Effective Leadership - Literature review Example

Team Work and Decision Making Name: Institution: Introduction This paper sets out to analyze two core topics that have been covered in this unit and they are effective teams in the workplace and decision making in the organization. In doing so there will be a discussion of how one would expect the organization to be managed based on the relevant theory or textbook suggestions and how the information is appropriate to the organization. This will later be followed by an analysis of how the organization is actually managed and note the differences that exist form the theoretical expectations. The last section will be a recommendation section for the organization. This information will be presented in form of tables one that will deal with team work and the other one will deal with decision making. The organization to be used in this case will be Qantas airlines. Effective teams in the workplace Expected Actual Difference Recommendations Effective leadership Carr (1992) is the opinion that team leaders are not supposed to control or direct what should be done instead they should act as mentors and coaches. With effective leadership the teams tend to achieve better results as compared to team which lacks effective leadership. Thus organization ought to ensure that they have effective leadership in the teams that are available in the organization. Qantas has effective leadership No difference The organization need to continue with the effective leadership that is currently in place. Through effective leadership it will seem easier to achieve the goals that have been set and also within the required time limit. Clear goals Carr (1992) states that goals need to be specific so as to offer direction to the team. In regard to this, in the aim of raising the market share by about ten percent in over a given period of time more guidance ought to be offered on how to achieve that. Thus a goal ought to state the ends rather than only the means. This in return offers the team with the right to work out the best way in which they can achieve the goals. Associated with the provision of clear goals is the creation of meaningful as well as acceptable performance measures so as to ensure that the team members feel confident with their own achievement. The organization have clear goals Their exist no difference The team leaders should ensure that team member do not lose track of what they want and they should uphold the adherence to the set goals and the ways that have been set to achieve the stated goals. The team leader should also ensure that there is a continued review of the goals and the how they will be achieved. This will ensure that that the employees will always work in the aim of achieving the goals and also within the required time limit. Effective teamwork Kreitner and Kiniciki (2008) report research which proved that cooperation seems to be superior when it comes to matters relating to competition in the aim of promoting productivity as well as achievement. Thus it is expected that organization need to uphold effective team work for so as to uphold achievement and productivity. The management at Qantas upholds cooperation in team that has been formed by their employees. For example the team work that was manifested by the pilots saved the day for the Qantas super sized airliner (Lowy 2010) subsequent to the engine explosion. There is not any different between the expected and the actual. Based on the actual and the expected, the organization should aim at upholding the teamwork that is currently in place in the organization. This will ensure that they are able to deal with calamities when they happen and at a faster rate. Creativity Wong and Lee (2000) asserts that in various studies that tend to link productivity and creativity, the most creative organizations were found to be those that allowed their employees to clown around the most and at the same time encouraged joking and laughter in the organization. Thus the social life in the organization is enjoyable for all the employees. This aspect is highly upheld in the organization. There exist no difference between the expected and the actual. Based on the fact that the company deals with a great number of customers creativity seems to be a core value that they should uphold. Creativity will also tend to attract a greater number of customers since most customers are more attracted to get services from companies which are creative and which tend to offer new and improved level of services for them. Effective control Bartol, Martin , Tein and Matthews (2001) urges that in the aim of achieving effective premeditated control, and most precisely in Qantas, the managers need to focus time frames for example the annual reports, semi-annual reports as well as the quarterly reports. . Managers at Qantas focus of some specific time frames so as to ensure that the organization is on the right track. No difference exists Ensure that the company continues with the effective control that is currently available in the organization. The company should also continue with the focus they place on specific time frames in the aim of checking whether the results are been achieved and within the required time limit. Decision Making in Organizations According to Walter, Kellermanns and Lechner (2012), decision making in organizations influence the “planning, Organization, Staffing, directing, Coordinating and controlling” of the organization. Conflict resolution in organization depends on the decision making style adopted in the organization. In this section some principle of good decision making is examined and a comparison between theory and practice in Qantas is done. Expected Actual Difference Recommendations Division of Work Principle one is concerned with the division of work in the organization. According to Walter, Kellermanns and Lechner (2012), the decision to divide work in an organization should be based on the individual’s suitability to perform a task exceptionally well. Qantas recognizes the talent of their workers and the decision to assign workers to various tasks is based on an assessment of capability of worker at the time of joining the airline. Most, importantly Qantas places the most suitable workers in the position that most fit according to how they have performed for the firm beforehand. There is no gap between the decisions practice of division of work and what the t Qantas should continue looking for the best fit in their recruitment and employee promotion policies. Clear goals Principle two is concerned with how authority to make decision is spread throughout the organization. According to Sandabakken (2006) organization should decentralize power and spread it into the lower ranks of the organization. As a result workers feel more responsible for the success of the firm. Thus, firms that spread power across all levels of the organization perform better than those who have decentralized power At Qantas the development of decentralization is still slow and most decisions are still made from the top. There is a huge gap between Qantas centralization of decision making and what is expected of the best organization in HRM Qantas should make sure that every decision that concerns the a workers task is made by the worker or made as low as possible in the organization Discipline is a principle of decision making that is concerned with obedience to Authority. According to Senge (2006), discipline also involves punishing people who have contravened the organizations rules and regulation. Note that for any organization to go forward employees must be disciplined enough to stick to the decisions made in the higher hierarchy of the organization. At Qantas disciplinary problems arise from time to time mainly due to workers wage disputes. On several occasion the Airline has had to ground its fleet due to strikes Qantas has failed to address the need of its workforce Qantas should agree to give their workers’ salaries that are in the range of the best in the industry. Removal of redundancy According to Senge (2006), each employee in an organization should report to one Boss, who communicates all the decisions to the particular employee. In some organization it is not clear who is responsible for making a decision. Consequently it becomes redundant for two separate managers to work on one solution. It is especially hard when two conflicting decisions are handed down to the line people it becomes difficult to implement. In Qantas decision making is highly centralized and redundancy of decisions is rare Qantas has avoided this problem of redundant decision making Qantas should define a clear authority for making decisions in their organization. Unity of direction. According to Sethi and Seth (2009), people who are involved in making the same decision should have the same goal of coming up with the best solution. Currently, Qantas is committed to provision of high quality customer service. However, there every decision do not reflects their commitment to this goal The decision to remain hierarchical shows that Qantas is somewhat not committed to realizing the best customer service Qantas should allow it line employees and manager to make more decisions regarding their everyday work. According to Bangari (2006), while a worker is making decisions on behalf of the company they must insubordinate their own interest to serve the firm The Qantas code of conduct makes sure that employee who deals with customers personal details do not use this information for other purposes. The code only covers aspects of decision making involving personal data while leaving out other areas where there might be conflict of interest between the decision makers’ interest and that of the company. Qantas should come up with training programs that ensure their workers adhere to acceptable ethical conduct. Inclusiveness or divergence According Walter, Kellermanns and Lechner (2012), for a decision to be abided with it must include the views of diverse individuals within the organization as far as possible Decision making at Qantas to large extents is based on the views of the top executives and does not reflect the divergence of views among the lower ranking employees of the organization Before making decisions at Qantas should seek the input of the largest possible number of employees. Consequently, the success an implementation is greatly enhanced by a more inclusive approach in the formulation of a solution. Equity refers to treatment of employees fairly. According Hopkins and Weathington (2006) decision made in an organization must be just and kind to ensure the morale of workers remain high Qantas has recently sacked a portion of its employees in efforts to restructure its operations Retrenchment of employees is a blow to worker morale who keeps guessing when their time from retrenchment will come. Qantas should seek other ways of restructuring its operation instead of using retrenchments. References Bangari, R 2006, Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations/Bad Leadership: What it Is, How it Happens, Why it Matters/Managerial Ethics: Dilemmas and Ethical Decision Making, IIMB Management Review (Indian Institute Of Management Bangalore), vol 18, no 2, pp. 211-213. Bartol, K Martin, D Tein, M and Matthews, G 2001, Management: A Pacific Rim focus. Roseville, NSW: McGraw-Hill Australia. Carr, C 1992, ‘Planning Priorities for Empowered Teams’, Journal of Business Strategy, 13 (5), p. 43-47. Hopkins, S, & Weathington, B 2006, The Relationships Between Justice Perceptions, Trust, and Employee Attitudes in a Downsized Organization, Journal Of Psychology, vol 140, no 5, pp. 477-498. Kinicki, A. & Kreitner, R 2008, Organizational Behavior: key concepts, skills & best practices, Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Lowy, J 2010, Pilots' teamwork saves the day for Qantas super-sized airliner after engine explosion Available at [Accessed 10 October 2 Senge, PM 2006, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization, Random House Business Books, London Sandbakken, DG 2006, Leadership Practices and Organizational performance, EDAMBA Journal, vol 6. Sethi, D, & Seth, M 2009, Interpersonal Communication: Lifeblood of an Organization, IUP Journal of Soft Skills, vol. 3, no 3/4, pp. 32-40. Walter, J, Kellermanns, F, & Lechner, C 2012, Decision making within and between organizations: Rationality, politics, and alliance performance, Journal Of Management, vol 38, no 5, pp. 1582-1610 Read More