S216 MAN506 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR https://online.cdu.edu.au/webapps/rubric/do/course/manageRubrics?di... 1 of 2 29/06/2016 1:54 PM S216 MAN506 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR https://online.cdu.edu.au/webapps/rubric/do/course/manageRubrics?di... 2 of 2 29/06/2016 1:54 PM Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW ON HYBRID CLASSES LITERATURE REVIEW ON HYBRID CLASSES Literature review on hybrid classes Author’s name Institutions affiliations Hybrid classes and learning can be described as a combination of both faces to face learning that may at times involve lectures and online learning which is not always a must. Lectures may at times be considered, but that is not always the case for it to be a hybrid form of learning. The kind of hybrid learning and classes can be classified into two different categories. Those include the replacement, supplemental learning, the emporium and the buffet kind of classification. The types are divided depending on face to face classes interacts with the online constituents of the course in question. For the case of replacement, mostly the one on one kind of learning with the tutors and the lectures are completely replaced or rather substituted fully or partly by the online classes. This then reduces the time spent on attending the classes. In such a case, students are usually required to concentrate more on watching videos on YouTube and tackling assignments assigned to them. Hybrid learning is a platform that will help on saving the time spent by the students when they run from one class to another so as to have an encounter with the lecturers. It is, therefore, more revolutionized compared to the normal traditional forms of learning. The subsequent paragraphs in this essay will outline a literature review from various sources for the research on how the hybrid learning is more important compared to the traditional learning methods and to know why most of the universities use this type . Literature review Several studies and research has been conducted on the reasons as to why the hybrid form of learning and the hybrid classes are more important or more uses so they are taking over the traditional forms of learning which include face to face learning and attending the lectures. Several controversies have arisen from different authors on outlining some of the reasons as to why hybrid learning should be promoted. Renowned scholars have published articles and journals as well as books on the same. Most people and students have been left in a dilemma on whatever means to use so as to acquire the knowledge they require. The many advantages that have come with the hybrid kind of learning have made many universities and learning institutions across the globe to adopt the new mode of learning that is hybrid classes and sort to drop or rather do away with the online classes or the face to face classes. So many factors have been found to contribute to that decision by the management team of most .

1. S216 MAN506 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
https://online.cdu.edu.au/webapps/rubric/do/course/manageRubr
ics?di...
1 of 2 29/06/2016 1:54 PM
S216 MAN506 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
https://online.cdu.edu.au/webapps/rubric/do/course/manageRubr
ics?di...
2 of 2 29/06/2016 1:54 PM
Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW ON HYBRID CLASSES
LITERATURE REVIEW ON HYBRID CLASSES
Literature review on hybrid classes
Author’s name
Institutions affiliations

2. Hybrid classes and learning can be described as a
combination of both faces to face learning that may at times
involve lectures and online learning which is not always a must.
Lectures may at times be considered, but that is not always the
case for it to be a hybrid form of learning. The kind of hybrid
learning and classes can be classified into two different
categories. Those include the replacement, supplemental
learning, the emporium and the buffet kind of classification.
The types are divided depending on face to face classes
interacts with the online constituents of the course in question.
For the case of replacement, mostly the one on one kind of
learning with the tutors and the lectures are completely replaced
or rather substituted fully or partly by the online classes. This
then reduces the time spent on attending the classes. In such a
case, students are usually required to concentrate more on
watching videos on YouTube and tackling assignments assigned
to them. Hybrid learning is a platform that will help on saving
the time spent by the students when they run from one class to
another so as to have an encounter with the lecturers. It is,
therefore, more revolutionized compared to the normal
traditional forms of learning. The subsequent paragraphs in this
essay will outline a literature review from various sources for
the research on how the hybrid learning is more important
compared to the traditional learning methods and to know why
most of the universities use this type .
Literature review
Several studies and research has been conducted on the
reasons as to why the hybrid form of learning and the hybrid
classes are more important or more uses so they are taking over
the traditional forms of learning which include face to face

3. learning and attending the lectures. Several controversies have
arisen from different authors on outlining some of the reasons
as to why hybrid learning should be promoted. Renowned
scholars have published articles and journals as well as books
on the same. Most people and students have been left in a
dilemma on whatever means to use so as to acquire the
knowledge they require. The many advantages that have come
with the hybrid kind of learning have made many universities
and learning institutions across the globe to adopt the new mode
of learning that is hybrid classes and sort to drop or rather do
away with the online classes or the face to face classes. So
many factors have been found to contribute to that decision by
the management team of most schools and learning institutions
especially the higher learning institutions. The question and the
main area of concern that gives way for more research on the
issue of the different kinds of learning and the vibrant change
that has occurred in the modes of education. Among the
questions is; why are most universities opting for the hybrid
classes and not online or face to face learning? What is the
importance of the hybrid classes? What makes the hybrid
classes to stand out compared to other traditional methods of
learning?
In an attempt to answer some of those questions, several
scholars have come up with journals and articles that will aid in
this research. The article, “Experiences with a Hybrid Class:
Tips And Pitfalls College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal,
2006, Vol.2(2), p.9-12” talks about how most lecturers in most
campuses have attempted or rather are succeeding in their
efforts to convert the old or traditional methods of teaching to
the hybrid classes. The lecturers and the management institution
have outlined their reasons, and they are quite convincing.
Some of the factors identified I this article is that hybrid classes
would save on time and also they would cover all the other
modes of learning like online education and face to face
education partly in their structure. The authors of this article
have conducted research on both the studies both independently

4. and again combined them to come up with a hybrid setting.
They, therefore, confirm that hybrid is the way to go in this era,
it is a field that therefore needs more focus and enough research
so as to create awareness on the reasons as to why the hybrid
form of learning should be tried by the upcoming generation.
According to the research conducted by Gordon Jill, 2009. A
research was done on trying to enroll the students on the
different forms of education separately; most students were
discovered to go for the hybrid learning system compared to the
traditional learning systems conducted. Upon the surveys and
the questionnaires posed by the research team, the students
highlighted several other factors which included the cost of the
hybrid education which seemed to be cheaper compared to a
single mode of learning. As per the student's responses from the
research conducted by this author, it is evidence that the design
used in the hybrid classes is simpler and way cheaper hence
being friendly to both the students for easier understanding and
pocket friendly to the parent's pockets. Given that the hybrid
model of learning is simpler and cheaper yet it is inclusive of
all the other traditional modes of learning then this should
among the reasons as to why most universities are shifting from
there old ways and resulting to the hybrid classes to increase
efficiency.
Doug and dzeikan 2012, argue that; it would be great if
the old or traditional models of education are integrated into
some sort of a hybrid model due to the distance learning that
has been seen to appraise the distance learning sessions with
very few classrooms sessions so as to ensure that the people
who go for the eLearning sessions are also considered. The
hybrid or the blended classes favor the majority of the students
in that people can be in a position to still work and learn on a
budget since it is a cheaper method of knowledge acquisition to
all the students across the globe. It saves one the time and the
energy to go up and down attending lectures and doing up a
follow up with the tutors here and there. This is a good study
area since most people would wish to enroll to classes that

5. would not end up being hectic on their schedule, people love to
get involved with areas that will benefit them in all areas of life
and hybrid learning is among those. The authors continue to
argue that, with the hybrid or blended classes, students who
specialize in the same course could be linked up in order to
learn one or two things from their counterparts. Such a method
should be encouraged since it will also save the lecturers and
the tutors the energy to lecture a class full of people who
probably may have a minimum or low concentrations to the
teachings.
From the extensive research conducted on the hybrid
classes and why most universities are dropping their traditional
ways to adopt the blended kind of learning, we find that it is a
change in the educational field that has come up due to the
improved technology and that needs creation of awareness to
most people across the globe. It is crucial for the most people to
understand that this is an area that needs concern by both the
students, the government and also the people in the world. It is
good for people to understand that hybrid classes do not mean
to kill the traditional forms of education but rather sorts to
integrate the old methods of education so as to come up with a
much better form of education.
References
Bacciga, A., & Naliato, R. (2013). Recent Advances in
Artificial Intelligence Research. Hauppauge: Nova Science
Publishers, Inc.
Gallagher, K. A. (2015). Ecology and Evolution of Hybrid
Isoprenoid Secondary Metabolite Production in a Streptomyces
Lineage.

6. In Kirst, M. W., & In Stevens, M. L. (2015). Remaking college:
The changing ecology of higher education.
Labinaz, G., & Guay, M. (2012). Viability of Hybrid Systems:
A Controllability Operator Approach. Dordrecht: Springer
Netherlands.
Newbury, R., University of Nevada, & Reno. (2013). Student
outcomes and design elements in blended learning courses.
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education,
Carlsen, R., Willis, D. A., & Association for the Advancement
of Computing in Education. (2007). Society for Information
Technology & Teacher Education International Conference
annual: March 26-30, San Antonio, Texas, USA. Chesapeake,
VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in
Education.
Yang, H. H., Yuen, & S. C.-Y. (2011). Handbook of research on
practices and outcomes in e-learning: Issues and trends.
Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
1-Experiences with a Hybrid Class: Tips And Pitfalls
College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal, 2006, Vol.2(2),
p.9-12
Notes
This paper will discuss the author's experiences with converting

7. a traditional classroom-based course to a hybrid class, using a
mix of traditional class time and web-support. The course which
was converted is a lower-level human relations class, which has
been offered in both the traditional classroom-based setting and
as an asynchronous online course. After approximately five
years of offering the two formats independently, the author
decided to experiment with improving the traditional course by
adopting more of the web-based support and incorporating more
research and written assignments in "out of class" time. The
course has evolved into approximately 60% traditional
classroom meetings and 40% assignments and other assessments
out of class. The instructor's assessment of the hybrid nature of
the class is that students are more challenged by the mix of
research and writing assignments with traditional assessments,
and the assignments are structured in such a way as to make
them more "customizable" for each student. Each student can
find some topics that they are interested in to pursue in greater
depth as research assignments. However, the hybrid nature of
the class has resulted in an increased workload for the
instructor. The course has been well received by the students,
who have indicated that they find the hybrid format appealing.
2-Undergraduate Research Methods: Does Size Matter? A Look
at the Attitudes and Outcomes of Students in a Hybrid Class
Format versus a Traditional Class Format.
Author
Gordon, Jill A.
Barnes, Christina M.
Martin, Kasey J.
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Is Part Of
Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 2009, Vol.20 (3), p.227-
249
Notes

8. The goal of this study is to understand if there are any
variations regarding student engagement and course outcomes
based on the course format. A new course format was
introduced in fall of 2006 that involves a hybrid approach (large
lecture with small recitations) with a higher level of student
enrollment than traditional research methods courses. During
the same time frame, the discipline maintained its traditional
research methods courses as well. A survey was administered to
all students enrolled in research methods regardless of course
format in fall 2006 and spring 2007. Student responses are
discussed, including information concerning the preparation,
design, cost and benefits of offering a hybrid research methods
course format.
3- Distance Education: Linking Traditional Classroom
Rehabilitation Counseling Students with their Colleagues Using
Hybrid Learning Models.
Author
Main, Doug
Dziekan, Kathryn
Publisher
Springer Publishing Company, Inc.
Is Part Of
Rehabilitation Research, Policy & Education, 2012, Vol.26 (4),
p.315-321
Notes
Current distance learning technological advances allow real and
virtual classrooms to unite. In this program evaluation study,
focus group, participatory action, and qualitative research

9. strategies (Yin, 1994) were used to explore the quality and
benefits of infusing elements of three distance learning
modalities into the traditional rehabilitation counseling
classroom. Participants were students with multiple experiences
in hybrid classes in which in-person instruction was integrated
with at least one distance learning modality. The distance
learning alternatives involved were interactive television, web-
conferencing using a live stream from interactive television, the
learning management system (e.g., Blackboard) and/or the
collaboration platform or enhancement to learning management
system (e.g., Elluminate). Student feedback was generated on
the quality and effectiveness of hybrid models, as well as on the
benefits and advantages of these models for rehabilitation
education in the rural area served. Results indicate that the
modalities can be integrated while maintaining discernible
quality and learning effectiveness. Most notably, hybrid models
may have distinct advantages over the traditional classroom in
isolated rural regions and students who for a variety of reasons
find it difficult to meet in traditional classrooms. Students with
specialized interests can be linked to each other and to needed
resources.
4-
Benefits of Hybrid Classes in Community Colleges
Author
Barker, Joel
Is Part Of
Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 2015, Vol.8(3),
p.143-146
Notes
This article discusses hybrid courses and their impact on
educational facilities, their students, and instructors. Instructors
now have over ten years of data related to hybrid courses and by
trial and error have devised different strategies to plan and
execute lesson plans via partly online forums. Programs are in

10. place that give students the opportunity to excel; these types of
courses promote a unique balance of guidance by the instructor
and acceptance of responsibility by the students. Students have
responded in a positive manner in pursuing these types of
courses.
! !! ‫دا‬ ‫يدج‬ ‫ف‬ ‫سهمهمجداوم‬ ‫قاالح‬ ‫م‬ ‫هذاال‬
5-Implementing flexible hybrid instruction in an electrical
engineering course: The best of three worlds?
Author
He, Wenliang
Gajski, Daniel
Farkas, George
Warschauer, Mark
Is Part Of
Computers & Education, February 2015, Vol.81, pp.59-68
Notes
This study explored a modified version of hybrid instruction,
referred to as the flexible hybrid format, in a lower division
electrical engineering course offered at a large public
university. The objective of the study is to use longitudinal data
to investigate the impact of class attendance, out-of-class study
time, and motivation on student exam performance. Generalized
least squares and fixed effects models were used in the
analyses. It was found that class attendance was indispensable;
it was associated with exam performance even when all
essential course material was made available online and
students generally rated the online instruction component to be
of higher quality. The benefit of class attendance was then
explained by the ICAP hypothesis and spaced learning practice

11. and it was suggested that online education might be more
effective in teaching relatively simpler contents. Out-of-class
effort significantly predicated performance in previous weeks,
but not in the final period. The harmful effect of cramming was
cited to explain this phenomenon. Hence, by implication, time
management might be an issue in a flexible hybrid environment.
Finally, motivation was found to be a robust predicator of
performance and its effect was the strongest when the course
was at its most challenging stage. Besides, the relationship
between motivation and exam performance was likely to be
bidirectional, as higher motivation resulted in better
performance, which in turn further boosted motivation. Based
on current findings, directions for future research were also
suggested to verify our claims and improve our implementation.
•The study explores a hybrid format designed for more
customized learning.•Class attendance only predictes
performance when course material is difficult.•Time
management is a serious issue when students are given too much
liberty.•Motivation predicates exam performance, especially
when the content is challenging.•The success of this hybrid
format depends on student skills and course difficulty.

12. 6-Attitudes, beliefs, and attendance in a hybrid course
Author
Yudko, Errol
Hirokawa, Randy
Chi, Robert
Is Part Of
Computers & Education, 2008, Vol.50(4), pp.1217-1227
Notes
Since online learning technology, such as streaming video, was
introduced to the college distance-learning environment, there
has been a need to study the attitudes of college students toward
the use of this modality in hybrid courses. Understanding
students’ attitudes toward using online materials and the impact
on class attendance is not only essential to ascertain how
effectively the online content is delivered, it also helps teaching
faculty prepare online courses and education programs. This
paper studies the attitudes of college students’ about online
materials in a hybrid upper division communications class.
Student attitudes towards combining distance-learning
techniques with traditional lecture tended to be positive.
Students held the belief that hybrid courses have a negative
impact on attendance, but they did not self-report an actual
impact. Students do believe that they benefit from this
technology, but the belief is strongest in those who are most
computer/Internet literate. How these attitudes/beliefs impact
the student in the context of a rural culture will be discussed.
7-In-Class—Online Hybrid Methods of Teaching Planning
Theory: Assessing Impacts on Discussion and Learning
Author
Willson, Richard W
Is Part Of
Journal of Planning Education and Research, December 2008,
Vol.28(2), pp.237-246

13. Notes
Planning education can benefit from hybrid teaching methods
that use online activities to replace a portion of in-class
activity. Research on hybrid courses is lacking, especially for
discussion-oriented planning classes. This research evaluates a
graduate planning theory course delivered in both hybrid and
traditional formats, analyzing student performance, class
evaluations and supplemental surveys, and instructor reflection.
The findings are as follows: (1) performance of students in the
hybrid class was no worse than the traditional class, (2)
students were satisfied with online activities but class
evaluations were somewhat lower, and (3) the instructor found
student learning benefits, but hybrid teaching was more time
consuming. The results suggest that planning educators should
test and evaluate hybrid teaching for a wide range of planning
courses.
8-Towards a hybrid learning model for the higher education
system in Morocco
Author
Riyami, Bouchaib
Poirier, Franck
Mansouri, Khalifa
Is Part Of
2017 Intelligent Systems and Computer Vision, April 2017,
pp.1-6
Notes

14. The Moroccan Higher Education System has been based until
now on actual physical students' attendance to courses and
lectures as one of its compulsory features. In this way, students,
who, for some reason or another, cannot attend, find themselves
at a loss and with no available follow-up means to access, the
course or lecture contents delivered in class. At present, given
the availability of distance learning platforms such as MOOC
(Massive Open Online Courses) and the appearance of platforms
of pedagogical content management. Such as Moodle (Modular
Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment), a number of
online courses are available and freely accessible. Our
contribution attempts to present a model of a hybrid education
system (face-to-face / distance learning) for the benefit of
university learners through a theoretical framework that is
mainly inspired from the theory of activity and is interested in a
number of resources that are well adapted to innovative
pedagogical dimensions. In this approach, part of the modules
are taught in-person, another is taught at a distance through
proprietary or free MOOC and a third is taught remotely
through an e-learning system specific to the institution. The
methodology requires effective supervision and ongoing
commitment of teachers and learners.
9-Why Teach Hybrid History?
Author
Berman, Marjorie K.
Is Part Of
History Computer Review, 2001, Vol.17(1), p.31-38
Notes
Focuses on the use of hybrid instruction by using the best
aspects of traditional teaching incorporated with online
instruction. Discusses the basic guidelines for teaching hybrid
courses, what works and does not work in a hybrid class, and
the improvements for future hybrid classes. (CMK)

15. 10-Asynchronous Discussion and Communication Patterns in
Online and Hybrid History Courses.
Author
Vess, Deborah
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Is Part Of
Communication Education, 2005, Vol.54 (4), p.355-365
Notes
Asynchronous online discussion has been shown to enhance
communication between students and to elicit many cognitive
indicators. Nevertheless, historians have often been reluctant to
make use of such instructional technology. Students enrolled in
a fully online world civilization course corroborated qualitative
research findings regarding the cognitive indicators associated
with asynchronous discussion. In contrast, students in face-to-
face web-enhanced hybrid world civilization classes exhibited
less dramatic cognitive indicators in asynchronous discussion,
perhaps due to the greater maturity in terms of age and
experience of the fully online students. Students in the hybrid
class, however, did indicate that participation in online
discussions enhanced their engagement in face-to-face in-class
discussions. However, asynchronous discussions did not prompt

16. the face-to-face students to achieve authentic dialog between
students in the classroom, and neither group managed to
transcend problems of inequitable participation in small groups.
There remains a need for further research on how to transplant
documented advantages of asynchronous discussion into the
hybrid classroom.
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
McShane, Olekalns, Newman, Travaglione, Organisational
Behaviour, 5e
1
CASE STUDY 05
LEADERSHIP, CULTURAL AND PERFORMANCE CHANGE
AT
MEATPACK
BY WILLIAM S. HARVEY, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER, UK
Context
MeatPack is a family-owned food-processing business based in
Sydney, Australia. The
company, which has over 27 years’ experience in meat products,
fresh soups and prepared
meals, has processing plants in New South Wales and
Queensland. Its customers are the

17. major retail chains and food-service companies in Australia and
abroad. MeatPack is led by
the founder and CEO, Derek Bison, who is the fourth generation
of his family to work in the
meat industry. In 2013, the company was performing well, with
group sales of over
AUD$300 million. One of the strategic goals MeatPack set in
2002 was to become a 1 billion
dollar company by 2020. However, in order to meet these
targets, the company is currently
dealing with two major sets of changes: senior leadership
changes and cultural and
performance changes.
Senior leadership changes
Over the past two years, Bison has been keen to develop the
leadership competencies of his
senior strategy team. He feels that there are a number of ways in
which his leaders could
develop further and he recognises that he could have helped
with this more in the past. He
describes himself, for example, as ‘interfering, visionary,
driven, competitive, obsessive,
never satisfied and restless’. With a view to changing the

18. mindset and behaviours of his
senior strategy team, Bison started working with an executive
coaching and senior
leadership development company. A number of his team
members said that they were
gaining a lot of insights from this exposure. Initially, Bison was
very enthusiastic about this,
too, but in the past year he has stopped his own direct
involvement in the coaching,
although the senior strategy team continue to be involved.
Influenced by the activities of a respected business colleague
and personal friend, Bison
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
McShane, Olekalns, Newman, Travaglione, Organisational
Behaviour, 5e
2
has introduced the Human Synergistics Circumplex to
MeatPack. This outlines 12 behaviours
into three colours: red (aggressive/defensive), green
(passive/defensive) and blue
(constructive). Bison found that the organisational culture of
MeatPack was red and he

19. recognised that it would need to switch to blue if his growth
plans were to be realised. He
understood that MeatPack would need to shift its structure from
a hierarchical organisation
to a more horizontal organisation, with front-line workers
having greater responsibility and
accountability for their performance (Stayer, 1990).
Underpinning this transition have been the following: a number
of changes to the
company’s human resources set-up; a company-wide leadership
development program; and
a coaching consultation for members of the senior strategy
team. Bison feels that these
have had a positive impact on members of his senior strategy
team but confesses that he
himself has struggled with this transition. He finds it difficult,
for example, not to intervene,
jump in or direct others when he feels that sufficient progress is
not being made or when
decisions are not being taken expediently.
There has generally been a positive dynamic in the senior
strategy team, which is
composed of the CEO, COO, CFO, head of People, head of

20. Sales and head of Business
Development. Bison has fostered an open dialogue with his
team and it is clear that
members are encouraged to speak frankly with him and each
other, both on a one-on-one
basis as well as during meetings. There has, however, been
some uncertainty about the
composition of the senior strategy team, with one attendee at a
strategy meeting being
unsure of whether he was officially part of the senior strategy
team. This led to subsequent
discussion among the group about the matter, as well as over
whether another member,
who was not present at this point, should be part of the team.
There is also a separate
senior leadership team, which includes all of the senior strategy
team members above, plus
the senior line managers. There has been some discussion about
the exact purpose of both
of these teams. Because Bison is one of the founders of the
company and the current CEO,
some members of the senior strategy team are a little reluctant
to question his decisions,
despite Bison actively encouraging an open dialogue. The CFO

21. wonders whether the board
should hold Bison more accountable and whether Bison should
hold the senior strategy
team more accountable. The COO expressed concern that
MeatPack has lost some of its
senior leaders within the past few years. This has caused some
anxiety for the following
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
McShane, Olekalns, Newman, Travaglione, Organisational
Behaviour, 5e
3
reasons: they were direct reports to Bison; their personalities
were in conflict; Bison had
involvement in their area of operation; they were making a
positive impact before they left;
and relationships with some suppliers and customers have been
lost as a result, causing
business to move to a competitor.
The senior strategy team was about to embark upon some major
structural changes—
with the arrival of a new CEO of the soups and meals business
at the end of 2013, and the

22. existing COO of the meat division replacing Bison as the CEO
of meat. Bison said that in the
short term he saw himself moving to group CEO alongside these
two CEOs. In the long term,
he envisioned that he would move from group CEO to executive
chairman, with both CEOs
reporting to him. In his own words, ‘I’m not really a big people
person and the people thing
will go to the CEOs. I want CEOs to be CEOs.’
In five to 10 years, Bison’s vision is to move from executive
chairman to chairman. When
this was broached in one of the strategy meetings, there was
some heated discussion about
who would be reporting to whom in the new structure. For
example, the CFO was
concerned about whether benefits would be derived if MeatPack
decentralised the
functions of support teams such as Finance and IT. The head of
Business Development asked
how the new structure was different from the old structure, and
it was debated what, if
anything, the other employees should be told before the
company’s annual meeting the

23. following week. It was decided by an independent chair of the
meeting that discussions
would be paused and discussed further at a later date. Some
members were clearly
frustrated that the issue was not resolved during the meeting.
Cultural and performance changes
In the past two years, MeatPack has introduced an enterprise
resource planning (ERP)
initiative, which seeks to integrate multiple divisions of the
company such as finance,
production, investment and management. At the heart of this
system is the desire to be
more structured and efficient in ensuring that each line is
hitting and exceeding its targets.
Part of this system is also about encouraging managers to
change their methods of
communication. In the past, dominating, shouting and other
aggressive forms of
confrontation were quite common practice. There was a focus
on making things happen
instead of understanding how things worked and why they were
not working. As with any

24. Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
McShane, Olekalns, Newman, Travaglione, Organisational
Behaviour, 5e
4
results-driven organisation, this created a culture with a top-
down environment for the
managers, in which targets had to be reached.
Bison has been strongly influenced by his executive training at
the Harvard Business
School and one of his major goals at MeatPack has been to
install a flatter structure across
the organisation, which empowers managers and supervisors to
take on greater
responsibility and accountability. For example, he has
encouraged line managers to take a
more hands-on role in terms of the recruitment of personnel and
performance appraisals. In
general, there has been an overall drive to get people across the
company to lead rather
than manage (Kotter, 2001). The CFO and COO both feel that
this has been a positive
endeavour, but find that this is taking place ‘in pockets’, and
that Bison could lead more by

25. example with respect to the senior strategy team.
Bison’s aim across the organisation is for there to be six to
eight people per report in
order to ensure that managers and supervisors have the
opportunity to lead and be more
clearly accountable. He argues that if he was coming into the
company now with no
previous ties then he would remove certain people immediately,
but he won’t do so
because he and the team all know these people and there are
established relationships and
emotional ties, making such decisions significantly more
difficult.
There is a strong sense of loyalty on the ‘floor’ and staff
turnover is low in an industry that
is known to have problems with retention because of the
repetitiveness of the work. One
interviewee remarked that given that the factory floor is cold
and noisy, there is a certain
type of person who can work in this environment. Staff are
employed almost continuously
on the production line, the work is physically demanding and
standards are exacting.
Despite a diverse array of cultural backgrounds, with employees

26. from multiple countries,
there have been few cross-cultural clashes.
The majority of the workforce has worked at MeatPack for
between six and 10 years, with
many others having been at the company for at least 15 years.
While this is positive in terms
of loyalty, it is also potentially challenging with regard to
changing attitudes towards the
proposed cultural changes. MeatPack is perceived internally as
trustworthy and honest, and
employees feel ‘safe’ because decisions seem to be made with
the ‘best intentions of the
company’. The company has developed quite a collegial and
family atmosphere. While there
are ‘serial complainers’, as one employee put it, most are happy
in their positions.
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
McShane, Olekalns, Newman, Travaglione, Organisational
Behaviour, 5e
5
Recruitment is often via word of mouth, with many employees
coming from the same family

27. group working at the factory. Employees who have moved from
MeatPack’s competitors
have commented on the company being more organised,
methodical and collaborative in
culture.
Bison has made a significant investment in his staff’s training,
and employees with proven
skills and a strong work ethic can move up the company chain
quickly. The CFO, for
example, started out as the assistant accountant, which indicates
that there are good
opportunities for talented individuals to develop within the
company. Bison has invested in
management and team leader development courses, with newly
promoted shift leaders
being put through a front-line management course. This aims to
improve their leadership
skills and enable them to better manage and lead their teams.
The development of a line
focus has created a culture of accountability for each position,
which has allowed line staff
to have a hand in developing the efficiency of the company
front line, and this has made

28. them feel a valued part of the team. One manager remarked that
without his team he
would not be in the job.
Since the start of the cultural change program, there has been a
shift from managers
‘managing’ to ‘leading’ their teams. In particular, there has
been a more systematic process
of managers sitting down with employees and talking problems
through. There have been
some important cultural changes taking place as a result of
managers being encouraged to
take some time out to ‘step back’ and reflect on their ‘tool box’
to address certain
situations. Bison has pushed for a focus on the ‘Rockefeller
Habits’—created by Verne
Harnish (2002) and based on the leadership and management
principles applied by John D.
Rockefeller, business magnate, philanthropist and co-founder of
Standard Oil. There are
three pillars to the Rockefeller habits: priorities, data and
rhythm, and Bison has placed a
strong emphasis on MeatPack’s strategic goals (priorities),
performance feedback (data) and
accountability (rhythm). Bison has also invested in the

29. leadership training of his front-line
and middle managers, whereby they have developed skills
through an external provider on
the life cycle of a leader, including attracting, hiring,
developing, mentoring and appraising,
as well as confronting and removing, where necessary. The
feedback from senior managers
has been that their managers have appreciated such level of
investment in their
development.
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
McShane, Olekalns, Newman, Travaglione, Organisational
Behaviour, 5e
6
The managers are generally considered quite young, ‘fresh’,
‘open-minded’ and ‘close’.
Some managers feel that although they are now much better at
saying things without
offending their teams, jobs are often left incomplete because
what people say is different
from what they do. There are 17 line managers who plan for the
following day’s production

30. and there is general concern that while it is good practice to
codify this on a large
whiteboard next to the factory floor, there are too many
managers going over the data and
not enough people on the lines to deliver the targets. The vision
is that the targets, which
are manually inserted on the whiteboard, will eventually be
inserted electronically.
A major challenge with regard to reaching daily targets stems
from the difference
between the day and afternoon shifts. The day shift starts at
5:30 am and finishes at 2:30
pm; the afternoon shift starts at 2:30 pm and finishes at
midnight. Bison has encouraged
‘huddles’ at the beginning of and between the shifts—at these,
workers can discuss what
the day shifts have done and what the afternoon shifts need to
do. The cultural norms of
the shifts are significantly different. The day shift is described
as taking a ‘gung-ho’
approach, which leads to higher yields. This is partly explained
by the day shift choosing the
lines that make it ‘easier’ to hit their targets. The afternoon
shift is under greater pressure

31. because of specific cut-off times at 3 and 3:30 pm, when lorries
arrive to pick up particular
products for delivery to the supermarkets. In short, there are
differences in priority—with
the day shift focusing on maximising yields, and the afternoon
shift on being ready for time-
sensitive lorry pick-ups. In general, there is growing pressure
for managers and workers to
increase their line’s productivity. Despite this, yields have
increased and there has not been
any loss time injury (LTI) in the past year.
Sources:
V. Harnish, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits. What You Must
Do to Increase the Value of
Your Growing Firm (Ashburn, Virginia: Gazelles, 2002)
Human Synergistics International, ‘Our Measurement Model—
The Circumplex’ (2010),
www.human-
synergistics.com.au/TransformingCultureAndLeadership/Circum
plex.aspx,
accessed 17 February 2015
J. P. Kotter, ‘What Leaders Really Do’, Harvard Business
Review 79, no. 11 (2001): 85–98

32. Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
McShane, Olekalns, Newman, Travaglione, Organisational
Behaviour, 5e
7
R. Stayer, ‘How I Learned to Let My Workers Lead’, Harvard
Business Review (November
1990): 66–83.
Discussion questions
1. Should Bison be taking a more hands-off or a more hands-on
approach to the business?
Justify your response.
2. How far has the senior leadership change been effective?
What else might senior
leadership do to influence change more positively in the near
future?
3. To what extent has MeatPack’s flatter structure helped create
cultural and performance
change? Have there been any barriers to the cultural change?