Relationship between Leadership Styles and Motivation of Managers - Essay Example

Topic: ORGANIZATIONS AND BEHAVIOUR Different organizations exhibit different structures with respect to how they conduct their activities. A structure that is clear to all individuals in the organization is preferred because it eliminates conflicts by indicating which part of the business does what and what all individuals’ tasks are. The most common structures include centralised, decentralised, functional, hierarchical, and divisional. The centralised structure involves the head office retaining major powers as well as responsibilities while the decentralised one incorporates a structure that spreads responsibilities among the lower level managers.1 In addition, the functional structure categorizes individuals according to the functions that they perform in the organization while the hierarchical structure identifies employees according to different levels where some levels are higher than others. The divisional structure is based on diverse divisions in the organization. Although these structures are applicable both in small and in big businesses, they are chosen according to the liking of the management. An organizational culture defines the behaviours that are exhibited by the stakeholders with respect to believing and thinking and is transmitted to subsequent generations ensuring the creation of a unique organization. The most common cultures include power, role, task, and person cultures. The organizations that adopt the power structure have control as the chief element while those that adopt a role culture split the organization according to functions where an individual does a particular role within a specific function. The task culture incorporates application of teamwork in completion of a specific task while the person culture is focused on the individuals. Based on this assessment, GreenScape Company uses the decentralized organizational culture and has fostered a task culture. This is shown by how Ong was treating the employees. The relationship between organizational culture and the structure is essential to the success of the organization. This is because the structure of the organization functions within its culture. The organizational structure helps the culture to run with adequate efficiency as well as consistency. This functions as the hallmark of a healthy organization implying that it directly determines the success and the performance of the organization. Primarily, the structure determines how the culture will be set. This implies that it would determine the responsibilities that the existing supervisors have as well as how a complaint may be passed through the ranks. These are issues that are within the structure of an organization and that are directly linked to the organization’s culture. Moreover, if the organization establishes a hierarchical structure, the most probable culture will reflect lack of freedom and any form of power. This affects the performance of the organization especially with regard to employee risk taking and even upward communication through which employees passes information and suggestions to the management. Therefore, this would yield negative results while a more decentralised structure would establish an independent, accountable, and personalised culture. This culture is free to communicate with the upper management and suggest ideas and has been given the freedom to make certain decisions on their own and power to put some of their ideas into play to encourage creativity. This would yield high performance in the organization and would create trust between the management and the employees. Such trust is similar to the one that Lita Ong had established in her organization to the point that the employees could offer to support the organization even without payment. Employees in different organizations exhibit diverse behaviours because of a myriad of reasons. One of the key reasons is the relationships that the management has managed to establish in the workplace. A relationship that is based on trust ensures that the employees are happier when dong their work and that they show job satisfaction.2 This is established by ensuring that the employees are given an opportunity to discuss any issues with the management directly and the same management takes their issues seriously. For instance, Lita Ong was so open with her employees to the point that she could give them some time off even without any urgent issues such as doctor’s appointments. To show that Ong’s employees could discuss their experiences with her, she knew the issues that they were facing personally. For instance, she knew that Adrian, one of her employees might report to work late because he had travelled to see his ailing father. This form of relationship establishes a family at work; one that would support the company unconditionally such as when they decided to work even without a month’s pay. The culture established in the organization also determines how the employees behave. This is because it determines the employees’ attitudes. A good culture ensures that the employees are happy and motivated. This boosts the energy that the employees exhibit when working. Moreover, an organization based on clarity with regard to goals, tasks that individual employees are expected to undertake is happier, and has fewer conflicts as compared to an organization whose duties are not well laid out. Other factors that may determine employees’ behaviour include family, type of communication, and personal issues. Different organizations adopt diverse leadership styles. Some of the most common leadership styles include the democratic or the participative form of leadership and the autocratic or the authoritarian style. The organizations that prefer the participative style have higher performance and the employees are happier. This is because the participative leadership style is the most effective in facilitating good relationships in the organization as well as communication.3 With respect to communication, the participative style ensures that the organization has a reliable communication channel both from the upward and from the downward perspectives. In addition, the organization takes the employees’ suggestions seriously and implements them. This motivates the employees. This style also fosters relationships between the management and the employees since the managers are constantly involved in helping the employees in completing their tasks. This not only makes task completion easier but also improves the quality since any errors that may occur are rectified immediately through the assistance of the manager. In such an organization, the employees have been given some powers to exercise their ideas. This promotes creativity and the best ideas are rewarded. Teamwork is also encouraged through this leadership style improving the performance that is exhibited by the employees.4 However, this organization is cautious when using this leadership style. This is because when it does not have adequate time to consider the employees’ input with regard to the tasks to be performed it switches to using the autocratic style. Due to the relationship that has been established in the organization, the employees understand the change of style and coordinate actions with the organization. The autocratic style is established on the idea that employees do not question any directions given. This style does also not welcome input from the employees. Although this method can be applied when the organization has a deadline to meet, when used frequently, it leads to negative outcomes and dissatisfaction in the workplace. Ong’s leadership is clearly participative as she constantly asks for and considers her employees’ ideas. Organizational theory is a practice that is central to the practice of management. This is because it functions as support through several ways such as solving problems. Specifically, organization theory studies an organization with a key aim of identifying common themes that could be used in resolving any problem that may occur in the process of managing an organization. Organization theory also supports management through establishing ways through which an organization can maximize its productivity as well as efficiency for optimal performance. For instance, it suggests possible motivational theories and how to change the employees’ attitude so as to achieve the predetermined goals. Additionally, it also encompasses ways of establishing and improving group processes such as leadership and teamwork. This is a good aspect of management since it helps the management in determining the steps that they ought to take for optimal outcomes. Role theory is also a key aspect of the organizational theory where different ways of outlining roles in the organization are determined to ensure that it experiences minimal conflict. Such ideas represent the support function performed by organizational theory to facilitate management practice. There are several management approaches used and that lead to different outcomes. These include the classical organization theory and the modern organization theory. The classical theory includes scientific approach, bureaucratic approach, and the administrative theory. The scientific approach is based on work planning to achieve standardization, simplification, specialization, and efficiency.5 This is fuelled by mutual trust between the employees and the managers. This approach has several key principles that include scientific employee selection, labour cooperation, and scientific employee training. On the other hand, bureaucratic approach incorporates democracy, rationality, stability, specialization, and structure. There is also emphasis on formal education so as to develop management skills. Administrative theory involves coordinating functions and other principles of management such as planning. Modern theories include systems approach, situational approach, and socio-technical approach. Systems approach views the organization as being a system that is dependent on other subsystems and linking processes. The socio-technical approach views the organization as a social system where interaction is necessary in order to function effectively. This is the approach that Ong is using in her organization as interaction and socializing is optimal in her organization. The situational approach views the organization as requiring a flexible environment that is dependent on the situation. The various leadership styles that can be implemented in the organization could bring different results because they encompass different aspects. Transformational leadership transforms individuals and facilitates the ability to persuade people to change, improve or to be led. It incorporates satisfying their needs and valuing them. The main characteristics in this style include idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual motivation.6 Transactional leadership aspire to achieve consistent performance, which meets agreed goals. These leaders give rewards so as to encourage performance and pass punitive actions so as to deter employees from underperforming. This style establishes a close link between rewards and goals and does not motivate the employees to achieve more than the specifications of their goals or contracts. When an organization intends to undertake changes, this is the time that it should consider the most strategic ways of motivating the employees. One of the best ways to achieve a smooth change is to ensure that the employees have a motivating goal such as promotion after the implementation of the change or pay increase. This could motivate them to work towards the change process. If the most appropriate styles are not applied, the change process could fail. Hogan’s style was appropriate but not to the right workforce. This is because the existing individuals were not ambitious since they were heading for retirement. In addition, the employees did not welcome the increase of supervision, as they always wanted to remain as independent as possible and see their supervisor as little as possible. Therefore, the leadership style that she adopted affected their motivation negatively. She used transactional leadership instead of the transformational leadership. There are also different motivational theories that the organization can adopt so as to realize specified outcome. These include Maslow hierarchy of needs, equity theory, and the cognitive evaluation theory. Maslow maintains that the lowest needs, which are psychological, should be prioritized and includes food, water and, the basic salary. The second level incorporates safety needs such as health insurance and work safety. Other stages include, in ascending order, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. The equity theory asserts that perception of a reward motivates more than the reward. This implies that an individual compares the reward with the effort. The cognitive evaluation theory explains two main systems of motivation that include intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivators are responsibilities and achievements while extrinsic incorporates payments, feedback, and promotions.7 Both the cognitive evaluation and Maslow’s theories are effective because they encompass all needs. Therefore, their application would be highly effective. Hogan used the promotion aspect of the extrinsic motivation. A motivation theory is very important to a manager. This is because they help managers in persuading employees to cooperate with the organization and accomplish certain changes. In addition, motivation theories give the managers the power to determine what they can do to motivate the employees in the organization. This is because most theories explain in details what the managers can do to accomplish what they want. Moreover, the managers get guidelines on how to treat the employees so as to accomplish a specified goal. Although motivation theories help managers in persuading employees to change or improve their own performance, it also helps the manager in improving certain aspects of the organization so as to be in line with the needs of the employees. As the manager in Fancy Footwear Company, I would apply Maslow’s theory and first discuss my intentions with the employees so that they can suggest what they would like to accomplish in spite of being close to retirement. Teams are created so as to achieve higher levels in task performance, member satisfaction, and improve viability of the team. Groups are viewed as superior to individuals with respect to accomplishment and contribution of ideas. Groups could be either formal or informal. Formal groups are designated officially to serve a specified purpose in an organization while the informal ones emerge without official designation. The leadership being exhibited by the leader of the group may determine group behaviour. For instance, social loafing may occur if the leader does not consider all contributions equally. On the other hand, social facilitation may affect performance positively if an individual is proficient on the available task. This implies that the group members need to feel needed. All groups encounter five stages in their lifecycle that include forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. With respect to Britannia Home Manufacturers, Gibson felt that he was not needed and thus his behaviour changed where he became unhappy. When he joined another group where he was needed, he became happy. The factors that promote teamwork in the organization include trust. Trust is in turn built through open communication between the involved members. Additionally, effective leadership also promotes teamwork. The leaders should be inspirational and should consider all members’ input in the same way. This would motivate all members to remain active during group discussions. On the other hand, the factors that inhibit teamwork include poor communication and leadership that is filled with favours. This discourages establishment of trust as well as good relationships between the team members. Advancement of technology in the organization may affect teamwork positively or negatively. Tasks may become easier to accomplish and individuals may find it difficult to apply the most recent equipment unless they update and maintain their own knowledge. For Britannia Home Manufacturers, technology has been a positive aspect. This is because the organization has a training department with thousands of trainers making it possible to ensure that all employees are equipped with the most appropriate knowledge concerning technology. Team functioning in this organization has benefited to the point that they do not require extensive seminars. This is because they have perfected in writing memos and even reduced the size of the annual report by 20%. Employees can use the instant messaging technologies to communicate with other employees for timely responses. In addition, application of computer technology reduces mistakes that are done by normal writing. Therefore, it improves effectiveness. Teams can also use video conferencing when doing their discussions to improve the way they communicate. Project management software can also be used to track the progress of a project, which may improve efficiency. Bibliography Almansour, Y. ‘The Relationship between Leadership Styles and Motivation of Managers Conceptual Framework’, Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce, Vol. 3 issue 1, 2012, p. 1-6. Iqbal, T. The Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational Effectiveness: Analytical Study of Selected Organizations in It Sector in Karachi. Munich, Grin Verlag, 2011. Kortmann, S. The Relationship between Organizational Structure and Organizational Ambidexterity: A Comparison between Manufacturing and Service Firms. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler, 2012. Gagné, M. The Oxford Handbook of Work Engagement, Motivation, and Self-Determination Theory. New York, Oxford University press, 2014. Netting, F. & Mary K. O. Organization Practice: A Guide to Understanding Human Service Organizations. Hoboken, Wiley, 2013. Werner, J. M, & Randy L. D. Human Resource Development. Mason, South-Western, 2012. Kane, J. & Patapan, H. Good Democratic Leadership: On Prudence and Judgment in Modern Democracies. New York, Oxford University Press, 2014. Read More