Question

We Only Wanted to “Scare” Management   Into Making Changes!

A small group of nurses, employed at a large community hospital, were unhappy about their work environment and would meet daily during lunch to discuss the situation. There had been a recent change in the hospital’s senior management, which caused a high level of uncertainty and anxiety among the nursing staff. The nurses felt overworked due in part to the industry’s current nursing shortage. Their wages and benefits had been stagnant with no salary market adjustments for the past two years. The nurses saw the situation as management requiring them to do more work with fewer resources, with no appreciation or recognition of their efforts. Whenever the nurses approached management with their concerns, they perceived them as falling on deaf ears since no changes were made.

Feeling like they had no other choice, the nurses contacted a labor union. The labor union began an organizing effort in the hospital shortly thereafter, holding an aggressive campaign over a six-week period. There was tremendous peer pressure, as some of the well-respected nursing staff became active leaders for unionization, although they were not part of the initial group of nurses who had first contacted the union. The election was held and the union was voted in by two thirds of the nursing staff. In the weeks that followed, the original group of nurses remarked that they were surprised by the union’s victory; they had only wanted to “scare” management into making changes to their work environment.

QUESTIONS

1. Using Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, explain why the nurses were motivated to contact the labor union.

2. Using Blake/Mouton’s Managerial Grid, explain the leadership style displayed by management to the nursing staff.

3. Compare and contrast formal and informal groups. (Note: include in your answer (1) why management needs to be aware of informal groups within their organizations, and (2) why people join informal groups).

4. Explain the French and Raven model of power. Who displayed power(s) in this case and why?

Answer 1

1. The two factor theory states that there are few factors in the work place which may cause satisfaction and few factors which may cause the dissatisfaction. Here in this the nurses were motivated to contact labor union as when the nurses approached the management there was no any positive response and even the grievences were not heard by the management.

2 managerial grid has the 5leadership styles. In this scenario the leadership is task management leadership wereby the employees have to work and listen to the commands and nothing else. Like the autocratic style.

3. The formal groups are those formed by the organization in order to achieve the objectives and informal groups are those formed by the population naturally with their own interest.

The management needs to be aware of informal group as it would be better helping them to face the issues concerning them and their motives or suddenly they may burst out. People join informal group to help them support for their benefits when the formal group do not hear them and make changes and modification to benefit them.

4. According to French and raven model opd power there are 5types such as

* referant power

* legitimate power

* expert power

* coercive power and reward power

The nurses displayed power means the employees to scare the management to make changes into their working environment.