Best Practices for Working in a Virtual Team Environment - Assignment Example

Organizational behavior Introduction Organization behavior is the study and analysis of human behavior in an organizational setup.Organization behavior can be analyzed at three different levels; at the level of individuals in the organization, at the level of teams in the organization and ultimately at the level of how the organization behaves. In accordance with individuals, different literature sources indicate that individuals behave differently when acting in an organizational role as opposed to when they are acting separately from the organization. Organization behavior in this regard is the study of individual and group behavior in an organization, which influence the performance within the organization (Robbins & Judge 2007, 21, pp.115–134). Analysis of organization behavior is thus purposed to examine the human behavior in a work environment and determine the nature of the behavior in the job structure, performance, motivation, communication, as well as leadership. Organization behavior can thus be viewed through internal and external perspective to determine the resultant impact on the behavior of the employees in an organization. In accordance with the internal perspective theory of assessing organization behavior, the theory holds that the behavior of an employee is primarily based on the employee’s personal feelings, interactions, experiences and thought. On the other hand, the external perspective theory of assessing the organization behavior holds that the external environment of the employees has a significant control of the nature with which the employees behave in an organization. Organizational culture Organizational culture is the behaviors and values that contribute to the unique psychological and social environment of an organization. The culture of an organization in cooperates aspects like the expectation of the organization, values and philosophy of the organization, and the experience of the labor force in the organization. The culture of an organization is thus expressed in its self-image, interaction with the outside world and the future expectations of the organization. Organizational culture is equally referred to as cooperate culture and is shown: in the manner with which the organization conducts its business; treats the customers, the employees, and the social surrounding. Organizational culture is equally manifested in the extent to which freedom of decision-making is allowed in the firm as well as how power and flow of information are managed within an organization. Additionally the level of commitment of the employees in the achievement of the objectives of the organization is a crucial determinant of the culture of the organization (Sun 2008, pp. 137). Culture at Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd Based on the presentation of the case study, Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd is well endowed with the labor force of 17 employees who are well suited to work in the company. Basing on the leadership structure of the organization, the top management that is the owner of the company has little interaction with the employees of the organization, thus affecting the flow of information and communication. This scenario leads to the development of grapevine information that affects the performance of the employees in the organization. The organization operates in the absence of written rules that regulate the conduct and performance of the employees. This makes the employees be oblivious of their expected performance standards. An absence of written rules and regulations in the organization as noted by Sam (the general manager) affects the conduct of the employees resulting to numerous incidences of absenteeism in the organization. Additionally, an absence of written policies governing the operations and job specifications in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd results to idleness in the company. This would ultimately contribute to the position of negative attitude by employees in the organization thus engaging in secondary activities other than those geared towards the achievement of the goals and objectives of the organization. The high employee turnover and demotivation in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd is directly related to the culture the company adopts. Lack of motivation in the employees is evident in the public relationship between the employees and the customers. The general manager of the organization notes that the employees have poor communication methods with the customers making the company lose some customers due to inappropriate service delivery. Time management in relation to the culture of Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd is poor in respect to standards. The employees in the organization have no sense of urgency that results in massive losses of time and money to the company. Delays in procurement and lack of follow up by the responsible employees are one of the major indications of lack of appropriate time management policies in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd. Nevertheless, despite the discord in the company in times of time management and motivation, the employees in the company have a sense of unity that makes it easy for them to work together as a team. However, for effective management of the teams within the organization, communication structure must be aligned to in cooperate team spirit within the organization. The laxity in the organization in terms of human resource management results in dissatisfaction in the job. In the warehouse department, the request for resignation of the job by some of the employees indicates the lack of job satisfaction. Lack of job satisfaction is orchestrated by lack of development opportunity for the employees. In a well-organized company, the employees should be presented with opportunities for development and promotion, a move that is non-existence in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd. Another of the striking culture in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd is the lack of competition with other companies trading in the same line of business. This is evident through the lack of specialization and setting of targets for production by the employees. The company does not engage in performance appraisal and assessment of the performance standards, which makes it lack the indicators of competition with other external companies. Lack of competition in an organization is one factor that results to laxity of the employees and demotivation that resulting to decline in the performance of the company. Types of organization culture Hierarchical (control) culture Organizations operating under hierarchical culture share similarity with large burocratic organizations. These organizations are defined by stability, control, and internal focus as well as integration. Hierarchical organizations value standards have a well-defined structure of authority that is viable in decision-making and has a well-defined structure making information and communication flow easier. Hierarchical organization culture can operate best with the influence of an effective leader who can control, coordinate and plan the operations of the company (Übius & Alas 2009, pp.90–99). Hierarchical culture is one that can be applied in the control of the operations in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd. Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd lacks a well-defined control structure making the employees non-responsible for a particular duty in the company. Creation of the supervisor position in each department would be a viable idea to structure a leadership control. This will enable the employees to receiving information and adequate communication regarding the operations of the company as well as a channel for addressing their grievances. Development of hierarchical culture in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd would necessitate the management of the organization to identify potential leaders in each department who will be able to influence their staff through control and coordination of the duties in each department. Application of hierarchical culture in the company can thus result in the increased performance in different departments of the company. Market (compete) culture This organizational culture has a similarity with the hierarchical culture as it equally values control and stability of the organization. Nevertheless, the company values an external orientation as opposed to an inward focus that hierarchical organizations operate under. Organizations operating under a market culture value differentiation over integration. A business operating in a competitive culture is one that is focused on the external environment and is motivated and challenged by other organizations trading in the same line of trade. Thus to keep to the market standards, these businesses must adopt a competitive nature where employees are aligned with the competitive environment and motivated by the achievement of the desired production level (Tharp 2009, pp.1–6). Application of market culture in the operations at Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd would necessitate a focus on the stability of the company. Through analysis of the external environment, the company will be forced to identify the potential competitors in the market and develop objectives and standards of the company with an intention of maintaining a competitive edge in the market. Through adoption of this culture, the employees would be trained and developed in the company to embrace competition among different departments in order to achieve a unified result that would be able to compete with other farms. Since market culture focuses more on the external environment, customers of the organization are crucial components of the external environment that the company will have to strive to attract and maintain. Maintenance of the customers will necessitate the creation of the customer relation department and the customer care department who will be able to answer the questions of the customers and provide solutions to their needs thus helping to form a loyal base of customers’ responsible for maintenance of competition with other external companies. Clan (collaborate) culture This is a business culture that is similar to control culture in that the focus of the business is in its internal environment. Clan culture emphasizes flexibility and discretion as opposed to stability and control. Clan companies have a team-cantered approach thus cooperating and teamwork is an essential tool for the success of these companies. The teams in the organization operate as families thus members of each team feel a sense of belonging and appreciation. Clan culture in an organization helps in the creation of motivation through specialization thus increases productivity in the organization. The teams in this structure work in a semi- autonomous system where the supervisors of the team have the power to hire and fire the members of the team. Additionally, an effectiveness of clan culture is as a result of the humane working environment that is developed in the teams (Tharp 2009, pp.1–6). Application of clan culture in the operations at Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd would result in the formation of teams in the company. Teams will be formed in each department, and the teams will be encouraged to compete. Team managers will be given a semi-autonomous powers to coordinate and control the activities that are conducted in the teams. Cooperating in a team environment will help in the creation of cooperation and adequate communication among team members thus resulting to job satisfaction. Team working in an organization Team working is the process of collaborating with a group of people in order to achieve a common goal. Teamwork is a crucial component of a business operation as it is often necessary for colleagues within an organization to come together for the achievement of the organizational goals. Team working draws on the individual skills, expertise, and ability and coordinates them together in the achievement of a unified goal that would have been more difficult to achieve when employees are working as individuals. According to the cases study analyzed in this paper, achievement of success at Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd would necessitate embracement of teamwork. Teamwork in the company would encourage motivation and commitment of the employees, as they will be responsible for a team whose success would demand the cooperation and collaboration of all members of the team. Teamwork in the organization would thus limit the instances of job dissatisfaction, as brainstorming within the teams would help in identification of potential areas for employee development. According to Belbin team theory, there are nine types of roles within a team that members of the team find themselves occupying and sub-rolling in others. The nine roles in a team identifies coordinator; shaper; plant; monitor/evaluator; implementer; resource investigator; team worker; complete finisher and specialist. A team, which is performing at its best will equip members of the team with a clear responsibility thus ensuring every need of the team is met. Nevertheless, despite the presence of clear responsibility, a team will fall short of its potential necessitating room for employee development within a team (Boule 2008, 44, pp.28–31). According to Bruce Tuckman, forming – storming – norming – performing model are integral steps in the formation of a team. The phases in team formation are inevitable for the growth of the team. In the forming, the team meets and analyzes the opportunities and challenges. At storming phase, the team members become tolerant towards each other and learn to coordinate their efforts while in norming stage, the team members take their individual responsibilities that will be coordinated for the benefit of the team. At the stage of performing, the team members are knowledgeable and competent thus work at their maximum potential for the wellbeing of the team. Bruce Tuckman’s model can be applied in the coordination of a team in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd for the success of the newly formed team in the company ( Bamford & Griffin 2008, pp.215–237). Communication in an organization Communication is the art of relying on the important information in an organization. Effective communication is one that allows the transmission of information in a factual manner free from prejudice and errors. For effective information, it must be timely and directed towards the intended recipients. Effective communication in an organization is a crucial aspect in necessitating the performance of the significant managerial duties of planning, organizing, controlling, staffing and directing. Communication can be separated into two kinds in relation to the direction of the communication. There is the upward communication and the downwards communication, all which are important for the wellbeing of the organization. Downward communication is a kind that flows from the superior to the subordinates. These are meant to align the operations of the company for the achievement of the objectives of the organization. The upwards communication is one that flows from the subordinates to the superior, and it is a way of feedback and a channel for the employees to present their grievances (Oberg & Walgenbach 2008, 24, pp.183–198). In relation to Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd, the management of the company needs to develop a well elaborate communication system that will coordinate the employees’ performance and help in minimizing the grapevine communication in the company. Employees communicate to each other in an informal manner in the company that results in ambiguity and tension in the company that is responsible for the underperformance in Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd. Conclusion Organization behavior is critical for the performance of the organization. A company that is structured in a way that it encourages positive cultures and employee behaviour would in most instances have a high success rates in comparison to their counterparts who do not have a well-defined culture and organization behavior. Basing on the theories of organization formation and teamwork by Bruce Tuckman, it is recommended that a company, as Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd should set a well-defined organization culture and behavior that will be responsible for motivation of the employees, encourage competition, positive customer relation and develop job satisfaction among the employees of the company. Operating is a clearly structured culture would ultimately result in the success of Tilbury Building Supplies Co Ltd (Robbins & Judge 2007, 21, pp.115–134). References Bamford, D. & Griffin, Michael, 2008. A case study into operational team-working within a UK hospital. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 28, pp.215–237. Boule, M., 2008. Chapter 5: Best Practices for Working in a Virtual Team Environment. Library Technology Reports, 44, pp.28–31. Oberg, A. & Walgenbach, P., 2008. Hierarchical structures of communication in a network organization. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 24, pp.183–198. Robbins, S.P. & Judge, T. a, 2007. Organizational Behavior. Source, 21, pp.115–134. Sun, S., 2008. Organizational Culture and Its Themes. International Journal of Business and Management, 3, p.P137. Tharp, B.M., 2009. Four organizational culture types. Culture, pp.1–6. Übius, Ü. & Alas, R., 2009. Organizational Culture Types as Predictors of Corporate Social Responsibility. Engineering, 1, pp.90–99. Read More