Managing Human Behaviour in Public - Assignment Example

Running head: Management Management Name Course Tutor Institution Date Question 1 Like any other leader, Sam seems to be faced with a difficult situation and the way in which he handles it is a great determinant of whether the project will be a success or a failure in the end. From the case, it is evident that the group that Sam was supposed to work with was the hardest one and his appointment as the manager was an uphill battle and a major pull back to him. From my understanding of the case, I would advise Sam that, though the work was meant to be done by volunteers, he should ask the other management team to at least offer some form of incentives to the employees who will be allocated the work (Bratton, 2007). This is based on the notion that, in most volunteer organizations, the workers are not paid. This usually has a great effect on motivation as well as the overall performance of the individuals. In most instances, a great number of volunteers mainly lose sight of their work ethics, feel less motivated to work and may eventually do away with the tasks since they feel that they are not getting enough from their efforts and contributions to the project (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, 2008). In such instances, the employees are likely to give less priority to the new tasks since it is voluntary and deal with other tasks and commitments and mostly the tasks and duties that they will be paid for completing. Additionally, it is evident that, though Chris allocated Sam the task, he had to rely on other employees to ensure the successful completion of the task. In this respect, Sam needs to come up with a group of employees who are well organized, self-motivated and diligent. This kind of team players will be of great help in the completion of the allocated tasks. This will ensure that, the selected team players meet the deadlines and complete the work with the highest level of standards (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, 2008). In this respect, Sam will have little pressure and there will be high level of satisfaction among him as the manger and the other employees working on the task. I would advise Sam to take note of both the smaller and the bigger issues in the organization. The bigger issues are affected greatly by smaller issues. In resolving the smaller issues, I would advise Sam as the manager in charge of the project to have one on one meeting with the various candidates for the task (Society for Human Resource Management, 2010). At the same time, he should consider the current work situations and this entails duties and tasks that they are currently undertaking. This is a major consideration since, if the participants have other tasks, which are urgent, they will not be in a position to undertake the new roles effectively and on time. Additionally, Sam should not force the employees to be part of the task and thus he should consider past experiences of the employees prior to engaging them in the task. Through this, some of them could have past experiences while others may lack the experience but they may learn from others. By doing this, Sam would have an empowered workforce that will be able to undertake future tasks with a lot of professionalism and in a timely manner (Mullins, 2006). Sam also needs to take note of the individuals needs and their goals and more so the emotional aspect which relates to how they feel about work. This will help him greatly in ensuring that, those who are involved in the project are willing to undertake the tasks and ensure that they complete it on time and effectively use all the other resources allocated to them (Mullins, 2006). When employees are emotionally involved in the project, they are likely to offer best and improved results as compared to a group of employees who are not emotionally connected to the tasks allocated to them. I would also advise Sam to approach the issue at hand with pragmatic thinking. By the use of this approach, Sam would be able to make decisions that are clear and precise regarding the employees (Pierce et al., 2003). He will also be able to offer clear instructions on what the employees need to do and what has to be done to be in the right path. This approach will also offer Sam with an opportunity to delegate the various tasks accordingly. When Sam applies such strategies, advice as offered above, he will tackle the smaller issues, and this will in a way solve the larger issues. This will help him greatly in tackling the task allocated to him by Chris. Question 2 Like any other situation, individuals usually offer different kinds of advice and options on how a certain issue ought to be solved. I totally cite a number of differences and more so to the advice that my peer offered to help Sam in the case above. My peer pointed on the disengagement in the workplace as a major area that Sam needed to address. A major concept that is evident in the case is the lack of clear and strong communication skills among the team members and they lack a purpose as well as an outcome. This point is in a way similar to the fact that, there were both smaller and larger problems in the organizations. The lack of engagement, which is evident among the employees, leads to the overall problem in the organization (Pierce et al., 2003). In this respect, the employees were not willing and had not put any incentives in place to assist their leader to achieve and complete the task on a timely basis. The employees had no respect for Sam as their manager and this can be greatly attributed to lack of effective communication. This also relates well with the idea of having a one on one communication with the employees. A major aspect that Sam needs to incorporate is communication, which has been outlined by my fellow students. This is based on the notion that, strong communication as well as clear direction ought to be skills that Sam as the manager needs to have to ensure that the team is successful in the completion of tasks (Mullins, 2006). A major point that my peer pointed put and I failed in doing so relates to the workplace styles. Prior to engaging, with the employees my peer pointed out the need to gather adequate and sufficient information on the workplace styles of the employees he was to work with. Thus, since Sam already knew that there were issues with the employees, they ought to have been addressed prior to calling for the meeting. By gathering adequate information, he will know the best way to deal with the issue at hand. My peers have also pointed out a different point by stating the need for a divide and conquer approach. Through such an approach, the team members will not be able to rebel against him since he will conquer the negativity that they depicted when he entered the room and which eventually lead to no solution at the end (Lussier, 2005). My peer also offered a different opinion in regard to coaching Sam. He has pointed out that, he would inform and advice Sam to be involved with the team and take note and make use of the strengths of the various members of the team. Thus, in resolving the issue the best way to deal with this is by explaining the project to the team members, reasons why it was brought to them at the last minutes. All this will be aimed at having one approach towards the project thus ensuring that the team member acts towards achieving a common goal. I also appreciated the fact on informing the team players that the work is voluntary to ensure that they understand the terms and condition of the project from the start (Kepner, 2001). Another different point that my peer points put but it is of great importance to the project is the training of the manger on management and leadership. This would assist him greatly with dealing with the team members since he will know how to handle the team to achieve maximum benefits (Jones, George & Hill, 2000). My peer has pointed out the need of a good manger having courageous conversations and he needs to be offered with encouragement to deal with his colleagues from both a workplace and delegation perspective. I fully acknowledge that and agree with the fact that Sam needs to be a leader and a good manager when leading the other team members. When he seems weak in his roles and duties, the others though junior to him may not have full respect for him. By being a good leader and a manager, he will be able to deal with the intimidation coming from the employees but in an effective manner and this will enable him to work well with the team members now and in the near future (George and Jones, 2008). References Bratton, J., Callinan, M., Forshaw, C & Sawchuk, P. (2007). Work and Organizational Behaviour. Basingstroke: Palgrave Macmillan. Denhardt, R. B., Denhardt, J. V., & Aristigueta, M. P. (2008). Managing Human Behaviour in Public and Non-profit Organizations. Sage Publications, Inc. George, J. M. and Jones, G. R. (2008). Understanding and Managing Organizational Behaviour. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc., Jones, G., George, J. & Hill, C., (2000), Contemporary Management. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Kepner, K. (2001). Human Resource Management in Agribusiness. FL: University of Florida, Gainesville. Lussier, R.N., (2005). Human Relations in Organizations: Applications and Skills Building. Boston: McGraw Hill Irwin. Mullins, L.J. (2006). Essentials of Organizational Behaviour. Boston, Harlow: Prentice Hall. Pierce, W., Cameron, J., Banko, K., & So, S. (2003). Positive effects of rewards and performance standards on intrinsic motivation. The Psychology Record, 561–579. Society for Human Resource Management. (2010). Motivation in Today’s Workplace: The Link to Performance. SHRM Research Quarterly, 2. Read More