Managing Interpersonal Behavior at Work - Assignment Example

Managing Interpersonal Behavior at Work (a). Problems faced by individual employees working in an international project team The organizations worldwide face a number of challenges when they decide to go the global way. This is a common problem that they face since they do not have any prior knowledge or understanding of the new territory that they will do their business from. However what best they can do is to find out and research the strengths and weaknesses of this area and hence upon getting the much needed knowledge, base their theories and strategies in a much more effective and efficient manner. The individual employees’ problems thus stand out as the most significant and defining factors in the wake of successfully understanding the international project teams that are established every now and then within the domains of the organizations. The manner in which they interact with one another is something that poses as a problematic situation for the organizational top heads and the project teams do not know what kind of employee understanding and interaction is going to make the rounds of the project teams which have been installed within the workplace. An international project team would aim to have as many diversified people within its holds as possible. However what is important here is to comprehend that their strengths must manifest in the form of results and that too in a productive capacity for the sake of the project teams which have thus been set. The interpersonal state of affairs are also significant since these outline the manner in which employees would take care of one another as well as conduct their own selves, in accordance with the codes of conduct and not to forget the ethical and moral procedures which are generally accepted the world over. Interpersonal communication skills are much needed in the times of today and to master these skills, guarantees success to an individual hands down, over his colleagues. Nearly everyone who is involved within the organizational domains should look to master it so that there are more strengths within the individual’s communication repertoire than his weaknesses so to speak. Within the interpersonal communication skills, the most important of which is the communication aspect, one needs to consider that within an organization, the communication can flow in one of three ways or in all the three directions. This means that these three directions pave the way for the ease of communication and there are as such no barriers to arise from the whole equation. The interpersonal tenet gains an even more important role within the global management of teams since diversity issues have started to surface all of a sudden. With the different third world nations getting involved more and more, the responsibility of the project managers has supplemented in exponential proportions. The need is to understand that these project teams would be able to cater to the different people within their folds and treat all of them in an equal fashion. The basic premise is to get the work done in an effective and efficient fashion and not to pose problems which have little bearing on the outcome of the project that is being taken care of. The project managers in essence appreciate the fact that the diversity mix gets the work done in a more collected form but would like to dispel the impression that the individual employees have trouble understanding one another or have linkage issues when it comes to getting the work done in a free and fair capacity. (Zwell, 2000) The individual employees must be open to a number of challenges and potential problems that can come their way every now and then and for this not to happen, they must make sure that their research is according to the market dynamics and cultural representations. The cultural differences that arise due to the various issues including the misunderstandings of the language that is commonly spoken of is something that the individual employees must take care of before they decide to venture internationally. The firms understand that they could earn so much more if they invest within different nations of the world. This could be due to their future thinking and visionary policies. However what they forget is that in the search of getting to the right people, are they missing the relevant target audiences within the present markets? This question needs to be answered so that one can have a proper perspective of the issue that is present in the current times. The motivation could be to earn as much in terms of revenue as possible or it could be in the form of having a sound base from where the organization can bring in more incentives for itself when it compares itself with the different organizations working under the same industrial zone. This could be a point which could have give enough confidence to this organization and hence raise its standards immediately, thus forcing it to reach out to newer and unexplored markets across the different world regions. Now it is up to the people who work within the domains of such organizations to remain dedicated and devoted to the cause of the project team that they are working under. This will mean that the working scenarios are drawn out in a clear cut fashion and that there are absolutely minimal issues with the formulation of strategies and tactics. What this also means is the fact that project teams must institute measures which will eventually look after the interpersonal dynamics amongst the employees and look to solve the very same in an amicable fashion. The need is to remain proactive in its approach to have all the employees on board without any interpersonal problem coming to the fore. Everyone related with business projects and their handling tries to make an effort at gaining possible new markets internationally but at a risk worth taking. No company would like to grow beyond means and afford losses be it for a single month, no matter. Trying to go global and market at the international level is one risk which has to be taken with the bosses and shareholders being very calculated as there is a potential chance of falling back to the old ways the business carried out before it went global. Problems stumbled upon by the employees at one region or at a local franchise would mean that the project team should be ready to bear losses of an unimaginable cost. More than that, the business will lose its attained respect and dignity which shareholders and owners, etc are revolving around. The big companies that are internationally managed cannot compete with everyone. They have to set their own competitors in the particular field and then go about competing with each other. The employees working within their folds are the best possible bets under such situations and thus it would be right to deduce that handling their interpersonal issues remains one of the most sought after things within the management of respective business regimes. It is a fact that one of the major issues that are faced by employees when they decide to work within the international teams is to understand the culture and language of the place they have invested their resources within. This means that the new alien land becomes a problematic equation for the people who took the decision to move to that city or region initially. Every country has its own unique set of principles and rules which need to be followed and in this case the firm which has opened up its offshore offices needs to make sure that it complies and agrees with these rules and procedures even before it decides to open these new offices. (b). Steps which the Project Manager might take to alleviate or minimize the problems Managing interpersonal dynamics is surely an art that needs to be studied in a proper manner since the same has a lot of bearing on the way in which the organizational values would shape up in the coming times. A successful project manager must be well-acquainted to the needs of the time since these needs are changing for the better or for the worse but then again every proactive move that this project manager makes is dependent a great deal on the way organizations work and form an interpersonal dynamics mode in place. Similarly, leading is quite interpersonal in nature. It is not just the project manager in an organization that is supposed to lead. It can even exist between employees. It has to do with mutual influence. All these are normally based on different theories and assumptions. Any style that is incorporated in management can be based on combination of preferences, values and beliefs. Organizational culture also plays a big role in influencing the leadership style used by management. Leadership style used by management plays a big role in affecting the success of the organization. A leader has to clearly understand the different types of leadership styles and their impacts on the organization. Good leadership always includes incorporation of all the leadership styles. Bad leadership just sticks to one style. Leadership is a very important aspect in any organization. This is because it greatly determines the success therein. There are various leadership styles that can be incorporated in overall running of an organization. It goes to show here that mastering the interpersonal skills could provide incentives to the individual in the long run. He is looked upon with a sense of esteem and regard within the relevant organizational ranks and his word is taken for certainty in all fairness which is a very positive sign for things to come in his future professional years. Mastering interpersonal communication skills is a pre-requisite for attaining a top level job within any business industry and it is half the job done if the message is sent across to the concerned parties in a very clear and lucid manner, hence the reason such individuals are hired time and again who are proven performers. There is absolutely no substitute for mastering such a cherished skill and interpersonal communication skills are only a bounty. (Frame, 2002) A project manager who has mastered such skills and who can look after the needs of the subordinates working under him knows that he is working to full effect when it comes to getting the work done in a very productive manner for the sake of the project team as well as the organization itself. Thus the project manager is one such important personality who has to take care of things from start to finish when the employees have been inducted into an international setting, with regards to the formulation of a project team. It is a fact that a project manager is the backbone of any management activity. This in essence lays the foundation for the long term success of the management regime or otherwise. What this suggests is the fact that foreseeable vision on the part of the project manager is of utmost significance within the realms of any business, management activity or task at hand. He jumps the gun on most of the occasions and predicts what will follow next. His decisions are mostly based on sound logic and he has a creative mind which gets implemented within his business decisions. He knows his craft well and makes sure that the people around him understand his management acumen. He can manage well and hence the reason that he is preferred over his colleagues for the post of the project manager. Now it is his duty that the interpersonal issues that crop up every now and so often amongst the employees are taken care of and the same are settled in a very amicable manner. (Brown, 2005) These interpersonal issues could prove to be a problematic situation for the project manager and he must make sure that all the employees are on board right from the beginning. The employees must be clearly told what is expected of them and how they will be able to deliver what is desired of them. They must be given the relevant resources so that their work manifests quality and timeliness. The need of the hour is to ensure that there are adequate arrangements on the part of the project manager to sustain growth and development, liaison amongst different project scopes and an overall unity within the ranks of the organization. The subordinates within the project manager’s domains are his real tools. He must make use of them in a way that shows in his adequate handling of the project at hand and his management skills within a broad perspective. People factor has been at the core essence of any organization mainly due to the fact that it is the ultimate resource which brings about completion of work and duties. Thus a company can move from a position of stability to one of a complete unstable stance as it acquires different means of gathering the market and its driving factors that come along with it. Within an organization, the current needs in the training regimes require the employees to get themselves acquainted with the ever changing role of Information Technology and the like within the business quarters as well as learn for their own betterment the different mechanisms through which they can make use of the business processes and management activities in a steady and quick manner. The project manager is assigned the task to prepare the training programs for the concerned staff as well as pinpoint the grey areas that need to be worked upon in a strict fashion. This means that the subordinates must align themselves with the advanced technological applications and that too in a quick way because the corporate world of present times is on the move. Thus the training needs are very much required within any project and more so the organization since the same would ensure that all the employees understand what they are doing and there are as such no hiccups within the domains of the project under discussion. He must understand how and where his resources are going to be used and who will deliver what kind of result in the wake of adversity or otherwise. There must be a balancing act before he decides to allocate resources and budgets towards his subordinates and other employees, all of whom come under the realms of the organization itself. He must be proactive in his approach to find the right mix of employees who would deliver within the expected levels of the organization and more so the project that is being discerned about. His results need to be envisaged beforehand – effective and efficient, both at the same time. This requires a great deal of tact and foreseeable ability on the project manager’s part and he must be ready to face criticism if his decisions and actions go wrong in the end. However it is the bit related with handling problems and their alleviation which holds significance within the related context of things, all said and done. Bibliography BROWN, M. (2005). The Ethical Foundation of Performance Measurement and Management. Public Management, Vol. 87 FRAME, J. Davidson. (2002). The New Project Management: Tools for an Age of Rapid Change, Complexity, and Other Business Realities. Jossey-Bass ZWELL, M. (2000). Creating a Culture of Competence. Wiley Word Count: 2,514 Read More