Business and organizational behavior

¶ … Org Behavior

Leadership Analysis

The factors of influence for leadership and its effects have been thoroughly analyzed by specialists in the field. There are numerous aspects that influence the behavior of leaders, and various manners in which the leadership style affects the behavior of employees and the organizational culture. Corporate politics is one of the most important factors that must be understood when assessing the leadership style within companies.

The article written by Ronald W. Clement intends to analyze the relationship between culture, leadership, and power, and how they determine organizational change. Some of the most important lessons that Clement is trying to teach interested individuals refer to the fact that organizational change depend on involving power and politics within the strategy of the company (Clement, 1994). Given the fact that leadership is the most important factor for organizational change, leaders and managers must focus on understanding how the politics in their organizations work. Therefore, it is important to study the company's history, to identify management communication styles, and to determine the company's approach to productivity and efficiency. These managers must also develop an understanding of the political maneuvering style within their companies. This is because such practices and procedures are usually implemented in the traditional values and beliefs systems, making them resistant to change, and, therefore, difficult to influence and to modify.

The three companies addressed by Clement in his article are considered of having followed similar approaches to organizational change, with similar results. The author blames these companies' lack of understanding of organizational culture. In the writer's opinion, the people in charge with managing organizational change at these companies, same as those in other companies, failed at identifying the organizational change drivers. Instead, they should have focused on identifying and analyzing the cultural and behavioral obstacles for change, associated with each company. In other words, managers dealing with change processes should focus on the company's culture, the leadership of the change effort, and the network of power that functions in the case of these companies.

The advice provided by Clement is rather general, which means it can be successfully applied in most situations that deal with change management. This is because the change process must be adapted to the existing corporate culture. In other words, the leader must ensure a transaction between the current situation of the company and the intended type of culture that must be developed. However, the time frame is different in the case of each company and varies in accordance with its size, activity, and tradition. Therefore, the change process is significantly longer in the case of large companies, with important tradition on the market, characterized by strongly implemented practices and by well-established systems of power.

The change management process also depends on the leadership efforts, and this is applicable to most companies. Given the fact that the resistance to change is usually a strong one in most companies, intensified efforts are required in order to change corporate culture. Although the company's leader is the main factor that influences this process, change can only be implemented with the support of employees in each company.

The network of power is probably the most important factor that leaders must address when trying to implement organizational change. This means that leaders must identify the power poles in the organization and identify their intentions and motivations. Furthermore, they must analyze the behavior of these power poles and their area of influence. Based on the facts revealed by this analysis, leaders must develop the negotiation process. This is because the individuals holding the power within the company must be persuaded in supporting the organizational change process.

The negotiation process in this case is probably the most important activity that influences the success of the organizational change process. This process often takes the form of exchange of favors, obstructionism, and coalitions (Ratzburg, 2011). This is also the most difficult part of the change process. This is because power holders within the company are obviously satisfied with the corporate culture in case. They probably see no reason in modifying it. Therefore, the leader must focus on reaching its objectives while influencing the individuals that control most of the company.