Leadership and Organizational Theory - Assignment Example

ID Number: Leadership Question 1. The Workplace Relations Act 1996 states that there cannot be any form of discrimination amongst employees in the workplace in terms of diversity in social backgrounds or culture. The way communication takes place in workplace is aligned with this legislation. Hence awards, appraisals, or facilities cannot be discriminated on the basis of diversity. Question 2 1. I had given my friend some suggestions in relation to a business investment. He was going to invest into a field which would not give him long term benefits and I suggested him some better ideas like real estate investment. When he analyzed my suggestion he found it to be truly productive and said that I have exceptional analytical skills. This feedback helped me to enhance my confidence level. 2. Consultative process is essential in workplace as it helps to communicate with employees and incorporate their effective ideas or opinion. This form of process also helps to encourage employees and provides a sense of ownership amongst all the team members (Schein 45). It can be stated that this mechanism eradicates the barrier between management and employees. Question 3 1. An approach that could help an organization to achieve its goals is to implement participative approach in the system. This would facilitate more contributions from employees and even enhance the degree of team work. The plan could be to set a framework of rewards to be awarded to those employees whose ideas seem to be productive for the organization. Question 4 1. The types of issues that are likely to arise are opinion conflict, low level of motivation, no such inclination towards teamwork, diverse ideas in product development and more demand for monetary rewards than to achieve common goal (Miles 34). These issues need to be resolved promptly as it can lead to massive conflict in the system and the importance of team work for achieving a common objective would be disrupted. 2. In an organization there are two factors which are given utmost importance – organizational policy and current legislation. While implementing new processes in order to resolve issues these factors need to be taken into consideration as it forms the essential guidelines for smooth flow of business operations. 3. The issues can be solved through having an open discussion where all form of team conflicts would be stated and addressed. Other form of method can be motivating team members by offering various kind of rewards based on their performance as a team. This would help to encourage employees for working collaboratively so as to achieve common goal. Question 5 1. There was a situation in my workplace where my team leader revealed all the intricacies of business and said to convey truth to clients and not to misguide them just for sales. After this incident I felt good because it made me realized that I am amidst honest people where my skills would be recognized and appreciated. 2. In my past organization my manager did not possess integrity as he was much focused towards monetary rewards. He even guided me to be aligned towards self-interest than organizational goals. It made me feel less motivated as I could observe lack of moral principles in my leaders. 3. There was a situation in my workplace where I was made in charge of a team in order to conduct promotional activities. All the team members followed my orders and came back for suggestions. This form of respect from my team motivated me to work harder and increase my level of performance. 4. I was not familiar with ad sales and when I joined an organization that was related to this field thing became more difficult for me. In this tough situation I was continuously pressurized by my team leader to deliver results and when I was not able to do so he penalized me in front of others. This in turn made me feel inferior and it greatly affected my work performance. 5. There was an incident in my college life where I was treated with empathy by my professor. I did not speak much in my college days but this professor of mine understood the major reason behind my poor performance in class. It made me feels great as there was a person who genuinely wanted to help me out to score well in exams and resolve my problems. 6. I was not treated with much of empathy in my workplace and especially by my team leader. He was interested towards high performance and threatened all the team members who were not able to meet the sales target. It made me feel low as my feelings was often misinterpreted by my leader and he never worked in collaboration with me. 7. It is essential to treat individuals with empathy, respect and integrity as it enhances their value in the system. These factors can be considered to be pillars for developing self-confidence and passion towards job or any particular task. Whether it is outside or within an organization these factors help to establish strong relationship between individuals. Question 6 1. Wen Jing needs to adopt consultative approach in her working style so that colleagues and suppliers feel that she is a part of them and this would even help to build strong bond between them. On the other hand in order to achieve confidence and trust of customers, Wen Jing needs to fulfill her commitments and deliver desired results. 2. I worked with manager who was not at all competent and it affected workplace relationships. He was not able to resolve conflicts or make instant decisions which worsen the situation. Due to his incompetency the organization lost many golden opportunities that lowered the level of effectiveness of the workplace. Question 7 1. People-centered work culture can be considered as a medium which establishes sense of ownership amongst all the team members. This culture helps to eradicate the difference between common goal and individual goal. In this culture the major aim of an organization is to provide employees with required benefits and incorporate their opinion in making valuable decision. The major advantage of this culture is that a feeling of ownership helps to encourage team members to perform well and succeed towards the common goal. It even helps to discard any form of barrier between management and team members that decreases the level of productivity. The interpersonal skills which need to be incorporated by front line managers in order to support such a culture is communicating frequently with all team members, enabling participative approach in the system, considering people to be the vital players in overall productivity and consistently rewarding and appreciating those who are able to provide innovative ideas (Martin 56). 2. Self-knowledge is important as it helps us to understand our areas of weakness and strengths. In order to adjust interpersonal style it is essential to overcome such weakness and motivate oneself towards such change. It even helps to analyze the behavioral elements which need to be eradicated so as to meet the cultural and social environment of the organization. 3. Kevin, being a front line manager needs to adjust interpersonal style so as to achieve organizational goal. There would be a severe impact if he is not able to adjust with people-centered work culture of the new organization. This is because team members might feel that he is exercising autocratic behavior which is not desirable for consistent team work. 4. It is required to adjust interpersonal skills because as it helps working together as a team. The cultural and social environment of the workplace can only be analyzed well if an individual is prepared to make necessary changes to their interpersonal style. This helps to get closer with other team members and resolve issues faster related to work. 5. There are certain steps which I can take in order to adjust interpersonal skills such as taking feedback from my manager regarding the necessary action that should be taken in particular situation. On the other hand I can even observe my fellow team members in terms of the culture they follow and their personal motives. Question 8 1. In the near future, I want to work as a Marketing Manager and there are few personal contacts in the organization and some contacts I have acquired from professional social networking site. The names are – Stephen Gomes (marketing executive- 8897045671), Mita Ray – (Marketing Head – 9001345762), Sujit Mishra (Zonal Marketing Manager – 9234554170), and Philip Gomes (Branding and Event Manager – 8013457042). 2. Networks play a vital role in building relationships as through this technique we can determine the areas of specialization of individuals. Through these networks we can effectively solve problems of one another which help in forming healthy relationships. Even in certain cases these networks enable us to identify people from our professional field that extends relationship. Question 9 1. To Nike, Date: 15th September 2014 Re: Benefits of Networking Network helps us to connect as well as re-connect with those individuals who might prove to be beneficial in our career path. For an organizational point of view these networks enable us to achieve the set goals in diverse field. It can also be stated as a ladder which helps an individual to succeed in the planned mission From Joe Williams 2. I have interviewed a person who was working with a renowned organization from past many years and during his job tenure he has built good terms with management bodies of other firm with whom they possessed work relationship. This has helped the team to grab enormous opportunities and make best utilization of such opportunities through the support of networks. Question11 1. a. During my work tenure in a multinational organization, I faced continuous difficulty while communicating with a person who acted much biased towards colleagues and peers who belonged to the same religion as him. Since mine and his backgrounds were different, multiple communication barriers raised between the two of us. b. According to me, this situation occurred because of the lack of diversity management in the company. Since the company was a multinational company, therefore, the employee groups consisted of diverse and heterogeneous people. It was necessary to create a communicative and collaborative work environment. The lack of such a work culture and environment led to this difficulty. c. It was not the fault of any particular employee. However, I think the company should have taken effective steps for diversity management and for building up communication among all levels of employees. d. The difficulty was later rectified through the conduction of diversity management programs and sessions which helped to improve the communication between me and my colleagues as well as between other employees. e. I think the difficulty could have been corrected in a more efficient manner by not only introducing the diversity training programs abut also by periodically reviewing the effectiveness of these programs. 2. It is necessary to take prompt action in resolving conflicts in the workplace so that these situations do not lead to accumulated employee unrest. 3. The written grievance complaint would be initially taken up by the grievance redress department. This would be followed by an evaluation and verification of the authenticity and validity of the grievances to be addressed. The executives from the department would discuss the matter with both the employees and come to a solution by a discussion with the panel of members of the department. Question 12 1. It would be effective to support colleagues rather than taking decision on own when the problem is complex and sufficient information is not available. This form of action is most appropriate when knowledge is less regarding a particular situation and opinions of other team members can prove to be productive for final decision. 2. The tools which can be used are open discussion which has the major advantage of focusing on major issue and disadvantage is that it leads to argument. Second tool is role play which is highly efficient as it portrays the difficulties along with solution but is often misinterpreted by team members. The last tool is initiating video conferencing with top management, this has the major benefit of being provided with most effective solution and disadvantage is often such tool cannot be implemented successfully. Question 13 1. Replacing an underperforming employee with a more efficient employee would act as a cost effective strategy of human resource management. Therefore, I agree that an underperforming employee should be replaced with a new employee rather than investing more on the former. This should be done after giving the employee a chance to improve his performance over a pre-defined period of time. Question 14 1. Information including the performance levels of employees, the trends of individual employee performances, job roles, the employee backgrounds and the expectations from the employees are critical. This can be collected from the internal data sources like employee performance reports, job descriptions and KPIs, employee background records, managers’ feedback etc. This information may be used as a feedback system for improving the performances of individual employees. The free flow of information would ensure that a standard level of transparency and clarity is maintained within the organization. 2. The concepts of trust, consistency and reliability are significant factors that affect the performances of the individual employees. These are factors that add to the overall motivation of the employees and thus, directly impact their performance levels. 3. Human resource networks are maintained in organizations to allocate available managerial resources in a fluid structure of personnel within the organization. The ability of a network to allocate the most properly skilled staffs in each department of work makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the organization as a whole (Armstrong, 260). 4. There may be a wide variety of difficulties that can emerge in a workplace. These may include lack of motivation, conflict between employees, problems in diversity acceptance, hindrances in communication and knowledge sharing etc. It is crucial to manage these difficulties because the existence of these difficulties may extensively affect the performance level and the compliance of work with the standards in the company. Project 1 As a frontline manger, I would focus on developing effective communication with all my employees. Also, I will look at the key issues like skill building, diversity management, knowledge sharing etc. and introduce suitable training modules to make the employees capable of dealing with these issues more independently and on a regular basis. Apart from this, I will also introduce an open door policy in the management system which will ensure better communication between the employees and the management and encourage them to speak to the line managers in case of any issues faced by them. This would make it easy to identify barriers of high performance in the workplace and help to resolve issues more easily and effectively. I will focus on imparting training to the employees not only with the aim of improving their performances and skills but also with the aim of supporting and guiding them and keeping them well informed about the codes of practices in the organization. These steps are essential to build up a work environment that would foster high productivity while giving adequate support to the personal development of the employees. This is also necessary to enhance the motivations of the employees and thus, improve the overall organizational performance and productivity. Project 2 Six main characteristics that can be considered to be most significant for building productive and trusting relationships with the customers, employees and suppliers are given as follows: Supportive: Being supportive as a leader or a manager is very critical for developing collaborative and cooperative relationships with the employees, customers, suppliers and all other stakeholder groups of a company. Extending support to the stakeholders would in turn assure dependability of the leaders or managers and thus help to foster the development of a win-win situation within the organization and its networks. Ethical: Being ethical is of utmost importance in the modern business world. Ethics is mandatory for ensuring sustainability of the organization. Therefore, the leader should be ethical and unbiased which would make it possible for him to evolve as a dependable and trustworthy leader. Inspiring: The leader should be inspiring because then he can create motivation among the employees to work efficiently .If a leader is inspirational he would be able to influence the followers and steer the human resource groups and the whole organization in the right direction. Flexible: An ideal leader should be stringent enough to maintain his principles. But he should also be flexible to change according to the situation. Being flexible would help the leader to take correct and relevant decisions according to the requirements of a particular situation. Approachable: Being an approachable leader would ensure that the followers are able to approach the leader without any fear or hesitance. This would enhance the communication and transparency level within the organization. Honest: Honesty is an integral part of the characteristics of a leader. Without being honest, a leader cannot make his followers trust him and take the leap of faith based on his judgment (Baron 144). Project 3 To, The Manager, 16 September 2014. Subject line: Report to the manger regarding internal conflicts and issues in the department. Respected Sir, This report is prepared to address the current performance and conflict related issues identified in our department occurring for the last 10 months. In order to address these issues effectively and reach to the root cause, I have conducted informal and formal meetings with the eight team members of our department. Also, I have talked to the individual members in a one on one basis. An external councilor has been appointed to talk directly with the employees whose performances have been affected by these incidences of conflict and commotion. Counseling programs, formal and informal discussions and conflict management sessions have been started to manage the issues prevailing in the department. The counseling activities and programs would be reviewed on a weekly basis so that the success of these actions can be monitored and measured. In case these counseling programs and interaction sessions are identified to be ineffective in solving the existing problems in the department, this matter would be escalated to the higher management and would be solved by the grievance redress departments as a formal matter between the organization and the concerned department. Works Cited Armstrong, M., A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London: Kogan Page. 2006. Print. Baron, A., Handbook of strategic human resource management. New Delhi: Jaico Publishing House. 2008. Print. Martin. John., Human Resource Management. London: SAGE. 2008. Print. Miles. Jeffrey., Management and Organizational Theory. New York: Wiley. 2013. Print. Schein. Edgar., Organizational Culture and Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 2004. Print. Read More