Organisational Change And Stress Management 5j163w

CHANGE Managing Change in Organisation Culture With the market economy conquering the world culminating in the shrinking of the world into a global village, organisations have to change their stance, with a strategy focused at the global market and acquire agility to respond quickly to the customer expectations. Such organisational change can be brought about by building high performing synergistic work systems comprising of many inter-related parts, that must function as a whole to reach the goals of meeting customer needs. Such synergistic work systems involve tailored configurations of work structures, practices and processes. Organisations have to restructure so as to organise work flow around key business processes webbed around customer needs and then create teams to carry out those processes. Human resource systems; management practices; work practices and processes and organisational structures tuned to customer requirement culminate in organisations strategic alignment towards responsiveness and customer orientation. The critical steps involved in such organisational change process are as follows: i) Building the case for change. ii) Define vision, mission and strategy. iii) Develop communications and involvement strategy for the organisation as a whole. iv) Design/Re-design the organisation structure v) Plan for implementation. vi) Implement the system vii) Monitor and evaluate progress viii) Review the organisation. In all the above activities the macro focus of the organisation as a whole is to be kept in view. All the steps are important, but their sequence can vary depending upon existing organisation culture. Typically they overlap, and earlier steps need to be revisited as the change progresses. The relative emphasis on particular step depends on the history of an organisation and its current work culture. While building the case for change, involve the customer and key stake-holders, send honest and consistent messages. When defining, vision, mission and strategy create steering and design committees consisting of creative visionary thinkers representing a cross section of the organisation. For developing a communications and involvement strategy, develop a plan to deal with rumours and use opinion leaders and managers. Bombard the organisation with senior management speeches, round table conferences, news letters, testimonials and internal public relation technology. Organisation design/re-design consists of moving from pyramidal-heirachical to matrix-bound structures giving clear role boundaries and guidelines to design teams while involving people who are going to be influenced by organisational restructuring process. When planning for implementation, communicate plans with enthusiasm, competence and commitment. Identify projects that will lead to early wins. In implementation, have senior leaders drive the implementation, develop systems before launching teams and build management teams before employee teams. Implement top down for monitoring and evaluating progress. Open up the managers to ask the right questions, argue and positively criticise in formally organised round tables with employees as internal customers. During the transition, allow optimum time for change, prevent backsliding and celebrate success. Learning organisations have come alive with responsiveness and customer orientation. Such organisations have enhanced capacity to learn, adopt and change. It is an organisation in which learning processes are developed, analysed, monitored, managed and aligned with improved and innovated goals. Its vision, strategy, leadership, values, structures, systems knowledge and practical experience, all constantly change based on the need of the hour. Sharing best practices, an open culture, calculated risk taking is encouraged.

Systems for performance based rewards are promoted. Instead of a single prescription for success, learning organisations use many. Following are the requirements for the managerial change. i) The managers must have adequate knowledge of human behaviour. ii) The managers must be clear exactly of that behaviour, they have to manage. iii) They must have the skills to manage the consequences for designed behaviour in work situation. These three have to be linked scientifically. Managerial behaviour is controlled by the consequences which accrue. People do what they do because of what happens to them when they do it.They never do simply because they are told to do so. The cmx of managerial behavioural change is in engineering consequences rather than talking Utopia. Behavioural change of groups is engineered so as to convert coalitions into synergistic teams and is brought about by imparting a sense of common purpose. Open, mutually agreed upon and challenging goals must clearly relate to the team‘s vision which has been aligned with organisational strategy. Group strategies for achieving goals are made clear along with the norms and the values that will guide them. Group empowerment is brought about by a sense of personal as well as collective power where group have opportunities to grow and learn new skills. Open communication and empathic relationships are inculcated by optimisation of group cohesion, clarification of group boundaries and inter-group relationships. Flexibility for tasks and functions as also group maintenance enhance group‘s effectiveness. Recognition and appreciation for high performing groups is the key to success. Weeding out the non performers is equally important. Such differential is essential. Morale imparts energy and inculcates enthusiasm in the teams and is brought about by realistic optimism being kept alive during group processes in progress. Specific group behaviour reinforces for group productivity. Sincere specific praise given promptly for total group‘s performance; listening and facilitating group , interaction enhances group performance. 000 Types of Organizational Change For organizations, the last decade has been fraught with restructurings, process enhancements, mergers, acquisitions, and layoffs—all in hopes of achieving revenue growth and increased profitability. While the external environment (competitive, regulatory, and so on) will continue to play a role in an organization's ability to deliver goods and services, the internal environment within the organization will increasingly inhibit it from delivering products required to meet the demands of the marketplace unless it is able to adapt quickly. The major areas of changes in a company's internal environment include: 

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Strategic: Sometimes in the course of normal business operation it is necessary for management to adjust the firm's strategy to achieve the goals of the company, or even to change the mission statement of the organization in response to demands of the external environments. Adjusting a company's strategy may involve changing its fundamental approach to doing business: the markets it will target, the kinds of products it will sell, how they will be sold, its overall strategic orientation, the level of global activity, and its various partnerships and other t-business arrangements. Structural: Organizations often find it necessary to redesign the structure of the company due to influences from the external environment. Structural changes involve the hierarchy of authority, goals, structural characteristics, istrative procedures, and management systems. Almost all change in how an organization is managed falls under the category of structural change. A structural change may be as simple as implementing a no-smoking policy, or as involved as restructuring the company to meet the customer needs more effectively. Process-oriented: Organizations may need to reengineer processes to achieve optimum workflow and productivity. Process-oriented change is often related to an organization's production process or how the organization assembles products or delivers services. The adoption of robotics in a manufacturing plant or of laser-scanning checkout systems at supermarkets are examples of processoriented changes.

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People-centered: This type of change alters the attitudes, behaviors, skills, or performance of employees in the company. Changing people-centered processes involves communicating, motivating, leading, and interacting within groups. This focus may entail changing how problems are solved, the way employees learn new skills, and even the very nature of how employees perceive themselves, their jobs, and the organization. Some people-centered changes may involve only incremental changes or small improvements in a process. For example, many organizations undergo leadership training that teaches managers how to communicate more openly with employees. Other programs may concentrate on team processes by teaching both managers and employees to work together more effectively to solve problems.

that strategic, structural, process-oriented, and people-centered changes occur continuously in dynamic businesses. Often, changes in one of these areas impact changes in the other areas. Many employees believe that a change is often reactive and nothing more than a quick fix; then they brace themselves for more changes in the future. Management needs to realize that serious underlying problems in organizations must be addressed with long-term consequences in mind. Thus, when management implements changes, careful thought must be given to ensure that the new processes are for the long-term good of the company. Challenges of Organizational Change Planning and managing change, both cultural and technological, is one of the most challenging elements of a manager's job. Obviously, the more a manager can plan in anticipation of a change, the better she serves her subordinates and the organization. Diagnosing the causes of change and structuring a program to promote a smooth transition to the new process, structure, and so on, is critical to a manager's success. Managers need to be aware that organizations change in a number of dimensions that often relate to one another. These dimensions include  

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Extent of planning: Although experts differ about how much change can be planned, managers still need to take steps to set up conditions that permit and even encourage change to occur. Degree of change: Changes may be incremental (relatively small, involving fine-tuning processes and behaviors within just one system or level of the organization) or quantum (significant change altering how a company operates). Degree of learning: This dimension relates to the degree to which organizational are actively involved in learning how to plan and implement change while helping solve an existing problem. Target of change: Organizational change programs can vary with respect to the hierarchical level or functional area of which the change is targeted. Some changes are designed to influence top management and assist them in becoming stronger leaders. Other change programs may involve basic learning, such as customer services techniques for lower level employees. Organization's structure: Is it very stiff and bureaucratic? Is there a need for emphasis on policies, procedures, and rules? Some organizations are very stiff and bureaucratic and may need to ―loosen up.‖ Other organizations may suffer from lack of organization structure. They may need to emphasize policies, procedures, and rules.

Various Models or Approaches for Change Management There are numerous well-organized approaches (or models) from which to manage a change effort. Some of the approaches have been around for many years -- we just haven't thought of them as such. For example, many organizations undertake strategic planning. The implementation of strategic planning, when done in a

systematic, cyclical and explicit approach, is strategic management. Strategic management is also one model for ensuring the success of a change effort. The following links provide more perspectives on approaches to managing change. (Note that, with the maturation of the field of OD, there are now more strong opinions about which are change management approaches and which are not -- there seems to be no standard interpretation yet.) Strategic Management (systematic, explicit implementation of a strategic plan) Action Research (probably the most popular approach -- and much more familiar than we realize) Plan Do Check Act (this approach also is quite common) Lewin's Freeze Phases McKinsey 7S Model Introduction -- What is Strategic Planning? There Are Various Different Views and Models -- and the Process You Use Depends Simply put, strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there and how it'll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular product, service or program. There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organization's leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization's environment, size of the organization, expertise of planners, etc. For example, there are a variety of strategic planning models, including goals-based, issues-based, organic, scenario (some would assert that scenario planning is more of a technique than model), etc. 1) Goals-based planning is probably the most common and starts with focus on the organization's mission (and vision and/or values), goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and action planning (who will do what and by when). 2) Issues-based strategic planning often starts by examining issues facing the organization, strategies to address those issues and action plans. 3) Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organization's vision and values, and then action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those values. Some planners prefer a particular approach to planning, eg, appreciative inquiry. Some plans are scoped to one year, many to three years, and some to five to ten years into the future. Some plans include only top-level information and no action plans. Some plans are five to eight pages long, while others can be considerably longer. Quite often, an organization's strategic planners already know much of what will go into a strategic plan (this is true for business planning, too). However, development of the strategic plan greatly helps to clarify the organization's plans and ensure that key leaders are all "on the same script". Far more important than the strategic plan document, is the strategic planning process itself. Also, in addition to the size of the organization, differences in how organizations carry out the planning activities are more of a matter of the nature of the participants in the organization -- than its forprofit/nonprofit status. For example, detail-oriented people may prefer a linear, top-down, general-tospecific approach to planning. On the other hand, rather artistic and highly reflective people may favor of a highly divergent and "organic" approach to planning. Benefits of Strategic Planning Strategic planning serves a variety of purposes in organizations, including to: 1. Clearly define the purpose of the organization and to establish realistic goals and objectives consistent with that mission in a defined time frame within the organization‘s capacity for implementation. 2. Communicate those goals and objectives to the organization‘s constituents. 3. Develop a sense of ownership of the plan. 4. Ensure the most effective use is made of the organization‘s resources by focusing the resources on the key priorities. 5. Provide a base from which progress can be measured and establish a mechanism for informed change when needed. 6. Listen to everyone‘s opinions in order to build consensus about where the organization is going. Other reasons include that strategic planning: 7. Provides clearer focus for the organization, thereby producing more efficiency and effectiveness. 8. Bridges staff/employees and the board of directors (in the case of corporations).

9. Builds strong teams in the board and in the staff/employees (in the case of corporations). 10. Provides the glue that keeps the board together (in the case of corporations). 11.Produces great satisfaction and meaning among planners, especially around a common vision. 12. Increases productivity from increased efficiency and effectiveness. 13. Solves major problems in the organization. Strategic Analyses -- Analyzing External and Internal Environments (Many planners prefer to start strategic planning by clarifying the mission, vision and/or values of the organization. Other planners prefer to start by taking a wide look around the external environment of the organization and also the inside of the organization, and then clarifying/strategizing what the organization should do as a result of what the planners find. If you prefer to address the mission, vision and/or values next, then skip to those sections later on below.) A frequent complaint about strategic plans is that they are merely "to-do" lists of what to accomplish over the next few years. Or, others complain that strategic planning never seems to come in handy when the organization is faced with having to make a difficult, major decision. Or, other complain that strategic planning really doesn't help the organization face the future. These complaints arise because organizations fail to conduct a thorough strategic analysis as part of their strategic planning process. Instead, planners decide to plan only from what they know now. This makes the planning process much less strategic and a lot more guesswork. Strategic analysis is the heart of the strategic planning process and should not be ignored. Lewin's freeze phases In the early 20th century, psychologist Kurt Lewin identified three stages of change that are still the basis of many approaches today. Unfreeze A basic tendency of people is to seek a context in which they have relative safety and feel a sense of control. In establishing themselves, they attach their sense of identity to their environment. This creates a comfortable stasis from which any alternatives, even those which may offer significant benefit, will cause discomfort. Talking about the future thus is seldom enough to move them from this 'frozen' state and significant effort may be required to 'unfreeze' them and get them moving. This usually requires Push methods to get them moving, after which Pull methods can be used to keep them going. The term 'change ready' is often used to describe people who are unfrozen and ready to take the next step. Some people come ready for change whilst others take a long time to let go of their comfortable current realities. Transition A key part of Lewin's model is the notion that change, even at the psychological level, is a journey rather than a simple step. This journey may not be that simple and the person may need to go through several stages of misunderstanding before they get to the other side. A classic trap in change is for the leaders to spend months on their own personal journeys and then expect everyone else to cross the chasm in a single bound. Transitioning thus requires time. Leadership is often important and when whole organizations change, the one-eyed person may be king. Some form of coaching, counseling or other psychological will often be very helpful also. Although transition may be hard for the individual, often the hardest part is to start. Even when a person is unfrozen and ready for change, that first step can be very scary. Transition can also be a pleasant trap and, as Robert Louis Stephenson said, 'It is better to travel hopefully than arrive.' People become comfortable in temporary situations where they are not able for the hazards of normal work and where talking about change may be substituted for real action. Refreeze At the other end of the journey, the final goal is to 'refreeze', putting down roots again and establishing the new place of stability. In practice, refreezing may be a slow process as transitions seldom stop cleanly, but go more in fits and starts with a long tail of bits and pieces. There are good and bad things about this. In modern organizations, this stage is often rather tentative as the next change may well be around the next corner. What is often encouraged, then, is more of a state of 'slushiness' where freezing is never really achieved (theoretically making the next unfreezing easier). The danger with this that many organizations

have found is that people fall into a state of change shock, where they work at a low level of efficiency and effectiveness as they await the next change. 'It's not worth it' is a common phrase when asked to improve what they do. The Action Research Process employs five steps or components. See Model 1

The McKinsey 7S Framework Ensuring that all parts of your organization work in harmony How do you go about analyzing how well your organization is positioned to achieve its intended objective? This is a question that has been asked for many years, and there are many different answers. Some approaches look at internal factors, others look at external ones, some combine these perspectives, and others look for congruence between various aspects of the organization being studied. Ultimately, the issue comes down to which factors to study. While some models of organizational effectiveness go in and out of fashion, one that has persisted is the McKinsey 7S framework. Developed in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, two consultants working at the McKinsey & Company consulting firm, the basic premise of the model is that there are seven internal aspects of an organization that need to be aligned if it is to be successful. The 7S model can be used in a wide variety of situations where an alignment perspective is useful, for example to help you:  Improve the performance of a company.  Examine the likely effects of future changes within a company.  Align departments and processes during a merger or acquisition.  Determine how best to implement a proposed strategy.

The McKinsey 7S model can be applied to elements of a team or a project as well. The alignment issues apply, regardless of how you decide to define the scope of the areas you study. The Seven Elements The McKinsey 7S model involves seven interdependent factors which are categorized as either "hard" or "soft" elements: Hard Elements

Soft Elements

Strategy Structure Systems

Shared Values Skills Style Staff

"Hard" elements are easier to define or identify and management can directly influence them: These are strategy statements; organization charts and reporting lines; and formal processes and IT systems. "Soft" elements, on the other hand, can be more difficult to describe, and are less tangible and more influenced by culture. However, these soft elements are as important as the hard elements if the organization is going to be successful. The way the model is presented in Figure 1 below depicts the interdependency of the elements and indicates how a change in one affects all the others. Let's look at each of the elements specifically:  Strategy: the plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage over the competition.  Structure: the way the organization is structured and who reports to whom.  Systems: the daily activities and procedures that staff engage in to get the job done.  Shared Values: called "superordinate goals" when the model was first developed, these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic.  Style: the style of leadership adopted.  Staff: the employees and their general capabilities.  Skills: the actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company. Placing Shared Values in the middle of the model emphasizes that these values are central to the development of all the other critical elements. The company's structure, strategy, systems, style, staff and skills all stem from why the organization was originally created, and what it stands for. The original vision of the company was formed from the values of the creators. As the values change, so do all the other elements.

How to Use the Model Now you know what the model covers, how can you use it? The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to perform well, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforcing. So, the model can be used to help identify what needs to be realigned to improve performance, or to maintain alignment (and performance) during other types of change.

Whatever the type of change – restructuring, new processes, organizational merger, new systems, change of leadership, and so on – the model can be used to understand how the organizational elements are interrelated, and so ensure that the wider impact of changes made in one area is taken into consideration. You can use the 7S model to help analyze the current situation (Point A), a proposed future situation (Point B) and to identify gaps and inconsistencies between them. It's then a question of adjusting and tuning the elements of the 7S model to ensure that your organization works effectively and well once you reach the desired endpoint. Sounds simple? Well, of course not: Changing your organization probably will not be simple at all! Whole books and methodologies are dedicated to analyzing organizational strategy, improving performance and managing change. The 7S model is a good framework to help you ask the right questions – but it won't give you all the answers. For that you'll need to bring together the right knowledge, skills and experience. When it comes to asking the right questions, we've developed a Mind Tools checklist and a matrix to keep track of how the seven elements align with each other. Supplement these with your own questions, based on your organization's specific circumstances and accumulated wisdom. Organisation Change Organisational change of any sort will usually be triggered by either a problem or an opportunity, although there is a special trigger for change that could be called ―just for the heck of it‖ or ―because we‘re human and can‘t stand still‖. There are other drivers for change (new CEO with new ideas), but the main two are problems and opportunities - current or future - real or perceived. The problem or opportunity may have origins either internally (problem might be excessive staff turnover - opportunity might be new capabilities) or externally (problem might be new major competitor - opportunity might be new technology available). A further distinction is important - hard versus soft - where ‗hard‘ concerns material assests (things) and ‗soft‘ concerns people. Conversation style and content is crucial to the success of the change process. Oddly, most change is ‗hard‘ (technology - structure etc) even though ‗soft‘ might be more beneficial. After all, the ‗advantage of our organisation is our people‘. Perhaps it‘s because ‗soft‘ problems are the hardest to manage. Soft change is hard. Organisation transformation Some people regard this as diferent to change, and some as a special case. Transformation is like a metamorphosis, a radical change involving structure, function, and every other aspect of the organisation‘s being. It is sudden, and the new organisation barely resembles its origins. These massive maneuvres typically occur with mergers, acquisitions, and CEO or Board change. There is usually disruption in the form of downsizing, closures, restructuring and other activities that have many unintended consequances along with some degree of success with intended outcomes. are invariably impacted, with fear and stress a standard part of the package. It is possible to undergo metamorhosis without destroying the creature trying to emerge, but it requires much more attention than is typically demonstrated.

1) Organisational change triggered by problems Organisational problems are sometimes described in of the symptom, and sometimes the cause. For example, inneffective meetings are the symptom of poor communication and ‗meeting‘ skills, and the cause of poor decisions. An alternative view might put poor decisions as the cause of lower profits. Poor decisions may therefore be a symptom in one view and a cause in another. For that reason, the following table ignores the distinction between cause and effect and uses the descriptive words heard within organisations.

Furthermore, a problem has to be ‗seen‘ or ‗felt‘ by someome in order to be identified and described. It is just as important to recognise the impacted persons as it is to recognise the problem. It is commomn that a problem is confined within one group, or one group is particularly disadvantaged. For this reason, the following Table identifies the people associated with the problem, and the people who ‗see‘ or ‗feel‘ it.The Table below shows one way of defining problems - according to where the problem is ‗seen‘ to reside, and where the effects are most felt. To avoid a maze of lines, only the problems associtated with the Board are shown, but exist between all others. There are problems that are caused by the Board that are felt by the CEO, or the Executives and so on. There are also problems perceived by the Board that are due to behaviours at other levels. This table provides an easy way to look for and identify problems - between each stakeholder ‗type‘ and each other stakeholder type some shown here - 36 in all when this list is used.

2) Organisation change triggered by opportunity Opportunities for change may originate externally by the trading environment, or internally by the ownership of new capabilities or capacities. The external opportunities are random and unpredictable, but the internal opportunities may have been planned by way of development programs and/or redistribution of work to current capabilities. To this end, organisations invest in development of technology, processes, and people.

3) Organisation change just for the heck of it (E.g. Vision) Even if the rest of the world stood still, and there were no internal triggers such as change of CEO or new skills acquired, there is good argument and convincing evidence that many organisations would introduce changes anyhow. It’s our human nature. And it’s called being competitive - a powerful human driver. That single action would send a ripple through the competitive environment and have an impact, causing others to change - and away it goes. So change is a natural state. get used to the idea of being in a state of flux - living in white water.

ISSUES TO CHANEGE Major change may be at your instigation or it may be driven by a corporate need. Sometimes in the latter case you, yourself, may not be in total agreement with the change being introduced. This position is not an option for you. As a manager you are the appointed representative of the organisation. As such, you are there to enact the organisation's wishes. The basis for successfully managing change is information. Find out as much as you can about the change that is going to take place. If you are the initiator of the change, do your homework. By doing so, you will be better able to carry people with you. Once you have garnered the knowledge required which is relevant to the change in question you will be in a better position to implement the new process or practice. Drivers With the information gathered, you need to divide the data into two camps. The first camp is known as driving forces. These are all the positives associated with the proposed change.

They may be features or facts. Look too for positive people, people who you know will be enthusiastic about the change. You can utilise them as champions of the cause. Add them to your list of driving forces. Having compiled the list, your job is now to seek ways of maximising the impact or perception of these drivers. Think about how to express features and facts as benefits. A useful way in which to do this is to focus on 'this means that' or 'which means that' statements. These statements signal that what follows is the benefit or advantage. Resistors Now do the reverse. Compile a list of all the downsides associated with the proposed change. Again, they may be features, facts or people. This may well give you an insight into other people's potential objections to the change. You may then be able to preempt their arguments. With resistors your job is to minimise the impact or perception of the items on your list. Note that you may not be able to alter the material facts on the list. It is the way people perceive them that will make a difference. For example, let us say that you are proposing a change and that there is a large financial cost to the change. This will be a resistor when you propose the change and seek to get the of senior management. You cannot alter the overall figure. You need to present it in a way that makes it acceptable. One technique for this is factoring. A day's training costs £1000. This cannot be altered. 10 people can attend the course. That's £100 per person. The day's training lasts 8 hours. That's £12.50 per hour per person. Compare that with, say, the cost of a driving lesson. What you now have is a bargain. Having done both drivers and resistors you are now able to begin the five-step change process. Denial When staff are first presented with the proposed change they will automatically go into denial. This is the 'Why do we need a new system?' 'What's wrong with the old one?' mentality. Some people will be more deeply entrenched than others. Accept this as normal. Defence Your first job is to move people from denial to defence. What is required here is to find an opportunity for people to say what it is they like about the thing they are being asked to give up. Get them, in other words, to defend the status quo. You may choose to do this individually or collectively. In reality, it is likely to be a combination of the two, with more individual time being spent on the most deeply entrenched. In effect, what you have done here is got them to open up. In denial they were closed. You now have room to go to work. Discard/Accept This stage has two phases. This is the point at which you bring to bear the work that you did with drivers and resistors (See above). Phase one is where you now counter their defence and deal with the resistors as it were. Phase two is building the case for the new. Extol the drivers with their attendant benefits. Again, these two phases can be done singly or as a group. If you successfully carry this stage off, staff will now be at the point where they can see why the change is necessary, but they will still have misgivings about putting the change into practice.

Adopt Having successfully ed through the stage above, people will reach the point where they feel comfortable with the new working practice. Newcomers to the organisation after the change has occurred simply accept the system in place. It is the ones with previous experience who need to be managed. Change is not immediate. People cannot be expected to go home on Friday working one way, and arrive on Monday ready to operate differently. Plan and allow time for executing major change. STRESS MANAGEMENT What are the Management Standards for work related stress? The Management Standards define the characteristics, or culture, of an organisation where the risks from work related stress are being effectively managed and controlled. The Management Standards cover six key areas of work design that, if not properly managed, are associated with poor health and well-being, lower productivity and increased sickness absence. In other words, the six Management Standards cover the primary sources of stress at work. These are:      

Demands – this includes issues such as workload, work patterns and the work environment. Control – how much say the person has in the way they do their work. – this includes the encouragement, sponsorship and resources provided by the organisation, line management and colleagues. Relationships – this includes promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour. Role – whether people understand their role within the organisation and whether the organisation ensures that they do not have conflicting roles. Change – how organisational change (large or small) is managed and communicated in the organisation.

The Management Standards represent a set of conditions that, if present, reflect a high level of health wellbeing and organisational performance. The Management Standards:    

demonstrate good practice through a step by step risk assessment approach; allow assessment of the current situation using surveys and other techniques; promote active discussion and working in partnership with employees to help decide on practical improvements that can be made; help simplify risk assessment for work related stress by: o identifying the main risk factors for work related stress; o helping employers focus on the underlying causes and their prevention; and o providing a yardstick by which organisations can gauge their performance in tackling the key causes of stress.

Stress Management Stress Management and Stress Prevention Arguably the term stress management does not make sense. If stress is what occurs to us when the pressures or demands on us are too much for our ability to cope, it is a bit late to manage it! In an ideal world we should be talking about stress prevention rather than stress management. 

Stress management, and stress prevention, needs to be a key priority for management in organisations.

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Stress management policies and practices will help to improve productivity. Stress management is part of an employer’s duty of care for its personnel. Work related stress s for around 1/3 of all new incidents of ill health!

Stress Management in Detail The last 10 – 15 years have seen a growing recognition of the problems caused by stress for both individuals and organisations. The growth in numbers of people absent from work with stress-related illness is now significant (ing for around 1/3 of all absence) and the impact of stress on individuals‘ lives is not good. Both employers and employees contribute to the pressures and stress-related problems. At the same time, both can help to do something about stress management. There are some employers who are good about creating a working environment which aims to prevent stress having a negative impact on their workforce. However, many do not think about it and have no plans or policies in place to address the area of stress management. This is very short-sighted. The economic impact on the organisation is huge and costly! Additionally, the effect on their staff, in of morale, workloads and relationships is not good. Failure to consider this area of stress management leads to people feeling under excessive time pressure (59% of people in a recent survey) and having increasing workloads (55%) which affect the quality of work and also impact personal lives. Another trend which is growing alongside this is an increase in bullying, either from managers down or amongst colleagues. As individuals we can do more for ourselves for stress management or stress prevention. Firstly, recognise when we are becoming stressed. It is not good to keep fighting it. When the pressures are pushing us towards this edge – change something!! It is not a badge of honour, confirming your dedication to allow yourself to become stressed to the point where you become ill. We might need to work under a high pressure situation for a while, and can usually cope when the end is in sight. However, if this goes on and we do not do anything to adjust the balance and reduce some of the pressure, we will become stressed. This is not the type of stress management we want to encourage! Rather than looking for short-term coping strategies it is much more effective for personal stress management to check whether your life is in balance. If you look at The Optimal Health Questionnaire, you can find out how well you are balanced across the 5 dimensions of Optimal Health. For those which might not be right, you can identify them and decide on what actions to take to correct things! Stress and Stress Management in the Workplace Unmanaged stress can have a serious impact on employee performance and overall wellbeing, which in turn, has crippling consequences on company output. The results of poor stress management and workplace pressures can include decreased proficiency, higher absenteeism rates, low company morale, counterproductive team work and employee health related problems. Effectively assessing stressors, stress types and implementing the necessary measures to create healthy stress management programs can be the differentiating factor of a mediocre business to a productively efficient one. What are stressors? It must be noted that stress factors are subjective and what one person may find stressful, others may not necessarily experience as negatively. The way in which we experience and react to stress is described as an emotional condition which triggers physical, psychological and emotional responses from the individual. Formally, a stressor is defined as an event or context that elevates adrenaline and triggers the stress response which results in the body being thrown out of balance as it is forced to respond.

Examples of Stress Triggers    

Environmental stressors (elevated sound levels, over-illumination, overcrowding) Daily stress events (e.g. traffic, lost keys) Life changes (e.g. divorce, bereavement) Workplace stressors (e.g. role strain, lack of control)

Stressors usually fall into one of four categories: 

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Internal stressors - these we carry around inside of us. They are self owned stressors. These stressors may range from the posture we adapt, to addictions and assessment of life/personal satisfaction or simply not getting enough sleep. External stressors - these are the stressors in the environments in which we operate and will range from parental pressure, to work pressure, to role pressure, to household pressure, traffic, crime etc. Hidden stressors - these are factors which cause stress but where the underlying cause is difficult to identify. It often results in conflicting feelings and a sense of an inappropriate reaction or response to a situation. For example underdeveloped emotional intelligence where self-awareness is not apparent. Obvious stressors - there are also those situations which obviously do or are intended to bring about stress. For example a work deadline would be an imposed obvious stressor where as the death of a loved one would be un-imposed but an obvious one.

Stress and performance For the most part, people view stress as a negative factor. Stress however is only negative when it is excessive, unmanaged and results in adverse symptoms and experiences. Some of the negative consequences include:  Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed  Muscle tension or headaches  Apathy, loss of interest in work or other  Stomach problems activities  Social withdrawal  Problems sleeping  Loss of sex drive  Fatigue,  Using alcohol or drugs to cope  Trouble concentrating It is clear that with these symptoms the individual's performance at work, home and in social settings will be adversely affected. Negative stress also seems to have a self-building facet where once stressed, additional factors just keep contributing to the stress and increase the stress levels while decreasing performance and functioning. The balance between excessive stress (distress) causing non-functional behavior and good stress (eustress) is often represented as an inverted U graph. This is why some stressors provide a motivational force that can in fact drive us forward, whether that is at work or with personal aspects. Eustress is a feeling of excitement and a sense of commitment to something. Eustress is often experienced when playing a sport, when accomplishing a goal or when succeeding at a challenge. Stress and personality types Research has also shown us that personality types are influenced differently by stressors. The Myers Briggs Type indicator is a personality inventory which generates 16 types of personality. There are 4 scales/dimensions including:  

introversion and extroversion (effectively where we get our energy from) sensing and intuition (where we source our information from)

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thinking and feeling (how we process this information) judging and perceiving (how we put the information back out and manage the environment)

The outcome of the Myers Briggs personality indicators yields a 4 letter profile which in turn gives an indication of individual stress responses and how best to manage such responses. Knowing that personality types differ in their response and approach to stress, it becomes useful in stress management programs to understand the various personality types and to implement wellness programs which accommodate the differences between people. This is more likely to yield a positive (eustress) approach to the everyday stressors and increase performance, life satisfaction etc. Causes and Cures of Stress in Organizations Job stress in organizations is widespread. About half of all American workers feel the pressures of jobrelated stress. Extensive research shows that excessive job stress can adversely affect the emotional and physical health of workers. The result is decreased productivity, less satisfied, and less healthy workers. This paper will first discuss the symptoms and causes of stress, and then explore ways in which managers might reduce stress in themselves and their subordinates. Causes The sources of pressure which can lead to stress come from different areas of our lives. Some of these we can have control over, others are things which happen. The secret with these is to learn to change our response to them. You may like to look at the list below and identify which of these relate to you. The list is not intended to cover every single thing and may prompt you to identify others. Work              

Job pressures and targets Boss - their style and behaviour Employees - their attitude and behaviour Colleagues -relationships with them Communication - or lack of Lack of direction or goals Lack of control over job Work environment Lack of or training Pressure to work long hours Culture Bullying Changes to job Threat of losing your job

Family/relationships        

Problems in key relationship - arguing or not communicating Arguments with children Arguments with parents Need to care for a family member (especially long-term) Serious illness within the family Concerns about behaviour of close family member Dealing with an ex-partner or spouse Dealing with step-children or partner?s children

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No personal time or space Death within the family

Environmental         

Home location Neighbours Moving house Travel, especially commuting Crowded environment Noise Pollution of other sorts Crime threat Threat (eg concerns about violence)

Self - lifestyle             

Ambitions and aspiration Financial pressures to maintain lifestyle Debt worries Personal relationships Keeping up with friends Peer group Social life General Lack of fitness Diet Smoking and/or drinking No time for self No relaxation time

If you want to assess yourself and the pressures you have been handling, go to the s section and look at the Holmes and Rahe Inventory. Consequences: There are consequences to individuals and to the organisation when stress starts to become a real issue. Some of these are: Individual:          

Demotivated Stops caring Hard to concentrate Relationships suffer Communication gets worse Health begins to suffer They make mistakes Decision making is hard Depression can start to deepen ..plus a wide range of other symptoms.

Organisation:   

Staff turnover increases Productivity and efficiency suffer Pressure on team because of staff shortage or newcomers starting

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Faulty judgements made Quality of work goes down Errors increase Communication deteriorates Commitment levels go down Customer service and response gets worse Lessening of teamworking People are less ive Morale suffers Absenteeism increases ..to name a few!

Costs: The consequences lead to costs. The cost of stress related problems is something which is often overlooked within organisations. There are both direct and opportunity costs involved as a result of stress within an organisation. What have you ever considered within your own organisation? Let us start with looking at some hard-nosed numbers, which are UK based but the principles will apply whichever country you are in. • The CBI estimate that there is a cost of £4bn per annum to industry as a direct result of stress related absence. This figure can rise to over £7bn when you consider the loss of productivity! • A recent survey by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) indicated over 550,000 cases of absence as a result of stress, depression and anxiety. • There was a loss of nearly 13m working days in total. • 1 in 5 believe that their job is extremely or very stressful – that is 5 million people! • Up to 40% of absence is related to stress. • When stressed, performance can be reduced by up to 70% • The CIPD estimate that stress costs industry £601 per employee Most measures refer to absenteeism as a result of stress. Arguably, "presenteeism" is an even greater problem and cost, possibly by a factor of 5! Personal and Organizational Strategies for Handling Stress Introduction- Organizational life is quite stressful. Work pressures, tight schedules, meetings that never seem to end on time, helpful colleagues, critical bosses, incompetent subordinates and a host of other irritating factors may have a cumulative effect in making the lives of modern-day executives quite miserable. As we all know that stress is the body reaction to any demand made on it. Perceptions of events , whether positive or negative, active stress. The term 'Stress' normally refers to excessive stress caused by extraordinary demands ( which cause us to lose something we desire),constraints(things that keep us from doing what we desire)or opportunities. Two faces of Stress : Constructive stress ( Eustress as it is sometimes called)acts in a positive manner for individual and the organization example winning a contest, or fall in love. Eustress can indicate a situation where the individual is in balance or within tolerable limits. Destructive stress (Distress)is not healthy for the individual and/or organization. Distress would indicate effects that are out of balance or outside the tolerance limits. Excessive stress may lead to overload and breakdown a person's physical and mental systems. Performance can suffer as people experience illness brought on by very intense stress and/or react to high stress through absenteeism, turnover, errors, accidents and dissatisfaction and reduced performance. Symptoms of Stress:

There are a number of biological, psychological and behavioral changes which can be symptomatic of individual stress. Biological- These include lack of appetite, craving for food when under pressure, frequent indigestion, or heartburn, constipation or diarrhea, insomnia, constant tiredness, tendency to sweat for no good reason, nervous ,twitches ,nail-baiting ,headaches, cramps and muscle spasms, nausea, breathlessness without exertion, fainting spells, high blood pressure etc. Psychological- A number of psychological changes can be symptomatic of excessive or persistent stress. These include negativism, expression of boredom, dissatisfaction, irritability, anger over unimportant issues, feelings of persecution ,apathy ,resignation ,fantasy, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate, procrastination, inability to make decisions, uncertainty about whom to trust, inner confusion about duty and roles etc. Behavioral- These include constant irritability with people, unable to cope, lack of interest in life, constant or recurrent fear of disease, a feeling of being a failure, a feeling of being bad or of self-hatred, difficulty in making decisions, a feeling of ugliness, lack of interest in other people, an intense fear of open or enclosed spaces or being along. Management of Stress: It is true that employees do not want any stress at work. As the current research evidence indicates, employees are energized and motivated by moderate amounts of stress. There are a variety of ways in which individual cope or deal with stress. Broadly, these could be classified into two categories are 1. Individual Coping Strategies 2. Organizational Coping Strategies 1. Individual Coping Strategies for Handling Stress: Time Management- Inability to manage time could create stressful situations on the job quite frequently. Unfinished work, Critical remarks from boss and colleagues, comments from subordinates in hushed tones,misplaced papers, may all make the life of an executive quite miserable. Tips for Time management: Carry your to 'do list' with you at all times.  Put all the tasks you need to however small, on the list.  Delegate or choose not to do some tasks.  Review the list in the evening.  Write a new list every day.  Do the most difficult part first.  Provide proper action plans etc Exercise- Physically inactive individual have higher incidence of heart attack and death than do active individuals exercise, as most of the studies indicate, reduces depression, anxiety and phobias. When everybody does exercise regularly, the day –long tension on the job is given a decent burial. Meditation and relaxation: Mind gets the needed relaxation when we engage in a creative hobby like painting, reading, gardening etc .The wonderful effect of prayer as a relaxation measure have been well documented in our ancient scriptures. Meditation also helps in putting our nagging thoughts to rest. Meditation is focusing on something in a relaxed state. 2.Organizational Coping Strategies for Handling Stress: Role Clarity: Define employee roles clearly .Employees must have clear understanding of the job. T hey must know what the company expects and be confident that they can meet these expectations. Management can initiate these steps which are.  Redefining the person's Role.  Reduce overload by redistributing work.  Set up Proper Procedure.  Arrange for meeting Clear Career paths: To reduce uncertainty ,each employee must be sure of where he is heading for, say after 5 years with in the same organization. A clear career path and the job rewards and benefits that follow committed service would go a long way in preventing or reducing distress levels greatly. Company- wide Programmers: A variety of Programmers can be used to manage work stress. Management can help reduce stress in the work environment by holding team meetings, using proper

management techniques, employing effective communication system and reducing uncertainty among employees. Conclusion: Now a days a problem of Stress is becoming common in the Organization. It can lead to poor performance on the job, excessive use of alcohol or other drugs, poor attendance or even overall poor health. In facts, there is growing evidence that undue stress is related to the diseases that are major causes of deathcoronary heart attack, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and also suicide. There are different individual and organizational strategies for handling stress.