Assignment for Singhal Sir

8/6/2019 Assignment for Singhal Sir

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Rural Strategists and their Functionin









Rural Strategists and their FunctioninRural Strategists and their Functionin


Rural Strategists and their FunctioninRural Strategists and their Functionin



Rural Strategists and their

Functioning (Unit 5)

Assignment of Strategic Management for Rural

Developmenty Roles and Functionsy Community Leadershipy Participative Managemnty Conflict and change Management

5/3/2011

By

Deependra Singh


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The Strategist

The role of the strategist in the strategy process has been implied in terms of crafting strategy.

The passivity ascribed to the strategist is evidenced in leading strategy textbooks which do notexplicitly address the strategist formation, role, skills and motivation, let alone their activities.

This neglect of the strategist is somewhat paradoxical, in spite of rational and analytical

capabilities emphasised as crucial contributions to strategy formation the role is often theorised

out of existence. To further the confusion the literature uses terms such as CEO, president,

manager, top leaders, strategic thinkers as a proxy for strategists. In essence the strategist is

silent partner orinvisible being in the strategy literature.

In terms of searching for the strategist Whittington states that there are three fundamental issues

regarding strategists, or strategy practitioners, who they are, how they get there and the skills

they need. While research exists which gives some insight into the formation of more seniorexecutives at director level, there has been an apparent lack of research into participants lower

down the management level as opposed to these managerial elites, participants such as

professional strategy staff and strategy consultants.

Some authors have attempted to deal with the role of strategist through the lens of strategic

thinking, which encapsulates some of the strategists skills. Ohmae emphasises the importance of

analytical thinking, intuition leading to local optimisation as well as more transformative

reconfigurations. Similarly others note the necessity of challenging conventional wisdom and the

visionary aspects of strategic thinking. Boar argues that cardinality and synthesis, rather than

analytical decomposition, lies at the heart of strategic management. Thinking processes,however, are often muted by externalities and consumed by operational minutiae. Evidently there

is also a dearth of research with respect to the skills strategists use.

The nature of the role of the strategist is also somewhat ambiguous. Garratt describes the role of

the strategist as: managing the conjunction of the political world or polity, with the more

day-to-day routines of tactics and trying to keep them sufficiently in balance without

allowing ossification. The fragmented and underdeveloped basis of the literature suggests the

imperative of exploratory work in this area. Johnson captures this succinctly if the worlds of

practice and academic research demand a more micro perspective than the task is one of

empirical investigation. To raise to this challenge the strategy field needs to understand andexplore who the strategist is in different organisational settings.

Rural Strategists:

The overall objective of the Rural Strategists is to provide a strategic framework that will

facilitate the co-coordinated implementation of sector policies and strategies concerned with thedevelopment of rural communities. In particular, the Rural Development Strategists will support


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the implementation of poverty alleviations mechanisms and create a development environmentthat will contribute to enabling rural communities and households to achieve sustainable

livelihoods.In this respect, the India Rural Development Strategists will identify short- and medium-term

priorities that will support the goal of sustainable livelihoods, and contribute to the long-term

goal, outlined in Vision 2055, of sustained economic growth.

Dimensions of the Rural Development Strategy

The realisation of rural development in the context of the countrys development vision largely

depends on the pace of growth in the agricultural sector, the adoption of a positive mindset by

the rural society, and a re-focusing of the institutional framework in the rural areas. In this

context, attention should be towards attaining the following:

Quality LivelihoodFor rural dwellers, high quality livelihood will mean having access to affordable basic needs.

This includes access to sufficient and adequate food, preventive and curative health care; shelter

and clothing; education and training; and, safe water. They also need access to irrigation, energy,

information, transportation and communication.

An Enabling and Peoples Empowering Environment

Any initiative towards realising human development and reducing poverty in a more consistent

and sustainable manner should involve the people concerned. This implies that the stakeholders,

communities, individuals, households, firms, organisations and associations, are best positioned

to know their social, political and economic problems and needs, as well as their environmental,

cultural and spiritual aspirations. The Rural Development Strategy provides an enabling

environment and effective institutional framework that puts people at the centre of their

development. People should be empowered to guide the development process and influence it

towards the direction and speed they perceive it to be in tandem with their future development

aspirations.

Self-Reliance and Self-Sustenance

The role of community and individual initiatives is of paramount importance and is given due

recognition in the strategy. This goes beyond providing and supporting enabling and facilitatinginstitutional structures and processes necessary to facilitate implementation. It also requires

deliberate efforts towards changing the peoples mindset. The Rural Development Strategy

provides a framework for stimulating private sector growth and development by streamlining

procedures and rationalising taxes and fees connected with doing business in rural areas.


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Local Economic Development

Local economic development is the process by which public, business and non-governmental

sector partners work collectively to create better conditions for economic growth and

employment generation. The aim is to improve quality of life for all.

Sustainable and effective local economic development must contribute to the delivery of the

Government's strategy of poverty alleviation by helping farmers, foresters and others living in

the local economic areas to respond better to consumer requirements and become more

competitive, diverse, flexible and environmentally responsible. Such interventions must also

provide help to local economic businesses and communities which need to adapt and grow.

Proposed strategies must provide a framework for the operation of separate but integrated

schemes which provide new opportunities to protect and improve the countryside, to develop

sustainable enterprises and to help Local Economic communities to thrive. Specifically, local

economic development interventions must offer:

i. A clear and well-founded grounding in the present global economic trends based onmainstream economic principles

ii. Facts and indices that describe and benchmark the major drivers of the economyiii. Insights into how these economic drivers interact to affect daily lives and professional

responsibilities,

iv. Access to information on lessons to be learnt from people engaged in similaractivities elsewhere

Roles and Functions of the Rural Strategists:

(a)The institutional framework for co-coordinating and linking sector specific strategiesand programmes.

(b)The roles of national government, local authorities, the private sector, developmentinstitutions, research institutions and civil society in the implementation and

monitoring of rural development programmes.

(c)The key linkages between sector specific strategies and programmes, and describeshow those linkages will be strengthened.

(d)The gaps in current policies and strategies, including implementation constraints, andoutlines strategic actions for responding to those gaps.

(e)The criteria for addressing geographical inequalities, that is gender and age-relatedinequalities.

(f) The coordination mechanisms.(g)The criteria for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Rural

Development Strategy.


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Understanding the Community Leadership Concept

Definition of Leadership:Listening, draw a group of people together with one plan, mediator, central point of contact of

information, motivator, communicator, and facilitator.

Focal point of planning and communication, good listener, motivator, responsibility andaccountability, agent of change, applies common sense to decision-making.Strong knowledge of how the community should look and has a vision for the community and do

what it takes to the job done. Lead by example. More than one person.Leads by example, accepts responsibility, creative, inspires team- builder, recognizes diversity,

good listener, mentor, conceptual, visionary.

Definition of Community:Collection of people with common interest, different nationalities of people living workingtogether, large extended family, physical boundaries of homes/people, partnerships/relationships

with neighborhoods, common economic or social interests.

Resource of people, group of people with a common goal, neighborhoods of diverse people, 4 people in house 3 million in U.S., workplace, hospitals, schools, buildings, people livingtogether by custom or law, the human connection.

People working and bonding together with common objectives and resources to achieve their

goals.Geographic boundaries, Identify stakeholders to network, multiple shared goals, builds

cohesiveness, become friends, branding, community meets a standard of leadership, movingpeople from residents to involved stakeholders.

Definition of Community Leadership:A facilitator identifying, inspiring, and establishing, with the community input, their needs and

goals, determining and prioritizing those goals/needs and guiding the efforts to achieve the goals.involvement, group of people willing to accept responsibility and accountability for a common

goal, people (elected, volunteer, or respected) to be involved, spokesperson for communitysissues and concerns, changing, local and involved people, city employees, board members,

council, mayor, political, specific person with a focus.Good organizer of ideas, promises growth and develop of community, represents the goals of the

citizenry, works to achieve the common agenda, faith-based, develop and implement a plan,inspires positive change, ability to develop the vision for the communitys common goal,

implements the action plan.Envisioning goals and objectives, implementing plan, engaging the community to achieve long-

term results.

Roles and Responsibilities of Community Leadership:Planning meetings/evens, budgeting, commitment, whats best for the community,accountability, willingness to change, encourage involvement, follower, maintain vision,

establish communication (directory, website, newsletter), inform about the roles/responsibilities,liaison, making decisions and focus, maintaining neighborhood standards.


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Fact-finder, listener, organizer, planner/implementer, good listening, visionary, acceptscompliments and criticisms.

Accountability to yourself, empower citizenry through education, i.e. how to landscape youryard, inspire people to accept change, mentor new leaders for the community, hold others

accountable to community standards, fiduciary responsibility and accountability of community

funds.Inspire and setting an example, organizer, facilitator, networker, visionary, communicator.

Barriers and Challenges to Community Leadership:Involvement (lack of), misinformation/getting facts out, too much involvement, negativity,

monies, social/economic variety, burn-out of involvement, age-generation gaps, time peoplenot available, cultural, fear or retaliation, educational level. People have to see the value of the

efforts. Negativity, education of citizenry, inform citizens of issues, education level, choosing sides,

misinformation, trying to be a spokesperson for the unspoken, closed-minded, own agenda,language barrier/non-hearing, Spanish, leader lack of effort, preconceived ideas, prejudices,

disconnected neighborhood.Non-participation, singular ideas and agendas, money lack of it, apathy, lack of cohesive ideas,family and work-life over-rides community, diversity Candy in language and culture, community

resistance, small-minded attitudes dont gossip about your neighbors.Cultural and language, general apathy, getting their attention, competing demands, renters vs.

owners, information gathering, funding for community infrastructure, fear of involvement and/orretaliation.

What is Participative Management?

Participative (or participatory) management, otherwise known as employee involvement or

participative decision making, encourages the involvement of stakeholders at all levels of anorganization in the analysis of problems, development of strategies, and implementation of

solutions. Employees are invited to share in the decision-making process of the firm by participating in activities such as setting goals, determining work schedules, and making

suggestions. Other forms of participative management include increasing the responsibility ofemployees (job enrichment); forming self-managed teams, quality circles, or quality-of-work-life

committees; and soliciting survey feedback. Participative management, however, involves morethan allowing employees to take part in making decisions. It also involves management treating

the ideas and suggestions of employees with consideration and respect. The most extensive form

of participative management is direct employee ownership of a company.

in other words we say like this Type of management in which employees at all levels areencouraged to contribute ideas towards identifying and setting organizational-goals, problem

solving, and other decisions that may directly affect them. Also called consultativemanagement.


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Four processes influence participation. These processes create employee involvement as they arepushed down to the lowest levels in an organization. The farther down these processes move, the

higher the level of involvement by employees. The four processes include:

1.Information sharing, which is concerned with keeping employees informed about the economic

status of the company.2.Training, which involves raising the skill levels of employees and offering developmentopportunities that allow them to apply new skills to make effective decisions regarding the

organization as a whole.3.Employee decision making, which can take many forms, from determining work schedules to

deciding on budgets or processes.4.Rewards, which should be tied to suggestions and ideas as well as performance.

BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATIVE MANAGEMENT

A participative management style offers various benefits at all levels of the organization. Bycreating a sense of ownership in the company, participative management instills a sense of prideand motivates employees to increase productivity in order to achieve their goals. Employees who

participate in the decisions of the company feel like they are a part of a team with a commongoal, and find their sense of self-esteem and creative fulfillment heightened.

Managers who use a participative style find that employees are more receptive to change than in

situations in which they have no voice. Changes are implemented more effectively whenemployees have input and make contributions to decisions. Participation keeps employees

informed of upcoming events so they will be aware of potential changes. The organization canthen place itself in a proactive mode instead of a reactive one, as managers are able to quickly

identify areas of concern and turn to employees for solutions.

REQUIREMENTS OF PARTICIPATIVE MANAGEMENT

A common misconception by managers is that participative management involves simply asking

employees to participate or make suggestions. Effective programs involve more than just asuggestion box. In order for participative management to work, several issues must be resolved

and several requirements must be met. First, managers must be willing to relinquish some controlto their workers; managers must feel secure in their position in order for participation to be

successful. Often managers do not realize that employees respect for them will increase insteadof decrease when they implement a participative management style.

The success of participative management depends on careful planning and a slow, phased

approach. Changing employees ideas about management takes time, as does any successfulattempt at a total cultural change from a democratic or autocratic style of management to a

participative style. Long-term employees may resist changes, not believing they will last. Inorder for participation to be effective, managers must be genuine and honest in implementing the

program. Many employees will need to consistently see proof that their ideas will be accepted or


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at least seriously considered. The employees must be able to trust their managers and feel theyare respected.

Successful participation requires managers to approach employee involvement with an open

mind. They must be open to new ideas and alternatives in order for participative management to

work. It is important to remember that although the manager may not agree with every idea orsuggestion an employee makes, how those ideas are received is critical to the success ofparticipative management.

CONCERNS

Participative management is not a magic cure for all that ails an organization. Managers shouldcarefully weigh the pros and the cons before implementing this style of management. Managers

must realize that changes will not take effect overnight and will require consistency and patience before employees will begin to see that management is serious about employee involvement.

Participative management is probably the most difficult style of management to practice. It ischallenging not only for managers but for employees as well.

While it is important that management allows employees to participate in decision making andencourages involvement in the organizations direction, managers must be cognizant of the

potential for employees to spend more time formulating suggestions and less time completingtheir work. Upper-level management will not support a participative management program if

they believe employees are not meeting their daily or weekly goals. Some suggestions forovercoming this potential problem are to set aside a particular time each week for workers to

meet with management in order to share their ideas, or to allow them to work on their ideasduring less busy times of the day or week. Another idea that works for some managers is to

allow employees to set up individual appointments to discuss ideas or suggestions.

Managers should remember that participative management is not always the appropriate way tohandle a given situation. Employees often respect a manager that uses his or her authority and

makes decisions when it is necessary. There are times when, as a manager, it is important to bein charge, make a decision, and then accept the responsibility for the choices made. For example,

participative management is probably not appropriate when disciplinary action is needed.

About Conflict

Conflict is when two or more values, perspectives and opinions are contradictory in nature andhaven't been aligned or agreed about yet, including:

1. Within yourself when you're not living according to your values;

2. When your values and perspectives are threatened; or3. Discomfort from fear of the unknown or from lack of fulfillment.Conflict is inevitable and often good, for example, good teams always go through a "form, storm,

norm and perform" period. Getting the most out of diversity means often-contradictory values,perspectives and opinions.


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In other words we can say that

While no single definition of conflict exists, most definitions seem to involve the following

factors: that there are at least two independent groups, the groups perceive some incompatibility between themselves, and the groups interact with each other in some way. Two example

definitions are, process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed ornegatively affected by another party", and the interactive process manifested in compatibility,disagreement, or dissonance within or between social entities.

There are several causes of conflict. Conflict may occur when:

y A party is required to engage in an activity that is incongruent with his or her needs orinterests.

y A party holds behavioral preferences, the satisfaction of which is incompatible withanother person's implementation of his or her preferences.

y A party wants some mutually desirable resource that is in short supply, such that thewants of all parties involved may not be satisfied fully.

y A party possesses attitudes, values, skills, and goals that are salient in directing his or herbehavior but are perceived to be exclusive of the attitudes, values, skills, and goals heldby the other(s).

y Two parties have partially exclusive behavioral preferences regarding their joint actions.y Two parties are interdependent in the performance of functions or activities.

Conflict management involves implementing strategies to limit the negative aspects of conflictand to increase the positive aspects of conflict at a level equal to or higher than where the

conflict is taking place. Furthermore, the aim of conflict management is to enhance learning andgroup outcomes (effectiveness or performance in organizational setting). It is not concerned with

eliminating all conflict or avoiding conflict. Conflict can be valuable to groups andorganizations. It has been shown to increase group outcomes when managed properly.

Conflict is often needed. It:

1. Helps to raise and address problems.2. Energizes work to be on the most appropriate issues.

3. Helps people "be real", for example, it motivates them to participate.4. Helps people learn how to recognize and benefit from their differences.

Conflict is not the same as discomfort. The conflict isn't the problem - it is when conflict ispoorly managed that is the problem.

Conflict is a problem when it:1. Hampers productivity.2. Lowers morale.

3. Causes more and continued conflicts.4. Causes inappropriate behaviors.


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Models of Conflict Management There have been many styles of conflict managementbehavior that have been researched in the past century. One of the earliest, Mary Parker Follett

(1926/1940) found that conflict was managed by individuals in three main ways: domination,compromise, and integration. She also found other ways of handling conflict that were employed

by organizations, such as avoidance and suppression.

Early Conflict Management Models

Blake and Mouton (1964) were among the first to present a conceptual scheme for classifying

the modes (styles) for handling interpersonal conflicts into five types: forcing, withdrawing,smoothing, compromising, and problem solving.

In the 1970s and 1980s, researchers began using the intentions of the parties involved to

classify the styles of conflict management that they would include in their models. Both Thomas(1976) and Pruitt (1983) put forth a model based on the concerns of the parties involved in the

conflict. The combination of the parties concern for their own interests (i.e. assertiveness) and

their concern for the interests of those across the table (i.e cooperativeness) would yield aparticular conflict management style. Pruitt called these styles yielding (low assertiveness/highcooperativeness), problem solving (high assertiveness/high cooperativeness), inaction (low

assertiveness/low cooperativeness), and contending (high assertiveness/low cooperativeness).Pruitt argues that problem-solving is the preferred method when seeking mutually beneficial

options.

Kozans Group Conflict Management Models

In the 1990s and 2000s, research began to focus more on models that would explain howconflict is managed within groups and organizations. Kozan (1997) established three normative

(not prescriptive) models of group conflict management.

1. Confrontational model - In this model, conflicts are made of multiple sub-issues whichare broken down and confronted by both parties. Both sides of the conflict are openlyacknowledged, and a sense of reasonable compromise is important to the success of the

resolution of the sub-issues involved.2. Harmony model - In this model, conflict is managed mostly though avoiding it. This is

accomplished through the observation of societal and organizational norms. Conflict isnot seen as an opportunity to find solutions to problems, but as a harmful state of affairs.

When conflict does occur, it is often handled through mediation by third parties.3. Regulative model - In the regulative model, conflict is handled by strict rules and

regulations. Bureaucratic means are used extensively to minimize conflicts or to aidconflict avoidance. When conflicts occur, they are defined in terms of general principles

and resolved in a predetermined fashion.

Khun and Pooles Model


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Khun and Poole (2000) established a similar system of group conflict management. In theirsystem, they split Kozans confrontational model into two sub models: distributive and

integrative.

y Distributive - Here conflict is approached as a distribution of a fixed amount of positiveoutcomes or resources, where one side will end up winning and the other losing, even ifthey do win some concessions.

y Integrative - Groups utilizing the integrative model see conflict as a chance to integratethe needs and concerns of both groups and make the best outcome possible. This modelhas a heavier emphasis on compromise than the distributive model. Kuhun and Poole

found that the integrative model resulted in consistently better task related outcomes thanthose using the distributive model.

DeChurch and Markss Meta-Taxonomy

DeChurch and Marks (2001) examined the literature available on conflict management at the

time and established what they claimed was a "meta-taxonomy" that encompasses all othermodels. They argued that all other styles have inherent in them into two dimensions - activeness

("the extent to which conflict behaviors make a responsive and direct rather than inert andindirect impression") and agreeableness ("the extent to which conflict behaviors make a pleasant

and relaxed rather than unpleasant and strainful impression"). High activeness is characterized byopenly discussing differences of opinion while fully going after their own interest. High

agreeableness is characterized by attempting to satisfy all parties involved

In the study they conducted to validate this division, activeness did not have a significant effect

on the effectiveness of conflict resolution, but the agreeableness of the conflict managementstyle, whatever it was, did in fact have a positive impact on how groups felt about the way the

conflict was managed, regardless of the outcome.

Current Conflict Management:

Rahim (2002) noted that there is agreement among management scholars that there is no one

best approach to how to make decisions, lead or manage conflict. In a similar vein, rather thancreating a very specific model of conflict management, Rahim created a meta-model (in much

the same way that DeChurch and Marks, 2001, created a meta-taxonomy) for conflict stylesbased on two dimensions, concern for self and concern for others (as shown in Figure 2).


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Change management is a structured approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and

organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organizational process aimed

at empowering employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment.

In project management, change management refers to a project management process where

changes to a project are formally introduced and approved.

1. Missionary changes2. Strategic changes3. Operational changes (including Structural changes)4. Technological changes5. Changing the attitudes and behaviors of personnel

As a multidisciplinary practice that has evolved as a result of scholarly research, OrganizationalChange Management should begin with a systematic diagnosis of the current situation in order to

determine both the need for change and the capability to change. The objectives, content, andprocess of change should all be specified as part of a Change Management plan.

Change Management processes may include creative marketing to enable communication

between change audiences, but also deep social understanding about leaderships styles andgroup dynamics. As a visible track on transformation projects, Organizational Change

Management aligns groups expectations, communicates, integrates teams and manages peopletraining. It makes use of performance metrics, such as financial results, operational efficiency,

leadership commitment, communication effectiveness, and the perceived need for change todesign appropriate strategies, in order to avoid change failures or solve troubled change projects.

Successful change management is more likely to occur if the following are included:

1. Benefits management and realization to define measurable stakeholder aims, create abusiness case for their achievement (which should be continuously updated), and monitor

assumptions, risks, dependencies, costs, return on investment, dis-benefits and culturalissues affecting the progress of the associated work.

2. Effective Communications that informs various stakeholders of the reasons for thechange (why?), the benefits of successful implementation (what is in it for us, and you) as

well as the details of the change (when? where? who is involved? how much will it cost?etc.).

3. Devise an effective education, training and/or skills upgrading scheme for theorganization.

4. Counter resistance from the employees of companies and align them to overall strategicdirection of the organization.

5. Provide personal counseling (if required) to alleviate any change related fears.6. Monitoring of the implementation and fine-tuning as required.

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Assignment for Singhal Sir