Improving Group Productivity: American marketing and Mailing Company - Assignment Example

? Improving Group Productivity: American marketing and Mailing Company and number submitted Improving Group Productivity An organization has to take into consideration the welfare of its employees for it to be in a position to achieve its objectives. In line with the changing times, many companies are trying to tie up the employees into groups to manage and correctly supervise them. There are different types of groups and teams that are in existent today in the business world. American marketing and Mailing Company has also adopted this new trend, and with satisfactory results. This term paper contains a research carried out on the American Marketing and Mailing services, which leads to a comprehensive research on the groups in the American Marketing and Mailing Services. Further, the paper summarizes the findings and comes up with recommendations that if taken into consideration will catapult this marketing firm to greater heights. The focus is on the formation of groups that have been assigned different projects in the workplace. The objective of the study is to understand how the groups function and to understand some of the shortcomings they encounter. After a comprehensive study, the findings were as follows. Role conflicts within groups Role conflict takes place when individuals are confronted with mismatched role expectations in the varying social statuses they conquer. One of the major points of conflict is the conflict that arises because of the roles each member plays in the group. Most of the roles in the groups were replicated thus they overlapped. This brought many problems in that the employees were no longer sure of their roles in the groups. If for instance, a role is supposed to be carried out by more than one person, then there was a tendency for all the players to leave that task with each hoping that the next person would carry out that task (Bannock, Baxter, & Davis, 2003). Role conflict within the group can take the form of either inter role or extra role conflict. Inter- role will happen when the conflict takes place within the context of that specific group, whereas extra role conflict might arise from the activities occasioned by one individual being involved in various groups (Losh, 2011). For instance, a computer software designer might be in more than one group playing a different role. Both groups need the designer to dedicate his time fully to that cause thus bringing about a conflict. The impact of role conflict on the overall performance of the group is that it will not achieve its set objective and most of the employees in that group will not reach their full potential (Mills, 1967). This influences the overall company performance negatively. Communication problems among group members Communication is a particularly powerful aspect in any organization. It would be very difficult for employees to produce quality services if they are not communicating. Most new employees in these organization employees find it hard to communicate with their counterparts. This is pronounced in with the junior employees or those who are newly recruited. With this kind of breakdown in communication, it becomes extremely hard to carry out any productive work. Further, the junior employees cannot communicate freely with their seniors thus, they cannot articulate their ideas and points properly. This will affect very negatively on the group’s performance since the input of the various juniors will not have been taken into consideration. The impact of this is that most members will feel unappreciated, and some might result to seeking jobs in other organizations resulting in drainage of labor and high employee turnover (Morris, 1999). The organization ends up suffering major setbacks should this happen. Lack of cohesiveness in groups with diverse members Cohesiveness refers to the degree to which a group exists or operates as a unified entity (Losh, 2011). A study into the cohesiveness of the groups in American Marketing and Mailing Services revealed that though the management has played a hugely significant role in encouraging group cohesiveness, there remains a lot to be done to guarantee that the groups operate as teams and do so in a cohesive manner. Most of the members forming the various teams were also members of other teams and had been drawn from the different fields of the organization. As such, their skills were much diversified, just like their personal characters. The manner in which these employees interact as they carry out their daily duties though is not truly good for business. This therefore, prevents the groups from achieving their maximum potential since the actions and activities being carried out in the groups are uncoordinated at most and inconsistent (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). The effect of this is that the performance of the group falls way below the expectations. Excessive conflict "Conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs values and interests between people working together" (Morris, 1999). Conflict within a group working towards a common goal is particularly healthy since it gives room for birth and growth of new ideas. As such, such conflict does not always have to end up in disputes or disagreements. This prevents in breeding and allows the group members to come up with other unique ideas. However, if this conflict is excessive, the group faces a crisis that is extremely difficult to handle. This is because the group members will always at each other trying to prove nonexistent points and generally making enemies. As a result, they will not be able to work with each other in harmony, and this cost the company big (Mills, 1967). Recommendations The recommendations that the management should put into place, to curb the shortcomings of the groups are discussed below. Each issue has been discussed individually to provide the best and the way of tackling it. Curbing role conflict within an organization To curb role conflict within the organization, the management should make sure that the various roles to be carried out are well defined. Each team members should be made aware of the part that they are required to play and who is their supervisor. The project coordinators should be able to discuss at length with the employees the roles to carry out and determine the best practice to carry out these tasks (Worchel, Wood, & Simpson, 1992). As such, each member of the groups gets a feeling of belonging and that way, they can be able to contribute fully towards the fulfillment of the set goals. Communication problems among group members This problem can have truly negative repercussions in the organization. Team players who cannot communicate with each other openly cannot be able to get anything done (Morris, 1999). Again, without proper communication, the group is rendered useless since there is no free flow of ideas, which is the essence of the whole group. The way to curb this problem is by coming up with methods to make the employees become free with each other (Worchel, Wood, & Simpson, 1992). Group outings and indulging in activities that require employees to talk to each other might go a long way in removing that communication barrier (Morris, 1999). Lack of cohesiveness A group is said to be cohesive when its members possess bonds that link them to one another and to the group as a whole (Losh, 2011). The management should strive to ensure that the groups formed are cohesive since cohesiveness is not something that can be developed spontaneously. It requires careful planning and grouping of likeminded individuals. The team leader should be a person who can bring the team together to work towards a common goal (Katzenbach & Smith, 2001). Excessive intergroup conflict Excessive conflict within any setting is a problem that can gnaw the team from inside. Each team will require some people with diverse ideas (Hunt, 1980). These people bring with them a vast of different ideas that assist the team to achieve the set objectives. However, excessive group conflict will result in more harm than good (Hunt, 1980). The management should ensure that the concepts of all group members are taken into consideration, but only the appropriate ones are put into consideration. In as much as openness and freedom are advocated for within the organization, the members should be deterred from pushing their agendas so far as to affect the courtesy of the laid protocol and in extension the respect of the seniors. Mills (1967) notes that, conflicts between people in work teams, "committees, task forces, and other organizational forms of face-to-face groups are inevitable". As mentioned earlier, these conflicts may bring either positive or negative results to the company depending on how well they are handled. Conflicts usually arise in groups due to the scarcity of freedom, position, and even resources. People who value their independence will tend to resist the need for inter-dependence and, largely, conformity within a given group. People who are after power therefore, will compete with others for positions or status within the group. Rewards and recognition will often be perceived as insufficient or improperly distributed, and members are, therefore, inclined to compete with each other for these prizes (Worchel, Wood, & Simpson, 1992). Best group practices that improve productivity Productivity at the workplace, in reference to HR Tools, refers to the reduction of time spent on daily tasks at the same time ensuring improvement in the quality of the outcome. For a business to be productive, it calls for effective management. Effective Managers have the responsibility for training employees to become more productive by using various training techniques and incentives (Losh, 2011). In order for organizational groups to be termed as effective and are significantly contributing to the productivity of the firm, a few things have to be analyzed. These things could be: Measurement of production It is not possible to evaluate something that we have not measured. When the productivity has been established, the management can be able to tell how far the group is from achieving the set standards or the target (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). It is from this point that management can start looking into the issue at hand strategically, and it is from the same point that the other root causes can also be identified. It could also be that the targets or the standards are higher than achievable. If that could be the case, then management can revive the targets. Motivation Motivation is another factor that could lead to greater productivity if it is appropriately use d for the right purpose. Many are the times that organizations would not consider the ways in which they motivate the workers but instead concentrate on what they get as an organization (Worchel, Wood, & Simpson, 1992). The management’s attention is on achieving their set targets and standards and they fail to include the employee in the gains. This is alienating the employees from the successes of the organization. Poor motivation systems have direct negative impact on group performance. The management should ensure that employees share in the increased gains. If the organization’s profits increase, for example, the employees can be rewarded in such things as salary increments (Morris, 1999). The group that performs best can also get a reward. That makes the employees feel like they are part of the organization and therefore, own its successes and failures (Hunt, 1980). Efficiency Efficiency entails meeting the organizational standards and in time. If the groups cannot accomplish the set standards on time, then the management may opt to come up with productivity improvement strategies and implement them down to the individual level (Morris, 1999). These strategies may incorporate further division of work and a greater degree specialization. This may make the employee master their tasks more and therefore, become more effective in the end. Praise An employee does not always require monetary rewards. Oral appreciation influences their self-esteem positively making them feel that their input has been recognized and appreciated (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). As a manager or the group leader, it is essential to praise the group members for jobs well done. Praising the members from time to time goes a long way to improve their morale and enables them to contribute fully to the process since they feel the part of the group. Diversity To improve the group productivity in any organization, there has to be diversity in terms of the team players in the group. When different skilled personnel have been chosen to work together on a given project, there is bound to be many new and fresh ideas that will be born (Worchel, Wood, & Simpson, 1992). If for instance, you take some software engineers and put them in one group with some HR practitioners working on a given project, the result will be satisfactory since each is a professional in their given field and will work doing what they know best. Each of the employees will work diligently on his/her part. Team size The appropriate number for team members should be ranging around seven though this figure can change depending on the role of the group. Research has shown that seven is the most appropriate number that a group can be expected to work with since than that will lead the group members to star breaking up and forming smaller groups (Katzenbach & Smith, 2001). As such, the management should be very careful in grouping the teams to ensure that the teams are as lean as possible but also efficient in their undertakings (Hunt, 1980). Creating productive workplace culture Creating productive workplace cultures - A positive interaction between staff, managers, and teams will result to future of productive work environments. A positive workplace motivates employees and helps them become committed to the organization (Katzenbach & Smith, 2001). Employees get encouraged to 'go or take the extra mile'. It is also of concern to value people's insights and experience. Their ideas can help your workplace to do things smarter and better. That means your organization will become more innovative and productive over time. Conclusion The advantages of using groups in the workplace have become highly widespread owing to the benefits that the organization stands to reap from this practice. However, there are some challenges that the organizations face and management must come up with ways of dealing with them to enhance the productivity of their employees and in extension, ensure the success of the groups. The groups promote Creativity, Teambuilding and above all, job satisfaction. The use of groups is, therefore, highly encouraged and will go a long way in ensuring the organization realize its set objectives. References Bannock, G., Baxter, R. E., & Davis, E. (2003). The Economist Dictionary of Economics. Princeton, NJ: Bloomberg Press. Dyer, W. G., & Dyer, J. H. (2013). Team Building Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance. New York: Wiley. Hunt, G. T. (1980). Communication skills in the organization. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (2001). The discipline of teams a mindbook-workbook for delivering small group performance. New York: Wiley. Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Mills, T. M. (1967). The Sociology of Small Groups. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Morris, A. (1999). Teamwork. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books. Worchel, S., Wood, W., & Simpson, J. A. (1992). Group process and productivity. Newbury Park: Sage Publications. Read More