Rlchard Pettlnger

ORGANIZATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

Effective organization and environmental analysis depends on a collec- tive and individual willingness to recognize the potential for, and reality of, the existence of stress in all places of work. This means transcending and overcoming collective occupational, professional, and individual prejudices and preconceptions. Once this is achieved, corporate atti- tudes, patterns of work, inter-group and intra-group relations, and rank, status, and hierarchical structures can be assessed for:

» the likely presence of stress;

» the reality of particular problems; and

» recognizing the drives and restraints, and where necessary, ensuring that the emphasis is given to the drives.

One means of doing this was proposed by Peters and Waterman (1982) (see Figure 10.1).

The approach in the case of stress management is to identify actual and potential problems within each area as follows.

» Structure: role conflicts; stresses and conflict based on rank, status, and hierarchy.

TEN STEPS TO MAKING STRESS MANAGEMENT WORK 113




Fig. 10.1 The concept of excellence applied to organizations. Purpose: a configuration of organization, pattern, and design that re flects the essential attributes that must be addressed in the establishment and development of an excellent organization. Source: Peters and Waterman (1982).
» Systems: stress caused by the inability of systems, procedures, and processes to make effective operations and activities.

» Shared values: the extent to which values are genuinely shared; the extent and prevalence of dissipated and negative elements, including canteen cultures.

114 STRESS MANAGEMENT
» Style: especial reference to managerial and supervisory styles, and the recognition that stress is caused where these are adversarial and confrontational.

» Skills: the requirement of those with professional, occupational, and technological expertise to be able to apply these, and develop these for their own as well as organizational satisfaction.

» Staff: general climate of staff relations; particular contributions of labor relations and human resource management.

Stress between each of the elements is likely to affect the following.

» The relationship between strategy and all the other elements, espe- cially the extent to which skills, staff, and systems are capable of producing and delivering what is required; and any blockages that are apparent in structure and style.

» The need to maintain systems for the good of everything else. This is supposed to be a key output of business process re-engineering. However, this in itself is extremely stressful if there is insuf ficient attention to the human aspects of re-engineering and other restruc- turing programs.

2.