Organizational Behavior Cases - Book Report/Review Example

Question one: The head of emergency services in a large believes that heterogeneous teams are more effective than homogenous teams. The executive is interested in frequently rotating ambulance and other emergency service teams so that teams would constantly have new people with diverse backgrounds and experience. The hiring process will deliberately select people with diverse ethnic, cultural and educational backgrounds. Different norms such as dress code, body language, power distance and behavior rules will hinder the effectiveness of the teams. Strengths and weaknesses of executive’s actions There are several strengths of the executive’s actions. Heterogeneous teams comprise different culture, experiences and abilities thus creating stronger dynamics within the team. Heterogeneous team is likely to lead to greater output due to diversity and member characteristics that include to better performance such as different educational background and interests. The team will have members with different skills, personalities, values and knowledge thus improving the expertise composition of the team. Since most emergency services are non-routine, the actions of the executive will increase diversity in skills thus facilitating task accomplishment. The heterogeneous team will be more creative in offering the services unlike homogeneous teams that encourage group thinking and less creativity. The team will be able to improve the efficiency especially in complex tasks that require multiple skills (Saiyadain 90). There are some weaknesses in the executive’s actions. Heterogeneous teams are likely to experience more conflicts thus decrease the chances of interpersonal relationships and harmony within the team due to personality clashes. The heterogeneous teams will experience difficulties in harmonizing the norms of the teams. Norms are unwritten teams that regulate the behavior and are influenced by the beliefs of the individual. The group is likely to experience high conflicts, low satisfaction due to constant disagreements and less cohesion due to different values, beliefs, interests and personalities of the team members (Brooks 132). Question two: power and influence As a new accountant in a company located in Vancouver, I can use different three bases of power and four types of influence tactics to have the senior management introduce technology and practices recommended by most people in my profession. Power is the ability to influence the behavior of other people in an organization while influence is the ability to gain commitment of other people. As an accountant, the first power base that I will use is expert power base. I have the expert power since I have expertise in accounting through the skills I have gained in my education and experience in the accounting profession. I am aware that the company needs to implement computerized accounting information systems that will deter financial scandals, and increase the efficiency of employees. The organisation should also implement best practices in accounting such as responsibility accounting and ethics in the company. The company should also align the culture of the company with the strategic objectives in order to facilitate the attainment of the company mission, vision and objectives (Saiyadain 180). The second power base that I will use to convince the senior management to implement technology is referent power base. I am trusted by many of my subordinates in the company and they consider me as a role model in their career. My subordinates have genuine respect towards my suggestions thus I can easily convince the senior managers to implement technology in the organisation. The third power base that I will use is information power base. I have special information on the current information technology solutions that can be implemented in the company. The management will accept this power bases since I have the knowledge on the technology and charisma (Brooks 145). I will use four different influence tactics to gain the commitment of the senior management in implementing the technology and best accounting practices. The first influence tactic that I will use is rational persuasion of the senior management. I will present logical arguments and factual evidence to the senior management on the need of implementing technology. I will demonstrate how the company will reduce operating costs and reduce chances of fraud in the company. The second influence tactic will entail inspirational appeals. I will develop an emotional commitment to the implementation of the technology by inspiring and demonstrating to the senior management on how they can plan and implement technology in the company. The third influence tactic will entail consultations. I will consult with other people in the organisation in order to increase their motivation in persuading the management to implement best ethical practices in accounting. The fourth influence tactic that will be effective and acceptable by the senior management is building coalitions with co-workers and persuading the senior management to implement technology. Through my excellent communication and interpersonal skills, I will be able to convince my co-workers that the company needs to implement technology and ultimately persuade the senior management to implement the computerized systems and ethical accounting practices. Question three: Resolving conflicts The newly hired CEO of advertising agency has established a new motto ‘serving clients in harmony’ to discourage constant arguing among employees on design and ad copy. Some key staff left the company but he managed to hire others who were more discreet and subtle in discussions with colleagues. The new CEO has selected a competing conflict resolution strategy. Some of conflicts in the advertising agency include task conflict, process conflicts and relationship conflicts. Competing conflict resolution strategy is basically used by CEO with a high position power and strong personality. There are several merits and limitations of CEO’s actions. Some of the merits of the competing conflict resolution method include quick resolution of the conflicts in the organisation. Another merit of the actions of the CEO includes an increase in the self-esteem of the employees when conflict was as a response to hostility or aggression amongst the employees. The actions of the CEO have provided a motto that employees should follow when serving clients. However, the actions of the CEO suffer some limitations since they have led to resentment from key staff that has opted to leave the company. One limitation of the actions is the hindrance of innovation and creativity among the staff thus leading to low quality designs. The actions of the CEO have hindered collaboration and team work in the company thus leading to low quality decisions and output. The actions of the CEO are not geared at understanding the causes of the conflict thus will hinder communication and destroy the unity of working groups in the organisation (Reddy 45). Question four: ‘creative intelligence, leadership, and the challenge of the future” A. challenges that leaders will encounter in the next century Leaders will encounter challenges in surviving in a technologically changing environment. These technological advances will lead to radical changes in lifestyles, and methods of production. Leaders will have to deal with the unprecedented changes in the social and political systems due to advances in science. The invention of intelligent computers will significantly impact on the distribution of wealth, agriculture, medical information transmission and military operations. These changes will require leaders to be creativity and innovative. New dimensions of doing business will evolve due to increased ability to transmit information over the internet thus affecting the quality of life. Leaders will have to learn how to use computers processing systems in making business strategies. Leaders will have to spend a considerable amount of resources in dealing with the dangers of terrorism. B. important qualities and germane to creativity and leadership Some important and pertinent qualities to leadership include the ability to listen openly and appreciate new contributions from employees. The ability to inspire values and create a sense of inclusion is also critical in leadership. Leaders should have interpersonal skills abilities in order to interact with employees and create an environment that fosters shared values and vision. Another quality is problem-solving abilities, charisma, self-confidence and energy (Reddy 168). One of the most pertinent qualities to creativity is the ability to confront adversity through interacting with diverse category of people including religion, politics and education. The ability to take risks and empower stakeholders is also important in creativity. Self-motivation and ability to concentrate on an idea for a long period of time is also pertinent in creativity. Another pertinent quality to creativity is the ability to openly discuss change and address the employee resistance to change in the organisation. Patience, perseverance and commitment are other essential qualities to creativity. Ability to communicate continuously with project teams and reliance on emotional intelligence will also foster creativity in the organisation. Intrinsic motivation and respect of individual differences in the organisation will encourage team work thus leading to more creativity. Innovative thinking and recognition of individual accomplishments will also aid creativity in organisations (Reddy 77). C. role of communication in effective leadership and how leader communicates his or her vision and messages effectively Communication plays a critical role in effective leadership. Effective leaders will provide a sense of ownership to stakeholders in their communication. Communication is critical since it helps employees share ideas and suggestions with the leader. Communication also fosters team spirit that is essential in retaining knowledge in the organisation. Effective leaders communicate their vision and messages with a compelling voice that can inspire strong sense of values to the followers. They freely interact with the subordinates and recognize creative ideas of the subordinates. Such leaders are enthusiastic and have a passion of problem-solving. Effective leaders will communicate their vision through discussing the vision by through holding meetings and explaining why the vision is important for the organisation. The leaders will convince the organisations to accept the proposed changes through the right selection of language and words. The leaders communicate the vision effectively by first gaining the confidence of the employees through demonstrating a great sensitivity to their needs and individual beliefs (Reddy 120). D. reflections Leadership is the process of influencing and inspiring the subordinates’ efforts and directing their work activities towards attainment of shared goals. Effective leadership leads to motivates employees, high work productivity and attainment of the vision of the organisation. There are different models and theories of leadership. According to classroom reading, the trait theories focus on the inborn traits of the leader in defining effective leaders. Such traits include the behavior and personality that is shared by great leaders. The second theories of leadership include contingency theories that mainly consider the environmental factors surrounding the leader. According to contingency theory, there is no best leadership style, and the leader should select his style depending on the qualities of the subordinates and other factors. According to behavioral model of leadership, I have learned that leaders are supposed to exhibit certain behaviors such as genuine concerns for the welfare of subordinates and commitment to the goals. Behavioral theories are task oriented and focus on maintenance of close working relationships with the followers. I have learned that transactional leadership model entails the use of coercive power of the leader such as rewards to encourage attainment of the goals. The transactional leadership style is not committed to the vision of organisation and the needs of the employees. Another type of leadership style I have learned is situational leadership style whereby the leader selects the leadership method depending on the prevailing situation. Some of the factors that are considered in situational leadership include the subordinates’ commitment, organization of the tasks and need for coordination. This style is not ideal for all people and situations since individuals have different values and beliefs. Another leadership style is participative leadership whereby the leader involves people including subordinates and stakeholders in the decision making. However, the leader still maintains control of the ultimate decision. A. The most effective leadership style for all situations and all employees The best leadership style to use for all situations and all employees is transformational leadership style. This type of leadership is geared at attaining the goals of the organisation. The leader also inspires the subordinates and is generally committed to the needs of the subordinates. The style entails continuous communication and open sharing of information with the employees. The style appreciates the suggestion and ideas of the subordinates and everyone in the organisation is committed to attainment of the shared goals. The style encourages interpersonal relationships, and personal growth due to the intrinsic motivation of the employees. Transformational leadership is the best since it combines charisma, inspiration and imagination. The leadership style is ideal for all situations and employees since it considers the individual employee differences, beliefs, values, needs and builds the commitment of employees through communicating the vision and objectives of the organisation. B. Example of a leader who demonstrates the characteristics and behaviors identified One of the leaders whom I know and demonstrates the characteristics and behaviors identified by the leadership research is Jack Welch. He currently heads Jack Welch, LLC where he is a partner with private equity firm, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. He is also a consultant and a contributor in several television shows. He is able to inspire his followers through communicating the need for change in the organisation. He is self-confident and respects the suggestions of his subordinates. Jack listens to the employees concerns and has established informal channels and forums that employees use to provide suggestions and feedback. He has been able to stimulate the creativity of his subordinates through nurturing their unique talents. His communication message entails optimism for the future and powerful engages the followers to an open discussion. He has been able to align the vision of the company with the strategies. He and his subordinates have the same shared vision of enhancing productivity of the company and also the welfare of all other stakeholders. Mini case study of Advert’s team MBA 5322 organizational behavior, mini-case: Are five heads better than one 1. Factors that contributed for poor performance of the team One of the factors that led to poor performance is lack of team cohesion. There was no clear team development and definition of each member’s role. Another cause of poor performance was lack of team diversity since the members were of the same age and had worked for the company for almost similar time period. There were no clear communication channels and rules to guide the team. The team had a lot of autonomy since the management did not give out the guidelines on the operation of the team. Team cohesiveness was lacking since the members were unwilling to share information and ideas. The team lacked a clear decision making process and leadership. 2. A. Group phenomena dominant in Advert team’s decision process The group phenomenon that is dominant in Advert’s team is Groupthink phenomenon. This is because the members want to ensure the harmony of the group without making a realistic appraisal of the possible alternative solutions. The members are interested in reducing conflicts and not reaching at an efficient consensus solution. Some of the causes of the Groupthink phenomena include lack of clear leadership and homogeneity of the team. B. Group decision making process technique that would reduce the Advert’s team’s sub-optimal decision The decision making technique that I would recommend for Advert’s team in order to reduce the sub-optimal decisions is decision by consensus. There are four steps involved in this group decision making technique. The first step is problem identification. This involves defining the problems in terms of the primary objectives and the criteria of the expected solution. The second step is problem diagnosis using the objective as the dependent variable. The third step entails solution generation. The members of the group or team are supposed to explore as many possible solutions as possible. Brainstorming sessions are encouraged at this stage. The fourth step will entail solution evaluations. The members should compare and evaluate the effectiveness of the alternative solutions in solving the problem. The members should use the objective criteria developed in the first step in evaluating the alternative solutions. The fifth step is choice and implementation of the selected effective decision that can solve the problem. This is an effective decision making technique since it entails open communication process and brainstorming amongst the group members. Each team member has an opportunity of being listened and his or suggestions considered in the problem solving. This technique wil focus on the goals and outcomes and not personality of the individuals. Several solution alternatives will be considered thus leading to a better decision. Each individual in the team or group will feel appreciated and valued. 2. Characteristics of Advert’s team and effect on decision making and subsequent performance Advert’s team is homogeneous. The members are of the same age group and have worked in the organisation for a similar lengthy of time. The members have been working together before thus it seams that diversity in skills is also lacking. The homogeneity of the team led to poor performance. This characteristic hindered creativity and led to the ‘group think’ phenomena. The homogeneity also led to lack of team norms, rules and procedures that are important in ensuring team effectiveness and performance. The nature of the team hindered the ability to define each member’s roles and ensure team cohesiveness. 4. Leadership style of Conner and its effectiveness I can describe Conner’s leadership style as authoritarian leadership style. His leadership style is highly ineffective since he assigned himself the role of the leader of the team. Conner has overbearing attitude and is not willing to consider the suggestions of other team members. He is not willing to consider the suggestions of the other members and has not allowed for an enabling environment that can allow his subordinates to offer suggestions. As a leadership consultant, I would advice the team to use either participative leadership style, democratic leadership or transformational leadership styles. These three styles allow the subordinates to offer their suggestions. The team will have the opportunity to evaluate each solution and arrive at the best solution (Saiyadain 120). 4. What are the essentials of effective teams? Some of the characteristics include clearly defined individual roles and excellent communication channels. Another important factor is strong team cohesiveness and well defined team norms. Cohesive teams are able to minimize interpersonal conflicts. Diversity in teams also encourages creativity. High level of trust and support among team members is also important in effective teams (Saiyadain 40). Works cited: Brooks, Ian. Organisational behaviour: individuals, groups and organisation. New York. Prentice Hall. 2009. Reddy, Prakash. Organizational behaviour. New Delhi: A.P.H. Publishing. 2004. Saiyadain, Mirza. Organisational behaviour. New Delhi. Tata McGraw-Hill. Read More