The Efficient Work of the Organization - Assignment Example

The Efficient Work of the Organization Introduction The ability for an organization to work effectively is interdependent on various factors in the work environment. A large component that changes the ability for a business to develop and succeed is based on the team work and the leadership that is associated with the business. An example that shows this specific role is through the company of Wal – Mart. This organization carries a specific structure that demands a sense of leadership, motivation and team work. However, when looking at the individual structure from specific localities, there is a different structure that begins to form. When analyzing the personal Wal – Mart that was encountered through a past job, was also an understanding of how the leadership and individual skills, as well as the external environment, created specific changes within the team. Team Roles and Team Development The first concept that applies to the team work of the Wal – Mart comes from the individual skills, team roles and development of the team. When looking at these factors, they are most closely associated with the individual skills theory through Schein’s team working model. In this analysis, there are specific components that define how an individual works together within a team (Schein 7, 2004). The department analyzed in this Wal – Mart had 10 individuals working together in the electronics section. Each had individual responsibilities, including stocking, helping customers and checking out individuals. For the team to work effectively, there was the need to have a level of awareness first, as stated by Schein’s team working model. The awareness included an understanding of the job in which each individual carried. This also involved knowing what the other employees were doing and what was required by the customers. The more that an individual could take a personal sense of awareness, the easier it was for the work to be completed. There were some individuals that were in the team that didn’t carry this role when working their job. The result was difficulty in creating a stronger team within the area. The individual skills then led to different ways in which the personnel could work with others. Listening skills, feedback and negotiations were all included in this with daily needs. The most important individual in this specific set of skills was the manager, specifically because their awareness and information had to be given to others on the team. The manager would often go to others on the team and ask questions about improvement, change or other needs that were a part of the electronics section. After listening to the feedback, there was the ability to go to the other management and make specific changes. However, the manager that was not in the electronic section, but was in charge of specific decisions, would often not make the changes. The management was then brought into negotiations of what could or couldn’t be changed, all which was dependent on the policies that were a part of the overall business structure. The effectiveness of the individual skills was dependent specifically on the levels of communication that the employees provided to the management, which was in turn given to those who had the power to make different decisions. The team formation from this individual initiative led to the team trusting the manager, opening up communication and changing some of the small aspects that were a part of this section. Leadership The leadership roles that were combined with this were one of the weaker aspects of the Wal – Mart section that was observed. The policies and procedures that were expected from the organizational structure initially created the environment in which the leaders were expected to perform under. However, the manager that was at this Wal – Mart section was also known to have a background in leadership and management and had worked in this section for a longer period of time. The character of the manager as well as the personality provided for more levels of communication and options to open. More importantly, the leadership levels held a higher level of knowledge to help those that were in the section. When the information was given to the manager about a specific situation, there was the ability to instantly reply with what could or couldn’t be changed as well as what the main concepts were that could be applied to the situation. The manager was effective with task related problem solving as well as a sense of authority when different situations would arise. The leadership level that was used is based on the transactional versus transitional leadership theory. Under the organizational structure of Wal – Mart, there is a transactional structure that is immediately expected. This includes a sense of authority over workers as well as a bureaucratic structure that is within the organization. The structure also creates different levels of transactional leadership based on bonuses in the company. If an individual works for extra hours, for instance, then they are given extra pay, bonuses or rewards at the end of the month. Even though this is the structure of the Wal – Mart organization, the transformational leadership style follows with the manager that worked in the electronic section. The basic focus of this individual was to remain motivational and committed to the workers. There was a sense of loyalty and trust because of the open communication and the ability to work with others in the specific situation (Avolio et al, 441, 1999). The performance of this specific section is known to continuously improve because of the character of the leader, as well as the openness toward individual initiatives. Even though this creates a conflict with the transactional leadership style of the structure, it also provides room for individual initiative within the corporation. Motivation The third component that can be analyzed through the Wal – Mart section is the motivation that is a part of the corporation. There are also two types of motivation that are in this section. The first comes through the content theories and the economics that are a part of the company. Most that are in this section are motivated because of the bonuses and the extra money that is provided by the corporation as well as what is offered to those that are working. Bonuses for extra initiatives as well as for overtime are often given. Other types of bonuses are given on holidays and for extra initiatives that are taken. However, these are limited to the corporate structure and are only motivational to those workers that are interested in the monetary bonuses that are within the corporation. The needs and goals as well as the expectations are also a part of the motivation factors. Each of the workers that is working in the electronic section of Wal – Mart is motivated first by general needs, such as food and shelter. The need to take care of the family and to be sustained is the basic type of motivation that is given. The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs furthers this with goal setting that comes after the individuals are sustained at these lower levels. For instance, the need to move forward with the options in Wal – Mart and accelerating into a new level of motivation are given to help individuals to set new expectations and reach new goals. For instance, most of the individuals that are on the electronic team are looking to put in a certain amount of time and to have a good track record. These individual goals and the ability to show this information to management will allow them to move forward, possibly get a raise or to move into a management position. By doing this, there are extra possibilities for the workers that are in Wal – Mart. The individual needs then become the main motivational factor that is within the company (Ackerman et al, 3, 2003). Group Problem Solving The last component that is related to the success of the Wal – Mart observed is through the team building and group problem solving. Most that are in the company have a set level of expectations, needs and motivations for moving forward. This instantly leads them into group problem solving and into team commitment. The motivation then leads into the desire to move forward with the tasks and the processes that are within the company. The combination with the manager, who is continuously speaking with individuals and asking for feedback add into the group commitment and loyalty, as well as the levels of trust that are a part of this. There are values and expectations that each has as a part of the work environment and which is an accepted component of the group. More importantly, there is a high level of trust among the workers because of the way that the management works as well as the main motivational factors that are in the group. An example of this is when a specific problem arose with the scheduling by the manager. One of the employees was unable to work a specific shift because of a personal conflict that arose. The manager first asked everyone in the group who could work and change shifts. There were then negotiations and changes before the manager set a change among the workers. This was combined with a change in duties, specifically because the employee stated that they were going to have to sacrifice some things in order to change shifts. The ability to compromise and work with the different employees with conflicts such as this provided no complaints and allowed everyone to continue to remain motivated. More importantly, everyone felt that they could work as a part of the team without running into any conflicts with the others on the team. The performance and the commitment continued to rise because of these scenarios that are easily solved within the group. Conclusion The concepts that are applied to team leadership, motivation and which work within an organization are able to change the effectiveness of a group. When looking at the Wal – Mart electronics section that was personally observed, it can be seen that the success was reliant on individual initiative, management and trust among the team to make specific changes. This was combined with the ability to alter the way in which each individual worked within the corporate structure so more possibilities could be placed to the main work area. The result was the ability to keep the team motivated and to allow each individual to move forward with their personal and group goals as a part of the team. References Ackerman, Mark, Volkmar Pipek, Volker Wulf. 2003. Sharing Expertise: Beyond Knowledge Management. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Avolio, BJ, BM Bass, DI Jung. 1999. Re-examining the Components of Transformational and Transactional Leadership using the Multifactor Leadership. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. (72), (4). Schein, Edgar. 2004. Organizational Culture and Leadership. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Read More