How Leadership and Conflicts Impact on the Quality and Performance of the Organisation - Essay Example

Organisational Behaviour Introduction Currently, I am an active member of the Youth Entrepreneurship Agency (YEA). I have been an active member of this organisation for approximately eight months. Basically, YEA is a non-profitable organisation that focuses on promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship among the youth especially those living in the rural areas. YEA was founded in 2008, in a bid to address the increasing trends of unemployment amongst the youth. The organisation’s mission is to empower young people so that they can be able to become independent, innovative and enterprising individuals who bring about positive economic outcomes to the society. In order to achieve this mission, YEA develops and coordinates regular youth entrepreneurship training programs. These programs seek to empower and equip the youth with the appropriate knowledge and skill set on how they can start and manage their businesses. The organisation also networks with government agencies and multinational companies in a bid to seek funding for entrepreneurship projects instituted by the youth. In addition to this, the organisation also develops and implements innovative entrepreneurship projects that provide employment for unemployed youth. In this paper, I will discuss two aspects of organisational behaviour that affect the Youth Entrepreneurship Agency. These aspects include organisational leadership and conflicts. In this case, I will critically analyse how leadership and conflicts impact on the quality and performance of the organisation. Subsequently, I will provide evidence-based recommendations on how YEA can improve on its quality and performance with reference to these two aspects of organisational behaviour. Organisational conflicts According to Miller (2011, p. 162), “conflict is the interaction of interdependent individuals who perceive opposition of values, aims and goals and who see other parties as potential interferences to the realisation of these goals. This definition highlights key elements of conflicts such as interaction, interdependence and incompatible goals. Based on Miller’s definition, it is apparent that, organisational conflicts mainly emerge due to incompatible goals (Miller, 2011). The notion of incompatible goals is often embedded in most definitions or descriptions of conflicts. This is mainly because, in any group or organisation, there is bound to be individuals with different personalities, backgrounds, beliefs, socio-economic status, gender, age, skills, behaviours views and perspectives. When these diverse groups interact together, they are bound to exude different opinions, views, behaviour, beliefs and even have different goals. As a result, conflict is bound to emerge (Forsyth, 2009). Dreu (2008) observes that, due to different aspects of diversities, conflicts within any group or organisation are inevitable (Dreu, 2008). Over time, numerous studies have been conducted to examine the nature of conflicts within organisations and their implications thereof. Some studies show that conflicts within an organisation can either be task-related or relationship-related conflicts. Task related conflicts are conflicts that occur when individuals working together disagree over goals, views, ideas or tasks. In most cases, these types of disagreements or conflicts in organisations are based on strategies to be used or decisions to be made. On the other hand, relationship related conflicts also known as interpersonal or emotional conflict occur within an organisation on a personal or emotional basis between employees and are often based on a clash of personalities (Levi , 2010). Levi (2010) notes that, task-related conflicts can be beneficial to an organisation however relationship related conflicts can bring detrimental effects to the performance of an organisation. A number of studies have confirmed the sentiments of Levi (2010), by showing that task-related conflicts within an organisation can bring about positive outcomes. For instance, a study conducted by Kohn & O’Connel (2007), established that task-related conflicts within an organisation helps members of an organisation to explore different operational methods, standards and alternatives this in turn helps the organisation to come up with creative ideas. Amason (1996) established that task related conflicts bring about constructive debate and enhances the quality of ideas in a team. Task related conflicts can facilitate the efficient use of resources and contribute to the provision of better services. Members of an organisation are bound to respond more positively to decision related processes or activities that are open to criticism and put into account different opinions and needs of others (Amason, 1996). Therefore according to Amason (1996), task related conflicts within an organisation can contribute to creativity and better decision making. Moreover, studies conducted by Nijdam (1998) and Jehn (1994) established a positive correlation between task conflicts and team performance. From these studies, it was established that when members of a group or an organisation express their ideas openly, conflicting may occur however, different views present a new line of thinking and doing things. It also challenges status quo and may in turn result to enhanced performance and productivity among members of an organisation (Nijdam 1998; Jehn, 1994). Conversely, Levi (2010) notes relationship related conflicts result to negative outcomes such as stress, lack of cooperation and strong negative emotions. This can in turn interfere with the communication, coordination, performance and productivity of a team. Relationship related conflicts can also divert the attention, focus and dedication of members to various team tasks and goals hence impeding on their performance. In addition to this, Levi (2010) notes that relationship related conflicts destroy social relations and hinder team cohesion. Basically, conflicts create losers and winners thus destroying cooperation and cohesion among members of an organisation (Levi, 2010). In the few months I have been volunteering at the Youth Entrepreneurship Agency, there have been a series of conflicts. Some of the conflicts experienced have been task-related whereas many conflicts have been relationship related. Personally, I work in the strategic department. The key function of this department is to come up with innovative entrepreneurship ideas or projects. In most cases, members of our department meet twice in a week to brainstorm and discuss new ideas. During our meetings, each member of the organisation presents their ideas and seek the opinion of others. In the course of these interactions, some members agree or disagree about the ideas presented and others challenges the ideas presented by pointing out areas of weakness and recommending new approaches that should be used. For the past three months, we had been exploring and brainstorming on ideas for a new project on poultry farming. Some members in the department, have showed strong support for this project whereas others have been sceptical about the effectiveness of this project. Consequently, during our weekly meetings, there have been a series of conflicts regarding the ideas of the project. With time, the conflicts in our department have escalated to personal conflicts. Members of our department have accused the leader of the project for being rigid narrow-minded and inflexible. As a result, they have withdrawn their support for the project and consistently worked towards undermining the success of the project by opposing any ideas presented. On the other hand, the project leader has refrained from communicating with some members of the department regarding the progress of the project. This has ignited fury amongst some group members, who have resulted to blame games and name-calling. The conflicts within our department have impeded on the cohesion of our group and interfered with the communication and coordination process within our department. It has also diminished the performance and productivity of our department. Leadership Leadership can be defined as process of social influence whereby a person or a group of individuals enlist the support and help of other in order to achieve a particular goal (Chemers, 1997). West (2006, p.60) considers leadership as influencing people by providing, purpose, motivation and direction in order to accomplish the mission and goals of an organisation. Leadership can also be described as the process of organising and managing a group of people in order to realise a common goal. According to Pride, Hughes and Kapoor (2011), there are different approaches or styles of leadership. Some of these leadership styles include; autocratic leadership, participative leadership and entrepreneurial leadership. Basically, autocratic leadership is task –oriented. In this case decisions are made independently by the figure of authority with little or no regard for the opinions or concerns of the subordinates or employees. Using this type of leadership approach, employees are often told what is expected from them and are given specific rules and guidelines on how to operate and achieve their objectives. On the other hand, participative leadership often involves the consultation and involvement of employees prior to making any decisions. This type of leadership style is often characterised by negotiations, coaching, collaboration and active upwards and downward communication processes. This style of leadership often helps employees to understand organisational goals and process. It also helps employees to foster a sense of ownership, loyalty and commitment to organisational goals. Pride, Hughes and Kapoor (2011) further observe that, participative leaders can be categorised into three groups namely, consultative leaders, consensus leaders and democratic leaders. Consultative leaders often discuss issues with their employees however, they retain their authority as the final decision makers. Consensus leaders often seek to the input or opinion of all their employees and eventually make decisions based on the opinion or support of their employees. On the other hand, democratic leaders give their employees the final authority to make decisions (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2011). Lastly, entrepreneurial style of leadership is personality based. This leadership style is basically, enthusiastic, charismatic, driven and task-oriented. Entrepreneurial leaders are often visionary, they also take initiative and venture into new frontiers. They focus on energising and inspiring their employees. Furthermore, they take full responsibility for the success or failure of their organisations (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2011). Numerous studies and theories have examined which leadership styles works best in terms of helping employees in an organisation to realise better outcomes. However, there are no definite conclusions since each style has its own advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless, a number of studies support the use of participative leadership since it motivates employees to become effective given that they are implementing their own decisions (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2011). In YEA, leadership is one of the challenging aspects of organisation behaviours. Personally, I believe that the leadership styles or approaches used in the management of the organisation are incompatible with the function, missions and objectives of the organisation. Generally, the leadership approach used in this organisation is autocratic in nature. As a result, the organisation has failed to realise its full potential in empowering young people so that they can be able to become independent, innovative and enterprising individuals who bring about positive economic outcomes to the society. For instance, in our department, our project leader exercises autocratic leadership. The project leader is often at the centre of attention, he makes all the decisions without regarding the views or opinions of other department members. The key function of our department is to come up with innovative entrepreneurship ideas or projects. Therefore, the input and ideas of each member of our department is very important Nevertheless, most of the ideas presented by our department mainly reflect on the sole ideas, ideals and personal interests of the project leader. For instance, although the poultry farming project was opposed by most of the department members due the numerous risks involved, the project leader decided to forward it to the implementation committee for approval. This move demonstrated his lack of regard towards the input, concerns and opinions of member of our department. Due to the autocratic style of leadership exercised by the project leader, often times members of our department feel suffocated while working under his leadership. Moreover, cases of absenteeism in our department are frequent. In addition to this, members of our department lack the motivation to make significant inputs towards departmental projects. Consequently, the department has failed to realise its full potential when comes to developing innovative ideas and projects. Recommendations In order for YEA to realise positive outcomes particularly those relating to organisational conflict and leadership, it is fore most essential for the organisation’s leadership to institute team building programs. Basically, issues relating conflicts and the use of unsuitable leadership approaches have disintegrated social cohesion, communication and collaboration within the organisation. It is therefore necessary to restore or develop social cohesion, communication and collaboration among members of this organisation by instituting regular team building programs. The organisation should incorporate different team building activities in its itinerary. For instance the organisation can incorporate, corporate retreats and rapport activities such as game and hiking among many others. These activities can help to build social cohesion among organisation members and as a result minimise relationship related conflicts. Moreover, Bruce Tuckman’s model of team building commonly referred to as “Forming, Storming, Norming performing team-development model” (1965) provides a suitable framework that can be used in the YEA to develop cohesion, effective communication and collaboration. According to Tuckman’s model, there are five stages of team building namely; Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning. The forming phase involves exchanging information and knowing each other (Tuckman, 1965). Given that the members of the YEA has been working together for over eight months, the forming stage may not be relevant. Therefore, team building in this organisation should focus on the Storming, Norming and Performing phases. Based on Tuckman’s model the storming phase mainly involves problem solving, the norming phase involves consensus on team goals whereas the performance phase involves working as a unit and cohesively taking part in decision making (Tuckman, 1965). Using this model as a guide, the strategic department of YEA should work towards addressing and solving problems related to tasks or leadership issues. Subsequently, members of the organisation should brainstorm and identify the overall goals of the department and institute measures that will help them work cohesively (Schneider, 2003). Secondly, it is essential for the organisation to institute and implement effective measures of managing and resolving conflicts. It is necessary for the organisation to train its members on the benefits of task-related conflicts and the detrimental effects of emotional or personality centred conflicts. This will help members in the organisation to view task related conflicts positively and shun from conflicts that will disintegrate the cohesion and communication processes of the organisation. Moreover, the organisation should train their staff on how they can resolve and manage conflicts effectively. In this case, organisational learning will play a significant role in helping organisation members to learn how to effectively avoid, manage and resolve conflicts (Rahin, 2002). Lastly, it is important for the organisation to establish suitable approaches of leading the organisation. Owing to the fact that, YEA’s main goal is to empower young people so that they can be able to become independent, innovative and enterprising individuals who bring about positive economic outcomes to the society, it is essential for the leadership of the organisation to employ a leadership approach that will empower its staff to become innovative. Evidently, an autocratic leadership styles is not suitable for this organisation since it impedes on the ability of staff members to channel their creativity and come up with innovative ideas. Instead of using an autocratic approach, the organisation should employ a participative approach to leadership that will encourage staff members to develop, communicate and implement innovative ideas. The organisation could also employ an entrepreneurial approach to leadership that will energise, motivate and inspire the staff in the organisation to enhance their performance and productivity (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2011). Conclusion Currently, I am an active member of the Youth Entrepreneurship Agency (YEA). YEA is a non-profitable organisation that focuses on promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship among the youth especially those living in the rural areas. This paper has examined how organisational behavioural aspects such as conflicts and leadership affect YEA and what should be done in order to improve the outcomes of the organisation. The findings of this paper depict that interpersonal conflicts and the use of unsuitable leadership approaches have brought about the disintegration of cohesion, communication process and collaboration among members of YEA. Furthermore, these issues have negatively affected the performance and productivity of the organisation. This has in turn impeded on the organisation’s ability to realise its full potential when comes to developing innovative ideas and projects. In order to realise positive outcomes, it is therefore essential for YEA to institute team building programs and employ suitable leadership strategies (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2011; Rahin, 2002). \ References Amason, C. (1996). 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