Management and Organizational Behavior: Improving the Performance - Research Paper Example

Introduction Organizational behaviour is the study of how people behave their attitudes and performance in an organization or work setting. It is the process of understanding principles that govern an individual attitudes, perceptions, learning and motivational capabilities as well as interrelationships that exist in work places. It also involves analysing the environmental effects on workers behaviour. Productivity of an organization is dependent on human behaviour (Saiyadain, 2006). Behaviour also determines whether workers are satisfied with their jobs or not and whether they prefer individual work or team work. Organizational behaviour also studies the management principles which are important for an organisation to prosper. These principles include formal and informal structures and patterns of people, processes and activities, communication, decision making, organizational change, planning and control. It also determines the power and politics within an organisation such as leader’s ability to influence workers. Organizational behaviour is important as it helps to understand and develop organisation culture which is important for achievement of business objectives. It also helps to understand the elements of organisation system that may be influenced by behaviour of workers. There are various factors that affect behaviour such as ability and skills, leadership, rewards and punishment, job design, communication channels, background of an individual among others. Team work involves two or more people who interact with each other in such a manner that performance of an individual is influenced by performance of other members. These members have some common characteristics that bind them like values, lifestyle work requirements and objectives (Sherriton & stern, 1996). A leader is a person who has ability to guide others. They can be dictators or democrats. Leadership affects employee performance. This paper is a critique of how an organization can increase quality of leadership and improve team work success. Leadership Leadership is the process of management which binds a group of people together and motivates them towards group objectives. Leadership is determined by culture of an organization. Managers need to value their employees and other stakeholders in order to be successful. An effective leader makes team work successful and makes workers to have high morale and improve their performance. A leader coordinates group activities, settles disputes and provides a role model in behaviour. He/ she also give reward and punishment, anticipates and predicts behaviour of workers so as to be able to control them. According to Burke & Cooper (2006), an ineffective leader leads to workers dissatisfaction, low commitment and poor performance. There are several models of organizations. The autocratic model is where managers believe in power and authority. Employees are supposed to obey orders and their aim is to satisfy their subsistence needs hence little performance. The custodial model is money oriented. Managers believe in use of economic resources and the employees care about job security and benefits. In the supportive model, managers are supportive and the employees care about job performance and participation. They aim at gaining status and recognition hence they are very motivated. The collegial model is the one most preferred. Managers believe in partnership and hence advocate for team work. Employees on the other hand, believe in responsibility and discipline so as to acquire self actualization and thus they are very enthusiastic. Napp pharmaceutical is an example of the most successful companies in U.K. This success can only be attributed to the good leadership skills of the managers that influence worker performance. It gives employees first priority and considers them as assets. There are various factors that can help to improve the quality of leadership in any organization and hence enhance overall performance of workers and consequently the organization. Communication Communication is very essential in any work setting. It determines how decisions are made and implemented. It can also be used to motivate workers so as to achieve the set objectives. Communication depends on organisation structure and styles of leadership. Bureaucratic structures tend to hinder communication within an organisation. Leaders do not interact with employees instead; they give instructions through middle managers or supervisors hence downward communication (Neldaspinks & Wells, 1995). Napp pharmaceuticals encourages bottom up culture of communication and this helps to motivate workers. Employees in this organisation mingle with management and participate in discussions and give opinion on different issues which are incorporated in decision making hence creating a positive culture. The management is very committed to employees and other stake holders and communication is in all directions. This creates a friendly working environment and gives workers opportunity to change behaviour and progress. Effective communication between managers and employees enables them to identify problems and solve them according to individual or group needs (Salas et al. 2001). It also enhances team work which is essential in achieving success. Managers are also able to retain workers hence reduced recruitment cost and improved financial performance. Employees are also able to air their grievances directly to management thus reducing stress which is not good for performance. A good leader therefore should remove bureaucracy and encourage a dynamic culture where communication is in all directions and employees participate in decision making. Delegation Good quality leadership involves delegating power and responsibilities to junior staff. The autocratic leaders believe in power and authority which is not good for the performance of an organization. Napp pharmaceuticals believe in discussions with staff and delegation of responsibility. A Leader should be able to trust his workers if a good working environment is to be achieved. Delegation makes workers feel accountable and trusted with business activities and hence they work towards job performance and participation (Hersey et. al. 2001). Delegation thus results to individual growth, job satisfaction, self- actualisation and motivation. When employees are satisfied, their performance improves and they also feel secure hence turnover is reduced. Rate of absenteeism is also reduced and employee productivity improves. Delegation helps leaders to build strong and successful team of workers and also helps to reduce stress related to workload and hence reduce stress related problems. It also enables employees to develop skills which are essential for the success of the organization. After delegation, a leader should offer support to the staff and allow them to do the job in their own way to ensure efficiency. A good leader should also give recognition to workers whom he/she has delegated responsibility if they perform well so as to motivate them. Burke & Cooper (2006) notes that for a leader to be successful, he should decide which tasks to delegate and the right individuals to delegate the tasks to. By doing so, he/she will improve quality of leadership as he/ she will have time to perform other important tasks which require attention. Vision A good quality leader should have a vision for his organization which he should communicate to employees. A vision statement is a forecast or an ambition to achieve some goal in future even though there are uncertainties ahead. It shows the type of leadership one expects to be identified with. Napp pharmaceuticals vision is “to have a direct procurement team within procurement and implement it successfully”. Vision statement gives direction to workers of what is expected. A good leader sets a vision with a time line so that the goals set can be achieved within that time and to motivate employees to work towards overcoming challenges and achieve goals within the set time. If no time is set, then the workers would not work hard to achieve it since they don’t know when results are expected. Vision statement helps a leader to make decisions easily. Since the goal is set, a leader can then make day to day decisions directed towards achieving the vision. A vision shows a leader’s capabilities. A good quality leader sets high aspirations so as to motivate employees even though there are technological changes. Daniels (1989) observes that without a vision, organizational growth and goals cannot be achieved therefore it is essential for a quality leader to develop a vision statement. Conduct A leader is a role model in an organisation and therefore should exercise good conduct. A leader should be a person of high integrity and honesty so as to achieve trust from followers (Bowers et. al. 2001). He/she should be well controlled emotionally. This will make followers not to fear him/her hence creating a good working environment. The followers will be able to approach the leader to discuss any issue without fear of intimidation hence they are motivated. Followers are also able to predict the reaction of the leader in different situations. When followers have trust in the leader, they develop confidence in him and work towards achieving set goals. A well behaved leader is an inspiration to workers. Risk Taking Attitude A good quality leader must encourage workers to undertake risky decisions even after failing continuously (Mullins, 2007). A leader should portray confidence even when there are uncertainties as it gives reassurance and sense of security to workers. Napp pharmaceuticals did not retrench workers even when there was global crisis and this motivated them to work harder towards achieving set company goals. A leader should be able to find ways of preparing for uncertainties such as by encouraging employees when times are bad or applying other measures such as reducing benefits instead of retrenchment. The workers will hence gain confidence as they are assured of job security hence improved productivity and performance. Creativity Creativity is an essential quality of a good leader. As a consultant, I would advice the company to encourage leader’s creativity. The leader should be knowledgeable and an innovator. He/she should not wait to be told what to do but should do what he/she thinks is right and will enhance company performance. A creative leader instils confidence amongst workers as they are sure of what they are doing. He/she also inspires workers to be creative and trains them new methods hence individual growth and development. A creative leader is able to identify problems early and solve them thus enhancing efficiency and worker productivity since their stress levels are reduced. A leader should also be an analytical thinker (Plsek, 1997). He/she should be able to simplify followers’ activities by determining the intended and unintended results and acting accordingly or breaking goals into smaller units to enable workers to achieve goals easily. Team work It is an organizational system of two or more people who are interrelated and perform some functions according to set rules which help to regulate the functioning of the system towards achieving a mission. The behaviour of an individual in a team is influenced by behaviour of other members. They are bound together by attitudes, values, common objectives and work requirements among others (Stewart et. al. 1998). They can be formal groupings or informal. Formal groups are designed by management and control of behaviour is done by reward and punishment. An informal group is designed by employees according to their objectives and is controlled through satisfaction of individual needs and are less dependent on leaders. The aim of team work is to achieve business objectives and improve profitability. Napp pharmaceutical is one of the organizations which encourage team work. To motivate and inspire team cohesion, it organizes fun challenge for departments. It also gives rewards to those who work hard. There are various factors that enhance the success of team work as explained below. Clear Expectations For a group to succeed, it must have a clear cut objective to achieve. The management should therefore clearly define its expectations of the group so that performance can be assessed based on the achievement of the expectation. The management should also state the purpose of the team and give it support in terms of qualified personnel, finance and ample time among others (Heathfield, 2010). When a group has clear expectations, all the members will be committed towards achieving the result hence their morale is boosted. To improve team work success, the leaders or management should reward and recognize the achievers so that they can continue working hard as a group to improve business results. Commitment Heathfield (2010) emphasizes the need for team commitment to achieve the set team goals. For members to have commitment in a team, the management should allow them to participate in a team of their choice. The management can also allow them to set their own goals so that they can have a sense of belonging and responsibility. The importance of the team mission should also be explained so that the members can see its seriousness towards enhancing company performance hence become more committed. Other factors that trigger commitment are; a sense of individual growth, recognition and reward for success. Competence Team work success can only be achieved if the members have the knowledge and skills required to perform the assigned task (Salas et.al. 2001). The management therefore should ensure that the right individuals are selected in the team. Management should also provide the resources needed to accomplish the task. Members can also be trained to acquire the skills needed so that they can fit in the team. If this is achieved, the management is assured of the team success and fulfilment of its objectives as well as job satisfaction for workers. Charter The work of a team is to perform a certain task in order to achieve the objectives set by the management for the success of the whole company. These goals are diverse and hence the team needs to formulate its own mission and vision. The team leader should communicate the vision and mission to the members and define a timeline within which to achieve them. This will give the group a sense of direction and confidence in the process. The team members should cooperate in order to achieve good results (Stewart et. al. 1998). There are bound to be conflicts between members as their views are diverse. The team should develop a code of conduct for members which will help to settle disputes amicably. The management on the other hand, should support the team in every way possible so as to accomplish its mission. Conclusion Organizational behaviour is a very important concept in any organization. It helps managers to understand the reasons why individuals or groups in an organization behave in a certain way and to interprete the behaviour. Managers are also able to predict the behaviour of their workers and hence are able to control workers. Organizational behaviour is also important to managers in developing organization culture which is important for achievement of business objectives. It is also important in understanding the various factors internal or external that influence workers behaviour. By use of behaviour, leaders can know which type of leadership style to use; whether autocratic, democratic or laissez-faire. They can also be able to detect ways of influencing various groups of people towards achieving company objectives. This can be in way of rewards and punishment, fulfilment of individual needs, motivation among others. Building successful work teams is the goal of every organization. This can be achieved by understanding workers behaviour and hence know how to group them. References Burke, R., Cooper, C. 2006. Inspiring Leaders. New York, Routledge. Daniels, J. 1989. Performance Management: Improving Quality and Productivity Through Positive Reinforcement. Performance management publications. Heathfield, S. 4 Mar 2010. Twelve Tips for Team Building: How To Build Successful Work Teams.About.com. 6 Mar 2010. Hersey, P., Blanchard, H. and Johnson, D. 2001. Management of Organizational Behaviour: Leading in Human Resources. 8 ed. England, Prentice Hall. Mullins, L. 2007. Management and Organizational Behaviour. 8 ed. England, Prentice Hall. Neldaspinks, Wells, B. 1995. Quality Communication: A Key To Quality Leadership. Training for Quality Journal. Vol. 3, 2 pp.14-19. Plsek, P. 1997. Creativity, Innovation and Quality. Chicago, Irwin professional publishers. Saiyadain, M. 2006. Organizational Behaviour. India, Tata McGraw Hill. Salas, E., Bowers, C.,Edens,E. ed. 2001. Improving Team Work in Organization: Application of Resource Management Training. India, Crc press. Sherriton, J and Stern, J. 1996. Corporate Culture/ Team Culture: Removing the Hidden Barriers to Team Success. USA, Amacom. Stewart, G., Manz, C and Sims, H. 1998. Team Work and Group Dynamics. New York, Wiley. Read More