Process: Design of a workplace

Introduction

The assignment for module six analyzes organizational behavior in the

Netherlands and in China. Organizational behavior is divided in eleven
parts,
namely
individuals,
motivation,
groups,
collaboration,
communication, leadership, organizational structure and culture, decision
making, stress and conflict and organizational change. The aim of this
assignment is to design a workplace, before that social innovation and
sustainability had to be studied.
This report is focused on the design of a new workplace, with social
innovation and sustainability in mind and the use of the organizational
topics in the two different countries, the Netherlands and China.
Hopefully this paper will give you a closer look on the procedure of making
a new workplace, social innovation and sustainability.
Hopefully you will enjoy our work. Kind regards,
Bianca Compagner, Patrick Jansma, Bjorn Huberts and Lisanne van t Blik
Leeuwarden, 13 January 2015

MODULE ASSIGNMENT
PATRICK JANSMA
BJORN HUBERTS
BIANCA COMPAGNER
LISANNE VAN T BLIK

401269
395056
414336
376531

IBMS 2E
PAULINE DROST
MODULE 6: LEADING PEOPLE
STENDEN UNIVERISTY OF APPLIED SCIENCE LEEUWARDEN

Table of contents
Introduction
List of figures
List of tables

2
4
4

Part I Social innovation, sustainability & design of the workplace

Social innovation
Sustainability
Design of the workplace

5
5
6
7

Part II Influences of sustainability in organisational behaviour

Chapter 1 : Individual and organisation
Chapter 2 : Integration and motivation
Chapter 3 : Groups in organisation
Chapter 4: Effective collaboration and decision-making
Chapter 5 : Communication in organisations
Chapter 6 : Power and leadership
Chapter 7 : Organisational structure
Chapter 8 : Organisational culture
Chapter 9 : Decision-making in organisations
Chapter 10 : Stress and conflict
Chapter 11 : Organisational change

7
7
7
7
8
9
9
9
9
11
11
13

Part III . & .

14

Part IV Design of the workplace

14

Literature list
Websites
Books

14
14
18

List of figures
Figure 1 Quote Albert Einstein.....................................................................6
Figure 2 Three dimensions of sustainablity..................................................6
Figure 3 Hofstede Dimensions the Netherlands and China..........................9

List of tables
Geen gegevens voor lijst met afbeeldingen gevonden.

Part I Social innovation, sustainability & design of the

workplace
Social innovation

According to the European Commission (2013) social innovation can be defined

as the development and implementation of new ideas (products, services and
models) to meet social needs and create new social relationships or
collaborations. Another definition for social innovation is, any novel and useful
solution to a social need or problem, that is better than existing approaches (i.e.,
more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just) and for which the value created
(benefits) accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals
(Philips, 2009). In other words, social innovation is about fresh concepts that
functions to meet the social targets, for example; gay partnerships, the
introduction of a new way of communicating and staying in touch with one
another.
In todays world social innovation is becoming increasingly important. The
difference between problems that people have to deal with and the solutions
people create are becoming bigger and therefore, social innovation is necessary
in order to solve these problems and diminish the gap.
Social innovation consists of activities and services, for instance activities and
services that are focused on the objective to meet a social need. Those activities
or services are mostly spread and developed through organizations whose
objective is primarily social improvement. When explaining social innovation like
this, it differentiates from business innovations, since motivations for business
innovation are generally motivated to maximize the companys profits (Ali,
Mulgan, Sanders & Tucker, 2007).
Need for social innovation begins with the recognition of discomfort with a certain
social aspect. After a need has been recognized, social innovation comes in and
people start looking for an idea that would make this discomfort disappear. Needs
for social innovation can moreover be recognized in modern day society by for
instance, protests or demonstrations, since these show a clear image of the
discomfort people cope with.
Furthermore, climate change (sustainability), social security systems and social
policies are considered to be critically important matters. Sooner or later it will be
necessary to think again about matters such as urban development and industrial
policies to ensure social, environmental and sustainable growth. Social media
also play a very important role in this respect; they speed up the process of
changes in how people communicate. As a result of social media people are able
to act more quickly and more directly. This is also one of the main reasons why
sociality is gaining speed so quickly.

Sustainability

Figure 1 Quote Albert Einstein

Sustainability is a concept that describes the ability to craft and enhance the
situation of the world we are living in nowadays. Moreover, sustainability aims to
enhance and preserve environmental, social and economic aspects (figure 1).
This way of thinking and improving everything around us makes sure that future
generations will have an environment in which they can provide for, and take
care of themselves (Blackburn, 2007). Due to the fact that future generations
implies generations far into the future and not just one generation ahead.
These days, people who think of sustainability
immediately think of global climate change.
Essentially we must change something to
ensure a good future.
People are more aware of the influence
organizations have on the heating up of the
earth, therefore sustainability gets more
support (p2). This is one of the ongoing
subjects for businesses and becoming more
important to people. It applies to the natural
environment,
business
concern
and
mechanism, mainly the global aspects of an
organization (p21-22). As Carroll and Buchholtz
Threedimensions
dimensionsof
ofsustainablity
sustainablity
(2014)
stated,
sustainability
is
about Figure 21Three
businesses ability to survive and thrive over
the long term.
To continue, being and having a sustainable image can be very rewarding for
companies nowadays. For instance, when a company is working in a sustainable
way, it can increase revenue, reduce waste expenses, reduce its water and
material expenses. Moreover, when a company works in a sustainable way it
could generate tax breaks, since some governments deduct taxes to companies
that have a sustainable way of operating. (Willard, 2012)
As mentioned before, sustainability does not only cover the economic aspects.
Sustainability looks at social and environmental aspects as well. For
environmental sustainability this means that mankind aims to meet its own
needs while preserving nature, and making sure that future generations can also
experience nature.
Lastly, the matter of social sustainability. Social sustainability is about preserving,
enhancing and maintaining desired ways of living or defending certain sociocultural customs. (Dixon, Perkins, & Vallance, 2011)
It is developed to serve the human needs and the concern of the earth so it
remains intact for future generations. The Brundtland Commission developed this

term and according to them sustainability means, Development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs. However, nowadays sustainability is not only about the
natural environment (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2014).

Design of the workplace

Designing of the workplace is used by all kinds of organizations. It is about the

relationship between work processes and all other departments in an
organization and can be seen during new demands on work processes or the
company concentrates again on their core mission or their task systems will be
contrived again. This process involves cooperation between stakeholders while
they have diverse concerns, independences, rights and dominances (Horgen,
1999).
Firstly, the organization has to figure out if there are problematic circumstances
going on. Then they have to create a new work environment and lastly the
perpetuation, the board and the remodeled environment will go through its lifecycle. The process has a start, which is the problem, and it has a finish, which is
the new redesigned workplace. Most of the outcomes of this process are very
different from the planning and estimated workplace (Horgen, 1999).
When it comes to designing a workplace, people should think lateral (or also
known as thinking outside of the box). Designing a workplace is not just about
the layout of the office. It includes matters varying from reorganizing a company
or working hour flexibility (p.7). Research shows that working time flexibility is
associated with higher work productivity at the country level (Beblav, Maselli &
Martellucci, 2012).

Part II Influences of sustainability in organisational

behaviour
Chapter 1 : Individual and organisation
Chapter 2 : Integration and motivation
Chapter 3 : Groups in organisation

Each organization consists of smaller groups ranging from departments, teams,

shifts, or consultative groups. Every specific group has their own purpose for
existence, although they are work towards the same goal in the end. The relation
between all these different groups is very important because they usually are
strongly dependent on one another. Within each group, emphasis can be placed
on either task-orientation which focuses on the end result or on group-orientation
which focuses more on the having a pleasant collaboration with people (Alblas,
Wijsman, van Noort & du Pon, 2011).
In the Netherlands it is generally known that people are very direct. Additionally,
just like Germany and Austria, the Netherlands prefer to focus on tasks rather
than relationships. In a group context this will means that people can be friendly.
However, if somebody screws up a task he or she will have to face the
consequences which usually are direct confrontation as a result of the
underperformance. People from relationship oriented countries perceive this as

rude, yet the Dutch mean no offense with their directness. The Dutch simply
perceive this directness and focus on tasks as a daily routine (Kakade, 2015).
Chinese culture is strongly different from the Dutch culture. Whereas it is normal
to go home after work in the Netherlands, the Chinese almost make it a point to
hang out with their colleagues after work. Unlike in Western society, most
Chinese are not accustomed to business only relationships which can be a big
change for Western business people going to China.
There is a very well-known phrase which says its not what you know, but who
you know that indicates Chinese relationship culture (Upton-McLaughlin, 2013).
The Netherlands are a relatively small country with a market less than a third the
size of Frances. However, many Netherlands-based global brands such as Philips
and Unilever are seen as frontrunner in the corporate sustainability calendar. Now
why do the Dutch go so sustainable? It is argued that the rising sea level has big
impact on the Dutch. The groups that form companies know that a long-term
perspective (not damaging nature) has to be implemented. The consequences
are already becoming visible as the sea level gradually rises and people simply
cant deny this fact (Balch, 2013).
When it comes to China alongside with sustainability, China can be seen as a
global leader in advancing environmental principles and rules. The government
places companies under supervision to ensure a greener environment. Over past
few years very clear signals have been given to all companies that something
has to change, and it seems to land. The health hazards of urban pollution play a
big role in raising public awareness on this topic. Now this influences everybody,
also groups in companies. Many groups within Chinese companies know that they
play a crucial role in driving more responsible business behavior (Zadek, 2015).

Chapter 4: Effective collaboration and decision-making

A group can be called effectively collaborative when they are productive and
satisfied at the same time. In order to be productive, team members have to
possess the right knowledge and skills. Additionally, it should be clear what their
responsibilities are. By all means it should be ensured that the members are
satisfied, this can be endangered when there is lack of input, unattractive tasks
or large groups. As far as decision-making in group context concerns, a leader
takes the following criteria into account: time efficiency, likelihood of success and
support and acceptance. How a leader makes a decision depends on how a
culture is placed in the dimensions of Geert Hofstede. To give an example, a
leader always considers the likelihood of success and when the risk is too big a
leader from a culture with high uncertainty avoidance will refrain from making
risky decisions (Hofstede, 2015).
According to Geert Hofstede the Netherlands maintain rigid codes of belief and
behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas (Hofstede, 2015).
Furthermore, it can be said that the Netherlands have a high labor productivity,
being one of the leaders in this front. This is most probably the logical result of
the task focus culture which prevails (Eurostat, 2015). On the other hand, it can
be said that it is logical that human resources are exhausted because people do
not just want to exist to work. On the contrary, surveys show that the
Netherlands show some of the highest rates of job satisfaction in the world. The
above mentioned matters suggest that the Netherlands is doing really well at
focusing on the task, and still keeping people happy (Gowling, 2013).

According to Geert Hofstede, in China the adherence to laws and rules may be
flexible to suit the actual situation. The Chinese have no problem with ambiguity,
which means that rather risky decisions will more easily be taken (Hofstede
centre, n.d.). China is in many respects different from the Netherlands. Whereas
the Dutch are extremely happy with their job, less than half of Chinese worker are
happy on their job (Rapoza, 2012). Statistics show that Chinas GDP per worker
has been plummeting. It is still relatively strong at this moment, yet it is expected
to continue falling. This is most likely caused by the improving working
circumstances and social securities (Economist, 2013).
Decision making in a company is quite a lot different from how normal
households typically perceive sustainable decision-making in companies.
Managers in companies are accountable for their decision and have to justify
their actions to shareholders. (Page 34) Research also shows that managers in
the Netherlands find it extremely challenging to get an investment for doing
more sustainable business. The culprit in this case is the fact that Dutch people
look at the adverse impact on current cash flow and short-run performance, even
though it would be better in the long run. To become more sustainable, the mindset of people has to change, it has to go from short-term thinking to focusing on
long-term perspective. The government could intervene with the market to
improve the situation. As a matter of fact, such interventions may prove to be
exceptionally cost-effective
(Rosenkranz et al., 2013).
China genuinely seems to be putting much effort into going more sustainable. Yet
their huge population is a factor that really obstructs the country from doing this
properly. Companies are expected to be taking more sustainable decisions. In
most cases it is not just about the companies making these decisions as they rely
on all the stakeholders participation. In order to create a more sustainable
environment, the public acceptance has to be gained (Chen, Page 23, 2013).

Chapter 5 : Communication in organisations

According to Alblas et al (2011), communication is the transfer of information

between two or more people. Communication can be divided into oral and
written communication which can again be divided into formal and informal
communication and internal and external communication (Alblas et al., 2011).

Chapter 6 : Power and leadership

Chapter 7 : Organisational structure
Chapter 8 : Organisational culture
A culture has shared values, ideas and norms within a community. An
organization is a community in which the same values, ideas and norms are
shared. This is the organizational culture in a company, this is different for every
company, especially in different countries. It is necessary for good cooperation
between the employees, the work satisfaction will rise and the relationships will
become better (Alblas et al., 2011).
In the Netherlands everyone is equal, so there is no hierarchy. Cooperation and
communication with one employee being above the other is very common.

Respect can be attained by study and hard work. A few businesses use an
academic title and all employees call each other by the first name. The
Netherlands is known for its openness and directness. They expect critical
feedback and honesty; therefore, they do not
think of losing face. Most Dutch people are very
punctual, they are organized and in order to do
something with each other they have to make
an
appointment
(Breukel,
2008).
The
Netherlands has a task-oriented culture in its
organizations according to Harrison (1972). This
means that results are more valued in the
company than rules and employees. They give
priority to skills and expertise (Harrison, 1972).
Consistent with the theory of Deal and Kennedy
(1982), organizations have a bet your
company culture. As is stated before, respect
can be earned by hard work and in an
organized way. Managers appreciate their Figure 2 Hofstede Dimensions the
employees because they need to cooperate Netherlands and China
together. Businesses in the Netherlands are
also known for the many meetings, which is also a factor in the bet your
company culture. It contains high risk and slow feedback (Deal & Kennedy,
1982). According to Hofstede (1980), as can be seen in the figure, the
Netherlands has a low power distance. This means that they do not really accept
power differences within an organization. This can be seen in the non-hierarchical
structure in Dutch businesses. The Netherlands is very individualistic, as is shown
below. They have a high score on this point, because they value independence,
freedom, self-esteem, self-development and responsibility for themselves.
Hofstede (1991) also expressed that national wealth is associated with the high
or low rate of individualism. The score for masculinity is very low, so the
difference between men and women is not obvious in businesses. Society is more
emotionally involved and appreciates cooperation and relationships. The
Netherlands has an average score on the avoidance of uncertainty, because they
do not prefer uncertainty but they will not avoid it. It has a long-term focus, it
values respect, hard work, patience and tradition (Alblas et al, 2011).
Every organization has different ways of corporate sustainability, which fits the
organizations culture, values and aims. As van Marrewijk and Were (2003) stated,
the more ambitious corporate sustainability, the more complex the institutional
structure.
Businesses in the Netherlands are trying to be the best in sustainability. It is a
really important matter in companies in the Netherlands. Sustainability has
become a major value in the business culture. While this is a major point, they
still think people have to work hard in order to receive respect and money.
Therefore, companies are subsidizing this by their own, they do not need
subsidies from the government in order to suffice sustainability (Dutch industry is
a sustainable champion, n.d.). People in the Netherlands are known as stingy and
so are companies in the Netherlands. Another significant point is the relationship
between government and companies for constituting engagement of the
businesses. Businesses in the Netherlands are still open-minded and visible
ambitious. Problem-solving is an important part of the bet your company culture
which is also playing an important part in the sustainability in the Netherlands.
However, sustainability changes the way leaders act. Normally they are
straightforward, positive and anxious with hierarchies. Dutch people have the

ability to search and find solutions for a problem. The Dutch will decide the path
and have tough ideas about the problems.
The strong passion for sustainability is from years and years ago already
something the Dutch people have. They always took care of the future
generations, just as they help internationally with healthcare problems, and all
other problems worldwide (Balch, 2013). It is not only the sustainability that
influences the Dutch culture, but the other way around as well. The Dutch culture
stimulates sustainability, especially because it is a low country and has had
problems with the sea in the past (Dutch industry is a sustainable champion,
n.d.).
The Chinese organizational culture is affected by the Confucian social norms and
values. China is still industrializing and kept its preindustrial values, norms and
ideas. Values in the Chinese culture are guanxi, which means the private
contacts among individuals. This is founded on the commerce of aid together
with personal feeling, which is called ganqing. Furthermore, condescended
management and family are important in the Chinese culture. Moreover, they
value mianzi, which is the sophistication of face. Lastly, they appreciate a
common mistrust towards persons who are unfamiliar to them. All ways of
management in companies in China are been affected by great thinkers of China,
like philosophers, military strategists and professors. The Chinese culture is also
been called unique and extraordinary. However, some aspects correspond with
other countries, for example the importance of family is as great as it is in LatinAmerica (Kragh, 2012). As an opposite of the Dutch culture, Chinese people do
not appreciate direct persons. Nevertheless, they would never tell the person that
they do not like it. They prefer to tell something clever and they are not working
as individuals but collective (Iglesias, 2010). China has high power distance,
which means that they accept differences in an organization and that their
structure is hierarchical. No one is treated equally and it depends on your status
how you will be treated. In consistent with the theory of Hofstede (1980), the
Chinese people know a collectivistic culture, meaning that they work close in
groups. This can be seen as a protection and loyalty for your whole life.
Furthermore, it is a masculine country, defined as a culture with great differences
between men and women. Women has less privileges than men. China also has a
lower score than average for the uncertainty avoidance. This result shows that
China not have a strong avoidance of uncertainty, they dare to take some risks.
Lastly, the country has an extreme long term orientation (Hofstede, 1980), so
they want to develop a relationship first before doing business with the other.
This is also shown in their mistrust in strangers (Alblas et al, p.284-289, 2011).
China is more focused about the economical part of sustainability than any other
part or even the external factors such as the global world. Therefore, the
organizational culture is not yet influenced by the sustainability since they first
prioritize on other parts (Brubaker, 2012). In the past, China witnessed more
planning and control problems in building and in projects in order to improve the
country. One reason for this is the different languages people spoke, so the
message was not clear for everyone. The authority of China also used corruption
in order to get things done. The hierarchical structure was obvious visible, for
example the leaders and the farmers never had contact. Therefore, the farmers,
or the employees, suffered from the mismanagement of the authority. Power is an
important matter in China, no power no influence. The ones with power do not
care about the employees, the workers, the poor ones and/or the ones with no
power (Hutchison, 2009).

Chapter 9 : Decision-making in organisations

Chapter 10 : Stress and conflict
Stress can derive from the pressures on a person at work. Through this pressure,
the person its psychological activity will increase, which causes collapse. Stress
can cause four reactions: Emotional complaints, physiological complaints,
behavioral complaints and burn-out. Conflicts are caused by differences of
opinion. There are different conflicts, namely destructive conflict, constructive
conflict, interpersonal conflict and intergroup conflict. Stress and conflicts can
have many motives and many solutions. Conflict can be managed by different
types of management; fight, collaboration, compromise, avoidance and
concession.
Stress in the Netherlands is increasing according to a research of the Dutch
Ministry of Social Businesses and Employment. The majority of absence through
illness is caused by stress. Reasons are the high incoming digital information,
uncertain future expectations and the high demand for flexibility (Werkstress in
Nederland neemt toe, n.d.). According to research (2003), the tension rises and
tension causes stress. Because of the tension raise, the stress at work will also
increase. This research also confirmed an increase of emotional exhausting at
work, this is also a reason for a rise of stress at work. Causes for those rises are
work pressure and negative characteristics (Donders, Gulden, van der, Furer, Tax,
Roscam Abbing, 2003). The majority of Dutch people notice high work pressure.
Measurements for this are improving the relationship between work and private
lives of the employees and giving more attention to complaints. Employees that
feel the most pressure at work, need information about how they have to handle
stress and pressure. The Netherlands is working on the improvement of the work
pressure, they are searching for measurements to keep the working pressure
manageable (Wiezer, Heinrich, Nelemans, Bongers, Smulders, 2006). According
to Houtman, van Hooff and Hooftman (2006), the quality of work in the
Netherlands is stable, but pressure and the amount of overtime has been
increased since 1990. For years the Netherlands has been the best in terms of
work pressure, but nowadays they are as good as an average Europe country.
Areas with the highest pressure are electricity, gas, water, health care and
education. Just as Denmark, Finland and Sweden, Dutch people do not complain a
lot about control options at work (Houtman, van Hooff, Hooftman, 2006). Almost
25% of Dutch employees encounter conflicts at their work according to the
National Enqute Labor Conditions 2013 (TNO, 2013). Sixteen percent has had a
conflict with a manager and ten percent with an employer. Hence, the
Netherlands know many conflicts at work what causes great impact on work
processes. Conflict avoidance is mostly known as more negative than positive.
Dutch people are mainly known about their directness, therefore they would not
often use conflict avoidance as a method to reduce the conflicts at work
(Buijvoets, 2015).
Well-being of Dutch employees is becoming more important to employers,
because it is useful in order to operate properly and effectively. Therefore,
organizations has to put positive influence in the organization for better work
environments. This will increase the sustainability of the employees.
One reason for improving employees is that employers cannot find easily new
employees, so they want to keep their current employees as long and efficient as
possible. This is also better for the atmosphere of the environment, relationships

between employees and satisfaction of employees. Furthermore, it causes an

increase of motivation, health, mobility willingness and involvement in the
organization. Moreover, it has a positive effect on employment, work productivity
and quality of products and services.
Dutch companies are dealing with some issues by different measurements. Stress
and the amount of conflicts can be decreased by a supervisor. The supervisor can
help employees controlling the stress and conflicts. Another measurement is a
psychology center in organizations, employees with physical problems, such as
stress or a negative experience because of a conflict, can go to these psychology
centers. Most measurements are look-a-like, especially for these problems. Also
working groups is an option, so employees can share opinions and experiences.
In so doing, it becomes easier for employees to handle stress or conflicts. Those
activities are mostly managed by the Arbo-dienst or another reintegration
consultancy. Therefore, all companies in the Netherlands has to deal with these
activities, be sustainable and they have to think about their employees. Stress
management is also one of these activities. Most activities are about organization
development. The Arbo-dienst helps to reduce conflicts, because of their
trustworthy and confidentiality, conflicts are easy to solve.
All options helps to improve the work environment and for a decrease in stress
and conflicts at work (Grndemann & de Vries, 2002).
Research has shown that Anglo countries, such as Australia, United States and
New Zealand, have a more positive relation between work-hours and work-family
stressors than China and Latin-countries. China has a positive relation between
having children and being married with their well-being. China has a collectivistic
culture, thus they concentrate more on family than they do on work. Work is only
seen as a fund for their families. Because of this Chinese people do not see work
and privacy separate from each other (Specter, Cooper, Poelmans, Allen, Siu,
Hart, 2004).
Most Chinese people try to avoid conflicts, so they manage their conflicts with
conflict avoidance. This jeopardizes decision-making and relationships (Tjosvold,
2007). China uses cooperative conflict management in order to have an effective
top management, also in a collectivist culture as China (Chen, Liu, Tjosvold,
2005). Because of the collectivistic culture, direct conflicts are not suitable in
China, this can damage the group harmony. Another important matter is save
face in China, Chinese people do not want other people disrespect them for
having a conflict with the other one. Therefore they are supposed to manage
their feelings. Chinese people rather lie than tell the truth and cause a conflict.
Another major aspect is Guanxi, which indicates the importance of relationships
at work. Therefore Chinese employees are putting the relationship first before
their own feelings, anger or frustration. They avoid conflicts with other
employees in order to keep the relationships. However, the Chinese way of
solving conflicts in an indirect way can also have negative effects on other
employees. The employees can be bothered by what other employees are talking
behind their backs, what can be very injurious and cause psychological problems.
Because of the indirect method and the avoidance of conflicts, the health, mental
and psychological problems can be taken into consideration (Liu, Nauta, Spector,
Li, 2008).
China has improved its social corporate responsibility last years. Now it has some
other important matters which they want to improve, including labor rights and
the support of the consciousness of social responsibility. Therefore,
encouragement and counseling from the government is becoming more
important. China is aiming for fair, equalized and sustainable societys resources.

However, it is not sure if Chinese companies will follow these rules. China support
improvements of employees behavior and the environment. They supply
guidelines and reports in order to achieve their target. They encourage protection
of employees, sustainability and social welfare. Another aim is social
sustainability, which includes to protect the health and safety of employees, such
as stress and other psychological problems. This can be done by improving the
chances at work for employees (Noronha, Tou, Cynthia, Guan, 2012). Handling
conflicts will not change yet in China, since saving face and guanxi is still too
important in the Chinese culture. However, they noticed the effectiveness of
managing conflicts in the right way, still they do not appreciate direct conflicts
(Liu et al, 2008).

Chapter 11 : Organisational change

Change in an organization can be influenced by external and internal factors.
External factors consist of customers, government, technological developments,
competitors and the economy. Companies have no influence on external factors,
but the factors have influence on the company. Sometimes organizations have to
change if they want to continue selling products and earning money. Internal
factors are factors from new insights from inside the company. Internal factors
can be about for example leadership style, task division or problem-solving.
Companies know different sorts of change; structure, internal relationships and
external orientation. These different sorts of change can be implemented by two
different approaches, namely the design and the development approach. The
management of an organization assist by defining the desired situation,
organizing essential changes and most important, they plan, coordinate, evaluate
and adapt the change process (Alblas et al, 2011).
The Netherlands is very innovative and changed a lot over the past years.
Competition is stimulating companies to change and innovate more and more.
This can be done by mechanical adjustments in perception, work methods and
systems for work performance. Time and resources have to be included in order
to use new technologies, minimalize failures and receive the highest profit from
it. Most Dutch companies are more interested in the highest profit than the other
positive effects of change, through which they do not receive all good matters,
while they could have received all of them with good change management.
Organizational change remains important, because it keeps the work systems
refreshed and employees performance will be improved, so they will stay ahead
of other companies and especially the competition. It also supports companies
internally by how to improve their working methods. However, it is important that
leaders also are involved in the change in order to succeed. Dutch line managers
are mostly very practical thinkers. Therefore, they are immediately thinking
about the amount of influence the change has on their workload. This can
damage the change (Holland & Sharke, 2003).
Change of socio-technical systems had a great influence in the Netherlands,
especially for achieving engagement in workforce. Most changes in Dutch
businesses are incremental and totally not radical. All changings are done slowly
and Dutch organizations take their time to do it effectively (Boonstra, 2008). The
Netherlands have a new approach which concentrates on the Dutch structure. In
2004, the Netherlands already worked on innovation in its economic sector,
through which they were ahead of other countries. While the Netherlands were
working on their innovation and organizational change, they did not even had a
strategy for a long time. Their strategy was based on the private, academic and
public sector (van Hemert, Nijkamp, Masurel, 2012). Because of changes,

companies stay ahead in the competition, it has a positive effect on both sides. If
the rules decreases, internally and externally, Dutch companies will change more
frequently than with more regulations. However, if internal regulation increases
for private companies, change will have more opportunity for success. For public
companies it applies that if external regulation increases, change will happen
more often. And this can have a positive effect on change in private companies.
Another factor that can cause failure of changes is the power of the management
that influences the change. When the management has a lot of influence,
changes will not happen quite often, especially not in private companies. Public
transparency about changes can be bad for all kind of changes. Change will also
depend on how many levels are in the organization structure, because change
will happen earlier with a few levels instead of many levels (Nieto Morales,
Wittek, Heyse, 2012).
China has changed a lot in the past years, especially in the technology sector. Its
industrial sector is also changed, it is the biggest sector and very important for
China. Many research and development departments are working on the
improvement of machinery in China. They also allowed open-door policy with
other countries, they even merged with other companies, they supported
research for new goals to achieve in order to renew their industry and technology
and they increased wages, with for example bonuses and better prices. However,
retail organizations are very indigent. Therefore, successes in change are hard to
make, also because of the weak position of R&D consumers. Another point is that
it is not certain if China is ready for this change, if it has knowledge and enough
users for the technologic and industrial change. The market necessitates this
change because the economic regime has also changed. Old organizations work
with the old regime, but since the regime is changed the organizations have to
change as well. Leaders in China assigned in 1978 to mind more about the
development of the economy, its efficiency and the quickness, and about the
lives of people in China. China still has to develop a lot (Gu, 2004).
China has to become aware of the pollution of their own businesses, it has
caused a lot of air pollution, especially nowadays. It is clear that China has to do
something about it. This can be managed by an organizational change in the
industries itself. This is at this moment the most important matter for China. It
has become so bad that smog hangs over China, which can cause problems with
peoples health such as asthma, cancer or premature death. One option for
Chinese government to solve this problem is to give information available for
everyone about air quality. Another option is to narrow the supervision for
emissions of energy. Furthermore, new and detergent fuel and sustainable cars or
they can introduce renewable energy (Greenpeace, 2009). The government of
China has set desiring aims for the economy of China in order to protect the
environment, decrease the concentration of national energy and increase of more
detergent energy. However, local people are not responsible for the protection of
the environment, through which the aims of the government are not even close
to achievement. China needs a lot of organizational changes at all areas in order
to come ahead of the competition (Stevenson, 2012).

Part III . & .

Part IV Design of the workplace

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