Group Development Application - Essay Example

Group Development Application Paper: Introduction: The career in which I set to talk is a management role in my family’s decoration company. The decorative company is responsible for manufacturing functional objects, and this includes interior design. The company prides itself in developing high class paintings, sculptures, drawings and photography. The company specializes in the best of American, African and European art, such as ornaments, enamels and porcelains, ivory cuttings and hard stones carvings. Among the company’s clients are museums, private people, rare object collectors and private and governmental institutions such as higher schools of learning. The company has a set of catalogues, that provides a description of the various works of art it has the capacity to produce, and this catalogues depict the various works of art in ivory cuttings, the materials used to develop the pieces of art, and the decorative procedures the company will undertake in case it is hired to decorative an individual’s premises. This is a design plan on how to effectively improve the profitability of the business as a program manager. My roles in this business organization is to develop a project plan for the operations of the organization, look for the resources and direct them to the implementation of the project, and monitoring the project schedule. My other roles include, monitoring and managing the project budget, engaging with all the stakeholders of the company, and dealing with issues that arise in regard to the implementation of the project. It is also my duty to care for the various interests of the project team, and communicate the progress of the project to the senior management team (Norton, 24). As a result of these roles, paper is a plan on how to use utilization groups to increase efficiency and the profitability of the business organization. Justification: Hunt (26) observes that efficiency within a group setting is not characterized by personality, but the behavior of the individual. The problem of inefficient leadership within a utilization group is not because of insufficient skills, in fact most organization hire well educated and experienced personnel to serve as leaders in their organizations (Hunt, 43). The problems arise because of a poorly defined objectives, and roles of the organization. Leaders are selected on the basis of skills and experiences they possess, as opposed to accomplishments that are related to the task. On this note, it is important to develop a plan that will reflect the methodology of appointing group leaders in various utilization groups within the company. Necessary training is needed to familiarize them with the operations of the company, their roles and objectives, and integrating their skills for purposes of advancing the objectives of the company. In view of this, the members of their groups will act collectively, because there is a defined purpose and objective. They will make joint decisions, on matters affecting the organization, and the welfare of the group. They will develop innovative ideas that will benefit the group, and the organization as a whole. This in turn will improve the efficiency of the decorative company, because of the innovations emanating from these groups. Another justification of utilization of a group in this setting is that it will inspire a shared vision. In a wider perspective of an organization, professionals are grouped into departments, and operating units (Hunt, 32). The head of this department is practically an administrator, and his roles are to monitor the short term financial and operational objectives of the organization. The traditional administrator is seen more as a prefect, and not a leader. This is because they guard their positions with jealousies, and are not willing to cede their authority to anyone. The results of these are devastating to a business organization. The staff will work under duress, therefore limiting their effectiveness in carrying out the objectives of the business organization. In a utilization group, the leader is more of a coach and a peer, as opposed to an authority. When he functions as a coach, he will manage to acquire the respect of the group, and thus instill a shared purpose and vision. He will envision the future of the company, and of the group, and what it can achieve in case they work together. Through coaching, a leader will manage to identify and develop and retain talented employees, which is an essential element of a successful business organization. Basing on this approach, the team will manage to pool their individual efforts together for purposes of meeting the objectives of the company (Hargrove, 41). The organization will manage to effectively use the talented employees in their areas of specialty, and this will result to innovation, which is an essential element of a successful company. The group will manage to create a positive brand name for the organization, with the reputation of collective responsibility. Brand names contribute to the success of marketing the products of a company. And finally, it will create a sense of belonging to a particular group, as opposed to being a member of a large pool of professionals within an organization. Your specific plan: In developing the group, I will apply the concepts of structural theory. Structural theory differentiates between systems, structures, small groups, practices and norms that a business system uses for purposes of fulfilling its objectives. This theory views small groups, as units of an organization that produce structures and are produced by structures. On this note, it is essential for groups to follow a particular law and norm of an organization. By doing so, it is expected that the group will produce a certain outcome, which will then determine its future operations (Hargrove, 32). There must be a leader within the group, and it must not possess the characteristics of rigidity and authoritarian. Members will share responsibilities, and they will all contribute to the overall leadership of the group. The group must have structures that will enable effective communication, and provide a forum where members of the group will provide their suggestions, or dissenting views (Norton, 15). Mechanisms must also be in place to ensure members share a similar goal and objective. This is because in a group, there will be members who are there to achieve their objectives, and others who are commited to the values and objectives of the group. It is therefore essential to build a structure that will create a balance between the various conflicting objective of a group, and the ambitions of its members (Hargrove, 27). In designing the plan, it is important to factor in the methods of communication within the group. Members must openly share information, and dialogue must be a two way process, for the effective functioning of the group. The first step in forming the group is to assemble the members of the group. Factors to consider are the skills they possess, their experience and commitment to the objective of the company. The members of the unit must make decision to give up some percentage of autonomy, in exchange of meeting the objectives of the company. According to structural theory of small groups, individuals must cede some elements of freedom so that they can obey a specific rule of the organization. At this stage, the roles of various individuals must be stipulated, and responsibility assigned to various members of the group. The group must develop ways of measuring performance, and accountability of the various members of the utility group. It is at this stage that the group will elect its leader. After developing the group, the next step is to spend time with various members of the group. Spending time with the group will help in developing a sense of belonging and acceptance amongst the group members (Rothwell et al, 12). Rothwell et al further states that during this process, the project manager will know of the various skills, talents and commitments of the group members towards the fulfillment of the objective of the organization (15). It is at this stage, that a communication channel will be established between different members of the group. Finally, as a leader of the group, I will act as a coach. It will be my duty to assess the profitability of the different assignments that members of the utility group will conduct (Rothwell et al, 26). Together with the group, I will offer leadership in the methodologies to use in sharing knowledge acquired while serving clients as a group, and across the organization. As a coach, it is essential to monitor the progress of the members of the group, and point out weaknesses, and jointly consult to find a solution to the problems affecting the group (Hargrove, 17). My roles as the leader coach will emanate from the objectives of the group, and of the company. A personal reflection: In developing the plan, I realized that it is time for business organizations to move away from the old concept of an administrator in a business environment. Administrators were rigid, authoritative, and provided no room for business expansion. This in turn resulted to inefficiency in the production of goods and services of such organizations. It is therefore important to build new business models, with a leader as a coach, and not an administrator. Coaching will remove fear and in-subordination from the various members of the employees of the organization. I also learnt that commitment to a particular objective is essential for a leader to effectively carry out his functions (Norton, 31). Commitment will make a leader to follow each and every major event that the members of their group make. They will learn from mistakes and strive to improve their performance in other projects they undertake. From the task, the lesson learnt is that it is important to develop conflict resolution measures while developing a group or working as a group. This is because different members of the group have different views concerning a certain situation, and this normally results to disagreement. It is therefore important develop structures that will reconcile these different views, to make them reflect the vision and objective of the company. Works Cited: Hargrove, Robert A.. E-leader: reinventing leadership in a connected economy. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Pub., 2001. Print. Hargrove, Robert A.. The masterful coaching fieldbook: grow your business, multiply your profits, win the talent war!. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2007. Print. Hunt, James M., and Joseph R. Weintraub. The coaching manager: developing top talent in business. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2011. Print. Norton, Bob. The managers role as coach. Kansas City, Mo.: National Press Publications, 1993. Print. Rothwell, William J., Roland Sullivan, and Gary N. McLean. Practicing organization development: a guide for consultants. Amsterdam: Pfeiffer., 1995. Print. Read More