o b Notes Comprehensive

8/3/2019 o b Notes Comprehensive

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TOPIC 10: CHANGE MANAGEMENT

For organizations, the last decade has been fraught with restructurings, process enhancements,mergers, acquisitions, and layoffsall in hopes of achieving revenue growth and increasedprofitability.

While the external environment (competitive, regulatory, and so on) will continue to play a role in anorganization's ability to deliver goods and services, the internal environment within the organizationwill increasingly inhibit it from delivering products required to meet the demands of the marketplaceunless it is able to adapt quickly. The major areas of changes in a company's internal environmentinclude:

Strategic: Sometimes in the course of normal business operation it is necessary formanagement to adjust the firm's strategy to achieve the goals of the company, or even tochange the mission statement of the organization in response to demands of the externalenvironments. Adjusting a company's strategy may involve changing its fundamentalapproach to doing business: the markets it will target, the kinds of products it will sell, howthey will be sold, its overall strategic orientation, the level of global activity, and its variouspartnerships and other joint-business arrangements.

Structural: Organizations often find it necessary to redesign the structure of the company dueto influences from the external environment. Structural changes involve the hierarchy ofauthority, goals, structural characteristics, administrative procedures, and managementsystems. Almost all change in how an organization is managed falls under the category ofstructural change. A structural change may be as simple as implementing a no-smoking policy, or as involved as restructuring the company to meet the customer needs moreeffectively.

Process-oriented: Organizations may need to reengineer processes to achieve optimumworkflow and productivity. Process-oriented change is often related to an organization'sproduction process or how the organization assembles products or delivers services. Theadoption of robotics in a manufacturing plant or of laser-scanning checkout systems atsupermarkets is examples of process-oriented changes.

People-centered: This type of change alters the attitudes, behaviors, skills, or performance of

employees in the company. Changing people-centered processes involves communicating,motivating, leading, and interacting within groups. This focus may entail changing howproblems are solved, the way employees learn new skills, and even the very nature of howemployees perceive themselves, their jobs, and the organization.

Some people-centered changes may involve only incremental changes or small improvementsin a process. For example, many organizations undergo leadership training that teachesmanagers how to communicate more openly with employees. Other programs may concentrateon team processes by teaching both managers and employees to work together moreeffectively to solve problems.

Remember that strategic, structural, process-oriented, and people-centered changes occurcontinuously in dynamic businesses. Often, changes in one of these areas impact changes in the otherareas.

Many employees believe that a change is often reactive and nothing more than a quick fix; then they brace themselves for more changes in the future. Management needs to realize that seriousunderlying problems in organizations must be addressed with long-term consequences in mind. Thus,when management implements changes, careful thought must be given to ensure that the newprocesses are for the long-term good of the company.

Major Types of Organizational ChangeTypically, the phrase organizational change is about a significant change in the organization, such asreorganization or adding a major new product or service. This is in contrast to smaller changes, such as


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adopting a new computer procedure. Organizational change can seem like such a vague phenomena that itis helpful if you can think of change in terms of various dimensions as described below.Organization-wide Versus Subsystem ChangeExamples of organization-wide change might be a major restructuring, collaboration or rightsizing.Usually, organizations must undertake organization-wide change to evolve to a different level in their lifecycle, for example, going from a highly reactive, entrepreneurial organization to one that has a more stableand planned development. Experts assert that successful organizational change requires a change in culture

cultural change is another example of organization-wide change.Examples of a change in a subsystem might include addition or removal of a product or service,reorganization of a certain department, or implementation of a new process to deliver products or services.Transformational Versus Incremental ChangeAn example of transformational (or radical, fundamental) change might be changing an organizationsstructure and culture from the traditional top-down, hierarchical structure to a large amount of self-directingteams. Another example might be Business Process Re-engineering, which tries to take apart (at least onpaper, at first) the major parts and processes of the organization and then put them back together in a moreoptimal fashion. Transformational change is sometimes referred to as quantum change.Examples of incremental change might include continuous improvement as a quality management processor implementation of new computer system to increase efficiencies. Many times, organizations experienceincremental change and its leaders do not recognize the change as such.Remedial Versus Developmental ChangeChange can be intended to remedy current situations, for example, to improve the poor performance of aproduct or the entire organization, reduce burnout in the workplace, and help the organization to becomemuch more proactive and less reactive, or address large budget deficits. Remedial projects often seem morefocused and urgent because they are addressing a current, major problem. It is often easier to determine thesuccess of these projects because the problem is solved or not.Change can also be developmental to make a successful situation even more successful, for example,expand the amount of customers served, or duplicate successful products or services.Developmental projects can seem more general and vague than remedial, depending on how specific goalsare and how important it is for members of the organization to achieve those goals.Some people might have different perceptions of what is a remedial change versus a developmental change.They might see that if developmental changes are not made soon, there will be need for remedial changes.Also, organizations may recognize current remedial issues and then establish a developmental vision toaddress the issues. In those situations, projects are still remedial because they were conducted primarily toaddress current issues.

Unplanned Versus Planned ChangeUnplanned change usually occurs because of a major, sudden surprise to the organization, which causes itsmembers to respond in a highly reactive and disorganized fashion. Unplanned change might occur whenthe Chief Executive Officer suddenly leaves the organization, significant public relations problems occur,poor product performance quickly results in loss of customers, or other disruptive situations arise.Planned change occurs when leaders in the organization recognize the need for a major change and proactively organize a plan to accomplish the change. Planned change occurs with successfulimplementation of a Strategic Plan, plan for reorganization, or other implementation of a change of thismagnitude.Note that planned change, even though based on a proactive and well-done plan, often does not occur in ahighly organized fashion. Instead, planned change tends to occur in more of a chaotic and disruptivefashion than expected by participants.

Causes of Organizational Change

This is a time of unprecedented change in our society. The changes one experiences are happening at fasterand faster rates. As examples, the telephone, radio, TV, and microwave weren't even in use decades ago,and today these gadgets are commonplace, along with the computer, Internet, and fax machine.

In just a few months, the technology that an organization uses on an everyday basis may be outdated andreplaced. That means an organization needs to be responsive to advances in the technological environment;its employees' work skills must evolve as technology evolves. Organizations that refuse to adapt are likelyto be the ones that won't be around in a few short years. If an organization wants to survive and prosper, itsmanagers must continually innovate and adapt to new situations.


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Every organization goes through periods of transformation that can cause stress and uncertainty. To besuccessful, organizations must embrace many types of change. Businesses must develop improvedproduction technologies, create new products desired in the marketplace, implement new administrativesystems, and upgrade employees' skills. Organizations that adapt successfully are both profitable andadmired.

Managers must contend with all factors that affect their organizations. The following lists internal and

external environmental factors that can encourage organizational changes: The external environment is affected by political, social, technological, and economic stimuli

outside of the organization that cause changes.

The internal environment is affected by the organization's management policies and styles,systems, and procedures, as well as employee attitudes.

Typically, the concept of organizational change is used to describe organization-wide change, as opposedto smaller changes such as adding a new person, modifying a program, and so on. Examples oforganization-wide change might include a change in mission, restructuring operations (for example,restructuring to self-managed teams or due to layoffs), new technologies, mergers, or new programs such asTotal Quality Management, re-engineering, and so on.

Managers should note that all changes should be implemented as part of a strategy to accomplish an overallgoal; these transformations should not take place just for the sake of change.

Reasons why People Resist Change

1. The risk of change is seen as greater than the risk of standing still2. People feel connected to other people who are identified with the old way3. People have no role models for the new activity4. People fear they lack the competence to change5. People feel overloaded and overwhelmed6. People have a healthy skepticism and want to be sure new ideas are sound7. People fear hidden agendas among would-be reformers8. People feel the proposed change threatens their notions of themselves9. People anticipate a loss of status or quality of life10. People genuinely believe that the proposed change is a bad idea

Managing or overcoming resistance to change

There are three basic elements in creating successful change:

1. The desire to change

2. The ability to change

3. Thepermission to change (for those in organizations)

1. TheDesire to ChangeMost humans will not change their beliefs, habits, or behaviors unless they are motivated to do so. Mostwill not change, even if change is for the better, unless there is come compelling reason. As long as theperceived rewards of staying as we are remain greater than the rewards of changing, we will likely stay aswe are. Or, conversely, as long as the perceived risks of changing are greater than the risks for staying thesame, we will be unlikely to change.

Of the three elements required for change, the bias is that desire is most important. Little happens if there isno real motivation to change. And strong motivation frequently makes up for shortcomings in the othertwo. A central question, then, is how do we create this desire to change?

Awareness


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First we must create awareness of the need to change. What are the compelling reasons to move away fromthe familiar and comfortable and move to something different and perhaps uncomfortable?

In today's competitive world economy, more and more people are becoming aware of the need forimproving the way or organizations work. However, if we really want to turn up the heat on change, wemust discuss internally the specific challenges facing our organization.

Who is our competition? What are they doing? What new products and services are they adding? Is themarket for our product or service expanding or contracting? What are our costs and revenues per employeeversus our competitions? Will our products be subject to new environmental controls? What will rapidlyexpanding telecommunications technology mean to us and our existing work processes? Can we reduce ouroverhead expenses to match those considered best in our industry? Could we really become "paperless?"How could we reduce our basic work process by 10 steps this month? How could we improve turnaroundtime by 90%?

It is my opinion that the more profitable an organization is, the more creative it must be in creating theappropriate challenge. One organization I worked with wanted to increase the rate of implementation ofemployee involvement, which for several years had been painfully slow. The company was old, wellestablished in its market, and experiencing continued earnings growth. What, I asked myself, wouldprovide some motivation for these people to move forward?

By chance, I came across an article discussing one of their strongest competitors. The article relatedperformance data of the competitor showing, for example, that its revenues per employee were twice that ofmy client! I shared this information with the management team and they were shocked by the numbers.They could now see the potential threat posed by a competitor with such strong financial performance.

In this case, the risk of inaction became a greater motivator than the discomfort of changing to aparticipative style of management.

Again, the purpose of these strategies is to create some discomfort or dissatisfaction with the status quo--arealization that to stay as we are is more of a threat than to move forward with new concepts.

The above strategies make one major assumption, however, and that is that management is not alreadydestroying employee motivation and allegiance with destructive dictates and mandates. For example, thoseorganizations prone to laying off employees at the first sign of financial weakness will find it difficult, ifnot impossible, to implement and sustain any form of participative management. A layoff as a firstalternative to cost reduction contradicts the notion of participative management. Employees will find it hardto commit fully to the organization and its mission, goals, and ideals.

2. TheAbility to ChangeIf the motivation for change exists, then people will need some assistance developing the skills to change.Ignorant of the dynamics of human behavior, we assume that once people understand the need for change,they will miraculously move in that direction.

However, what hold us back is our ingrained beliefs and resulting behaviors. For example, I may want to

become a participative manager but all my previous training has conditioned me to be controlling anddirective and, clearly, the decision maker. And down deep inside, I might really have doubts about thisemployee involvement stuff. To change my beliefs and ultimately my behaviors significantly, I will needsome help.

Because our prior training and conditioning is such a significant barrier to our ability to change, we need totake some very proactive steps (such as the strategies listed above). Our learned behavior is like a springthat pulls us back to a comfortable position whenever we stretch a little too far. Breaking free of that springis difficult, but possible, if we take conscious actions that eventually replace the old behaviors with newones.


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At the unfreezing stage, the right environment should be created, whereas at the change stage, there shouldbe enough support for the desired state and at the refreezing stage there is need for a reinforcement toanchor and safeguard change.

Thus change is threatening to that status quo and causes discomfort.

Lewin regarded this status quo as a 'frozen' state and suggested that significant effort may be required to'unfreeze' them in order to get them to change.

Unfreeze

This first stage of change involves preparing the organization to accept that change is necessary, whichinvolves break down the existing status quo before you can build up a new way of operating.

Key to this is developing a compelling message showing why the existing way of doing things cannotcontinue. This is easiest to frame when you can point to declining sales figures, poor financial results,worrying customer satisfaction surveys, or suchlike: These show that things have to change in a way thateveryone can understand.

To prepare the organization successfully, you need to start at its core you need to challenge the beliefs,

values, attitudes, and behaviors that currently define it. Using the analogy of a building, you must examineand be prepared to change the existing foundations as they might not support add-on storeys; unless this isdone, the whole building may risk collapse.

This first part of the change process is usually the most difficult and stressful. When you start cutting downthe way things are done, you put everyone and everything off balance. You may evoke strong reactionsin people, and thats exactly what needs to done.

By forcing the organization to re-examine its core, you effectively create a (controlled) crisis, which in turncan build a strong motivation to seek out a new equilibrium. Without this motivation, you wont get thebuy-in and participation necessary to effect any meaningful change.

In order for the Kenya government to achieve the vision 2030, one of its strategic changes that are currentlybeing implemented is the structural change which started by instilling a need to Kenyans that they shoulddiscard the status quo and embrace a new dawn. Through civic education and campaigns, Kenyans wereconvinced about the need for change and despite the forces that were against the proposed change, the neworder was greeted with great enthusiasm.

Change

After the uncertainty created in the unfreeze stage; the change stage is where people begin to resolve theiruncertainty and look for new ways to do things. People start to believe and act in ways that support the newdirection.

The transition from unfreeze to change does not happen overnight: People take time to embrace the newdirection and participate proactively in the change.

In order to accept the change and contribute to making the change successful, people need to understandhow the changes will benefit them. Not everyone will fall in line just because the change is necessary andwill benefit the company. This is a common assumption and pitfall that should be avoided.

Unfortunately, some people will genuinely be harmed by change, particularly those who benefit stronglyfrom the status quo. Others may take a long time to recognize the benefits that change brings. Managersneed to foresee and manage these situations.


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Time and communication are the two keys to success for the changes to occur. People need time tounderstand the changes and they also need to feel highly connected to the organization throughout thetransition period. When you are managing change, this can require a great deal of time and effort andhands-on management is usually the best approach.

When the new constitution was promulgated in August last year, both the forces that were against thechange and those that were for it embraced and supported the change. This is characterized by the strong

adherence Kenyans to the new constitution.

Refreeze

When the changes are taking shape and people have embraced the new ways of working, the organizationis ready to refreeze. The outward signs of the refreeze are a stable organization chart, consistent jobdescriptions, and so on. The refreeze stage also needs to help people and the organization internalize orinstitutionalize the changes. This means making sure that the changes are used all the time; and that theyare incorporated into everyday business. With a new sense of stability, employees feel confident andcomfortable with the new ways of working.

The rationale for creating a new sense of stability in our every changing world is often questioned. Eventhough change is constant in many organizations, this refreezing stage is still important. Without it,employees get caught in a transition trap where they arent sure how things should be done, so nothing evergets done to full capacity. In the absence of a new frozen state, it is very difficult to tackle the next changeinitiative effectively. How do you go about convincing people that something needs changing if youhavent allowed the most recent changes to sink in? Change will be perceived as change for changes sake,and the motivation required to implement new changes simply wont be there.

As part of the Refreezing process, make sure that you celebrate the success of the change this helpspeople to find closure, thanks them for enduring a painful time, and helps them believe that future changewill be successful.

It has now become business as usual when as we watch people being vetted for the top jobs in the countryin public. Before August last year the Status quo was that the president was appointing top civil servantunilaterally, the current status quo is that the top jobs must vetting is a rigorous process subjected to publicscrutiny.

The change process Analysis

Unfreeze

1. Determine what needs to change

Survey the organization to understand the current state

Understand why change has to take place.

2. Ensure there is strong support from upper management

Use Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Management to identify and win the support of keypeople within the organization

Frame the issue as one of organization-wide importance.

3. Create the need for change

Create a compelling message as to why change has to occur


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Use your vision and strategy as supporting evidence

Communicate the vision in terms of the change required

Emphasize the why.

4. Manage and understand the doubts and concerns Remain open to employee concerns and address them in terms of the need to change.

Change

1. Communicate often

Do so throughout the planning and implementation of the changes

Describe the benefits

Explain exactly the how the changes will affect everyone

Prepare everyone for what is coming.2. Dispel rumours

Answer questions openly and honestly

Deal with problems immediately

Relate the need for change back to operational necessities.

3. Empower action

Provide plenty of options for employee involvement

Have line managers provide daytoday direction.4. Involve people in the process

Generate short-term successes to reinforce the change

Negotiate with external stakeholders as necessary (such as employee organizations).

Refreeze

1. Anchor the changes into the culture

Identity what supports the change

Identify barriers to sustaining change.

2. Develop ways to sustain the change

Ensure leadership support

Create a reward system

Establish feedback systems

Adapt the organizational structure as necessary.


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3. Provide support and training

Keep everyone informed and supported.

4. Celebrate success.

Summary

Lewins change model is a simple and easy-to-understand framework for managing change.

By recognizing these three distinct stages of change, you can plan to implement the change required. Youstart by creating the motivation to change (unfreeze). You move through the change process by promotingeffective communications and empowering people to embrace new ways of working (change). And theprocess ends when you return the organization to a sense of stability (refreeze), which is so necessary forcreating the confidence from which to embark on the next, inevitable change.

TOPIC 3: GROUPS & TEAMS

Groups and teams are a major feature of organizational life. Individuals seldom work in isolation fromothers. Work is a group-based activity and if the organization is to function effectively it requirescollaboration and co-operation among its members. The work organization and its sub-units are made up ofgroups of people. Most activities of the organization require at least some degree of coordination throughthe operation of groups and teamwork. An understanding of the nature of groups is vital if the manager is toinfluence the behavior of people in the work situation. The manager must be aware of the impact of groupand teams and their effect on organizational performance.

Group versus Team

Group

A set of people, usually, with some degree of interaction and shared objectives

Team

A type or form of group

Higher degree of coordinated interaction

Stronger sense of members personal responsibility for achieving specifiedgroup outcomes


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High level of members identification with the group

Team Outcomes

demonstrate enhanced:

Coordinated interaction

Personal responsibility for group outcomes

Individual identification with group

Basic Types of Groups

Informal Type of Group

Not originated by the organization -Voluntary membership obvious differences and boundariesbetween members and nonmembers Group of employees who lunch together.

TYPES OF GROUPS

Governance

Executive

Steering

Disaster planningExamples of Committees

Compensation

Finance

Safety

Long-range planning

Overnight

Audit

Ethics n

Public relations

Characteristics of Groups and Teams

Size

Social loafing: the phenomenon of reduced effort per person in large groups

Process costs: increasing costs of coordination as group size increases

Composition

Homogeneous

Tucumns stages of group development

The Forming Storming Norming Performing model ofgroup development was first proposed byBruce Tuckman in 1965, who maintained that these phases are all necessary and inevitable in order for the

team to grow, to face up to challenges, to tackle problems, to find solutions, to plan work, and to deliverresults. This model has become the basis for subsequent models.

Forming

In the first stages of team building, theformingof the team takes place. The individual's behavior is drivenby a desire to be accepted by the others, and avoid controversy or conflict. Serious issues and feelings areavoided, and people focus on being busy with routines, such as team organization, who does what, when tomeet, etc. But individuals are also gathering information and impressions - about each other, and about thescope of the task and how to approach it. This is a comfortable stage to be in, but the avoidance of conflictand threat means that not much actually gets done.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Tuckmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Tuckmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_development


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The team meets and learns about the opportunities and challenges, and then agrees on goals and begins totackle the tasks. Team members tend to behave quite independently. They may be motivated but are usuallyrelatively uninformed of the issues and objectives of the team. Team members are usually on their bestbehavior but very focused on themselves. Mature team members begin to model appropriate behavior evenat this early phase. Sharing the knowledge of the concept of "Teams - Forming, Storming, Norming, andPerforming" is extremely helpful to the team.

Supervisors of the team tend to need to be directive during this phase.The forming stage of any team is important because, in this stage, the members of the team get to know oneanother, exchange some personal information, and make new friends. This is also a good opportunity to seehow each member of the team works as an individual and how they respond to pressure.

Storming

Every group will next enter the stormingstage in which different ideas compete for consideration. Theteam addresses issues such as what problems they are really supposed to solve, how they will functionindependently and together and what leadership model they will accept. Team members open up to eachother and confront each other's ideas and perspectives. In some cases stormingcan be resolved quickly. Inothers, the team never leaves this stage. The maturity of some team members usually determines whetherthe team will ever move out of this stage. Some team members will focus on minutiae to evade real issues.

The stormingstage is necessary to the growth of the team. It can be contentious, unpleasant and evenpainful to members of the team who are averse to conflict. Tolerance of each team member and theirdifferences should be emphasized. Without tolerance and patience the team will fail. This phase canbecome destructive to the team and will lower motivation if allowed to get out of control. Some teams willnever develop past this stage.

Supervisors of the team during this phase may be more accessible, but tend to remain directive in theirguidance of decision-making and professional behavior. The team members will therefore resolve theirdifferences and members will be able to participate with one another more comfortably. The ideal is thatthey will not feel that they are being judged, and will therefore share their opinions and views.

Norming

The team manages to have one goal and come to a mutual plan for the team at this stage. Some may have togive up their own ideas and agree with others in order to make the team function. In this stage, all team

members take the responsibility and have the ambition to work for the success of the team's goals.

Performing

It is possible for some teams to reach the performing stage. These high-performing teams are able tofunction as a unit as they find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriateconflict or the need for external supervision. Team members have become interdependent. By this time,they are motivated and knowledgeable. The team members are now competent, autonomous and able tohandle the decision-making process without supervision. Dissent is expected and allowed as long as it ischanneled through means acceptable to the team.

Supervisors of the team during this phase are almost always participative. The team will make most of thenecessary decisions. Even the most high-performing teams will revert to earlier stages in certaincircumstances. Many long-standing teams go through these cycles many times as they react to changingcircumstances. For example, a change in leadership may cause the team to revert to stormingas the new

people challenge the existing norms and dynamics of the team.Characteristics of an effective work group

Belief in shared aims and objective

A sense of commitment to group

Acceptance of group values and norms

A feeling of mutual trust and dependency

Full participation by all members and decision making by consensus


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A free flow of information and communication

An open expression of feeling and disagreement

Resolution of conflict by the members themselves

A lower level of staff turnover, absenteeism, accidents, errors and complaints

Type of Diversity in groups

Observable Attributes

Race

Ethnicity

Gender

Age

Underlying Attributes

Values

Skills

Knowledge and information

Tenure

Affective Consequences

Satisfaction

Identification with the group

Conflict within the group

Cognitive consequences

Innovation

Amount and quality of new ideas

Communication-Related Consequences

Decreased frequency within group

Increased frequency outside of group

Characteristics of Groups and Teams

Differentiated roles

Role ambiguity: a situation in which the expected behaviors for a group memberare not clearly defined

Role conflict: a situation in which a member of a group faces two or morecontrasting sets of expectations

Differentiated status

Norms: a groups shared standards that guide the behavior of its individual members

Characteristics of group norms


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Usually established for the more important issues of concern to thegroup

Some apply only to certain members (like the leader), usually based onthe status or particular role of those members

Vary in the degree of their acceptance by group members

Vary in how much deviation members are permitted in following them Development of group norms

Early behaviors

Imported behaviors

Critical events

Effects of group norms Conformity: close adherence to the groups norms by the individual

members

In development of Group Norms Members observe the behavior of others to determine what isappropriate Norm is established. Suggested behavior is tolerated even though dissenting memberwithdraws from group. New behavior is suggested Members decide if any past experience can

contribute effective behaviors Group members meet Members agree on behavior Members disagree onbehavior

Group Cohesion

The degree to which members are motivated to remain in the group

Development of group cohesion

Strengthening interpersonal attraction among group members

Generating a record of high performance and past success of the group

Fostering competition with other groups

Effects of group cohesion

Positive effects

Increased quality and quantity of group interactions

Strengthened adherence to group norms

Increased effectiveness in achieving group goals

Augmented individual satisfaction with group membership

Negative effects

Useful or creative ideas may be ignored if they deviate from established normsor values

Increased probability of developing groupthink ( a type of thought within adeeply cohesive in-group whose members try to minimize conflict and reachconsensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas)

Potential decrease in inter-group cooperation Counterproductive norms may be emphasized

Formation and Development of Groups and Teams

Organizational goals

Opportunities for interaction and sharing mutual knowledge

Psychological factors

Security needs
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Social support

Self-esteem needs

Status needs

Influences on Formation

Knowledge of team mission, objectives, norms

Task sequencing

Team role

Interaction patterns

Understanding team work skills

Teammate characteristics

Team Competencies in Areas of Knowledge Skills Attitudes

Adaptability and flexibility

Mutual performance monitoring and feedback, self-correction

Coordination and task integration

Communication

Decision making and problem solving

Team orientation

Shared vision

Team cohesion

Mutual trust

Importance of teamwork

.

Team Conflict

Types of team conflict

Task (substantive): conflict that focuses on differences in ideas and courses ofaction in addressing the issues facing a group

Relationship (affective) conflict: interpersonal differences among groupmembers

Dealing with Team Conflict

Possible causes of group conflict

Task conflict

Ambiguities regarding the task

Differences in goals, objectives, and perspectives among group

members Scarcity (actual or perceived) of resources

Relationship conflict

Dissimilarities in the composition of the membership of the group

Differences in interpersonal styles of individual members

Differences in values


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Managing intra-group conflict

Increase the ratio of substantive to relationship conflict.

Clarify and reduce task ambiguities

Get the group to focus on goals that emphasize the common interests of allgroup members

Avoid relationship conflicts

Managing inter-group conflict

Reduce unnecessary relational conflicts in inter-group interaction situations

Increase the focus on substantive differences

Emphasize organization-wide goals to increase cooperation and performance

Any product or service they develop is highly desired and valued by customers.

Increased cooperation among members is encouraged and achieved.

Group membership increases individual members feelings of satisfaction, personalgrowth, and overall well-being.

2. Ingredients Necessary for Group Effectiveness

Exert enough effort to accomplish its tasks at acceptable levels of quantity and quality

Obtain sufficient knowledge and skills to carry out its work

Use appropriate strategies to apply its effort, knowledge, and skills effectively

3. Managers Responsibilities for Encouraging Group Effectiveness

Develop appropriate group structures

Develop appropriate support from the organization

Obtain appropriate coaching and consultation assistance

Processes Group Structure Context Coaching and Consultation

Conflict within groups

Conflicts between people in work groups, committees, task forces, and other organizational forms of face-to-face groups are inevitable. As we have mentioned, these conflicts may be destructive as well asconstructive.

Conflict arises in groups because of the scarcity of freedom, position, and resources. People who valueindependence tend to resist the need for interdependence and, to some extent, conformity within a group.People who seek power therefore struggle with others for position or status within the group. Rewards andrecognition are often perceived as insufficient and improperly distributed, and members are inclined tocompete with each other for these prizes.

In western culture, winning is more acceptable than losing, and competition is more prevalent thancooperation, all of which tends to intensify intra-group conflict. Group meetings are often conducted in awin-lose climate that is, individual or subgroup interaction is conducted for the purpose of determining awinner and a loser rather than for achieving mutual problem solving.

Negative effects of group conflicts

The win-lose conflict in groups may have some of the following negative effects[6]:

1. Divert time and energy from the main issues


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2. Delay decisions

3. Create deadlocks

4. Drive unaggressive committee members to the sidelines

5. Interfere with listening

6. Obstruct exploration of more alternatives

7. Decrease or destroy sensitivity

8. Cause members to drop out or resign from committees

9. Arouse anger that disrupts a meeting

10. Interfere with empathy

11. Leave losers resentful

12. Incline underdogs to sabotage

13. Provoke personal abuse

14. Cause defensiveness

Results of group conflicts

Conflict in the group need not lead to negative results, however. The presence of a dissenting member orsubgroup often results in more penetration of the group's problem and more creative solutions. This isbecause disagreement forces the members to think harder in an attempt to cope with what may be validobjections to general group opinion. But the group must know how to deal with differences that may arise.

True interdependence among members leads automatically to conflict resolution in the group.Interdependence recognizes that differences will exist and that they can be helpful. Hence, members learnto accept ideas from dissenters (which do not imply agreeing with them), they learn to listen and to valueopenness, and they learn to share a mutual problem-solving attitude to ensure the exploration of all facetsof a problem facing the group.

Intergroup conflict between groups is a sometimes necessary, sometimes destructive, event that occurs atall levels and across all functions in organizations. Intergroup conflict may help generate creative tensionsleading to more effective contributions to the organization's goals, such as competition between sales

districts for the highest sales.

Intergroup conflict is destructive when it alienates groups that should beworking together, when it results in win-lose competition, and when it leads to compromises that representless-than-optimum outcomes.

Intergroup conflict occurs in two general forms. Horizontal strain involves competition betweenfunctions: for example, sales versus production, research and development versus engineering, purchasingversus legal, line versus staff, and so on. Vertical strain involves competition between hierarchical levels:for example, union versus management, foremen versus middle management, shop workers versusforemen. A struggle between a group of employees and management is an example of vertical strain orconflict. A clash between a sales department and production over inventory policy would be an example ofhorizontal strain.

Certain activities and attitudes are typical in groups involved in a win-lose conflict. Each side closes ranksand prepares itself for battle. Members show increased loyalty and support for their own groups. Minordifferences between group members tend to be smoothed over, and deviants are dealt with harshly. The

level of morale in the groups increases and infuses everyone with competitive spirit. The power structurebecomes better defined, as the "real" leaders come to the surface and members rally around the "best"thinkers and talkers.

In addition, each group tends to distort both its own views and those of the competing group. What isperceived as "good" in one's own position is emphasized, what is "bad" is ignored; the position of the othergroup is assessed as uniformly "bad," with little "good" to be acknowledged or accepted. Thus, the judgment and objectivity of both groups are impaired. When such groups meet to "discuss" theirdifferences, constructive, rational behavior is severely inhibited.[6] Each side phrases its questions andanswers in a way that strengthens its own position and disparages the other's. Hostility between the twogroups increases; mutual understandings are buried in negative stereotypes.
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Confrontation - strategy featuring a thorough and frank discussion of the sources and types ofconflict and achieving a resolution that is in the best interest of the group, but that may be at theexpense of one or all of the conflicting parties

A trained conflict resolver can begin with an economical intervention, such as getting group members toclarify and reaffirm shared goals. If necessary, he or she moves through a systematic series of interventions,such as testing the members' ability and willingness to compromise; resorting to confrontation, enforced

counseling, and/or termination as last resorts.

TOPIC 2: INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Communication is the process by which a message or information is exchanged from a sender to areceiver. For example a production manager (sender) may send a message to a sales manager (receiver)asking for sales forecasts for the next 6 months so they can plan production levels. The sales managerwould then reply (feedback) to the production manager with the appropriate figures.

This is an example of internal communication, i.e. when communications occur between employeesof a business. Communication therefore links together all the different activities involved in a businessand ensures all employees are working towards the same goal and know exactly what they should bedoing and by when. Effective communication is therefore fundamental to the success of a business.

A business will of course need to communicate with people or organizations outside of the business.This is known as external communication. For example a marketing manager will need to tellcustomers of a new special pricing offers or the finance director may need to ask banks for a loan.

Internal: Workers, Directors, Manager etc

External: Customers Local community Suppliers Shareholders Government Banks etc

The importance of good communication

Good communication has many advantages for a business: strong communication:

Motivates employees helps them feel part of the organization

Easier to control and coordinate business activity prevents different parts of the organizationgoing in opposite directions

Makes decision making easier for managers decisions are based on more complete and accurateinformation

Better communication with customers will increase sales

Improve relationships with stake holders such as suppliers and possibly lead to more reliabledelivery

Improves chances of obtaining finance e.g. keeping the bank up-to-date about how the business isdoing

Communication Skills

Effective communication is all about conveying your messages to other people clearly andunambiguously. It's also about receiving information that others are sending to you, with as littledistortion as possible.
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Doing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver. And it's a process thatcan be fraught with errors, with messages muddled by the sender, or misinterpreted by the recipient.When this isn't detected, it can cause tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed opportunity.

In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the sameinformation as a result of the communication.

By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When

not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you actually send do not necessarily reflect what you think,causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals both personally and professionally.

In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees, communicationskills were cited as the single more important decisive factor in choosing managers. The survey,conducted by the University of Pittsburghs Katz Business School, points out that communicationskills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the mainfactor contributing to job success.

In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue tostruggle, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively whether in verbal or writtenformat. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the workplace, andstands in the way of career progression.

Being able to communicate effectively is therefore essential if you want to build a successful career.To do this, you must understand what your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how itwill be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communications, suchas situational and cultural context.

Communication process and its barriers

Problems with communication can pop-up at every stage of the communication process (whichconsists of the sender, encoding, the channel, decoding, the receiver, feedbackand the context seethe diagram below). At each stage, there is the potential for misunderstanding and confusion.

To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without misunderstanding andconfusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of problems at each stage of this process, withclear, concise, accurate, well-planned communications. We follow the process through below:

Source

As the source of the message, you need to be clear about why you're communicating, and what youwant to communicate. You also need to be confident that the information you're communicating isuseful and accurate.

Message

The message is the information that you want to communicate.

Encoding

This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can besent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding depends partly on your ability to


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convey information clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources ofconfusion (for example, cultural issues, mistaken assumptions, and missing information.)

A key part of this knows your audience: Failure to understand who you are communicating with willresult in delivering messages that are misunderstood.

Channel

Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal channels including face-to-face meetings,telephone and videoconferencing; and written channels including letters, emails, memos and reports.

Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it's not particularly effectiveto give a long list of directions verbally, while you'll quickly cause problems if you give someonenegative feedback using email.

Decoding

Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding (involving, for example, taking the timeto read a message carefully, or listen actively to it.) Just as confusion can arise from errors in encoding,it can also arise from decoding errors. This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enoughknowledge to understand the message.

Receiver

Your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. No doubt, you have in mind the

actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience. Keep in mind, though, thateach of these individuals enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that willundoubtedly influence their understanding of your message, and their response. To be a successfulcommunicator, you should consider these before delivering your message, and act appropriately.

Feedback

Your audience will provide you with feedback, as verbal and nonverbal reactions to yourcommunicated message. Pay close attention to this feedback, as it is the only thing that can give youconfidence that your audience has understood your message. If you find that there has been amisunderstanding, at least you have the opportunity to send the message a second time.

Context

The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include the surroundingenvironment or broader culture (corporate culture, international cultures, and so on).

Removing Communication Barriers

To deliver your messages effectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that exist withineach of these stages of the communication process.

Lets begin with the message itself. If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains errors,you can expect the message to be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Use of poor verbal and bodylanguage can also confuse the message.

Barriers in context tend to stem from senders offering too much information too fast. When in doubthere, less is oftentimes more. It is best to be mindful of the demands on other peoples time, especiallyin todays ultra-busy society.

Once you understand this, you need to work to understand your audiences culture, making sure youcan converse and deliver your message to people of different backgrounds and cultures within your

own organization, in your country and even abroad. It is the spoken, oral, and unwritten way ofcommunicating. It makes use of words, vocabulary, numbers and symbols and is organized insentences.

Verbal communication

This communication skill is not reserved for the selected few. It is an ability that each and every oneshould develop to improve relationships and interactions.


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Everyone's mind is forever having thoughts and they are primarily in pictures and words. Wordsspoken affect your life as well as others. They have the power to create emotions and move people totake action. When you communicate clearly, you activate your mind and that of others and youstimulate creativity.

You create your reality with your senses, the eyes, ears and feelings and words and symbols are used to

create the meanings. This is why you are encouraged to read and watch informative materials, listen tomotivational audio programs and attend classes or seminars that relate to your line of work orobjectives. Positive and uplifting spoken words motivate and inspire.

Written communication

Written communication has great significance in todays business world. It is an innovative activity of themind. Effective written communication is essential for preparing worthy promotional materials for businessdevelopment. Speech came before writing. But writing is more unique and formal than speech. Effectivewriting involves careful choice of words, their organization in correct order in sentences formation as wellas cohesive composition of sentences. Also, writing is more valid and reliable than speech. But whilespeech is spontaneous, writing causes delay and takes time as feedback is not immediate.

Advantages of Written Communication

Written communication helps in laying down apparent principles, policies and rules for running ofan organization.

It is a permanent means of communication. Thus, it is useful where record maintenance is required.

It assists in proper delegation of responsibilities. While in case of oral communication, it isimpossible to fix and delegate responsibilities on the grounds of speech as it can be taken back bythe speaker or he may refuse to acknowledge.

Written communication is more precise and explicit.

Effective written communication develops and enhances an organizations image.

It provides ready records and references.

Legal defenses can depend upon written communication as it provides valid records.

Disadvantages of Written Communication

Written communication does not save upon the costs. It costs huge in terms of stationery and themanpower employed in writing/typing and delivering letters.

Also, if the receivers of the written message are separated by distance and if they need to clear theirdoubts, the response is not spontaneous.

Written communication is time-consuming as the feedback is not immediate. The encoding andsending of message takes time.

Effective written communication requires great skills and competencies in language and vocabularyuse. Poor writing skills and quality have a negative impact on organizations reputation.

Too much paper work and e-mails burden is involved.

Nonverbal Communication Skills

Good communication is the foundation of successful relationships, both personally and professionally.But we communicate with much more than words i.e. through our behaviours. In fact, research shows


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that the majority of our communication is nonverbal. Nonverbal communication, or body language,includes our facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, and even the tone of our voice.

The ability to understand and use nonverbal communication is powerful tools that will help youconnect with others, express what you really mean, navigate challenging situations, and build betterrelationships at home and work.

The power of nonverbal communication and body language

Nonverbal communication, or body language, is a vital form of communication. When we interact withothers, we continuously give and receive countless wordless signals. All of our nonverbal behaviorsthe gestures we make, the way we sit, how fast or how loud we talk, how close we stand, how mucheye contact we makesend strong messages.

The way you listen, look, move, and react tell the other person whether or not you care and how wellyoure listening. The nonverbal signals you send either produce a sense of interest, trust, and desire forconnectionor they generate disinterest, distrust, and confusion.

Five roles of non-verbal cues

Repetition: they can repeat the message the person is making verbally

Contradiction: they can contradict a message the individual is trying to convey

Substitution: they can substitute for a verbal message. For example, a person's eyes can often conveya far more vivid message than words can often do.

Complementing: they may add to or complement a verbal message. A boss who pats a person on theback in addition to giving praise can increase the impact of the message

Accenting: they may accent or underline a verbal message. Pounding the table, for example, canunderline a message.

Expressing behaviour: Our body language is the behaviour which means dissatisfaction, satisfactionetc.

Nonverbal communication and body language in work-place relationships

It takes more than words to create fulfilling, strong relationships. Nonverbal communication has a hugeimpact on the quality of our work-place relationships.

Nonverbal communication skills improve relationships by helping us to:Accurately read other people, including the emotions theyre feeling and the unspoken messagestheyre sending.

Create trust and transparency in relationships by sending nonverbal signals that match up with yourwords.

Respond with nonverbal cues that show others that you understand, notice, and care.

Unfortunately, many people send confusing or negative nonverbal signals without even knowing it.When this happens, both connection and trust are lost in our relationships.

Types of nonverbal communication and body language

There are many different types of nonverbal communication. Together, the following nonverbal signalsand cues communicate your interest and investment in others.

Facial expressions

The human face is extremely expressive, able to express countless emotions without saying a word.And unlike some forms of nonverbal communication, facial expressions are universal. The facialexpressions for happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust are the same across cultures.


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Body movements and posture

Consider how your perceptions of people are affected by the way they sit, walk, stand up, or hold theirhead. The way you move and carry yourself communicates a wealth of information to the world. Thistype of nonverbal communication includes your posture, bearing, stance, and subtle movements.

Gestures

Gestures are woven into the fabric of our daily lives. We wave, point, beckon, and use our hands whenwere arguing or speaking animatedlyexpressing ourselves with gestures often without thinking.However, the meaning of gestures can be very different across cultures and regions, so its important tobe careful to avoid misinterpretation.

Eye contact

Since the visual sense is dominant for most people, eye contact is an especially important type ofnonverbal communication. The way you look at someone can communicate many things, includinginterest, affection, hostility, or attraction. Eye contact is also important in maintaining the flow ofconversation and for gauging the other persons response.

Touch

We communicate a great deal through touch. Think about the messages given by the following: a firmhandshake, a timid tap on the shoulder, a warm bear hug, a reassuring pat on the back, a patronizingpat on the head, or a controlling grip on your arm.

Space

Have you ever felt uncomfortable during a conversation because the other person was standing too closeand invading your space? We all have a need for physical space, although that need differs depending onthe culture, the situation, and the closeness of the relationship. You can use physical space to communicatemany different nonverbal messages, including signals of intimacy, aggression, dominance, or affection.

Voice

We communicate with our voices, even when we are not using words. Nonverbal speech sounds such astone, pitch, volume, inflection, rhythm, and rate are important communication elements. When we speak,

other people read our voices in addition to listening to our words. These nonverbal speech soundsprovide subtle but powerful clues into our true feelings and what we really mean. Think about how tone ofvoice, for example, can indicate sarcasm, anger, affection, or confidence.

PROBLEM-SOLVING AND DECISION-MAKING

Problem solving and decision-making are important skills for business and life. Problem-solving ofteninvolves decision-making, and decision-making is especially important for management and leadership.There are processes and techniques to improve decision-making and the quality of decisions. Decision-making is more natural to certain personalities, so these people should focus more on improving the qualityof their decisions. People that are less natural decision-makers are often able to make quality assessments,but then need to be more decisive in acting upon the assessments made. Problem-solving and decision-making are closely linked, and each requires creativity in identifying and developing options, for which thebrainstorming technique is particularly useful. Good decision-making requires a mixture of skills: creativedevelopment and identification of options, clarity of judgment, firmness of decision, and effectiveimplementation. For group problem-solving and decision-making, or when a consensus is required,workshops help, within which you can incorporate these tools and process as appropriate. Here are someuseful methods for effective decision-making and problem-solving: First a simple step-by-step process foreffective decision-making and problem-solving.

Much of what managers and supervisors do is solve problems and make decisions. New managers andsupervisors, in particular, often make decisions and solve problems by reacting to them. They are "underthe gun", stressed and very short of time. Consequently, when they encounter a new problem or decisionthey must make, they react with a decision that seemed to work before. It's easy with this approach to get


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stuck in a circle of solving the same problem over and over again. Therefore, as a new manager orsupervisor, get used to an organized approach to problem solving and decision making. The following basicguidelines will get you started.

Decision making

Good decision making is an essential skill for career success generally, and effective leadershipparticularly. If you can learn to make timely and well-considered decisions, then you can often lead your

team to spectacular and well-deserved success. However, if you make poor decisions, your team risksfailure and your time as a leader will, most likely, be brutally short.

Simple processes for decision-making

1. Define and clarify the issue - does it warrant action? If so, now? Is the matter urgent, important orboth.

2. Gather all the facts and understand their causes.

3. Think about or brainstorm possible options and solutions.

4. Consider and compare the pros and cons of each option - consult if necessary - it probably will be.

5. Select the best option - avoid vagueness or 'foot in both camps' compromise.

6. Explain your decision to those involved and affected, and follow up to ensure proper and effectiveimplementation.

The following decision-making maxims will help to reinforce the above decision-making process whetherrelated to problem-solving or not.

"We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down." (AneurinBevan)

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrongthing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." (Attributed to Theodore Roosevelt)

JFDI - Just Frigging! Do it (polite version). The decision-makers motto There are usually several rightanswers when you are faced with a complex decision. When you've found the best solution you can find,

get on with it, make it work, and it most probably will.

Pros and cons decision-making method

Another simple process for decision-making is the pros and cons list.

Pro means 'for', and con means 'against'. In other words, advantages and disadvantages.

This method also applies to all sorts of problem-solving where issues and implications need to beunderstood and a decision has to be made.

Some decisions are a simple matter of whether to make a change or not, such as moving, taking a new job,or buying something, selling something, replacing something, etc. Other decisions involve number ofoptions, and are concerned more with how to do something, involving a number of choices.

Basic Guidelines to Problem Solving

NB: It might be more your nature to view a "problem" as an "opportunity". Therefore, you might substitute"problem" for "opportunity" in the following guidelines.

1. Define the problem - This is often where people struggle. They react to what they think the problem is.Instead, seek to understand more about why you think there's a problem.

2. Look at potential causes for the problem

3. Identify alternatives for approaches to resolve the problem

4. Select an approach to resolve the problem


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5. Plan the implementation of the best alternative (this is your action plan)

6. Monitor implementation of the plan

7. Verify if the problem has been resolved or not

TOPIC 5: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND DESIGNS

Managers must make choices about how to group people together to perform their work. Five commonapproaches functional, divisional, matrix, team, and networkinghelp managers determinedepartmental groupings (grouping of positions into departments). The five structures are basicorganizational structures, which are then adapted to an organization's needs. All five approaches combinevarying elements of mechanistic and organic structures. For example, the organizational design trend todayincorporates a minimum of bureaucratic features and displays more features of the organic design with adecentralized authority structure, fewer rules and procedures, and so on.

Functional structure

The functional structure groups positions into work units based on similar activities, skills, expertise, andresources (see Figure 1for a functional organizational chart). Production, marketing, finance, and humanresources are common groupings within a functional structure.

Figure 1The functional structure.

As the simplest approach, a functional structure features well-defined channels of communication andauthority/responsibility relationships. Not only can this structure improve productivity by minimizingduplication of personnel and equipment, but it also makes employees comfortable and simplifies training aswell.

But the functional structure has many downsides that may make it inappropriate for some organizations.

Here are a few examples:

The functional structure can result in narrowed perspectives because of the separateness ofdifferent department work groups. Managers may have a hard time relating to marketing, forexample, which is often in an entirely different grouping. As a result, anticipating or reacting tochanging consumer needs may be difficult. In addition, reduced cooperation and communicationmay occur.

Decisions and communication are slow to take place because of the many layers of hierarchy.Authority is more centralized.
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The functional structure gives managers experience in only one fieldtheir own. Managers do nothave the opportunity to see how all the firm's departments work together and understand theirinterrelationships and interdependence. In the long run, this specialization results in executiveswith narrow backgrounds and little training handling top management duties.

Divisional structure

Because managers in large companies may have difficulty keeping track of all their company's productsand activities, specialized departments may develop. These departments are divided according to theirorganizational outputs. Examples include departments created to distinguish among production, customerservice, and geographical categories. This grouping of departments is called divisional structure (see Figure2 ). These departments allow managers to better focus their resources and results. Divisional structure alsomakes performance easier to monitor. As a result, this structure is flexible and responsive to change.

Figure 2The divisional structureDisney in the early 1990s.

However, divisional structure does have its drawbacks. Because managers are so specialized, they maywaste time duplicating each other's activities and resources. In addition, competition among divisions maydevelop due to limited resources.

Matrix structure

The matrix structure combines functional specialization with the focus of divisional structure (see Figure 3This structure uses permanent cross-functional teams to integrate functional expertise with a divisionalfocus


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Figure 3The matrix structure.

Employees in a matrix structure belong to at least two formal groups at the same timea functional groupand a product, program, or project team. They also report to two bossesone within the functional groupand the other within the team.

This structure not only increases employee motivation, but it also allows technical and general managementtraining across functional areas as well. Potential advantages include

Better cooperation and problem solving. Increased flexibility.

Better customer service.

Better performance accountability.

Improved strategic management.

Predictably, the matrix structure also has potential disadvantages. Here are a few of this structure'sdrawbacks:

The two-boss system is susceptible to power struggles, as functional supervisors and team leadersvie with one another to exercise authority.

Members of the matrix may suffer task confusion when taking orders from more than one boss.

Teams may develop strong team loyalties that cause a loss of focus on larger organization goals. Adding the team leaders, a crucial component, to a matrix structure can result in increased costs.

Team structure

Team structure organizes separate functions into a group based on one overall objective (see Figure 4 ).These cross-functional teams are composed of members from different departments who work together asneeded to solve problems and explore opportunities. The intent is to break down functional barriers amongdepartments and create a more effective relationship for solving ongoing problems.


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Figure 4The team structure.

The team structure has many potential advantages, including the following:

Intradepartmental barriers break down.

Decision-making and response times speed up.

Employees are motivated.

Levels of managers are eliminated.

Administrative costs are lowered.

The disadvantages include:

Conflicting loyalties among team members.

Time-management issues. Increased time spent in meetings.

Managers must be aware that how well team members work together often depends on the quality ofinterpersonal relations, group dynamics, and their team management abilities.

Network structure

The network structure relies on other organizations to perform critical functions on a contractual basis (seeFigure5). In other words, managers can contract out specific work to specialists.


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IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND DESIGN

The importance of an organizational structure involves assisting business owners, CEOs, and entrepreneursto conceptualize, visualize, and construct a hierarchical system to be implemented into their organization.For example, the building blocks of an organizational structure include: a chain of command, span ofcontrol, departmentalization, distribution of authority, and organization height.

1. Chain of Command

An organizational structure involves a chain of command which determines and defines:

job positions, who makes the decisions, and who's accountable for various duties.Span of Control

Span of control determines and quantifies the actual amount of employees a manager

supervises.

Departmentalization

Departments within an organization structure are sections of the structure divided into

functional divisions (such as the Sales Department) relevant to specific tasks.Determining what activities, tasks, and talents are to be grouped to best achieve anorigination's objective is called the departmentalization process.

Distribution of Authority

Distribution of authority determines if decision-making authority is concentrated among a

few high-level figures commonly seen in bureaucratic organizations or is the authorityshared and distributed throughout a variety of departments working closet to the theircorresponding tasks.

Organization Height

Organization height defines how many departments, divisions, and layers there are

between the highest levels and the lowest levels of an organization.


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TOPIC 8: LEADERSHIP

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Many people become confused over the roles and attributes between leadership and management. Thefollowing table attempts to define the differences to minimize any confusion.

Leadership Management

1. Leaders mostly work from an elected base Managers are appointed to position

2.Leadership continually thinks beyond thehorizon

Management strives to reach the horizon

3. Leadership is a quality Management is a science and an art

4. Leadership provides vision Management provides realistic perspectives

5. Leadership deals with concepts Management relates to functions

6. Leadership exercises faith Management deals with facts


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7. Leadership seeks for effectiveness Management strives for efficiency

8. Leadership challenges the status quo Management administers

9. Leadership provides direction Management is concerned with control

10. Leadership thrives on finding opportunity Management succeeds on accomplishment

11. Leadership determines policy Management devises procedures

12. Leadership motivates people Management provides structure for people

13. Leadership determines true culture Management follows true culture

14. Leadership embraces and adapts to change Management provides the process of change

15.Leadership is about having confidence inpeople

Management defines performanceaccountabilities

16. Leaders review position Management measures achievement

LEADERSHIPLeadership is a process whereby an individual or individuals influences a group of individuals to achieve a

common goal. Interest in leadership increased during the early part of the twentieth century. Earlyleadership theories focused on what qualities distinguished between leaders and followers, whilesubsequent theories looked at other variables such as situational factors and skill levels. While manydifferent leadership theories have emerged, most can be classified as one of eight major types:

Trait Theory

Assumptions

People are born with inherited traits.

Some traits are particularly suited to leadership.

People who make good leaders have the right (or sufficient) combination of traits.

Description

Early research on leadership was based on the psychological focus of the day, which was of people havinginherited characteristics or traits. Attention was thus put on discovering these traits, often by studyingsuccessful leaders, but with the underlying assumption that if other people could also be found with thesetraits, then they, too, could also become great leaders.

Stodgily (1974) identified the following traits and skills as critical to leaders.

Traits

Adaptable to situations

Alert to social environment

Ambitious and achievement-orientated

Assertive


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Cooperative

Decisive

Dependable

Dominant (desire to influence others)

Energetic (high activity level)

Persistent

Self-confident

Tolerant of stress

Good communication Skill

Willing to assume responsibility Clever (intelligent)

Conceptually skilled

Creative

Diplomatic and tactful

Fluent in speaking

Knowledgeable about group task

Organized (administrative ability)

Persuasive

Socially skilled

McCall and Lombardo (1983) researched both success and failure identified four primary traits by whichleaders could succeed or 'derail':

Emotional stability and composure: Calm, confident and predictable, particularly when understress.

Admitting error: Owning up to mistakes, rather than putting energy into covering up.

Good interpersonal skills: Able to communicate and persuade others without resort to negative orcoercive tactics.

Intellectual breadth: Able to understand a wide range of areas, rather than having a narrow (andnarrow-minded) area of expertise.

Discussion

There have been many different studies of leadership traits and they agree only in the general saintlyqualities needed to be a leader.

For a long period, inherited traits were sidelined as learned and situational factors were considered to be farmore realistic as reasons for people acquiring leadership positions.

Paradoxically, the research into twins who were separated at birth along with new sciences such as

Behavioral Genetics have shown that far more is inherited than was previously supposed. Perhaps one daythey will find a 'leadership gene'.

GREAT-MANS THEORY

Assumptions

Leaders are born and not made.

Great leaders will arise when there is a great need.

Description


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Role conflictcan also occur when people have differing expectations of their leaders. It also happens whenleaders have different ideas about what they should be doing vs. the expectations that are put upon them.

Discussion

Role expectations of a leader can vary from very specific to a broad idea within which the leader can definetheir own style.

Lewin's leadership styles

Description

Kurt Lewin and colleagues did leadership decision experiments in 1939 and identified three different stylesof leadership, in particular around decision-making.

Autocratic

In the autocratic style, the leader takes decisions without consulting with others. The decision is madewithout any form of consultation. In Lewin's experiments, he found that this caused the most level of

discontent.An autocratic style works when there is no need for input on the decision, where the decision would notchange as a result of input, and where the motivation of people to carry out subsequent actions would notbe affected whether they were or were not involved in the decision-making.

Democratic

In the democratic style, the leader involves the people in the decision-making, although the process for thefinal decision may vary from the leader having the final say to them facilitating consensus in the group.

Democratic decision-making is usually appreciated by the people, especially if they have been used toautocratic decisions with which they disagreed. It can be problematic when there are a wide range ofopinions and there is no clear way of reaching an equitable final decision.

Laissez-Faire

The laissez-faire style is to minimize the leader's involvement in decision-making, and hence allowingpeople to make their own decisions, although they may still be responsible for the outcome.

Laissez-faire works best when people are capable and motivated in making their own decisions, and wherethere is no requirement for a central coordination, for example in sharing resources across a range ofdifferent people and groups.

Discussion

In Lewin et alls experiments, he discovered that the most effective style was Democratic. Excessiveautocratic styles led to revolution, whilst under a Laissez-faire approach, people were not coherent in theirwork and did not put in the energy that they did when being actively led.

These experiments were actually done with groups of children, but were early in the modern era and wereconsequently highly influential.

Situational Leadership

Assumptions

The best action of the leader depends on a range of situational factors.

Style

When a decision is needed, an effective leader does not just fall into a single preferred style, such as usingtransactional or transformational methods. In practice, as they say, things are not that simple.


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Factors that affect situational decisions include motivation and capability of followers. This, in turn, isaffected by factors within the particular situation. The relationship between followers and the leader may beanother factor that affects leader behavior as much as it does follower behavior.

The leaders' perception of the follower and the situation will affect what they do rather than the truth of thesituation. The leader's perception of themselves and other factors such as stress and mood will also modifythe leaders' behavior.

Yukl (1989) seeks to combine other approaches and identifies six variables:

Subordinate effort: the motivation and actual effort expended.

Subordinate ability and role clarity: followers knowing what to do and how to do it.

Organization of the work: the structure of the work and utilization of resources.

Cooperation and cohesiveness: of the group in working together.

Resources and support: the availability of tools, materials, people, etc.

External coordination: the need to collaborate with other groups.

Leaders here work on such factors as external relationships, acquisition of resources, managing demands onthe group and managing the structures and culture of the group.

Discussion

Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) identified three forces that led to the leader's action: the forces in thesituation, the forces in then follower and also forces in the leader. This recognizes that the leader's style ishighly variable, and even such distant events as a family argument can lead to the displacement activity of amore aggressive stance in an argument than usual.

Maier (1963) noted that leaders not only consider the likelihood of a follower accepting a suggestion, butalso the overall importance of getting things done. Thus in critical situations, a leader is more likely to bedirective in style simply because of the implications of failure.

Path-Goal Theory of Leadership

Description

The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership was developed to describe the way that leaders encourage and supporttheir followers in achieving the goals they have been set by making the path that they should take clear andeasy.

In particular, leaders:

Clarify the path so subordinates know which way to go.

Remove roadblocks that are stopping them going there.

Increasing the rewards along the route.

Leaders can take a strong or limited approach in these. In clarifying the path, they may be directive or givevague hints. In removing roadblocks, they may scour the path or help the follower move the bigger blocks.In increasing rewards, they may give occasional encouragement or pave the way with gold.

This variation in approach will depend on the situation, including the follower's capability and motivation,as well as the difficulty of the job and other contextual factors.

House and Mitchell (1974) describe four styles of leadership:

Supportive leadership

Considering the needs of the follower, showing concern for their welfare and creating a friendly workingenvironment. This includes increasing the follower's self-esteem and making the job more interesting. Thisapproach is best when the work is stressful, boring or hazardous.


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Directive leadership

Telling followers what needs to be done and giving appropriate guidance along the wa

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