CAUSES OF STRESS

Many different things can cause stress -- from physical (such as fear of something dangerous) to emotional (such as worry over your family or job.) Identifying what may be causing you stress is often the first step in learning how to better deal with your stress. Some of the most common sources of stress are:

Survival Stress - You may have heard the phrase "fight or flight" before. This is a common response to danger in all people and animals. When you are afraid that someone or something may physically hurt you, your body naturally responds with a burst of energy so that you will be better able to survive the dangerous situation (fight) or escape it all together (flight). This is survival stress.


Internal Stress - Have you ever caught yourself worrying about things you can do nothing about or worrying for no reason at all? This is internal stress and it is one of the most important kinds of stress to understand and manage. Internal stress is when people make themselves stressed. This often happens when we worry about things we can't control or put ourselves in situations we know will cause us stress. Some people become addicted to the kind of hurried, tense, lifestyle that results from being under stress. They even look for stressful situations and feel stress about things that aren't stressful.


Environmental Stress - This is a response to things around you that cause stress, such as noise, crowding, and pressure from work or family. Identifying these environmental stresses and learning to avoid them or deal with them will help lower your stress level.
Fatigue and Overwork - This kind of stress builds up over a long time and can take a hard toll on your body. It can be caused by working too much or too hard at your job(s), school, or home. It can also be caused by not knowing how to manage your time well or how to take time out for rest and relaxation. This can be one of the hardest kinds of stress to avoid because many people feel this is out of their control. Later in this course we will show you that you DO have options and offer some useful tips for dealing with fatigue.

Downsizing. With downsizing seemingly a routine procedure in many companies, even the threat of layoffs can be stressful.

Moreover, after downsizing, firms often increase the workload of remaining employees, which leads to more stress.

Competition and change. With globalization has come increasing pressure to compete and innovate, which has led to an increase in re-engineering.

Technological change. Employees are often expected to learn new technologies without being given adequate training. Or they are not consulted when new technology is introduced. In addition, employees at all levels are flooded with information because of technological changes. As well, employees are frequently asked to be “on” for their jobs more hours each day: Pagers, voice mail, faxes, email, the Internet, and intranets make it possible to stay in touch with the workplace 24 hours a day.

Research by Professor Christina Cavanagh of the Richard Ivey

School of Business at the University of Western Ontario shows that email is an increasing cause of stress. Individuals receive an average of 80 or 90 emails daily, and devote an hour more each day to handling it than they did two years ago. The frustration is not just with quantity or time.

GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNROME (Hans Selye)

Scientist Hans Selye (1907-1982) introduced theGeneral Adaptation Syndrome model in 1936 showing in three phases what the alleged effects of stress has on the body.

In his work, Selye - 'the father of stress research,' developed the theory that stress is a major cause of disease because chronic stress causes long-term chemical changes.

Stage 1. Alarm Reaction: Any physical or mental trauma will trigger an immediate set of reactions that combat the stress. Because the immune system is initially depressed, normal levels of resistance are lowered, making us more susceptible to infection and disease. If the stress is not severe or long-lasting, we bounce back and recover rapidly.
Stage 2: Resistance: Eventually, sometimes rather quickly, we adapt to stress, and there's actually a tendency to become more resistant to illness and disease. Our immune system works overtime for us during this period, trying to keep up with the demands placed upon it. We become complacent about our situation and assume that we can resist the effects of stress indefinitely. Therein lies the danger. Believing that we are immune from the effects of stress, we typically fail to do anything about it.
Stage 3: Exhaustion: Because our body is not able to maintain homeostasis and the long-term resistance needed to combat stress, we invariably develop a sudden drop in our resistance level. No one experiences exactly the same resistance and tolerance to stress, but everyone's immunity at some point collapses following prolonged stress reactions. Life sustaining mechanisms slow down and sputter, organ systems begin to break down, and stress-fighting reserves finally succumb to what Selye called "diseases of adaptation."
The General Adaptation Syndrome is thought to be the main reason why stress is such an abundant source of health problems. By changing the way our body normally functions, stress disrupts the natural balance - the homeostasis - crucial for well-being. 

STRESS:

Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness.

The events that provoke stress are called stressors, and they cover a whole range of situations — everything from outright physical danger to making a class presentation or taking a semester's worth of your toughest subject.

 We can define Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important

Stress is a consequence of or a general response to an action or situation that places special physical or psychological demands, or both, on a person.

The physical or psychological demands from the environment that cause stress are STRESSORS.

WORK STRESS

ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

Organizational climate is a set of properties of the work environment, perceived directly or indirectly by employees, that is assumed to be a major force in influencing employee behavior.

Understanding Organizational Culture

Just as top executives can influence climate, they can also set the tone for the culture. If the CEO is an entrepreneur, the culture will be one that makes fast decisions, takes risks and likes to innovate. Apple Computers would be a good example of an entrepreneurial culture. Insurance companies and banks tend to have very different cultures, dominated by avoidance of risk. Such processing cultures need elaborate rules to ensure consistency and efficiency. An engineering culture like aircraft manufacturers or phone companies, value technical competence and high quality. Then there are marketing cultures that are very sales oriented. They tend to be populated by dynamic, lively, outgoing people. Scientific cultures are common in medical or drug manufacturing companies where there is an insistence on pure research to back up new proposals. It is not this simple, of course. Cultures can vary a great deal within a particular industry. Organizations might have a culture of blame, fun, hard work, equality, career development, environmental consciousness or any other personality trait.

Understanding Organizational Climate

Typical climates correspond to human feelings or moods: excitement, depression, anger, fear, optimism or anxiety. Like human mood, an organization's climate can be caused by internal and external factors. If the CEO or other prominent leaders are in a certain mood, they can infect the entire organization. Leaders whose moods are highly variable could lead teams with wildly fluctuating climates. Just as most people won't be in the same mood all the time, we can't expect an organization's climate to be unchanging. Shifting emotions are a good thing as it makes the organization seem more human. It would feel like being part of a machine if the climate of your workplace never altered. An emotionally variable climate is, like a similarly expressive person, more open, transparent and understandable. We feel comfortable when we can read another person's feeling. The same applies to our workplace. It's unhealthy to suppress emotion in organizations or people.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Vs. ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

Organizational culture is concerned with the  nature of beliefs and expectations about organizational life, while climate is an indicator whether those beliefs and expectations are being fulfilled.

We can compare organizational culture and climate to personality and mood. The former is enduring; the latter is temporary. We acquire our basic personalities early in life, but our moods can shift several times in one day.

Organizational culture is not quite as fixed as personality, however, so the analogy is not perfect. It is hard to change an organization's culture but not as difficult as changing your personality. Also, organizational climate can last so long it becomes indistinguishable from culture, like being in a bad mood for months on end. Generally, however, climate is easier to change. During an economic downturn, people are worried about their jobs, then suddenly a big order comes in and everyone breathes a sigh of relief, so the climate improves.

MATCHING PEOPLE WITH CULTURES

GOFFEE & JONES TYPOLOGY EXPLAINED

Networked culture (high on sociability, low on solidarity).

Organizations with this type of culture view members as family and friends. People know and like each other. People willingly give assistance to others and openly share information. The major downside to this culture is that the focus on friendships can lead to a tolerance for poor performance and creation of political cliques.

Mercenary culture (low on sociability, high on solidarity). 

Organizations with this type of culture are fiercely goal-focused. People are intense and determined to meet goals. They have a zest for getting things done quickly and a powerful sense of purpose. A mercenary culture is not just about winning; it is about destroying the enemy. This focus on goals and objectivity leads to a minimal degree of politicking. The major downside to this culture is that it can lead to an almost inhumane treatment of people who are perceived as low performers.

Fragmented culture (low on sociability, low on solidarity). 

Organizations with this type of culture are made up of individualists. Commitment is first and foremost to individual members and their job tasks. There is little or no identification with the organization. In a fragmented culture, employees are judged solely on their productivity and the quality of their work. The major downside to this culture is that it can lead to excessive critiquing of others and an absence of collegiality and cooperation. Some large accounting and law firms have this type of culture.

Communal culture (high on sociability, high on solidarity). 

Organizations with this type of culture value both friendship and performance. People have a feeling of belonging, but there is still a ruthless focus on goal achievement. Leaders of these cultures tend to be inspirational and charismatic, with a clear vision of the organizations’ future. The major downside to this culture is that it often consumes employees’ lives. Its charismatic leaders frequently expect to create disciples rather than followers, resulting in a work climate that is almost “cult-like.”

Sociability
	High	Communal	Networked
	Low	Mercenary	Fragmented
		High	Low
	Solidarity

CORPORATE CULTURE EXPLAINED

“Collaborate (Clan)” Culture

An open and friendly place to work where people share a lot of themselves. It is like an extended family. Leaders are considered

to be mentors or even parental figures. Group loyalty and sense of tradition are strong. There is an emphasis on the long-term benefits of human resources development and great importance is given to group cohesion.There is a strong concern for people.

The organization places a premium on teamwork, participation, and consensus.

 “Create (Adhocracy)” Culture  Entrepreneurial

A dynamic, entrepreneurial, and creative place to work. Innovation and risk-taking are embraced by employees and leaders. A commitment to experimentation and thinking differently are what unify the organization. They strive to be on the leading edge. The long-term emphasis is on growth and acquiring new resources. Success means gaining unique and new products or services. Being an industry leader is important. Individual initiative and freedom are encouraged. 

“Control (Hierarchy)” Culture  Bureaucratic

A highly structured and formal place to work. Rules and procedures govern behavior. Leaders strive to be good coordinators and organizers who are efficiency-minded. Maintaining a smooth-running organization is most critical. Formal policies are what hold the group together. Stability, performance, and efficient operations are the long-term goals. Success means dependable delivery, smooth scheduling, and low cost. Manage­ment wants security and predictability.

“Compete (Market)” Culture

A results-driven organization focused on job completion. People are competitive and goal-oriented. Leaders are demanding, hard-driving, and productive.The emphasis on winning unifies the organization. Reputation and success are common concerns. Long-term focus is on competitive action and achievement of measurable goals and targets. Sucess means market share and penetration. Competitive pricing and market leadership are important.

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

The most widely used organizational culture framework is that of Edgar Schein (1988), who adopts the functionalist view and described culture as a pattern of basic assumptions, invented, discovered, or developed by a given group, as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore is to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.

In Schein’s (1988) model, culture exists on three levels:

1. Artifacts – Artifacts are difficult to measure and they deal with organizational attributes that can be observed, felt and heard as an individual enters a new culture.

2. Values – This level deals with the espoused goals, ideals, norms, standards, and moral principles and is usually the level that is usually measured through survey questionnaires.

3. Underlying assumptions – This level deals with phenomena that remain unexplained when insiders are asked about the values of the organizational culture. Information is gathered in this level by observing behavior carefully to gather underlying assumptions because they are sometimes taken for granted and not recognized. According to Schein, the essence of organizational culture lies in this level.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: THE ROLE OF FOUNDER

When it comes to understanding the culture or shared environment of a particular business or organization, there can be several factors to consider. In general, experts believe that culture is established over time it takes a while for a company or organization to really develop a collection of policies, values and beliefs that are shared among all the employees and/or workers. The initial founders or owners DO have a role to play in the creation of company or organizational culture-while time may cause the culture to evolve in unpredictable ways, the initial influencers are important.

When an individual or group of individuals start a company or organization, they normally have some fairly specific ideas about what they want to happen-whether it is focused on making money, serving the public or providing a place to work that satisfies certain desires, the owners and founders tend to have some very clear ideas about what sort of work environment they would like to create. These initial goals and efforts can have a lasting effect on the culture of a company or organization.
For example, if a person decides to start a business not only to provide a service that has been missing in the community, but to create a work environment that is consensual based, flexible and where employees can set their own hours and have a great deal of autonomy over their jobs, this is going to create a company or organization culture that supports these ideals. It will be quite different if the owner or founder wants to create a company where he or she can be "in charge" and where the positions are structured in a "top down" fashion and the "boss" has a strong need to write policies on how employees will behave.

Of course, other realities will influence the company culture as well-the actual employees who come to work for the company and external factors such as market changes, competitors and the overall economic situation

DYSFUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF CULTURE

1. Barrier to change
2. Barrier to diversity
3. Barrier to acquisitions and mergers.

FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

(a) It gives members an organizational identity: 

Sharing norms, values and perceptions gives people a sense of togetherness that helps promote a feeling of common purpose. Culture provides shared pattern of cognitive perceptions or understanding about the values or beliefs held by the organization. This enables the organizational members how to think and behave as expected of them.

(b) It facilitates collective commitment.

The common purpose that grows out of shared culture tends to elicit strong commitment from all those who accept the culture as their own. It provides shared pattern of feelings to the organizational members to make them know what they are expected to value and feel.

(c) It promotes systems stability. 

By encouraging a shared sense of identity and commitment, culture encourages lasting integration and cooperation among the members of an organization. It enhances social stability by holding the organizational members together by providing them appropriate standards for which the members should stand for.

(d) It shapes behaviour by helping members make sense of their surroundings.

An organization culture serves as a source of shared meaning that explains why things occur the way they do. Organizational culture is not fully visible but felt. At less visible level culture reflects the value shared by organizational members.

(e) It provides a boundary: 

Culture creates distinction between one organization and the other. Such boundary – defining helps identify members and non-members of the organization. Culture facilitates the generation of commitment to something larger them one’s individual self-interest. It serves as a control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitude and behaviour of organizational members.

(f)Conformity:

It helps organizational members stick to conformity and expected mode of behaviour. Culture ensures that everyone thinks and behaves in a prescribed manner.

PRIMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

There are 7 primary characteristics of organizational culture. They are listed below.

1. Innovation and Risk Taking:
Risk and returns go hand in hand. Places where you take a risk (calculated risk of course!), the chances of returns are higher. Same goes for innovation. You could either be a follower or a pioneer. Pioneering has its share of risks, but at times it can also have a breakthrough outcome for the organization. Thus, innovation and risk taking is one of the main characteristics of organizational culture defining how much room the business allows for innovation.

2. Attention to Detail:
Attention to detail defines how much importance a company allots to precision and detail in the workplace. This is also a universal value as the degree of attention the employees are expected to give is crucial to the success of any business. The management defines the degree of attention to be given to details.

3. Outcome Orientation: Some organizations pay more attention to results rather than processes. It is really the business model of each business that defines whether the focus should be on the outcome or the processes. This defines the outcome orientation of the business.

4. People Orientation:
This is still one of the most contentious issues in organizational culture today. How much should be the management focus on the people? Some organizations are famous for being employee oriented as they focus more on creating a better work environment for its 'associates' to work in. Others still are feudal in nature, treating employees no better than work-machines.

5. Team Orientation:
It is a well established fact today that synergistic teams help give better results as compared to individual efforts. Each organization makes its efforts to create teams that will have complimentary skills and will effectively work together.

6. Aggressiveness:
Every organization also lays down the level of aggressiveness with which their employees work. Some businesses like Microsoft are known for their aggression and market dominating strategies.

7.  Stability:
While some organizations believe that constant change and innovation is the key to their growth, others are more focused on making themselves and their operations stable. The managements of these organizations are looking at ensuring stability of the company rather than looking at indiscriminate growth.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

DEFINITION:

There is no single definition for organizational culture. The topic has been studied from a variety of perspectives ranging from disciplines such as anthropology and sociology, to the applied disciplines of organizational behaviour, management science, and organizational communication. Some of the definitions are listed below:
A set of common understandings around which action is organized; finding expression in language whose nuances are peculiar to the group (Becker and Geer 1960).
A set of understandings or meanings shared by a group of people that are largely tacit among members and are clearly relevant and distinctive to the particular group which are also passed on to new members (Louis 1980).
A system of knowledge, of standards for perceiving, believing, evaluating and acting . . . that serve to relate human communities to their environmental settings (Allaire and Firsirotu 1984).
The deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are: learned responses to the group's problems of survival in its external environment and its problems of internal integration; are shared by members of an organization; that operate unconsciously; and that define in a basic "taken -for-granted" fashion in an organization's view of itself and its environment (Schein 1988).
Any social system arising from a network of shared ideologies consisting of two components: substance-the networks of meaning associated with ideologies, norms, and values; and forms-the practices whereby the meanings are expressed, affirmed, and communicated to members (Trice and Beyer 1984). 

Organizational culture is a system of shared beliefs and attitudes that develop within an organization and guides the behaviour of its members.

Culture is one of those terms that's difficult to express distinctly, but everyone knows it when they sense it. For example, the culture of a large, for-profit corporation is quite different than that of a hospital which is quite different that that of a university. You can tell the culture of an organization by looking at the arrangement of furniture, what they brag about, what members wear, etc. -- similar to what you can use to get a feeling about someone's personality.

Corporate culture can be looked at as a system. Inputs include feedback from, e.g., society, professions, laws, stories, heroes, values on competition or service, etc. The process is based on our assumptions, values and norms, e.g., our values on money, time, facilities, space and people. Outputs or effects of our culture are, e.g., organizational behaviors, technologies, strategies, image, products, services, appearance, etc.

OD INTERVENTIONS (TECHNIQUES) FOR BRINGING ABOUT CHANGE

1. Sensitivity training (T Groups)

Training groups that seek to change behaviour through unstructured group interaction.

2. Survey feed back.

The use of questionnaire to identify discrepancies among member perceptions: discussion follows and remedies are suggested.

3. Process consultation

Consultant gives a client insights into what is going on around the client, within the client, between client and other people; identifies processes that need improvement.

4. Team building

Utilizes high interaction among team members to increase trust and openness.

5. Intergroup Development

Efforts to change the attitudes, stereotypes and perceptions that groups have of one another.

UNDERLYING VALUES IN OD EFFORTS

*Respect for people

*Trust and support

*Power equalization

*Confrontation

*participation

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

French & Bell

 A collection of planned change interventions, built on humanistic-democratic values, that seek to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being.

TACTICS TO OVERCOME RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

1. Education and communication:

*Resistance can be reduced through communicating to help employees see the logic of a

change. The assumption is that the source of resistance lies in misinformation or poor

communication.

*It works provided that the source of resistance is inadequate communication and that

management-employee relations are characterized by mutual trust and credibility.

2. Participation:

*It is difficult for individuals to resist a change decision in which they participated.

*Prior to making a change, those opposed can be brought into the decision process, assuming

they have the expertise to make a meaningful contribution.

*The negatives—potential for a poor solution and great time consumption.

3. Facilitation and support:

*Employee counseling and therapy, new-skills training, or a short paid leave of absence may

facilitate adjustment. The drawbacks—it is time-consuming, expensive, and its

implementation offers no assurance of success.

4. Negotiation:

*Negotiation as a tactic may be necessary when resistance comes from a powerful source.

*It has potentially high costs, and there is the risk that the change agent is open to the

possibility of being blackmailed by other individuals in positions of power.

5. Manipulation and cooptation:

Manipulation refers to “covert influence attempts, twisting and distorting facts to make

them appear more attractive, withholding undesirable information, and creating false

rumors to get employees to accept a change.”

*Cooptation is “a form of both manipulation and participation.” It seeks to “buy off” the

leaders of a resistance group by giving them a key role in the change decision.

*Both manipulation and cooptation are relatively inexpensive and easy ways to gain support.

The tactics can backfire if the targets become aware that they are being tricked or used.

6. Coercion:

This is “the application of direct threats or force upon the resisters.”

Examples of coercion are threats of transfer, loss of promotions, negative performance

evaluations, and a poor letter of recommendation

ORGANIZATIONAL RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Organizations, by their very nature, are conservative. They actively resist change. There are six major

sources of organizational resistance

1. Structural inertia: Organizations have built-in mechanisms to produce stability; this structural

inertia acts as a counterbalance to sustain stability.

2. Limited focus of change: Organizations are made up of a number of interdependent

subsystems. Changing one affects the others.

3. Group inertia: Group norms may act as a constraint.

4. Threat to expertise: Changes in organizational patterns may threaten the expertise of

specialized groups.

5. Threat to established power relationships: Redistribution of decision-making authority can

threaten long-established power relationships.

6. Threat to established resource allocations: Groups in the organization that control sizable

resources often see change as a threat. They tend to be content with the way things are.

INDIVIDUAL RESISTANCE TO CHANGE

Five reasons why individuals may resist change are

1. Habit: Life is complex, to cope with having to make hundreds of decisions everyday, we all

rely on habits or programmed responses.

2. Security: People with a high need for security are likely to resist change because it threatens

their feelings of safety.

3. Economic factors: Another source of individual resistance is concern that changes will lower

one’s income.

4. Fear of the unknown: Changes substitute ambiguity and uncertainty for the known.

5. Selective information processing: Individuals shape their

WHAT CAN CHANGE AGENTS CHANGE?

1. Structure

Change Agents can alter one or more of the key elements in an organization's design.

2. Technology

Competitive factors or innovations within an industry often require change agents to introduce

new equipment, tools, or operating methods.

Physical Settings

3. People

Change agents help individuals and groups within the organization work more effectively

together.

The way of change agent manages the process of change is indicated by certain factors and characteristics that have neen identified by Havelock and Shaskin are as follows;

1.     Homophily: it is the degree of closeness and similarity between the change agent and the client. The closer the relationship, the easier and more successful the change.

2.     Empathy: it involves understanding of feeling, emotions and thoughts. The similarity between the client and the change agent leads to successful implementation of change strategies.

3.     Linkage: it refers to the degree of collaboration between the change agent and the client. The tighter the linkages, the more likely is the success.

4.     Proximity: the change agent and the client should have easy access to each other. The closer the proximity, the better the relationship and easier to develop collaborative efforts.

5.     Structuring: the client and the chage agent should plan implementation of interventations by mutual consulations and structure various strategies step by step.

6.     Capacity: this refers to the capacity of the organization to make available resources required for implementation of the change strategies. The higher the capacity, the esier to implement change.

7.     Openness: opennerss refers to the conceptual environment that is favourable for both the parties. The client must have respect for the ideas, feelings and needs of the change agant.

8.     Reward: the change brings potential benefits to the organization. Strategies should be so planned that the short term rewards are visible to the participants in the change programme. Once this is achieved, the employees will display higher degree of enthisianm and keenness in implementing long term strategies for change programme.

9.     Energy: energy refers to the amount of efforts spent in implementing the change programme. The client may be able to spend physical and psychological energy for his employees who are directly of indirectly involved in the change process, but the same may not indeed be possible for the change agent.

10.   Synergy: The total of individual efforts brought together should be hogher, and then only synergy is deemed to have been achieved.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING CHANGE ACTIVITES?

Change agents- persons who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for managing change. Change agents are responsible for the change in individual behavior. Other changes like change in organization structure, organizational strategy, process, policy, and the like ca always be introduced in the organization in proper consultations with the employees so that they are accepted by them. Change in human behavior is a complex phenomenon and it may require number  of strategies to make a serviceable change. These are called change agents. They may be either the initiator of change or serve as a catalyst of such change/

Four types change agents have been identified.

1.     Outside pressure

2.     Change from top management

3.     Internal organizational development

4.     Individual level change