
Normative Power: Relies on the allocation and the manipulation of symbolic
rewards,
e.g., esteem and prestige
Alienative Involvement: Occurs where members are involved without their
wishes.
There is a strong negative orientation towards the organisation.
Calculative involvement: Occurs where attachment to the organisation is
motivated
by extrinsic rewards. There is either a negative orientation or a low positiveorientation towards the organisation.
Moral Involvement: This is based on the individuals belief in, and value placed
on, the goals of the organisation. There is a high positive orientation towards
the organisation.
Power and Involvement
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Power and Involvement
Virtus Grou
while Imperial Life recommended the development of capable backups for
critical management positions, it allowed several key executives to treat their
immediate subordinates as little more than high-level technicians, reserving all major
decisions to themselves.
This demonstrated the manipulation of prestige and esteem bestowed on
employees.
Imperial Lifes management, by reserving or denying position and status
from employees displayed use ofNormative Power.
Youre not the assistant manager, youre the assistant TO the manager
There are a lot of highly skilled people at the lower levels, and many of them are
women. They feel blocked in a dead-end job theyve done for a long time, and
theres no where else to go. Or else theyre constantly passed over for promotion.
They dont seem to take the initiative to move on I dont know why!
The only major exodus of employees took place at the executive level driven by their
inability, or unwillingness to change during the culture change initiatives as imposed
by Claude. Employees, particularly women, seemed to stick with the company
despite the poor treatment suggesting their attachment to the organisation is
motivated by extrinsic reward.
This is indicative ofCalculative Involvement.Another day, Ano ther dol lar
EMPLOYEE COMPLIANCE @ IMPERIAL LIFE
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EMPLOYEE COMPLIANCE @ IMPERIAL LIFE
Virtus Grou
Nine logical types of organisational relationships and compliance result
from the typology as described by Etzioni.
Etzioni suggests that a particular kind of power usually goes with aparticular kind of involvement.
Coercive
Remunerative
Normative
Alienative Calculative Moral
Kind
sofPower
Kinds of Involvement
1
4
7
2
5
8
3
6
9
Incongruent
relationship
Imperial Life
Organisations with congruent
compliance structures will be more
effective than those with incongruent
structures
Congruent
relationships
N Organizational Structure
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Name: Organizational StructureFirst Name Last Name
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About Me
Purpose: I create divisions where human resources are placedto serve a common important purpose which is to completeobjectives to achieve organizational goals.
My Mission: I lay out tasks, responsibilities, work roles and
relationships, and by design outline the communicationhierarchy.
My Needs: Continual review of my form ensures that it is in
synchronicity with the growth and development of theorganization.
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Organizational Structure
Organizations are collections of people brought together for a
purpose. To achieve this purpose successfully, people need to be
organized within the best possible structure. Decisions on
structure are primary strategic decisions. Structure can make or
break an organization.
Lundy,O. and Cowling, A. Strategic Human Resource
Management(1996), p.141. (pg 570 Mullins)
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Imperial Lifes Organizational Structure
The Organizational Structure of Imperial Life is Division
of work by major purpose or function. This structure
is where work is departmentalized or groupedaccording to specialization. Further to this there is a
flat hierarchical structure which means there are less
lines to trace back to managers. (deduced from
Mullins pg 572)
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53
Claude Bruneau
Board of Directors
Chairman
Claude Bruneau
President
& CEO
Kenneth Beaugrand
Executive VP& COO
VP Asia
VP
Investment
s
VP Corporate
Planning &
Chief Actuary
VP
Agencies
VP General
Counsel and
Secretary
Sr. VP Ind.
Marketing
VP Product
Developme
nt and
Support
VP Group
Marketing Pres. &
CEO
Laurentian/Imper
ial Co.
VP Info
Systems
&
Services
VP Alternate
Distribution
Systems
VP
Finance
VP Individual
Administrati
on
Joy Bollen
VP Human
Resources
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Important to note
It is important to note that culture has a powerful
influence on organizational structure. Internal and
external influences, common values, beliefs and
attitudes will have a significant effect on organizationalprocesses including the design of structure. Mullins pg
565.
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in short, a very large proportion of the friction and
confusion in current society, with its manifest
consequences in human suffering, may be traced backdirectly to faulty organization in the structural sense
Urwick, L. The Elements of Administration, Second
Edition, Pitman (1947), pp. 38-39. (Mullins pg 586)
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Child points out certain problems arise time and time again in
struggling companies. Even at the best of times they can point to
incipient dangers that have to be dealt with. Deficiencies in
organization can play a part in exacerbating each of these
problems. High on the list are:
low motivation and morale
late and inappropriate decisions
conflict and lack of co-ordination
a generally poor response to new opportunities and external change, and
rising costs
Child, J. Organization: Contemporary Principles and Practice, Blackwell
Publishing (2005) p. 17 (Mullins pg 587)
56
Imperial Life suffered from at least 3 of these symptoms which
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Imperial Life suffered from at least 3 of these symptoms which
resulted in a faulty structure. Using Child to understand Imperial Life
we find the following:
issue cause Examples at
Imperial LifeLow motivation and
morale
Inconsistent decisions,
lack of delegation, lack of
clarity in job definition
Imperial Lifes managers
failed to delegate to
subordinates.
Late and inappropriate
decisions
Lack of timely, relevant
information to the right
people.
It took Joy Bollen almost
a year to finally get
serious about the women
issues at Imperial.
Conflict Conflicting goals, people
working at crosspurposes, failure to bring
people on teams.
Claude Bruneau was both
Chairman of the Boardand CEO. He also failed
to bring executives to
accept his vision of
equality within the ranks
of the company, often
resorting to a paternalistic
style of threats. 57
Th i i f I i l Lif O i i l
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The situation of Imperial Lifes Organizational
Structure
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A Lethal Combo.
Devastator is the combined form of several Constructicons. The
combined form takes on a composite role which limits, and in
some cases inhibits the roles of the individual elements of the
structure and can in turn become detrimental to the existence of
the whole. Therefore the whole is not greater than the sum of allits parts- no synergy, as postulated by Gestalt psychology.
This is characteristic of Imperial Life where the whole
organization was affected by poor HRM practices, ineffective
organizational control, a gender divide, and a paternalisticculture, while financially the company performed well.
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C y
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Claude Bruneau : A Tale of Many rolesCEO Role Functions Chairman of the Board role functions
1. LEADER
Advises the BoardAdvocates /promotes organization and stakeholder
change related to organization mission
Supports motivation of employees in
organization products/programs and
operations
2.VISIONARY / INFORMATION BEARER Ensures staff and Board have sufficient
and up-to-date information
Looks to the future for change
opportunities
Interfaces between Board and employees
Interfaces between organization and
community
(taken from
http://managementhelp.org/boards/
brdjobs.htm#anchor321357)
1. Is a member of the Board
2. Is a partner with the Chief Executivein achieving the organization's
mission
3. Provides leadership to the Board
of Directors, who sets policy
and to whom the Chief
Executive is accountable.
4. Chairs meetings of the Board after
developing the agenda with the
Chief Executive.
5. Encourages Board's role in strategic
planning6. Appoints the chairpersons of
committees, in consultation with
other Board members.
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Claude Bruneau : A Tale of Many rolesCEO Role Functions Chairman of the Board role functions
3. DECISION MAKER
Formulates policies and planning
recommendations to the Board (he may
suggest policy that he himself will have to
approve, therefore no checks and balances)
Decides or guides courses of action in operations
by staff
4. MANAGER
Oversees operations of organization
Implements plans
Manages human resources of organization
Manages financial and physical resources
5. BOARD DEVELOPER
Assists in the selection and evaluation of board
members
Makes recommendations, supports Board during
orientation and self-evaluation
Supports Board's evaluation of Chief Executive
7. Serves ex officio as a member of committees
and attends their meetings when invited.
8. Discusses issues confronting the organization
with the Chief Executive.
9. Helps guide and mediate Board actions with
respect to organizational priorities andgovernance concerns.
10. Reviews with the Chief Executive any issues
of concern to the Board.
11. Monitors financial planning and financial
reports.
12. Formally evaluates the performance of the
Chief Executive and informally evaluates theeffectiveness of the Board members.
13. Evaluates annually the performance of the
organization in achieving its mission.
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The backlash of the clash of many roles :
CEO goneWild!
The roles of CEO, President and Chairman of the Board areall essentially different functions. From the previous tablethe CEO is primarily the visionary and decision maker, theChairman of the Board is primarily the one who representsthe interest of the shareholders on the board and thePresident executes the business plan. Hence the presidentreports to the CEO who in turn reports to the Chairman ofthe Board who acts as the bridge between the shareholdersinterests and concerns and that of the senior executiveteam. In the case of Imperial Life Claude holds all 3positions simultaneously. It is therefore necessary to split
these roles to ensure proper checks and balances.
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According to the Business Week article, Splitting theCEO and the Chair:
In large scale business organizations the CEO must manage ina complex, challenging and time consuming environment.
Many roles takes away from organizational effectiveness.
To extract the knowledge and skills board members possess
requires a leader who can draw that out in absence of the
CEO whose presence may silence members from being critical
of management.
In a CEO/Chairman role there can be no fair assessment and
monitoring of self.
McCaferty, J. (2009)
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359
612.htm
63
H I i l
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htmhttp://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090612_359612.htm7/28/2019 Imperial Life With Notes (VIRTUS) MARCH 31st 2010
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However at Imperial
Claude Bruneau held the role of CEO and Chairman of the
board in one of Canadas largest insurance companies at atime of great economic change.
High turnover in board as people left due to none buy-in of
Claudes vision. Furthermore his paternalistic, authoritarianstyle could not have been kept in check as there was no
sentinel, in the form of another person, to add balance.
Therefore with Claude in different roles it would have been
challenging for him to recognize those aspects of his
personality that could have been harming the organization,
for example his paternalistic style.
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Pros and cons of Claude holding major positions
Pros Cons1) The different positions
allowed Claude to provide
opportunities for women to
advance at Imperial Life.
2) Decisions were made fasterholding these major roles as
bureaucracy was minimized.
1) With no checks and balances
Claudes paternalistic style
clashed with some senior
executives which influenced
their decision to leaveImperial Life.
2) Claudes rate of change was
so fast that communication to
lower level staff became
lagged and left many in thedark about exactly what was
taking place.
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In Conclusion
The organizational structure is therefore not static and
is influenced by factors such as culture, strategy, and
personalities.
Holding multiple important roles in any organization, as
in this case, resulted in an unbalanced organizational
structure which diminished managerial effectiveness
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HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
67
What is Human Resource
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What is Human Resource
Management?
According to Torrington et al (1995):
Human resource management is a series of
activities which: first enables working people and the
organization which uses their skills to agree about
the objectives and nature of their working
relationship, and secondly, ensures that the
agreement is fulfilled.
OBD Text, page 481
68
The HRM Function -
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The HRM Function -
Who is responsible?
The HRM function is the responsibility of all managers and supervisors and it is therefore
not confined to an HRM department or HRM specialist. The HR manager would be
concerned mainly with the broader aspects of procedures for example, HR panning,
recruitment and selection, HR planning, HR policies etc., acting as a specialist advisor and a
support for line managers offering advice when needed. The line manager would be
responsible for the operational aspects of HR within his/her own department. Such activities
would include delegation, on-the-job training and ensuring certain standards of work are
met and maintained. According to Johnson et al, for the HRM function to be effective there
must be good teamwork, co-operation and consultation between line managers and the HR
manager.
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HRM at Imperial LifeWhat they did well:
Bill Stanley managing the womens centre
Integrating women into upper level management.
What was lacking:
Delegation and empowerment of staff
Lack of proper control mechanisms to monitor individual performance
Training and development of lower level staff
Minimal succession planning
No clear goals and objectives as a measure for individual performance
Evidence:
Low staff morale
Demotivated staff
Perception of inequality, discrimination and unfairness among lower level staff, particularly towards women
Lack of women in high positions
Women lacking the skills and training to obtain/fill higher level jobs
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DELEGATION AND EMPOWERMENT
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Delegation
What is delegation?
According to Mullins, delegation is the process of entrusting
authority and responsibility to others throughout the various levels of
the organization. It is the authorisation to undertake activities that
would otherwise be carried out by someone in a more senior position.
73
Wh d l t ?
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Why delegate?According to Guirdham, Managers who neglect to, or cannot, delegate are failing to
develop the human resources for which they have responsibility.
Leads to the optimum use of human resources and improved org l performance.
Allows managers to make maximum use of their time to concentrate on the more important
tasks at hand. More time managing and less time doing.
Provides a means for the training and development of staff and a test for subordinates
suitability for promotion.
Increases strength of the workforce. Gives employees greater scope for action and
opportunities to develop their aptitudes and abilities.
Increases job satisfaction and employee morale with increased responsibility and participation
in the planning and decision-making process. Helps the employee to satisfy higher level
needs.
74
Delegation at Imperial Life
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Delegation at Imperial Life
Delegation was lacking at Imperial Life and was evident because many women were
overlooked for promotion and therefore the training and delegation of work and
responsibility required to be considered for a higher position was something that did not
seem necessary or practical. Managers also withheld the power and authority for decision-
making. In cases where tasks were delegated, managers would reserve the authority of the
decision-making to themselves.
Women need help to advance. There is still savvy that you dont get from an MBA which is hard to pick
up in an organization where you dont have a mentor
And as women get into management ranks, and into a position where they can begin to exert some
influencewe havent taught them, or society has taught them, how to be able to impact on that
circumstance
many policies and procedures remained stuck in the 60s and 70s. For example, while Imperial Life
recommended the development of capable backups for critical management positions, it allowed several
key executives to treat their immediate subordinates as little more than high-level technicians, reserving
all major decisions to themselves.
75
Delegation and the women of IL
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Delegation and the women of IL
At Imperial Life, there was a lack of delegation of higher order work particularly to thewomen in the organisation due to a perception held by the men in the organisation, the
society and in some cases, even the women themselves of the general place and role of
a woman.
Women were seen to have a more supportive role in the organisation than a decision-
making one. This perception of women seemed to have existed mainly at the middle
management which appeared to have prevented them from equipping the female staff
with the necessary skills and know-how to move up the corporate ladder.
76
Delegation and the women of IL
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Delegation and the women of IL
This was contradictory to Claudes vision as he saw women as a vital resource. He was concerned about the lack
of women in senior positions and initiated an attempt to get the commitment of the Executive team to have a
female candidate among the finalists for every management position. We need to build a solid base which will
force the maintenance of our course of action, by bringing young women into the system who will eventually
become directors and officers.
Pg 160 in case.
I felt the need to take a meaningful position and send a message from the top down, particularly to skeptical
officers. So I decided to use the opportunity of four openings on the 21-member board of directors to appoint
three women.quite a shock for some of the board members.
Pg 161 in case
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Delegation and women in IL
Claude laid the foundation for his vision and set the example by hiring these 3 women to the Executive Team as well as
Joy Bollen who got promoted twice; from Director of Planning and Development to Executive Director of people issues (a
position created just for her) then to VP-HR the following year, making her officially part of the senior management team.
Claude clearly demonstrated his vision which was to delegate responsibilities and empower women to see them advance
and be treated as equals within the organization. The salary range for a Vice-President isand thats what youll pay her.
Pg 163 in case.
Between 1978 and 1987, the percentage of women in managerial and supervisory levels grew by 51% and women
comprised approximately 52% of all the managers and supervisors at Imperial Life. Most of these changes in the male-
female balance however arose as a result of women being brought into the organisation. Women who were already
working in the company encountered some resistance from middle management who opposed the delegation of
responsibilities to assist in their advancement. Evidence of this was reflected in staff comments from a survey conducted
at Imperial Life on the topic of womens issues.
78
l l
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DelegationA managers role
According to Fayol and Drucker in their
organising function of management,
delegation is a must role for a manager for
the benefits previously outlined and inaddition it also serves to motivate staff who
seek autonomy, responsibility and strive for a
sense of achievement in work (Mc GregorTheory Y worker.)
79
Reasons for lack of delegation
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Reasons for lack of delegation
Perception of womens place in society
Fear of women outperforming the men
Fear of women incapable of doing a sufficiently good job
Managers fear of being blamed for subordinates mistakes
Lack of training of how to delegate and identifying the need for it.
Lack of appropriate staff
80
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
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TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
81
l f
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SYNOPSIS Imperial Life
Joy- Lack of sufficient training for VP-HR roleIt is morally wrong to give a person a leadership role without some form oftraining- wrong for them and those who work with them. J. Adair, The Path ToLeadership.
Many women in the organisation could not be promoted because they lacked thenecessary skills and know-how to advance to the next level.
A possible reason for a lack of delegation may have been due to the managerslack of knowledge in knowing how and what to delegate. Many new managers were hired between 1978 and 1987.
Mullins stated that in the 80s, delegation underwent a crisis of confidence.
Implementation of proper control systems for performance with an adequateunderstanding of how to use them.
Lack of mentoring / coaching
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The Need for Training
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The Need for Training
at Imperial Life
Why was there a need for training? For upward mobility particularly for the women
in the organisation
To upgrade skills of staff (new technology/
methods etc.) Part of succession planning
To meet the new objectives of the organisationthat the culture change may bring.
To close gaps identified (e.g. Teaching managershow to delegate/supervise and manageperformance of subordinates)
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Benefits of Training at
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g
Imperial Life
Widened skill base for all staff in the organization
Giving women an equal opportunity to be selected for promotion, which is consistent with
the vision that Claude has for the company pg 160 My interest in promoting women at
Imperial Life is that they constitute a reservoir of talent, probably more aggressive than the
other reservoirat the end of the day, in 20 or 30 years, we will have a balanced universe.
Improved management practices
Increased confidence, motivation and commitment of staff
More efficient organization
Improved customer service
84
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Training A management function
Drucker One of his 5 basic operations of amanager is to develop people.
Develops people directs, encourages and
trains. How well subordinates developthemselves depends on the way a manager
manages.
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E t f th
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Excerpts from the case
Pg 164:But there was no woman in the entire organization who coulddo it. We had no eligible women at head office and none in oursales force.
Pg 166And promotion from within is very, very rare in the corporation.Somebody is usually brought in from outside.
Women need help to advance. There is still savvy that you dontget from an MBA which is hard to pick up in an organisation whereyou dont have a mentor.
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
87
What is Performance
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Management?
Performance management can be defined as a
strategic and integrated approach to delivering
sustained success to organisations by improvingthe performance of the people who work in
them and by developing the capabilities of teams
and individual contributors (Armstrong and
Baron, 1998).
88
Performance Management
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g
at Imperial Life
From the case it was evident that the performances of staff were not closely monitored ormeasured. This was seen when:
Managers were not evaluated based on their expected job functions. Example they did notdelegate, train staff
Many staff were unaware of the requirements for upward mobility within the organisation. As awoman in Imperial Life, I dont know what it takes to get promoted. There is no clarity on
criteria, so the question is often asked How did she get hired.Page 165 in case
Joys contribution/progress in fulfilling her duties and implementing ways by which Claudes visionfor the org can be met in her new role as VP-HR was not monitored
denied lower level staff the authority and power that came with the delegation of responsibilities.Delegation is a managerial function but which was lacking throughout the organisation and whichwould have allowed managers to focus on the more important decisions allowing them to be moreefficient at what they do.
89
The Performance Management Cycle
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g y
90
Role Profile
Performance agreement
Performance
Performance
Review
Personal development
planning
Plan
Review Act
Monitor
Developing An Effective Performance Management System
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Developing An Effective Performance Management System
1. Performance Agreement:
Defines the expectations of the individual in the form of
objectives, how performance will be measured and the
competencies needed to deliver the required results. Theseexpectations must be agreed upon with the employee.
2. A personal development plan:
Sets out the actions people intend to take to develop
themselves to increase their level of competency.
91
Developing An Effective Performance
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Developing An Effective Performance
Management System
3. Managing performance:
Coaching/mentoring/training of staff to ensure staff are equipped with the necessary tools,
skills and know-how for fulfilling the objectives outlined. Providing continuous feedback.
4. Performance review:
A formal evaluation at the end of the year covering the achievements, progress, and areas
for improvement as a basis for a revised personal development plan. Some methods for
measuring performance:
a. Behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS)
b. Achieving objectives
c. Performance agreement or contract
d. 360 feedback
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Methods of measurement and review of
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performance
1. BARS (Behaviourally anchored rating scales)
Key behavioural aspects of the job are identified
Good/average/poor performance are defined and a
scale point is developed.
Staff performance is measured against the defined
behaviours on the point scale to measure
performance
Time consuming and costly to implement
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Methods of measurement and review of
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performance
2. Achieving objectivesObjectives are set and must be SMART:
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Achievable
R- RelevantT- Time-bound
and the appraisal is based on the extent to which the objectives weresuccessfully met and within the timeframe given.
This method of performance review can especially be used for the
Executive Management team at IL whose performances are lessbehaviour based and more task related eg: having specific profit targets,expenses/budgets within which they have to operate etc.
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Methods of measurement and review of
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performance
360 degree feedback model
95
Manager
Individual
Direct Reports
Internal
CustomersPeers
Methods of measurement and review of
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performance
3. Performance agreement or contractProposed by Stein.
Members of staff create a succinct document, agreed
with their superior which outlines their proposed
contribution to the business plan of the organisation. This
forms the basis of their individual performance review as
performance is rated based on whether the agreed
contributions/plans were met.
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Methods of measurement and review of
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performance
4. 360 degree feedback
This involves feedback from different groups in a work situation
example bosses, peers, subordinates and customers usually in the
form of a questionnaire.
It allows for increased self awareness (identifying any
discrepancies between how we see ourselves and how others see
us Johari window)
Enhanced self-awareness is a key to maximum performance as a
leader
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CULTURE
98
Organisational Culture
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99
Atkinson defines culture as the way things are done around here...Organizational culture reflects
the underlying assumptions about the way work is performed; what is acceptable and what is not;
and what behaviour and actions are encouraged anddiscouraged(Mullins page 721)
Prior to the arrival of Claude we can note that the culture emphasized exactness and detail down
to ridiculous extreme. The company was stuck in a phase of traditionalism with the companys
direction set by the actuaries the professional insurance mathematicians.
Schein suggests three (3) levels of culture from the shallowest to the deepest
1.Level 1 Artefacts. This is described as the most visible level including the environment and
physical layout as well as the behaviour expressed by the groups members.
2.Level 2 Espoused Values. Where cultural learning reflects the original ideas of an individual
using reality as a solution to deal with a new tasks, issues or problems.
3.Level 3 Basic underlying assumptions This is where a solution has been used repeatedly and as
such overtime is taken for granted.(Mullins page 722)
We can clearly see that the second level is what applies to Imperial life since Claude Bruneau used
this strategy to recreate the vision of the company as a means of gaining greater market share inthe financial services industry and as such creating a market specifically targeted towards women
thus maintaining a competitive advantage. Claude saw the solution to the problem of productivity,
growth, innovation and low employee morale based on the employment of women in top
management positions. As a result Claude aggressively demanded that change within the
organization be implemented at his pace neglecting the fact that resistance by other management
would be inevitable
Organisational Culture
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100
It can be noted that the culture of an organization is not innate but has to be developed over
time. There are however key influences on how this culture can be formed namely the
organizations HISTORY, PRIMARY FUNCTIONS and TECHNOLOGY, GOALS and
OBJECTIVES, SIZE, LOCATION, MANAGEMENT and STAFFING and theENVIRONMENT.
At Imperial Life we can see that the culture of the organization prior to Claudes appointment
as CEO was shaped by several factors the companys HISTORY; MANAGEMENT AND
STAFFING, FUNCTIONS as well as its GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
Imperial Life had grown slowly but steadily emphasizing traditional products andmethods....the companys direction was set by actuaries the professional life insurance
mathematicians...In the past the company culture had emphasized exactness and detail
down to a ridiculous extreme.(Case page 156)
Because of this, change in such a rapid and aggressive manner was difficult to envision by
the already exiting management team who were accustomed to the way things were doneat the company. Lessons learnt are very difficult to unlearn.
Learning is about more than simply acquiring new knowledge and
insights; it is also crucial to unlearn old knowledge that has outlived its
relevance. Thus, forgetting is probably at least as important as learning.
Gary Ryan Blair
Organisational Culture
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101
Organisational Culture
With the appointment of Claude Bruneau in 1983 we saw a strong push for a change in the
companys culture specifically through a change in MANAGEMENT and STAFFING and company
POLICY. Claude was seen as a visionary who could recognise and understand changes in society.
This was something that was not embraced by the rest of the management team since they were
already acculturated in a traditional manner.
During the early 80s senior management was having difficulty coping with the stated objectives
of a new kind of company culture open, people-centered, performance-driven, flexible and
entrepreneurial...Impatient with the pace of change, the CEO along with the VP-HR initiated the
development of systems under which ImperialLifes culture would be reshaped.
(Case page 160)
It is not that change was not wanted at Imperial Life since they saw Claude as a visionary. Rather
people were not aware of the change that was taking place and what effects it would have on the
individual hence their resistance.
Organisational Culture
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102
g
Whittington, Johnson and Scholes 2005 in their work Exploring Corporate
Strategypresent different aspects of a proper analysis of organizational culture
in the form of a cultural web. At Imperial Life we see the amalgamation of three
(3) major cultural traits. Rout ine Behaviourswhere the members of the
organization behave in particular ways toward each other which make up how
things are done or how things should happen. Power Structureswhere the
most powerful individuals may be based on management positions and
seniority. Contro l Systemswhere the measurement and reward systems
emphasise what is important to monitor. These all lead to TheParadigmwhere
the organization encapsulates and reinforces the behaviours observed in other
elements of the cultural web.
Cultural Web
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103
THE
PARADIGM
CONTROL
SYSTEMS
POWER
STRUCTURES
ROUTINE
BEHAVIOURS
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gRESISTANCE TO CHANGE
Although organizations have to adapt to their environment, they tend to feelcomfortable operating within the structures policies and procedures which have been
in place from the initial formulation of the company thus creating a comfort zone.
Most companies fall in to a trap of relying on these innate strategies which allows them
to set up defenses against change and place more focus on the operations that they
perform well while neglecting the other factors (innovation, training and development)which gives rise to loss of market share, low employee morale as well as a loss of their
competitive advantage.
weve been lead by fairly introverted types of people very inward-looking, traditional,
risk-averse and driven by the technical side of the business
(Case page 157)
the perception of a career in life insurance sales was low in the eyes of the average
customerpublic respect for the product and for the agent himself was not very high
we feel embarrassed about the product that we sell.
(Case page 157)104
Organisational Culture
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gMullins points out that there are five main reasons why companies form a barrier to
change namely because of:
1. Organization culture (culture of an organization develops overtime and may not be easy to change)
2. Maintaining stability (The more mechanistic or bureaucratic the organizational structure the lessresponsive the organization will be to change)
3. Investment in resources (Change requires capital and resources which may have already beencommitted to other areas or strategies)
4. Past contracts or agreements (Organizations can enter into contracts or agreements with otherparties and this can limit changes to behaviour)
5. Threats to power or influence (Change can be seen as a threat to senior staff positions. Overtimewhere a group of people hold a particular perception territorialright they are likely to resist change)
At Imperial life it is clear that barriers to change existed mainly because of a fear
of threat to power or influence as well as the general organizational culture
and were very prominent when Claude embarked upon his mission to change the
companys culture.
Greatimportance was attached to the modeling by Imperial Lifes executive members of the
new values they wanted others to buy into. Unfortunately many of the senior managers were
unable or unwilling to change their values and behaviours to conform to the new standards.
This result was an almost complete turnover of the Management Committee .
105
Gender discrimination
From as early as the 1970s we notice that women have become increasingly active
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From as early as the 1970 s we notice that women have become increasingly active
in the world of work. However they have not been and in some instances still not
represented throughout the occupational structure. Haralambos suggest that this
contributes to the following
Horizontal segregation:- the extent to which men and women do different jobs.
Vertical segregation:- the extent to which men have higher status and or higher
paid jobs than women.
It is clear that both horizontal and vertical segregation existed at Imperial Life.Women in management positions were unheard of and very hard to come to terms
with. Partof the culture change within the company was the slowly shifting male-
female imbalance. The executive group paid lip service to Claudes ideas about the
changing role of women. - This is just another one of the chairmans ideas ... Well
have to deal with it for a while but it will go away.(Case page 161)
106
Gender discrimination may not only be related to unfavourable experiences of women
in the workplace but may result from a basic social psychological process i.e.
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Stereotyping. Stagnor (1988) points out that descriptive stereotypes the
constellations traits and attributes which are used to describe men and women are
applied to individuals in the work environment and become the basis for inferring their
initial stable characteristics. Thus even in situations where person A may have verylittle knowledge about person B, he or she will infer a set of characteristics about
person B from the general category of man or woman to which Person B belongs.
This was indicative of Imperial Life and mainly caused by the company's cultural
traditions of female exclusion at higher level positions.
...the industry has been a male dominated bastion..This environment has been asresistant to change as any in the financial sector. It has been the most extreme male
chauvinist faction existing in our society, in terms of believing women have two places
the kitchen and the bedroom.(case 163)
Women were not brought up to think like men-they didnthave the opportunities for
team sports, etc. I talk to our ladies about the things they should or should not do, to
help them do better at their careers; and Iwontprovide a chance for a female unless
I knowshes capable of handling additional responsibilities. (case 170)
Because of this Imperial Lifes women are not given the opportunity to be promoted to
higher level positions regardless of having the necessary qualifications and or
experience.107
Salary differences between male and female workers at
Imperial Life
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Imperial Life
108
Job differences between men and women at
Imperial Life
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0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Exec.
Officers
Directors
Depart.
Heads
Supervisors
Specialists
UnitHeads
WOMEN MEN
Imperial Life
109
Organizational Culture
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Chatman and Cha suggest that everycompany has a culture-good or bad and in order
for leaders to develop, manage, and change their culture there must be the use of three
managerial tools namely recruitment and selection; social tools and training and rewardsystems.It is important to employ persons who fit the companys culture even if this
may involve overlooking some technical skills for a better fit while at the same time
developing practices that enable people to understand the values, abilities, expected
behaviour and social knowledge.
At Imperial Life it was clear that this did not take place. Was Claude the right fit forImperial Life? even though he may have had experience in senior management and
considered as a visionary its not clear if his vision was in sync with the mission of the
organization. His intentions were good but his strategy for implementation was very
poor.
This was also the case for Joy. Again we ask if Joy was the right fit for Imperial Life asChatman and Cha suggest it may be better to sacrifice some technical skills. We also see
that Joy was not informed or did not receive any matriculation into Imperial Life. She
was not brought up to date with the existing cultures of the organization and its
environment.
110
Kotter and Cohen suggests some of the following actions which can be implemented
in order to secure effective change.
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Create a senseof Urgency
This should be done among all members of the organization both upper level management and lower level staff through the
process of staff meetings, organization news letters etc.
Create Visionsfor theOrganization
The vision of the organization could be re written as a means of encouraging staff to be more focused on what the companys
intention for development would entail. Again staff should have the opportunity to be part of the process thereby making them
part of the vision for change hence minimizing resistance.
Communication
ALL staff regardless of position should be kept acura of any changes taking place within the organization since change
regardless of how small affects all parties involved. This can be done via dissemination of information at staff or departmental
meetings, use of memos, use of company newsletter, via internal e-mail etc.
EMPOWER
ACTION
Ensure as best as possible the participation of ALL stakeholders (staff, partners, customers) in decision making processes & agenuine feeling of shared involvement. Stakeholders should have an opportunity to share their opinion on change this can bedone through anonymous surveys. This should be done preferably before the actual introduction of any new systems or majorchanges. The use of working parties, liaison committees, steering groups and joint consultations may assist discussions andparticipation and help maintain the momentum of the change process.
Do not
let up
The process of change should be continuous and there should be no major lapse with its implementation.
Make change
stick
This is where nurturing of the change culture is important specifically relating to the development of group norms of behaviour
and shared value.
111
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Within Imperial Life it was clear than none of the points identified as solutions to the
problem had been explored and this should have been initiated from the managers
directive. Mullins concurs by pointing out that One of the most important factors of
successfully implementing change culture within the organization is throughmanagerialbehaviour.
According to Reis and Pena It is also clear that Claude neglected the human resistance
issues. Instead Claude should have
1. Communicated his ideas for change at a managerial level
2. Communicated his ideas for change at a non-managerial level through his VPs and
divisional managers and as a whole through staff workshops giving all parties
involved an opportunity to give feed back and open debating.
3. Formed good relationships with all staff members. make everyone feel
important.
112
According to Mullins the effective management of change must be
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based on a clear management of human behaviour at
workPeople experience a range of emotional
involvementsemotions of fear and frustration hence creatingdefence mechanisms and negative attitudes which foster
resistance to change.
Drucker contends that one CANNOT manage change. One canonly be ahead of it... We need to accept that change is
unavoidable ...In a period of rapid structural change, the only
companies that will survive are the Change Leaders. Claude
should have seen change as an opportunity In order to effect this
properly Claude should have looked for the change, find out which
change was the right change and then find a way of making this
change effective both out side the organization and inside.
113
PROBLEM SOLUTION ACTION TAKEN/TO BE
TAKEN
CHALLENGES
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LACK OF TRUST Discouraging
organizational
hierarchies
elimination of thewe VS they
syndrome
Elimination of the executive
or private dining rooms
Resistance from
management
LACK OF
GENUINE STAFF
PARTICIPATION
Claude should be
open to share his
directives forchange with ALL
other employees
The establishment of liaison
committees, steering groups
and joint consultations whereopen participation and
discussion will take place.
Staff retreats
LACK OF CO-
OPERATIVETEAM SPIRIT
Allow ALL
stakeholders tofeel and influence
the change which
may be taking
place
The organization can implement
a system of anonymoussuggestion boxes. Also they can
encourage staff social clubs
which bridges the
communication gap between
upper and lower level staff
114
PROBLEM SOLUTION ACTION TAKEN/TO BE
TAKEN
CHALLENGES
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LACK OF
INCENTIVE
PAYMENT
SCHEMES
Implementation
of incentive
schemes as
reward for hard
work
Incentive schemes can be on
an individual basis with
bonuses being paid to each
member of staff according to
effort and performance
Financial stability of
the organization
LACK OF A
CAREFULLY
DESIGNEDHUMAN
RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
ACTION
PROGRAMME
HR should recruit
people who
match theorganization and
its ideals and
ideologies for
embracing change
HR should be more specific in
relation to advertisement for
vacancies and prospectivecandidates should be able to
fit the organization. There
should also be the potential
for the introduction of
training and re-training
programmes in order tofoster and develop new skills
and to reinforce old skills.
115
Behaviour ModificationAccording to Mullins Lewin suggest that there is a three phased process used
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116
The first phase is the unfreezing stage-this is where theorganization reduces the forces which maintain behaviour in
its present form, thereby recognizing a need for the process
of change to take place and for improvement to occur. At
Imperial Life there is a need to unfreeze all the traditional
behavioural and management ideologies which exists.
The company has been asleep for anumber of years-a whole generation. The
business was stale. The Management
lacked a sense of purpose and direction.
Movement-This is where the development of new
attitudes and behaviours take place through the
implementation of change. Here is where we seeClaude and his change initiatives coming into
effect. Unfortunatelymany senior managers were
unable or unwilling to change their values and
behaviour to conform to the new standards. The
result an almost complete turnover of the
Management Committee.
g gg p p
for combating behaviour modification as a means of resistance to change and
improved performance.
Refreezing-this is where change stabilization takes place at
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Refreezing this is where change stabilization takes place at
the new level and where there is reinforcement through
supporting mechanisms. This was seen at Imperial Life
through the development of the companys Blue and Greenbooks. This refreezing process was however not fully
embraced since uncertainties and ambiguity still existed as
to the pace and structure of change.
117
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118
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Managers and other change agents use various means of mobilizing staff, exerting power and
influence over others and getting people to support planned change efforts. Each powersource has somewhat different implications for the planned change process. This can beexpressed through the following methods:-
Forced Coercion This strategy uses authority, rewards and punishment to create change.That is that the change agent acts unilaterally to command change through his or herauthority. This was indicative of Claude who nonetheless visionary was only concerned aboutimplementing his change, in his way and at his own pace regardless of the increase inemployee haemorrhaging especially at the upper management level.
Rational Persuasion This strategy uses rational argument, facts and special knowledge tocreate change. This assumes that rational people will be guided by reason and self interest indeciding whether or not to support a change. Expert power is mobilized to convince othersthat the change will leave them better off than before.
Shared Power This strategy uses participatory methods and emphasises common values tocreate change. This method actively and sincerely involves the people who will be affectedby the change by trying to develop directions and support for change through involvementand empowerment thereby building essential foundations such as values, group norms, andshared goals so that change happens naturally.
119
COMMUNICATION
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120
Communication
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Communication is derived from the Latin communis- to be in
common with.
In addition to communality it includes the concepts oftransmission, meaning and information.
It involves the:givingreceiving or exchanginginformation, opinions or ideas
by
writing, speech or visual means,
so that the material communicated is completelyunderstood byeveryone concerned
121
Communication
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Communication
Perceived reality, not actual reality, is thekey to understanding behaviour. How we
perceive others and ourselves is at the
root of our actions and intentions.
Understanding the perceptual process
and being aware of its complexities can
help develop insights about ourselves and
may help in reading others.
Mullins, Managing Organizational Behaviour, pp. 208
122
Communication involves all five senses
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123
Hearing
Smell
Taste
TouchSeeing
Communication- Process
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Sender
Message
Channel
Receiver
Feedback
Channel
124
Encoding
Decoding
Communication- cycle of perception
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Person B interprets Asspeech, movement and
gestures in order tounderstand As motives,emotions, assumptions,
attitudes, intentions,
abilities
B responds inspeech,
movement,gesture, etc.
A interprets Bs speech,
movement and gesturesin order to understandBs motives, emotions,assumptions, attitudes,
intentions, abilities
A responds in
speech,movement,gestures, etc.
Person Aspeaks,moves,
g