Understanding Work Teams Communication and Leadership - Case Study Example

ASSIGNMENT 2 Understanding work teams, Communication and Leadership Name Date Course Introduction Groups and teams are major characteristics of organizational life. It is believed that majority of the organization’s practices need a lot of coordination through working as a team and a group. It is because of this that managers are expected to understand the concept of group behavior and team work (Chaneta, 2013). Communication plays an important role in terms of ensuring that an organization is able to meet its goals and objectives. The communication process is important within an organization for the purpose of controlling the behaviors of the members (Von Groddeck, 2011). This ensures that the organization is able to move in the specified direction and hence achieve its goals and objectives. Communication process ensures that the managers are able to pass information to the employees or the other staff members. Communication is thus considered as the most vital aspect of running an organization as it determines how operations in the company will be conducted. The leadership of an organization is important in terms of the development of the goals and objectives. Leaders within an organization are responsible for developing the goals and objectives of the organization. In most cases, the success of an organization is usually attributed to the leaders of the organization (Zhang, 2011). This means that the leaders have to put in place measures that will ensure that their organizations are able to steer the organization to success. On the other hand, the leaders are responsible for guiding the operations of the employees. This paper therefore seeks to discuss the topics; foundations of group behavior and understanding work teams, communication and leadership. It also seeks to employ research and analysis in discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the topics to organization’s managers. The paper will finally present the current examples of organizational behavior being reported in the media. Review of the Topic Foundations of group behavior and understanding work teams Foundations of group behavior Group behavior refers to a situation in which individuals interact or relate in either large or small numbers so as to achieve particular objectives. The interaction can either be formal or informal, thus resulting into two types of groups, which are informal and formal groups. Formal groups refer to groups that are usually structured by the organization so as to undertake work in support of goals and objectives of the organization. Under formal groups, the behaviors of group members are usually restricted by and directed toward organizational goals. Informal groups on the other hand are groups that develop to attain social or affiliation requirements, through bringing individuals together on the basis of either friendship or shared interests (Pranit, 2012). When individuals interact in either large or small numbers, they normally experience five distinct stages of group development. The stages are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Robbins, 2009). Forming is the first stage in which the focus of the group is on the interpersonal among group members. Storming is the second stage and is one of inter-group conflict. Norming, as a third stage, is a stage in which close relationships emerge and the group displays cohesiveness. Performing is the fourth stage. It is a stage in which the group formation is entirely functional and accepted. The adjourning stage, which is the last stage, only applies to temporary groups. It is a stage in which the group gets ready for its dismissal (Aquinas, 2006). Understanding work teams A team can be defined as any group of persons organized to independently and cooperatively work together so as to attain the demands of the customers (Heathfield, M.S 2013). Even though, through this definition, it can be argued that teams or work teams are definitely forms of work groups, the two can be differentiated. Work group refers to a group that basically interacts so as to share information and make decisions to assist group members to perform within their area of responsibility. Work team on the other hand, develops positive synergy via coordinated effort. The efforts of individuals do always result in performance that is much greater than the entire individual input. There are several types of work teams. They include problem-solving teams, self-managed work teams, cross-functional teams and virtual teams. An effective work team has four components, which include context, composition, work design and process variables. Creating an effective work team requires adequate resources, good leadership and structure, environment of trust and rewards and performance mechanisms that displays the contributions of a team. The Strengths and Weaknesses the Topic to a Manager in an Organisation One of the strengths of the topic foundations of group behavior and understanding work teams to a manager is that it enables a manager to create an external working environment that is able to enhance productivity through the use of group behavior and work teams. A case in point is the Hawthorn study conducted by Elton Mayo at the Western Electric company in 1924-1932. The findings of the study revealed the significance of group behaviour in influencing the performance of the people working in groups or teams. The interviews conducted on the Hawthorn Study disclosed that members of groups adopted certain norms which influenced their output; this include behaviours such as assisting each other in order to ensure that each of them produced reports that were of the same level, establishing rules that discourage too little or even too much work and taking actions on group members who violated the rules and objectives of the group. The Hawthorn studies proposed the need to create an external working environment that encourages social interaction ( McIntyre, et al, 2000). From the findings of the Hawthorn study, it can be concluded that when a manager understands the significance creating an external working environment that encourages social interactions then high productivity can be attained. Another of the strength of the topic is that a manager acquires knowledge and skills on how to create effective teams within the organization. In many cases, work teams have constantly faced various challenges based on the fact that people working in group possess different behaviours which my result to conflict. Consequently, it is essential for a manager to understand the foundations group behavior and understanding work teams in order to develop work teams that consist of different people with different behaviour, who work together towards a common objective. For instance, a study conducted by Schneider (1987) on the attraction selection principle revealed that individuals with similar personalities will tend to be attracted, retained and selected in a given work environment, then the work groups may share a common tone which further influences the performance of the group. The weakness of the topic to a manager is that it may encourage the fostering interdependence in the organization, whereby employees cannot do things on their own unless they are categorized as group or unless they work as teams. Review of the topic: Communication Communication concepts Communication within an organization mainly refers to the transference of information and understanding of the meaning of the information. In order for the communication to take place, there has to be a sender of and a receiver of the information. The sender usually initiates the message while the receiver gets the message. The message is what is communicated and it encoding which is the translation of the thought to a message is usually involved during the communication process. A communication channel is the medium in which the message travels through. During the communication process, the best channel is selected with an aim of ensuring effective communication (González, 2011). The message has to clear and precise to enable clear understanding between the parties involved. This is an important part commonly referred to as decoding and it is usually done by the receiver of the message. It is also important to note that the communication processes may be interfered by noise which may affect the interpretation of the message by the receiver. A feedback is usually a return message that is in response to the initial communication. This plays an important role in terms of determining whether the communication has been successful or not. A positive feedback indicates that the receiver has understood the message. However, a negative feedback indicates that the receiver has not understood the message. Communication may either be verbal, non-verbal or written depending on the message that is being sent to the receiver. The strengths and weaknesses of the topic to a manager in an organization One of the major strengths of the topic to a manager is that it will enable them understood the different communication channels and where they are applicable. This will thus equip the managers with knowledge of using the best communication channels when communicating with the employees or other managers. It is also important to note that the managers will be able to pass information to all the employees when using the suitable channels. The managers will benefit from the topic in terms of ensuring that effective communication takes place within their organizations because the knowledge of communication will ensure that the managers are able to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the communication process that they are using. In addition to that, the managers will benefit from the topic in terms of understanding all the forms of communication. This will improve on their communication skills when dealing with the employees. This is considering that different employees may only understand better some forms of communication as opposed to other forms (Laster, 2010). The managers will also be equipped with the knowledge of the communication protocols to be observed at different times. The managers will understand when to use the official communication process and the informal communication process. This will play an important role in terms of enhancing the interaction skills with the employees. The topic is therefore beneficial to the managers due to the strengths that it impacts on the management process. New forms of communication have emerged over the years and it has increased the efficiency of the communication process (Gripsrud, 2010). The managers will therefore benefit from the topic as they will be in a position to understand the new forms of communication. The new forms of communication are mainly electronic and this will ensure that the managers embrace the use of technology while communicating with the employees and other managers within the organization. The topic also has strength in terms of ensuring that the managers are able to use cost effective methods of communication and hence reducing on the costs during communication process. However, the topic has a weakness to the managers in terms of communicating with members of diverse cultures. This is because different cultures perceive the communication methods differently. Some of the methods may be acceptable in one culture while it is offensive in the other culture. This may therefore create misunderstandings between the managers and the members of the diverse cultures or groups. Review of the topic: Leadership Leadership traits and concepts Leadership is considered as the ability to influence the followers towards the achievement of set goals and objectives. Leadership is closely related to management which is aimed at ensuring compliance from the organizational members. The trait theory of leadership is important in terms of defining leadership (Hwang, 2013). The characteristics of the leader can be used for the determination of their leadership styles. According to the behavioral theories of leadership, the specific behaviors of the leaders differentiate the leaders from the non leaders. According to the traits theory of leadership, social, physical, personality or intellectual traits can be used for the purpose of differentiating the leaders from the non leaders. According to the theory, the leader is also supposed to be qualified and open. The contingency theory on the other hand analyzes the environment in which the leader operates. Situational leadership theory examines the ability of the followers to readily accept the instructions of the leaders. There are also various styles of leadership and it plays an important role in determining the potential of the leaders. The charismatic leaders usually portray unconventional behaviors and usually understand. On the other hand, the transformational leaders are willing to give more freedom to the employees to exploit their potential for the good of the company. It is also important to note that the leadership within the organization determines the ability of the followers to work together for the purpose of achieving the goals of the organization. The strengths and weaknesses of the topic to a manager in an organization The topic has strengths that are beneficial to the mangers. Information regarding leadership will ensure the managers are able to understand their leadership styles. This will play an important role in terms of making a self assessment which will ensure that the manger is able to improve on their areas of weaknesses in terms leadership. The topic also has strength in terms of equipping the managers with the knowledge regarding the types of leadership. This will enable the leaders to put in place measures that will improve their leadership styles. The decision making process among the leaders is an important process that requires good leadership skills. The knowledge of leadership will therefore play an important role in terms of guiding the managers to make decisions. Proper decision making process is important in terms of improving the efficiency of an organization (Kiyatkin, 2011). The topic also has strength in terms of analyzing the relationship between the leaders and the followers. The knowledge of leadership will enable a manager to come up with strategies that will be beneficial to the employees. Establishing a good relationship with the employees is important for an organization in terms of encouraging innovations. The manager can also use the information from the topic for the purpose of establishing the mechanism s of relating with the other managers and employees. The topic is also important for a manager of an organization in terms of supervising the operations of the staff of the company. This is because the process requires the leader to influence the employees and the staff members to abide the rules and regulations of the organization. Policy making is an important aspect of management (Storey, 2013). The leadership theory is theories are important in terms of analyzing the behaviors of the leaders during the decision making process. This will therefore ensure that the managers are able to make proper decisions that will encourage the growth and development of their organizations. The topic however has weaknesses that may impact negatively on the managers. The leaders may end up changing their leadership styles due to the influence of the topic. This may result to the failures of the leaders to cope or fit in the new leadership styles and hence leading to the failure of the organization. On the other hand, the topic may influence the leaders to strive towards perfection which may end up affecting the decision making process and operations of the company. It is also important to note that leadership failure may occur if the leaders continuously change their leadership styles (Carter, 2012). Examples of each from the media The media has presented scenarios of the benefits and also the demerits of group behavior and understanding work teams. For instance, Arnold (2003) in an article in the Daily Press highlights that team work and the working in groups can result to building a better barging power for an organization. According to Arnold (2003) negotiations require more than one voice and different communication skills by people with different personalities. In most cases organizations that use teams have had successful negotiations. A report from the daily press indicated that communication that lack of communication among different stakeholders may lead to misunderstandings (Shapiro, 2014). This in turn leads to poor decision making process that has negative impacts on the costs. Taxation and costs can increase incase the communication problems and it may affect the operations of an organization. A recent report by Forbes magazine also revels that the most successful business in the globe utilizes groups of people in order to drive the objectives of the organization. Such leaders challenge people to think, they use the skills and knowledge of teams in order to make the organization to perform (Llopis, 2013). On the other hand, Adonis (2012) reports on the Sydney Morning Herald that work teams and group behaviour can sometimes be monkey businesses. Adonis (2012) highlights that; many projects in organizations today fail due to lack of interposal skills that are required to establish effective collaboration. According to an article by the Daily Press, a new athletics director for Virginia tech argued that leadership is about giving people hope for something bigger than they already have (Teel, 2014). This is for the purpose of wining the support of the followers who greatly influence the success of an organization. On the other hand, he further argued that trust is an important component of leadership. The article outlines the importance of leadership within an organization and how it can contribute to the success of the organization. Conclusion The above report discuses the topic foundations of group behaviour and the understanding work teams. The paper has highlighted some of the benefits of the topic which include creation of an external working environment that is able to enhance productivity through the use of group behavior and work teams and also the selection of suitable work groups. In conclusion, it can be stated that the topic is significant in the practice of management. It is evident that communication plays an important role in terms of increasing the efficiency of an organization. The communication process is also complicated and it requires the understanding of its concepts so as to enable proper communication to take place. It is also evident that the communication concepts have strengths that will impact positively on the managers. The knowledge of communication process will enable the managers to make proper decisions regarding the communication channels to be used for the purposes of increasing efficiency within their organizations. Proper use of communication also increases efficiency within an organization. It is evident that leadership plays an important role in terms of ensuring that the followers are able to abode by the rules and regulations of an organization. On the other hand, the leadership plays an important role in terms of steering the organization to the required path. The leadership theories classify the leaders according to their behaviors. There are different leadership styles which determine how the organization is guided. It is evident that the leadership concepts are important to manager in terms of self assessment and steering an organization to achieve its aims and objectives. References Arnold, K 2003, Teamwork Can Build A Better Bargain, Daily Press. Aquinas, G. P 2006, Organisation Behaviour. Excel Books India. Adonis ,J 2012, Group work: helpful or just monkey business? Sydney Morning Herald. Chaneta. I 2013, Groups and Group Behavior: Journal of Comprehensive Research, 5, p 32. Heathfield, M.S 2013, What Is a Team? < Llopis, G, 2013, The Most Successful Leaders Do 15 Things Automatically, Every Day. Forbes Magazine McIntyre, E, Halfhill,T and Heather, R 2000, Work groups: From the Hawthorne studies to work teams of the 1990s and beyond, Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 4(1), p44-67. Pranit K 2012, Organizational Behaviour, Gyan Publishing House Robbins, P. S 2009, organizational behaviour in Southern Africa, 2nd edition. Pearson South Africa Schneider, B 1987, The people make place . Personnel Psychology , 40:437-453. Shapiro, W, 2014, Newport News braces for tough budget year, Daily Press, Retrieved on 31 January 2014 from, . Zhang, Z, 2011, Examining the relationships between top management team psychological characteristics, transformational leadership, and business unit performance, Handbook of top management research, 127-149. Hwang, K, 2013, Confucian and Legalist Basis of Leadership and Business Ethics, In Handbook of the Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics (pp. 1005-1026), Springer Netherlands. Kiyatkin, L, 2011, Thought leadership on business and social issues, Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 2011(41), 83-102. Carter, E, 2012, Whole Person Learning: Embedding Ethical Enterprise Leadership In Business Education, American Journal of Business Education (AJBE), 5(6), 677-692. Storey, J, 2013, Leadership in organizations, Routledge. Von Groddeck, V, 2011, Rethinking the Role of Value Communication in Business Corporations from a Sociological Perspective–Why Organisations Need Value-Based Semantics to Cope with Societal and Organisational Fuzziness, Journal of business ethics, 100(1), 69-84. González, A, 2011, Systematic derivation of class diagrams from communication-oriented business process models, In Enterprise, Business-Process and Information Systems Modeling (pp. 246-260), Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Gripsrud, M, 2010, Face-to-face by travel or picture: the relationship between travelling and video communication in business settings, International Business Travel and the Global Economy, 217-238. Laster, N, 2010, Looking across the divide: analyzing cross-disciplinary approaches for teaching business communication, Business Communication Quarterly, 73(3), 248-264. Teel, D, 2014, Babcock shows grace, humor, humility in Virginia Tech introduction, Daily Press, Retrieved on 31 January 2014 from,< http://www.dailypress.com/sports/colleges/virginia-tech/dp-spt-teel-column-babcock-intro-20140130,0,7617969.column>. . Read More