Developing Effective Teamwork in Organisations - Essay Example

? Developing effective teamwork in organisations Table of Contents Context 4 Relationship between organization structure and culture 4 Task 1a. Organizational structures 4 Task 1b. Relationship between an organisation’s structure and culture and its impact on business performance 9 Task 1c. Major factors influencing behaviour of individuals in organization 9 2.Various approaches to management and leadership 10 Task 1a. 5 Major leadership styles 10 Task 1b. Effectiveness of leadership styles 11 Task 2a. 3 different organizational theories and approaches 12 Task 2b. Evaluation of the organizational theories and approaches with examples 12 3.Ways of using motivational theories in organisations 13 Task 1. Impact of leadership styles on motivation levels in organizations in periods of change 13 Task2a. 3 motivational theories 13 Task 2b. 3 workplace situations for the 3 motivational theories 14 Task 2c. Comparison and evaluation of theories against set criteria of ‘benefits of motivational theories’ for managers 14 4.Developing effective teamwork in organizations 15 Task 1. Review workforce in the organization with regards to group behaviours 15 Task 2a. 4 factors to be considered for building effective teams 15 Task 2b. Contribution of 4 factors towards development of teamwork 15 Task 2c. How the 4 factors can inhibit development of teamwork 16 Task 3. Evaluation of the impact of technology on team functioning in the organization 16 Reference 18 Context The project presents the context of British Petroleum, which accounts for one of the leading oil and gas companies in the world. The organization is known for its immense success in providing customers with fuel, energy, retail services and petrochemical products which is required in their daily lives. The company’s unique feature lies in its sophisticated technology usage and techniques which it uses for finding natural gases and oil under the surface of the earth. The organization earns the reputation of constantly updating its scientific techniques and tools used in its methods and practices and responding to customers’ needs and requirements promptly and successfully. The efficiency and competency demonstrated by the company truly reflects through its organizational culture and structure. It also demonstrates perfect leadership styles in different situations and needs. The impacts of effective leadership shows through its ability in enhancing motivations of individuals in the organization such that it proves itself as one of the most preferred and attractive employer to work with. The organization’s effective and efficient team management styles also accounts for one of the main factors for success. The project proceeds with the description of the organizational structure and culture of British Petroleum and way it impacts on the business performance. The different approaches to leadership and management are discussed in this context. Finally the impact of technology and its influence on the team functioning in the organization is provided in the project. 1. Relationship between organization structure and culture Task 1a. Organizational structures British Petroleum reflects a geographically based organizational structure, particularly because of its large overseas sales which do not necessarily remain dominated by any single geographic territory. Global area structures are generally seen in organizations having narrow product lines; for example, the automobile organizations, cosmetics, containers, pharmaceuticals as well as food and beverages (John & Gillies, 1996, p.278). On the other hand the organizational structure of General Electric demonstrates a product divisional structure. The multinational organization is structured according to the product divisions which exist across the world. General Electric has product divisional structure mainly on account of its wide and diverse product ranges in which the user markets as well as the technologies very to quite an extent between the various product groups (John & Gillies, 1996, p.278). This structure is especially beneficial for bringing about a great deal of global integration and coordination between particular product groups with high efficiencies through economies of scale. Global planning and strategy under this type of organizational structure is highly facilitated for the product as compared to the global area divisional structure. There also remain chances of duplication of different business functions under this structure, such as marketing, finance, human resources etc (John & Gillies, 1996, p.278). Diagram of Organizational Structure- British Petroleum The organizational structure of British Petroleum is different for offices in different geographic locations. Following is the diagram of the organizational structure of BP in USA. Figure 1: British Petroleum USA- Organizational Structure (Source: The Official Board, 2011) Diagram of Organizational Structure- General Electric The product based divisional structure of General Electric is depicted in the following diagram. It can be noted in the diagram that the various divisions in the organization is made according to the product it produces or specializes in producing. Figure 2: General Electric- Organizational Structure (Source: GE, 2011) The similarity between the two structures is that both encourage team and group activities based on the common functions and is controlled by the top management. Also in both the structures, each functional unit or each geographic unit is responsible for taking his own decisions in their own functional areas or domains. The basic difference between the geographical based organizational structure and product based divisional structure is that former is based according to the geographic location of the branches while the latter is based on the different product varieties that the organization offers. Moreover it is also apparent from the above organizational charts of the two companies that General Electric has greater coordination and collaboration of practices and methods ad different product groups. However, in the case of British Petroleum there could be lack of coordination between the different branches due to their diverse locations. Task 1b. Relationship between an organisation’s structure and culture and its impact on business performance Since in British Petroleum, the firms are located in a wide diversity of locations and places, it can avail the features and characteristics of the region where it operates to its advantage. It is possible for the company to design its products and services tailoring to the social, legal, technological and climatic conditions prevailing in the place. The sovereignty available to all the geographic divisions enables them to operate according to their conditions which are best suited for the development of that particular branch. It might not always be possible to for all branches to apply one single method or practice as it would not be suitable for them. This problem can be eliminated to a considerable extent under this organizational structure (Parnell, 2003, p.149). Task 1c. Major factors influencing behaviour of individuals in organization The behaviour of individuals in an organization can be influenced both by his personal attributes as well as by the culture demonstrated and followed in the organization. The pattern of shared assumptions and developed by an organization are made to be adapted by the employees. The values, norms which are shared by the people and groups in the organization controls the way they interact with one another and with stakeholders outside the organization. Some of the factors or aspects which influence the behaviour of individuals in the organization are, The paradigm of the organization represented through its structure, culture, vision, mission and goals; Control systems or the processes in which everything is monitored within the organization; Organizational structure such as the hierarchies, reporting lines, rules etc; Power Structures or the way in which power is distributed in the organization; Rituals and routines which govern management meetings, board reports, and shows what is valued and treasured in the organization. 2. Various approaches to management and leadership Task 1a. 5 Major leadership styles According to the Managerial Grid presented by Blake and Mouton, leadership styles are adopted by individuals based on their tendency or orientation towards tasks or their people. According to the managerial grid, leaders having low concern for both their people as well as task activities are said to adopt impoverished style of leadership. However, this particular style fails to achieve both organizational objectives as well as create the necessary work environment for the employees. On the other hand having the greatest concern for the people and least concern for employees is demonstrated by the country club style of management. This kind of leadership fails to attain business objective but attains maximum satisfaction from employees. Having the maximum concern for production and least concern for production tasks and high concern for both are demonstrated by authority-compliance style of leadership and team management style of leadership respectively. On the hand, leaders showing moderate concern for both productions and tasks are said to follow middle-of-the-road management style. Transformational and Transactional Style of Leadership Burns has put forth the transformational and transactional styles of leadership in the organizations. Transforming leader’s style is that which alters, shapes, as well as uplifts the goals, motives and values of the followers in order to bring about changes in the activities and processes in the organization. Such leaders have the immense ability to increase the followers’ needs and to change the self interest of the followers too. It results in increasing the interest and motivation of followers in the organization. Transactional leaders try to create an individual’s needs to get a project completed on time in order to make a living. These leaders are said to remain pre-occupied with power, position perks and politics. He makes participation into the daily affairs of the company, its operations and seeks to satisfy each ones’ role in the present system and structure of the organization (Morse, Buss & Kinghorn, 2007, p.106). Persuasive and Democratic Style of Leadership According to the persuasive style of leadership, they are considered to be sole decision makers. However, they consider that it is crucial to motivate the people to perform a desired task by persuading them to think or have the opinion that the decisions taken were beneficial. Lastly the democratic style of leadership is such that the leader prefers to place the problem before the followers or the subordinates and encourages them to present discussions and suggestions from them. Although the final decision maker is the leader, the decision is taken based on the influence and initiative of the members of the group (Taylor, 2006, p.65). Task 1b. Effectiveness of leadership styles According to the leadership styles presented by the managerial grid, the middle-of-the-road management style is most suitable and appropriate for both organizations, General Electric and British Petroleum. This is because it is very important that employers maintain the safety and security of workers under all conditions so as to ensure that they do not get de-motivated under harsh working conditions. Maximum focus on tasks and least focus on employees would result in de-motivating the workforce. The transactional style of leadership is more suited for General Electric because of its ability to ensure that regular tasks are followed in the organization and targets are reached in fixed time intervals. Since it is characterized by regular flow of activities having little variation in the daily work procedures, this leadership style seems most suited for GE. The transformational style of leadership is most appropriate for British Petroleum. This is particularly important because this organization has to keep updating its technologies and expertise which the external changes and demand of the market. In such a situation it is crucial that it adapts itself to the changing technologies and requirements of the market. It can happen that the organization might have to change its work procedures in order to adopt the new technologies and attain a desired and revised level of target. Thus the transformation style of leadership finds relevance in such a situation as it handles resistances from employees efficiently and successfully. Task 2a. 3 different organizational theories and approaches The scientific management theory is one major component of the classical theory. In this there are four basic principles, namely, finding one best way of undertaking a task activity; matching every worker with each task activity; supervising the works of the workers and providing them with punishments or rewards and finally the main task of the management is to plan and to control. It has the advantage of being applicable in all organizational settings. However, the main disadvantage is that it is highly strict and allows least flexibility. Also it considers individual’s motivation as being the sole function of individual rewards. The contingency theory considers conflicts as being something which cannot be escaped from but it is manageable. Organizations naturally evolve to meet the needs of the strategies and adapt themselves to the changing environments. The advantage of this theory it considers that conflicts can be managed and does not try to avoid it. However, the disadvantage is that it assumes that organizations would behave in a rational manner to adapt to the changes in environment. The Systems theory is based on the foundation that all components in an organization are highly interrelated and change in one variable is bound to impact on many other variables. However, it fails to show any definite link between the variables such that a small change in a variable might bring about a huge change in another variable. The advantage of this theory is that it helps to see how an individual’s action shapes his present reality and how it is likely to shape the future too (Walonick, 1993). Task 2b. Evaluation of the organizational theories and approaches with examples The classical theory, particularly the scientific management theory has been beneficial in the computer and car manufacturing plants in the 21st century. The methods seem common and logical in the daily affairs of such organizations such that it is hard to believe that they were revolutionary 100 years back. This approach is also apparent in hospitals and restaurants too. The construction industry is an example of organizations which use contingency approach of management. Conflicts arising between the different contract companies are considered to be inevitable by-product of the normal organizational activities (Fenn & Gameson, 1992, p.64). The systems theory finds relevance in today’s information and technology sector. This is because it helps in simplifying highly complicated and complex systems such that it reduces hurdles and problems in managing the system. It provides high interrelations and collaborations between the work systems and also retains the potential of interacting with the environment adaptively (Charlton & Andras, 2003). 3. Ways of using motivational theories in organisations Task 1. Impact of leadership styles on motivation levels in organizations in periods of change During periods of change it is crucial that motivation levels of individual employees are maintained at high levels such that the change initiatives are successful. This is where the role of leaders finds immense importance in handling resistances which might generate from the workforce. Also leaders play the important role of constantly communicating employees about the change processes and maintain their participation and involvement in the same. Change processes cannot be successful without the participation and involvement of every employee. Employees can have the apprehension that they might not be able to relate with the change process leaving them insecure about their position and role in the organization. In such a situation leaders mist guide them and lead them through the change process and ensure that there is no insecurity with their new role and responsibilities. In fact it is recommended that leaders act a guiding forces and idols which employees need to follow. Also encouraging involvement of employees in presenting their views and suggestions about how the change processes could be proceeded with is an important suggestion for the leaders of organizations. Task2a. 3 motivational theories The Herzberg’s two factor theory presents two categories of conditions known as ‘motivators’ and ‘hygiene factors’ in organizations. Factors making direct contribution towards motivating people to work harder are motivators while those factors which de-motivate employees when they are absent, however do not motivate them when they are present are known as hygiene factors. Abraham Maslow hierarchy of needs presents the five levels of human needs which are psychological, safety, social, esteem and self actualization needs. He has put forth the fact that as the lower level needs is satisfied, human being gradually seeks to satisfy their higher level needs and requirements. The Expectancy theory proposed by Vroom presents that an individual behaves or acts in a particular fashion as they get motivated to adopt that specific style of behaviour over another style as they expect certain result out of the same. However, the motivation behind the selection of behaviour is determined by the desirability of the outcome. Task 2b. 3 workplace situations for the 3 motivational theories Herzberg’s two factor theory is applicable in situations in which employees or the workforce is strongly motivated by the job situations in which they have greater responsibility, feedback and also a certain amount of risk. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is more relevant in understanding human motivation and personality. This is especially suitable in managing training activities and personal development too. Lastly, the expectancy theory can be used for understanding and examining the existing relationships between employee’s attitudes, their perceptions with regards to feasibility of attaining targets as well as the rewards they are likely or hope to win resulting from his elevated performance. Task 2c. Comparison and evaluation of theories against set criteria of ‘benefits of motivational theories’ for managers According to my opinion, motivational theories must be such enhances productivity of employees such they can perform to the best of their abilities and are also satisfied with the corresponding compensation. In such a case, the Maslow’s theory is most relevant in most organizational settings. It can place each individual in the hierarchy to evaluate his needs and requirements. However, the Herzberg’s theory fails to provide reasons why a particular hygiene factor acts as a motivator in different individuals. The Expectancy also fails to answer why different individuals react in different ways with the aim of attaining the same gaol. 4. Developing effective teamwork in organizations Task 1. Review workforce in the organization with regards to group behaviours Formal groups comprises of individuals as teams, work groups, committee and task force (Mullins, 2009, p.524). BP comprises of both formal and informal groups. Formal groups are permanent in nature although there might be certain changes in the membership. Temporary formal groups are also formed by the management such as the use of project teams in BP. The members of the informal groups comprises of individuals from different parts of the organisation. The members appoint their own leaders who act as a leader with the consent of the members. Informal leader can change according to the needs of the group. Group behaviour refers to the understanding of the social and psychological influences on behaviours within an organisation. Group behaviour is uniform as compared to interpersonal behaviour which shows the individual difference. According to Allcorn, group behaviour as well as individual is a complex term and difficult to understand and manage (Mullins, 2009, p. 534). Task 2a. 4 factors to be considered for building effective teams The four factors which are considered essential for building an effective team can be categorised into four different factors. Thus the four factors which make British Petroleum members an effective team are Context, Composition, Work design and Process (Robbins, 2009, p.355). Task 2b. Contribution of 4 factors towards development of teamwork The four contextual factors of British Petroleum are adequate resources, where the teams are a part of the organisation and for every work the team relies on outside resources. Effective leadership is important for an effective team as a team can’t function without a support of the leader. Leadership is important in multi-team system. Trust is an important factor in building an effective team. And finally evaluation on performance and a reward system enhances the members of BP to work collectively and effectively. The next factor, team composition comprises of variables which shows how team must be staffed. The ability of the members along with knowledge and skills plays an important part in BP team’s performance. Personality has a great influence on behaviour of an individual. The personality traits form an important part in team building. Allocation of roles is the next factor where an employee is selected so that he can perform the various roles required in a team. It is important for mangers to understand the strength of its employees and allocate works according to their strengths. Size of the team needs to be kept small which should not exceed more than nine employees. A small team is effective and is easy to coordinate work between the employees. The work design factor of BP includes categories like freedom, skill variety, and task identity and task significance. These are the factors that improve the motivational level and thereby increase team effectiveness. They tend to increase the sense of responsibility in the members as the work gets more interesting to perform. The final factors which leads in the promotion of an effective team of BP is process variable. This factor includes commitment of the employees towards a common purpose and goal, building a team efficacy and no conflicts between the team members (Robbins, 2009, p.366). Task 2c. How the 4 factors can inhibit development of teamwork In spite of the four factors being an important source for building an effective team, these factors also hinders the team in performing at its best. In case of adequate resources, when a scarcity of resources is experienced it reduces the ability of team to perform at its best. Thus it is essential for teams to receive the necessary support if they are to perform effectively. A team cannot function properly if the members do not agree on the work that is assigned to the respective employees, thus it creates an undesired situation. When it comes to deciding upon the size of a team it has been assumed that a manager is keener in involving more number of members which is not suitable for an effective team. This can inhibit the development of a team. Task 3. Evaluation of the impact of technology on team functioning in the organization Technology has always helped a team to perform better. Some of the technologies which are improved the function of a British Petroleum teams includes emails which allows members to communicate effectively; mobile phones allows the team members to communicate even when the members are not in office. Technologies such as Blackberry and data cards allow a member to communicate even in remote places. Groupware is a technology which enables the members of British Petroleum to plan meetings and collaborate from anywhere across the world (HNC Business, 2009). Reference Charlton, B. G. & Andras, P. (2003). What is management and what do managers do? A systems theory account. [Online]. 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