Department of Civil Protection at Civil Defence of Abu Dhabi - Literature review Example

AN ANALYSIS OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR ISSUES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL PROTECTION OF THE CIVIL DEFENSE OF ABU DHABI 1. Outline of the Case Study The Department of Civil Protection of Abu Dhabi is a governmental agency which aims to make Abu Dhabi a safe place with professional civil defence service that helps protect lives and properties. It is its mission to work hard to spread awareness for public work and volunteer service to the public to help act wisely in case of crisis. 2. An Analysis of the Role of Individuals and Teams within Organisation 2.1 Individuals within Organisation Learning Theory Wills, M. (2006) contends that one is said to have learnt when it has increased its options for applying, to a specific set of circumstances, new or different behavior which a person believes will be to its benefit. The behavioural perspective of learning focuses on behavior and the influence of the external environment in shaping the individual’s behavior. Cognitive perspective on the other hand views learning as an active mental process of acquiring, remembering, and using knowledge. Both reinforcement and punishment have indirect effects of learning; it influence the extent to which an individual exhibits a behavior that has been learned (Ormrod, J.E., 1999). Personality Personality is what makes us who we are. Most often managers predict job performance through cognitive ability, but intelligence, leadership, attendance, and cooperation also play a major role for a person’s job suitability. Personality rather intelligence predicts these qualities. Because personality cannot be measured directly, we must infer it from behavior and from self reports of the attitudes that guide outward behavior, whether or not behavior is classified as abnormal depends to some extent on our cultural norms and on dynamic perceptions of what is normal (Carlson, N.R., Martin, G.N., and Buskist, W., 2004). Communication To have an effective communication one must actively listen to what the other has been saying, ask questions if there’s something confusing or have missed a detail, express some constructive feedback, and chat a little this eases the tension when disagreements occur (Pyatt, E.J., 2007). No matter how good the communication system in an organisation is, barriers can do and often occur; this may be caused by the following: (1) physical barriers, (2) system design, (3) attitudinal barriers, (4) psychological factors, (5) different languages, (6) individual linguistic ability, and (7) physiological barrier. (http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk) Perception More often as human beings we automatically make observations on others throughout the day whether these observations are good or bad and when we share our observations to a co-worker this gives the chance to spread gossip in the workplace. This creates animosity among workers, thus, opinions and perceptions of people are not always right and they do not belong in the workplace. Motivation Employees work because they want to achieve something meaningful to themselves. The task of management is to help employees achieve their objectives through the attainment of organisational goals (Dorgan III, W.J., 1993). Maslow has set up a hierarchy of levels of basic needs (Simons, J.A., Irwin, D.B., & Drinnien, B.A.): (1) physiological needs, (2) safety needs, (3) needs of love, affection, and belongingness (4) needs for esteem, and (5) needs for self-actualization. 2.2 Teams within Organisation Schein (1980) defines a group as any number of people who interact with one another, are psychologically aware of one another, and perceive themselves to be a group. Bruce Tuckman (1965) developed a 4-stage model of group development, these are: (1) forming, (2) storming, (3) norming, and (4) performing, added ten years later (5) adjourning. Organisations may have a formal or informal structure. A formal structure is the way that the organisation is organised by those with responsibility for managing the organisation. Often these formal structures will be set out on paper in the form of organisational charts. (http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory) However, in the course of time an informal structure develops in most organisations which are based on the reality of day-to-day interactions between the members of the organisation. This informal structure may be different from that which is set out in paper. (http://www/thetimes100.co.uk/theory) According to Dr. Meredith Belbin understanding team roles can improve team performance but often, despite clear roles and responsibilities, a team will fall short of its full potential. Teams generally fall into one of two primary groups: permanent teams and temporary teams. The name of the group or team type is less important than the purpose for which it exists. (http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/020a.htm) 3. How Roles are Defined in Organisations 3.1 Work Design The three main types of management styles are: (1) autocratic, (2) consultative, and (3) democratic. Autocratic management style is one where the manager used to give instructions. The manager is the only one contributing to the decision making process. (www.coursework.info) In consultative management style the manager consults other people before making a decision. This type of management style wants to collect more sources of information and opinions before any final decision is made. (www.coursework.info) In democratic management the manager delegates authority to the staff, giving them responsibility to complete the task given to them. (www.learnmanagement2.com) 3.2 Structure There are a variety of ways in which to structure an organisation depending on its objectives and culture. The structure of an organisation will determine the manner in which it operates and it’s performance. Structure allows the responsibilities for different functions and processes to be clearly allocated to different departments and employees. (www.learnmanagement2.com) Structure aims to maximize the efficiency and success of the organisation, wrong structure will hinder the success of the department. An effective organisational structure will facilitate working relationships between various sections of the organisation. It will retain order and command whilst promoting flexibility and creativity. (www.learnmanagement2.com) 3.3 Strategy Camillus, J.C. (1999) contends that in order for an organisation to meet its financial and performance goals, the actions of all groups, departments, functional levels, and individuals must support strategic plans. Camillus, J.C. (1999) notes further that a key enabler for effective strategy implementation is the ability to align organisational structure with strategic goals and objectives. The structure and strategy of the organisation must be complementary. 4. Organisation Processes and Development 4.1 Organisation Development Wendell French defines organisation development as, “a long-range effort to improve an organisation’s problem-solving capabilities and its ability to cope with changes in its external environment with the help of external or internal behavioural – scientist consultants, or change agents as they are sometimes called”. Organisation development helps the members in an organisation to gain more knowledge and hone their skills necessary to solve problems encountered in the day to day existence of the organisation thereby promoting high performance and improve the quality of the services. 4.2 Organisation Change The concept of organisational change is in the context of organisational wide change and not merely a change by adding new persons. An example of changes refers to structural reorganisation, total quality management, introduction of new technologies, mergers, rightsizing, etc. Generally, change can be difficult to achieve because mostly people are afraid of the unknown. There are strong resistances to change. It may be against the values or beliefs of people on how things should be done. To carry out organisational – wide change it must involve the top management and a leader that is visionary, persuasive and consistent. Constant communication must be done explanation at hand to let the members know the reason for change, how change will be carried out and let them express their concerns and frustrations as well. 4.3 Organisation Culture Trice and Beyer (1984) defines organisational culture as, “any social system arising from a network of shared ideologies consisting of two components: substance, and forms. According to Schein, E.H. (1988) culture is consist of three levels: (1) behavior and artefacts the most visible level and consists outward manifestations of culture; (2) values, and to a large extent determine behavior but they are directly observable as behaviours are, and (3) assumptions and beliefs, the deepest level which grow out of values until they become taken for granted and drop out of awareness. 5. Organisation Management 5.1 Leadership Clark, D.R. (2004) defines leadership “as a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organisation in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent”. Every person can be a good leader if he has the desire and will power because good leaders are made not born. To become a good leader it is a never ending process of self-study, education, training and experience. A leader motivates others in the workplace in achieving a higher level of quality service. However, in order to inspire the team a leader must possess character, values, skills, ethics, and knowledge. In 1939, Kurt Lewin and colleagues identified three styles of leadership, these are: (1) autocratic, (2) democratic, and (3) laissez-faire. 5.2 Decision Making Basically, there are two types of decision making these are: (1) objective or quantitative, and (2) subjective or qualitative. In making decisions, it must be rational and objective as possible. By rational would mean well thought out, deliberate and logical. (http://www.business-analysis-made-easy.com/Types-of-Decision-Making.html) The significance of decision making enables one to determine the time and resources to spend thus, according to Harris, R. (1998) the following levels of decision making must be taken into consideration: (1) strategic, is the highest level which concerns general direction, long term goals, philosophies and values; (2) tactical, supports strategic decisions which tend to be medium range, medium significance with moderate consequences, and (3) operational, used to support tactical decisions which are often made with little thought and are structured. There are so many different methods of group decision making of which their effective implementation depends upon the manager’s understanding of the dynamics of these group decision making processes. Since there is no perfect method the better way and the most effective in implementing group decision making is a decision by consensus. 5.3 Conflict In an organisation it cannot be avoided that disagreements and differences give rise to interpersonal conflict of which a leader is responsible for settling the dispute otherwise the other workers in the organisation might get affected with the stress resulting to a divided organisation. Thus, mediation skills and intervention is quite necessary to resolve the conflict. 5.4 Power Politics John Gardner writing about leadership and power in organisations states that, “power is the basic energy needed to initiate and sustain action, or to put it another way, the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it”. Lasswell, H. (1936) defines organisational politics, “as the use of power, with power viewed as a source of potential energy to manage relationships. The ability to use power is essential for effective leadership. Individuals compete within the organisation; and organisations compete within the broader governmental context. Organisational politics can either be destructive or constructive. It is constructive when the organisation benefitted from it and destructive when it is used extremely to the detriment of the functionality of the organisation. Conclusion In a department such as the civil protection it is imperative to have an organised structure as the job entails greater responsibility of saving lives and property. Individuals within the department must be equipped with the knowledge and skills of a life saver and make no room for any mistake. Rewards must be given from time to time so as to motivate the workers in achieving the department’s goal. In this kind of job time is of the essence thus, quick and speedy service delivery must be a virtue. Delegation of responsibility and working as a team makes a demanding job easier add to that introduction of sophisticated life saving equipment into the department must not be welcomed with resistance. Constant communication and explanation is extended to those who resist change for the betterment of the department. References: Clark, D.R. (2008), Concepts of Leadership. Retrieved 6/10/08 from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html Lewin, R., Lippit, R. and White, R.K. (1939). Patterns of Aggressive Behaviour in Experimentally Created Social Climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301 Types of Decision Making. Retrieved 6/10/08 from http://www.business-analysis-made-easy.com/Types-of-Decision-Making.html Harris, R. (1998). Decision Making Techniques. Deutsch, M. (1973). The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Heathfield, S.M. (2000). Workplace Conflict Resolution: People Management Tips Leveraging Power and Politics in Strategic Decision Making. Retrieved 6/10/08 from http://www.au.af.mil/au/auc/aucgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/pt4ch17.html#top French, W. (as cited in Cummings, T.G. & Worley, C.G., 2005). Organization Development and Change. 8th Edition Mason, OH. South-Western Publishing. McNamara, C., (2008) Basic Context for Organisational Change. http://www.coursework.info/GCSE/Business-Studies/People_in_Business/There_are_three_main_types_of_management_L32863.html Camillus, J.C., (1999). Putting Strategy to Work. Vol. 2 Issue 4 Wills, M. (2006). Definition of Learning. Retrieved 6/10/08 from http://www.mwls.co.uk Ormrod, J.E., (1999). Human Learning (3rd Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice-Hall. Carlson, N.R., Martin, G.N., and Buskist, W., (2004) Psychology, Second European Edition, Pearson Education, Harlow, England. Pyatt, E.J., (2007). Tips for Effective Communication. Retrieved 6/10/08 from http://tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/teams/Student/communicate.html http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk Spear, L., (2007). Perception and Conflicts in the Work Place. Dorgan III, W.J., (1993). One More Time: What Motivates People? http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/020a.htm Read More