DEREGULATION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY OF GEORGIA SYSTEM OPERATIONS CORPORATION by Joseph B. Baugh TONI BUCHSBAUM GREIF, Ph.D., Faculty Mentor and Chair JOHN LATHAM, Ph.D., Committee Member DOROTHEA BRAGINSKY, Ph.D., Committee Member Kurt Linberg, Ph.D., Dean, School of Business & Technology A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Capella University February 2008 UMI Number: 3296749 3296749 2008 Copyright 2008 by Baugh, Joseph B. UMI Microform Copyright All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 All rights reserved. by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. © Joseph Baugh, 2008 Abstract Deregulation has created framebreaking changes across multiple industries. This study examined the impact of deregulation upon a single nonprofit generation and transmission electrical cooperative. Deregulation and other market forces set into motion a framebreaking change which restructured the former cooperative into three legally distinct cooperatives that developed symbiotic relationships with each other. Based on the literature, significant impacts to management strategies, organizational structure, and organizational culture were expected. Through a series of interviews, study participants articulated their experiences and perceptions about the impacts of deregulation at the cooperative. Data analysis indicated that changes to management strategies and organizational structure, while significant, were fairly straight-forward and consistent with the literature. Changes in organizational culture during and after the restructuring initially created adverse effects among the workforce. The central emerging theme indicated that positive changes in leadership across the three cooperatives were significant in renewing organizational effectiveness and developing a strong customer service focus. As related by the participants, transformational leaders restored trust, created a new vision, instilled values, improved communications, and developed collaboration across the three cooperatives. These transformational activities created a significant impact on the cooperative employees by improving performance, raising morale, and elevating job satisfaction levels, which increased workforce retention. The study revealed that transformational leadership alleviated unfavorable cultural impacts within this organization in transition. iii Dedication I’d like to dedicate this paper to the women in my life who tolerated long hours, weeks, and months of neglect while I labored away on this project. My dearly departed wife, Dorothy, encouraged me many years ago to put my feet on the path to pursue my lifelong dream of obtaining higher education and gave me the time and space to follow that dream to its logical conclusion. After Dorothy’s death in 2005, my daughter, Sara Baugh-Harris, and my mother, Gaye Baugh, bolstered my spirits throughout those dark days as I floundered in sorrow and self-pity and helped me work my way back to the light through their constant caring and encouragement. As I came down to the wire, my girlfriend, Peggy Sue Davis, supported me and gave me the confidence I needed to stay the course and finish this dissertation. I love all of you and I truly appreciate everything you did to help me work through despondency and despair as I struggled to finish the journey. iv Acknowledgments This paper would not have been possible without the guidance, support, and occasional kick in the seat of the pants that I so desperately needed from my mentor, Dr. Toni Buchsbaum Greif. You are another one of those women in my life who helped make my dream a reality. Although I sometimes resented all the additional research and multiple revisions that you recommended, this paper is a much better effort for heeding your advice. My committee members, Dr. John Latham and Dr. Dorothea Braginsky, delivered sage insight and guidance in a timely and helpful manner. My good friends and fellow learners: Dr. Anne Saber Hallcom, Dr. Suzanne Minarcine, and Dr. Jerry Becker, provided me with indispensable support throughout the PhD program, particularly after the death of my wife. What can I say to you three, but thank-you from the bottom of my heart for all of your caring and concern? Dr. Marilyn Harris also labored mightily to help me find an appropriate study organization when it looked like I might have to change directions and certainly deserves credit for her support. Finally, I could not have completed the fieldwork without the support of Gary Williamson and Connie Looney at GSOC. They gave freely of their time and made my visit to Atlanta very productive. Their unflagging efforts helped me pack 40 tightly scheduled interviews into one short week, which allowed me to generate the rich data set that I needed to draw this project to a close. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments iv List of Tables viii List of Figures ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the Study 3 Statement of the Problem 4 Purpose of the Study 4 Rationale for the Study 4 Research Questions 5 Significance of the Study 6 Definition of Terms 6 Assumptions and Limitations 11 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework 13 Organization of the Remainder of the Study 14 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 15 Deregulation 17 Developing Management Strategy 22 Strategic Decision-Making 24 Organizational Structure 29 Organizational Culture 37 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 46 Setting of the Study 46 vi Theoretical Framework 47 Excluded Deregulation-Related Issues 48 Research Design 48 Sampling Design 51 Data Collection Procedures 53 Data Analysis Procedures 60 Pilot Study 63 Ethical Issues 64 Limitations of the Study 65 Research Timeline 68 CHAPTER 4. DATA PROCESSES 69 Brief History of Georgia System Operations Corporation 71 Data Collection Processes 72 Data Analysis Processes 77 CHAPTER 5. PRESENTING THE DATA 89 Participant Confidentiality 89 The Research Question 91 Population Demographics 92 Management Strategy 95 Organizational Structure 109 Organizational Cultures 117 CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS 145 Emerging Themes and Patterns 150 vii Transformational Leadership at GSOC 153 Effects of Transformational Leadership on GSOC Associates 166 Discussion 181 Limitations of the Study 187 Recommendations 190 Concluding Remarks 193 CHAPTER 7. EPILOGUE 194 REFERENCES 197 APPENDIX A. STRUCTURED INTERVIEW PROTOCOL 220 APPENDIX B. UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEW PROTOCOL 223 APPENDIX C. GSOC VISION, MISSION, & VALUES 224 viii List of Tables Table 1: First Level Codes 83 Table 2: Second-Level Codes 83 Table 3: Third-Level Codes 83 [...]... Romanelli, 1986), which will impact all areas of the organization creating changes in management strategies, organizational structures, and organizational culture This study examined the impacts on management strategies, organizational structure and organizational culture that were caused in a nonprofit electrical cooperative by the external event of deregulation Deregulation has occurred over the last... The primary research question was phrased in this manner: How did deregulation have an effect on management strategies, organizational structures, and organizational cultures at Georgia System Operations Corporation? Management strategies are intertwined with organizational cultures (Kasper, 2002; Locander, Hamilton, Ladik & Stuart, 2002; Schein, 1984) and changing strategies can play a major role in... understand how deregulation impacted management strategies, organizational structures, and organizational cultures in the nonprofit electrical cooperative environment Figure 1: Original conceptual framework 13 Organization of the Remainder of the Study The remainder of the study was organized into five chapters Chapter 2 examines the literature as it pertains to deregulation, management strategies, organizational... which had formerly created a monopolistic dynamic among electrical utilities This study examined how management strategies, organizational structures and organizational culture changed in a nonprofit electrical cooperative as a result of deregulation in the electrical industry Purpose of the Study Through the application of a qualitative case study, this study examined how a specific electrical cooperative,... EMCs, and others Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC) One of the sister cooperatives of the study organization located in Atlanta Georgia and part of the Georgia Family of Companies GTC controls and manages the cooperative transmission system assets and partners with other utilities to provide reliable service Investor Owned Utility (IOU) These utilities are owned by their stockholders and are managed... spurred changes in organizational structures and organizational cultures This study examined changes that occurred in management strategies, organizational structure, and organizational culture as a result of deregulation in a nonprofit electrical utility cooperative 3 Statement of the Problem Deregulation in the electrical industry introduced frame-breaking change by eliminating protected service areas,... rapid shifts in strategic direction to respond appropriately to changing consumer demand According to Gryskiewicz (2005), Jashapara (2003); Kuivalainen, Sundqvist, Puumalainen, and Cadogan (2004), Rigby and Rogers (2000), Schellenberg and Miller (1998), Stonebraker and Liao (2004), and Vaaler and McNamara (2004), strategy development and decision-making immediately prior to and during the deregulation. .. organizational structure and organizational cultures may have changed? Topic specific questions related to organizational structural and cultural changes were developed throughout the next chapter to address each these issues in detail 5 Significance of the Study Because of the lack of research that specifically targeted the impact of deregulation on management strategies in nonprofit electrical cooperatives,... constraints on product and market diversification limited the number and type of financial instruments and protected inefficient and poorly managed firms; and in the natural gas industry, where uniform rates prevented conservationenhancing seasonal and time -of- day pricing (p 16) Changes in the financial arena due to deregulation in the banking industry, which may be similar to deregulation driven changes... to deregulation The speed of adaptation was examined to correlate long-term survival with adaptation Becher et al (2005) discussed higher levels of governance in the post -deregulation banking industry Drawing implications from these and other industries that were undergoing deregulation at that time, primarily telecommunications and health care, a follow-up of how Georgia System Operations Corporation' s . manner: How did deregulation have an effect on management strategies, organizational structures, and organizational cultures at Georgia System Operations Corporation? Management strategies are. organizational structures and organizational cultures. This study examined changes that occurred in management strategies, organizational structure, and organizational culture as a result of deregulation. DEREGULATION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY OF GEORGIA SYSTEM OPERATIONS CORPORATION by Joseph B. Baugh TONI BUCHSBAUM GREIF, Ph.D., Faculty Mentor and Chair JOHN LATHAM,