ANZ BANK: LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE CHANGE

SECTION A Q: 1. From the structural frame, and using an appropriate balance of theory and practical evidence from the case, identify and discuss the structural issues relevant to transformational change. What would be the benefits and limitations of taking a structural perspective? Issues Pertaining to Structural Change Before the cultural transformation occurred at ANZ bank, the bank was in a crucial state. It was facing the following issues from structural frame perspective: Eiffel Tower Culture- the ANZ band had top-to-down culture where there was a bureaucratic division of various roles and functions. ANZ culture was steep, symmetrical and narrow at the top. Each higher level had clear function of holding together the levels beneath it. The subordinates had to obey the boss because of their roles. Poor Management- the bank failed to comply with its managerial processes and was under bad debts. It had increased operating and financial costs and decreasing market shares. Low Employee Morals- the people working at bank were not happy due to the banks failure to understand the employee values and comparing them with its own. No Customer Satisfaction- before the evolutionary change in the ANZ bank, no preference was given to the customers that resulted in the low customer satisfaction and no customer value. Community- before McFarlane there was a widespread ill-will and distrust among the members of community regarding the operations, values and management of the banks in Australia. No bank was following Corporate Social Responsibility.

Using the Kurt Lewins (1951) three-step change model, the process of changing the behavior starts from unfreezing the existing status quo. Unfreezing the situation helps to overcome the individual differences and group conformity. It can be achieved via increased driving forces that have direct impact on the behaviors, decreased constraints that have negative impact on the movement of processes and refreezing the situation when change is achieved (Robbins, 2003).

The Management of ANZ bank was reluctant to change. They had ethnocentric nature who believed our way is the right way of doing things. This issue could be resolved by minimizing the individual differences within the organization.

The employees were not motivated enough to engage in their prescribed roles. Applying Herzbergs two factor theories, the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction and satisfaction are to be identified. In case of ANZ bank, the factors leading to the low employee moral were distrust towards the banking operations, lack of proper communication with the management and the high power distance respectively. These factors were necessary to be entertained in order to get the high employee engagement towards their work which leaded ultimately towards the customer satisfaction area.

Benefits The structural change in the ANZ bank showed a very clear picture of the requirements of employees and managers at ANZ bank and the desire of ANZ stand in the market. It showed integrity, collaboration, respect and excellence in their performance and actions.

McFarlane, took important steps to lower the financial debt ratios making it to stand among the top notch banks within the country. He implemented three step cultural change within the confines of the ban; Perform, Grow and Breakout strategy that ensured the high level of performance with respect to the processes and delivery of value to the stakeholders, growth in terms of revenue, leadership and brand entity and the breakout of previous function and building a set of functions that leaded to the long term leadership and success.

ANZ bank developed a culture that supported the employee inputs and decentralized the decision making process opposing the traditional decision making process opted by the senior management at the bank.

The wrong managers in the jobs that effected the organization all the way down were identified and removed. Efficient management was installed in the bank that had passion to work and was disciplined to perform their duties.

Limitation(s)

To bring the change, you should be motivated to do so. The change within an organization can be effected by the participants on whom the change is implemented. The participants are required to be continuously counseled in order to motivate them to participate in the change process, envies trust and recognition for the need to change and their active participation in the problem solving brainstorming is necessary (Robbins. 2003).

One action that can be used to implement Lewins three step model of change is to establish new patterns and utilize them through formal and informal mechanisms including policies, procedures and regulations (Robbins, 2003). Q.2: From the symbolic frame, and using an appropriate balance of theory and practical evidence from the case, identify and discuss the symbolic and cultural issues relevant to transformational change. What would be the benefits and limitations of taking a cultural perspective?

Issues Pertaining to Cultural Change The ANZ bank was operating under narrow culture. The people working there had to face number of issues which includes the following: Negative Perceptions- since the bank had top-down culture which limits the decision making to top management only that left a gap between the senior managements understanding of situation and the employees understanding. This resulted in the development of negative perceptions among the people working there in the domains of functions, operations and values of the bank. Gender oriented Culture- the bank before achieving transformational changes had a masculine culture. In masculine cultures, the gender roles are distinct; men are supposed to be more rigid and inflexible and concerned towards the quality of life (Hofstede, 2001). McFarlane observed the gender oriented culture in ANZ bank by discovering lack of women in the senior management roles. Confusion- due to the lack of communication among the employees and senior management, high level of confusion existed about the existing banking practices followed at ANZ bank.

Individualism- the people in the bank had individualistic approach towards the functions and priorities of the bank. They failed to act collectively and lacked integration of ideas and resources. Misconduct- the people were engaged in the practices that are regarded as misconduct as per the general banking law and practices. They were confined to their own interests and were not engaged in their roles.

The organization is the hub of different cultures, tribes, rituals, myths, stories, procedures and managerial authorities (Bolman and Deal 1991, p. 16). Everyone within the organization is said be an actor who is performing his or her role (Bolman and Deal 1991, p. 16). The cultures are acquired by learning (Hofstede, 2002) the people within the ANZ bank required the symbolic learning to perform.

The role of an organization is like a theatre where the employees act as performers. The plays or performances help us to resolve the conflicts and contradictions creating problems within an organization. Old issues, new ideas, borrowed expertise and important strategies are put onto the stage, where they combine and begin to produce new myths and belief system. Change becomes exciting, innovative, and vital. The message is heartening and spiritually invigorating. The world changes continuously so is the need of symbols. If the change is not expected, then change of symbols, scripts can be used to develop new role plays and drama.

Benefits

The benefits to change the organizational culture or taking the cultural imperative to identify the problem are huge. The cultural imperative influenced everything and everyone at ANZ bank. It suggests the following benefits: Productivity- ability to perform Morale- high values and employee moral Costs- managed financial and operational costs Profits- increased level of market involvement and revenue generation Customer Service- customer satisfaction and value to the customer Recruiting- the perspective of people changes with the change of culture Retention- employee retention and long term relationship. Employee Morale- ANZ gave value to the opinions, preferences of their employees Employee Motivation- reward and recognition motivates the employees to perform Better Openness to Change- they have understood the need for change and shows openness towards change Involvement- the lack of engagement is no more the characteristic of ANZs employees. Leadership- by maintaining the decentralized leadership level and implementing the listening to employees strategies the leadership role has grown enormously at ANZ bank. Meetings- the people show openness to speak up their ideas, values and requirements. Mergers- the flexible cultures are desired by everyone and people like to amalgamate with such organizations. y Cooperation- the employees are highly motivated to cooperate in the differing situations.

y y y y y y y y y

y y

y y

Teamwork- teamwork is the key behind the success of any company. ANZ is successful only because of the teamwork of its management and employees to bring about the change. Relationships- the cultural change has a lasting effect on the employee and management relationship at ANZ it has transformed their relationships. Satisfaction, Happiness, Joy and Pleasure- the change of ANZs values, rules, regulations, and norms envisaged the feelings of harmony and empathy within the employees. The confusion was resolved and power distance was solved by McFarlane which had a lasting impact on the performance of the people within the organization

Limitation(s)

The changing culture is not an easy task to do. The respondents of change can learn the different cultures but they are not likely to forget their own cultural values, norms and interest. There may appear the conflict of opinions from cultural perspective. This conflict can affect the organizations ability to implement change within its operations, practices and dealings.

Q.3: From the political frame, and using an appropriate balance of theory and practical evidence from the case, identify and discuss the political issues relevant to transformational change. What would be the benefits and limitations of taking a political perspective?

Issues Pertaining to Political Change Bureaucracy- a degree of standardization in paperwork and processes etc. existed in the ANZ banks practices. Bureaucracy has a negative connotation; it depended entirely on the moods of the senior management. No Individuality- our way of doing things is the right way- was followed by the senior management. The freedom of individuals was not present at that time. They had to follow what the boss says and ask them to do. Power Distance- the senior management tended to control the flow of information which created distrust among the employees and community. Conflict of Interest- the employees and management had their own motives and goals to follow. The culture within ANZ bank was highly individualistic culture where everyone was concerned about his or her own interest. Silo Mentality- the people followed individual interest and liked to follow separate directions. There was lack of collectivity.

Organizations are the place for both internal politics and political agents who have their own interests, resources and strategies to comply with. This increases the level of competition among the employees to take the advantage of a particular situation.

The change within an organization depends on the managers political abilities. The constructive managers recognize and understand the political needs. They know how to present the agendas, create a network of support and negotiation with the partners and opposing parties.

Benefits

The political changes within the organization helped ANZ banks people to open up to the ideas and options set before them. The people were victims of top-to-down hierarchy they lacked motivation to speak up the issues they were facing.

McFarlane changed the culture from bureaucracy to meritocracy. The flow of information was highly confidential and the banking staff at low level had no access to any informationinformation control was residing in the hands of senior management only. The political changed this practice and insulated the sense of trust among the employees. Suitable training of people changed their individualistic approach of reacting and performing to collectivistic approach; letting them to work and respond in a group in a particular situation and scenario.

Limitation(s)

In the process of political changes within an organization, the manager or change agents encounters practical and ethical problems regarding to when to adopt and option, collaborate the

strategy and what approach choose. They are required to consider the potential for collaboration and long term relationships as well as their own values and ethical principles.

SECTION B a) What would be the best approach to take to manage change at the anz bank in the future? The organizational transformation which took place at ANZ bank was steered and powered by the leadership and charismatic personality of John McFarlane. The purpose of the transformation was to create a competitive and sustainable advantage for the bank. McFarlane introduced the breakout programme in order to bring cultural transformation within organization. He also initiated a comprehensive programme to streamline performance of banks employees. Similarly, he instigated a corporate-level policy of spotting and managing new talent within organization. All of these initiatives enabled McFarlane and his management to put a cap on ANZs plummeting performance and bring radical changes in the culture and value system of the bank. Despite achieving success in bringing organizational change, the whole process was not perfect and not without hiccups. Firstly, McFarlane and his team only took action against the low-performing employees by removing them from the jobs but they failed to do the same against the senior management which was also not performing up to the mark. Similarly, their inability to collect data related to their employees in the early stage of the programme created several problems for them. This data could have been used in improving workplace cultures effectiveness and efficiency.

There are numbers of approaches available which facilitates the whole process of change management. These approaches can be used to expedite the process of change at the ANZ bank in the future. Kotter and Schlesinger have given six approaches to streamline and smooth out the whole process of conducting organizational transformation (Kotter & Schlesinger, 1979). Using these approaches we will discuss and determine which approach should be used to manage change at the AZB bank. EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION The first purpose of any change manager is to make sure that employees are made completely aware of the impeding organizational transformation. This will enable top-management to make employees feel that they are part of whole process and the change is not done without taking them into confidence. Such measure will lower the chances of resistance offered from the employees. It will also allow them to eliminate any negative grapevine circulating in the organization. There are number of reasons behind employee resistance. Following figure shows some of the root causes of such resistance: Common reasonsforindividualresi stance People'sownperceptionscanleadtoabiasedviewofaparticularsitu ation,whichfits intoaperson'sownperceptionofreality,andsubsequently,causeres istancetochange.

Perceptions:

People tendtorespondtosituation inaccustomed mannerasaguide fordecision making. Ifahabitiswellestablished,thenachangeprogramthatrequirescha ngingsuchhabitsmaywellberesisted. LossofFreedom If thechangeisseenaslikely toincreasecontrol. : Economic Whenachangeisperceivedtoreducepayorotherrewards,orathreat i mplications: totheirjob security. Habit: Security: Peopletendtofeelasenseofsecurityandcomfortintheoldwayofdo ingthingsandretainthem. Resistanceislikelytohappeniftheproposedchangerequiresdealin gwithnewandunfamiliarideasandmethods.

Fearoftheunkno Manychangeprogramstendtopresentadegreeofuncertaintywhic wn: hinturnleadstoanxietyandfear. Mainreasons fororganisationalresistance Maintainingsta When organisations attempt to narrow the definitions of bility: existing duties andresponsibilities,alreadyestablishedrulesandprocedures. Investmentin resources: When achange requireslargeresources(people, technology, equipment, buildings)whichmayalreadybecommittedtotheexecutionofothe rstrategies.

Pastcontractso Contractsoragreementswithotherpartieswouldcertainlylimitcha r ngesinbehaviourandthescopeof changebeing introduced. agreements: Threatstopower Changemaythreatenthepowerstructureintheorganisationofcert and aingroupssuchastheircontroloverdecisions,resourcesandinfor mation. influence: Therefore,managersmaywellresistsuchchangethatthreatstheirp ower(whattheyperceiveastheirterritorialrights) intheirownpositions. Adopted from: (Mullins, 1996)

PARTICIPATION AND INVOLVEMENT The next duty of change managers is to properly integrate and involve employees in the whole organizational transformation process. Such involvement removes aversions from employees mind and motivates them to advocate for bringing out the change. FACILITATION AND SUPPORT One of the primary causes of resistance is the fact that employees find difficult to adjust to new dynamics. However, this can be avoided if top-management and change agents offer facilitation and support to employees. This will mitigate any fear and anxiety present in employees mind. Organization can provide facilitation and support to employees through training and counselling. NEGOTIATION AND AGREEMENT

In case where change brings job cuts or downsizing, the top-management should negotiate with employees in order to bring them into certain type of agreement. Resultantly, such action could prevent any bad blood and grievance resulting from change. This can be done through offering incentives or compensation to those employees who are most likely to lose their jobs. Such negotiation will be extremely beneficial in that sort of environment where employees hold considerable bargaining power as in the case of labour union. MANIPULATION AND CO-OPTATION Another approach to manage change is through manipulation and co-optation. This will allow top-management to control those employees which are at the frontline of resistance. Topmanagement should induct these employees in the management of change which will leave them with no reason to resist change. EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT COERCION This approach is only suitable in those cases where organization is facing certain time constraints. Manager can use coercive measures such as making clear to employees that their resistance could result in job losses. Similarly, there is another model which provides framework for managing change. Harris five-phase model provides step by step framework for managing change. Following are the fivestages of Harris model (Lunenburg, 2010). PLANNING AND INITIATION In this stage, overall strategy is developed to bring change within organization. Similarly, objectives of the programme are formulated.

MOMENTUM In this stage, actual plan is implemented along with allocation of resources. The role of leadership is vital in the success of this stage. PROBLEMS Any organizational transformation programme faces unexpected problems. As a result of these problems, the transformational plan becomes more complex. Conflicts may arise within organization which may result in the decline in the motivation and interest of the team which is responsible for conducting change as well as the general employees. TURNING POINT In this phase, problems incurred in previous stage are overcome which results in regaining of momentum. Resultantly, the efficiency of programme increases as it reaches to its final part. TERMINATION In this stage, it becomes clear whether the whole programme is successful or it failed to achieve its objectives. In case of failure, management may instigate a policy aiming at damage control. On the other hand, in case of success, the management maydecide to take the programme to next level by injecting new goals and allocating more resources.

b) What kind of leadership would be needed to meet the challenge of a more successful approach to change management in the future at the ANZ bank? The enigmatic personality of John McFarlane was responsible for bringing change at the ANZ bank. The type and style of leadership is essential for success of any programme that is aiming to bring cultural transformation. Autocratic style of leadership will not be able to produce desired results as it will most likely to result in resistance from employees. On the other hand, laissezfaire style of leadership will be more successful as the programme will be run with employees involvement and engagement. The following figure shows leadership style and their effectiveness in context of organizational change.

Leade r style Commandin g Logical Inspirational Supportive

Focuse son Results Innovation Opportunities

Persuade sby Directing Explaining Creatingtrust

Makes change Rapidly Carefully Radically

Learn sby Doing Studying Questioning

Facilitatingwor Involvement Slowly Listening k Adopted from: (Reardon, Reardon, & Rowe, 1998)

As we can see from above figure that inspirational and supportive style of leadership are the most effective. Inspirational style enables organization to expedite the cultural transformation process. Similarly, supportive style will incur low resistance from employees as supportive leader will take into account employees feedback. Leadership is driving force for any change effort. Leadership enables organizational commitment to goals which eventually leads to organizational transformation. The role of leadership is essential for the success of any change

endeavour. Leadership should contain following three elements in order to achieve its target of bringing change (Rufai, 2011). POLITICAL COMMITMENT Leadership style is responsible for driving commitment among employees regarding a plan or idea which at the start does not have any support among them. Political commitment is necessary when organization requires a radical transformation. INTELLECTUAL COMMITMENT It basically means top-leadership asking employees to take a certain course of action because of its logical value. It is basically the responsibility of leadership to provide employees with vision and intended benefits of the change. EMOTIONAL COMMITMENT The purpose of leadership is to attach employees emotionally with the change. According to Daniel Goleman, who is a renowned psychologist, Great leadership works through the emotionseven if they get everything else just right, if leaders fail in this primal task of driving emotions in the right direction, nothing they do will work as well as it could or should (Rufai, 2011). Emotional commitment will enable top-management to curtail any organizational and employees resistance. In the process of bringing change, normal incentives may not be adequate to curtail resistance. Organization transformation changes the bargaining positions and relationships within organization. The solution rests with leadership which can increase the level of those incentives which facilitates the whole process. Similarly, to improve acceptability of the new environment,

the leadership of the organization needs to engage and involve employees in the change process. This will give them the feeling that they are part of the process and will work for the success of it. Participative decision making and increased problem solving are strongly correlated with each other (Gneren & zturen, 2007). In order to bring successful change at ANZ, the leadership needs to exhibit true credentials which ensure that proper direction is established; employees are properly aligned and motivated. This will enable ANZ to overcome any challenges emerging from effort of bringing organizational change. Therefore, it can be deduced that leadership style should be democratic and participative which would involve and engage employees in whole organization transformation process. This will not only increase effectiveness of the whole programme but also confine organizational resistance to prescribed limits.

References

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