Assessment 1 Organizational Behavior and Leadership This report critically explain some of the challenges managers face in getting

people to work together effectively in teams Vikas Gurudev, ID NO: 11010560

Content Sec 1 Sec 2 Introduction Importance of Team And Team Work Problems Issues Related To Organizational Behavior Issues Related To Leadership Conclusion Reference

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Introduction:
Organizational Behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within an organization. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes sociology, psychology, communication, and management. According to Hatch and Cunliffe, (2006) the study of the way people interacts within groups. Normally this study is applied in an attempt to create more efficient business organizations. The central idea of the study of organizational behavior is that a scientific approach can be applied to the management of workers. Organizational behavior theories are used for human resource purposes to maximize the output from individual group members. There are a variety of different models and philosophies of organizational behavior. Areas of research include improving job performance, increasing job satisfaction, promoting innovation and encouraging leadership. In order to achieve the desired results, managers may adopt different tactics, including reorganizing groups, modifying compensation structures and changing the way performance is evaluated. Leadership has been described as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. According to Jago, (1982) Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. Leadership is organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal. The leader may or may not have any formal authority. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. While leadership is learned, the skills and knowledge processed by the leader can be influenced by his or hers attributes or traits, such as beliefs, values, ethics, and character. Knowledge and skills contribute directly to the process of leadership, while the other attributes give the leader certain characteristics that make him or her unique (Northouse, 2007).

Importance of Team and Team Work:

The concept of teamwork is extremely important to the success of any team. Teamwork and unselfishness create the backbone of a great team, without them a team cannot realistically compete. A productive team has players that share common goals, a common vision and have some level of interdependence that requires both verbal and physical interaction. Teams come into existence through shared attitudes about a particular sport. They may come together for a number of different reasons, but their goals are the same - to achieve peak performance and experience success. The ends may differ but the means by which one gets there is the same - teamwork. Every member of the team is accountable when it comes to teamwork. Teamwork is something that must be a high priority and given constant attention. Every player needs to understand how important it is for him or her to work smoothly together if they want to be successful. Each player must be dedicated to the whole team and be willing to act unselfishly. When challenges arise, the team needs to have the resources, accountability and commitment to deal with them in a constructive and positive manner last but not least T.E.A.M itself defines Together Everyone Achieves More (Sugarman, 2004).

Source: (http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/pics/teamwork)

Problems Working With Team:

A lack of motivation whether of individual team members or with the team as a whole can create major problems for any service or business. Motivating staff to work effectively and efficiently is an essential management and leadership skill, and understanding how people are motivated may be critical if difficulties arise. Research has demonstrated that often what really motivates people is different from the things they say they are dissatisfied about. For example, people working in health or social care often complain about their relationship with their supervisor, their pay, their working conditions, or the policies and procedures they have to follow. However, research findings show that even when many of these issues are addressed, satisfaction is short-lived. What really motivates people is the work itself, a sense of achievement, recognition, responsibility and the prospects of advancement (Herzberg, 1966). Due to the nature of working in teams, group members can sometimes find that they are not working effectively, which negatively impacts on their progress, and their ability to be successful. Some common problems identified by individuals working in teams are: Absence of team identity. Members may not feel mutually accountable to one another for the teams objectives. There may be a lack of commitment and effort, conflict between team goals and members personal goals, or poor collaboration. Tasks not being completed by deadline. Difficulty in making decisions - Team members may be rigidly adhering to their positions during decision making or making repeated arguments rather than introducing new information. Members not contributing. Poor communication - Team members may interrupt or talk over one another. There may be consistent silence from some members during meetings, allusions to problems but failure to formally address them. Inability to resolve conflicts - Conflicts cannot be resolved when there are heightened tensions and team members make personal attacks or aggressive gestures. Lack of participation - Team members fail to complete assignments. There may be poor attendance at team meetings or low energy during meetings. 5

Lack of creativity - The team is unable to generate fresh ideas and perspectives and doesnt turn unexpected events into opportunities. Groupthink - The team is unwilling or unable to consider alternative ideas or approaches. There is a lack of critical thinking and debate over ideas. This often happens when the team overemphasizes team agreement and unity.

Ineffective leadership - Leaders can fail teams by not defining a compelling vision for the team, not delegating, or not representing multiple constituencies.

Issues Related To Organizational Behavior:

Organizations have been set up to fulfill needs of the people. In todays competitive world, the organizations have to be growth-oriented. This is possible when productivity is ensured with respect to quantity of product to be produced with zero error quality. Employee absenteeism and turnover has a negative impact on productivity. Employee who absents frequently cannot contribute towards productivity and growth of the organization. In the same manner, employee turnover causes increased cost of production.

Source: (http://www.docstoc.com/docs/19703917/Organizational-Behavior-Model) Job satisfaction is a major factor to analyze performance of an individual towards his work. Satisfied workers are productive workers who contribute towards building an appropriate work culture in an organization. Organizations are composed of number of individuals working independently or collectively in teams, and number of such teams makes a department and number of such departments makes an organization. It is a formal structure and all departments have to function in a coordinated manner to achieve the organizational objective. It is therefore important for all employees to possess a positive attitude towards work. They need to function in congenial atmosphere and accomplish assigned goals. It is also important for managers to develop an appropriate work culture. Use of authority, delegation of certain powers to subordinates, division of labor, efficient communication, benchmarking, reengineering, job re-design and empowerment are some of the important factors so that an organization can function as well-oiled machine. This is not only applicable to manufacturing organizations but also to service and social organizations (Upinder and Santosh, 2002). Challenges Faced By Managers There are various challenges, which are being faced by the managers in all organizations. The major challenge that is faced by the managers nowadays is: Competition - For example, when the airline industry started then there were 7

few airlines and the industry had monopoly. However, nowadays there are a number of airlines and there is an immense competition. This shows that it has become difficult for the managers to increase their competencies. Technology - The technological advancements have increased and with the passage of time, innovative technological tools are being introduced. Therefore, to maintain the flexibility in the companies is a greater challenge for managers. Human Resource - The Human resource is another challenge that is faced by the HR managers. Hiring, selection and recruitment is becoming difficult as the complexity of tasks is increasing. Moreover, markets are getting customer oriented and to satisfy the aware customers, managers have to take important steps.

Challenges Faced by Female Managers The fact that women tend to face more obstacles on their way up the career ladder has been well established. In order to understand how to better help women advance, Ruderman and Ohlott, (2002) researched the unique challenges women face as they develop as managers and leaders. After conducting 61 interviews and collecting 276 surveys, they discovered 5 themes characterizing the challenges facing female managers are: Authenticity - The first of the 5 unique developmental needs they identified is authenticity. Women reported struggling with being able to feel like themselves in leadership roles in which they might have felt like they had to act against deeply held values. For instance, women tend to value compassion more highly than do men, which can be in direct conflict with a highly competitive culture. Therefore, to be successful in that culture, women may have to act against their own deeply held values. Wholeness - The research also suggests that achieving a whole life, or a life characterized by a balance between work and non-work roles, was a

significant theme for the managers in the study. The business world makes balancing both work and non-work roles difficult, and as women tend to carry more care giving responsibilities, this tends to be more of an issue for women than for men. It is important to remember that leadership development takes place within this context. Self-clarity - Women expressed a need to understand others reactions to them. While attaining accurate feedback is necessary for anyone working in an organization, it can feel particularly difficult to receive for women due to the stereotypes and role expectations they often face in organizations. There is extensive research showing that women are often held to different (arguably higher) standards of performance than men. Connection - Women also expressed a need for connection, or the need for close relationships with others, something they felt was often hampered by organizational life. Not only does time spent at work hurt the development of close relationships, but also the competitive nature of organizations makes the development of close relationships at work difficult. Almost all of the women in the study reported feeling dissatisfied with the number of close relationships in their life. Agency - Agency has been identified as another developmental need for women. As agency refers to behaviors such as assertiveness and exerting power over others, it is typically associated with leadership. However, it is also typically associated with masculinity, which often leads to negative reactions towards women engaging in agentic behaviors. Therefore, learning to reconcile the need to engage in agentic behaviors while tempering the negative reactions of others is an important developmental challenge for women.

Issues Related To Leadership:

Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership 9

knowledge and skills. This is called Process Leadership. However the traits that can influence the actions. This is called Trait Leadership, in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born rather than made. These two leadership types are shown in the below chart:

Source: (Northouse, 2007) Although the position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization called Assigned Leadership, this power does not make a leader, it simply makes the boss. Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals called Emergent Leadership, rather than simply bossing people around (Rowe, 2007). Bass' theory of leadership notes there are three basic ways to explain how people become leaders: A crisis or important event may cause a person to rise to the occasion, which brings out extraordinary leadership qualities in an ordinary person. This is the Great Event or Great Man Theory. Some personality traits may lead people naturally into leadership roles. This is the Trait Theory. People can choose to become leaders. People can learn leadership skills. This

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is the Transformational or Process Leadership Theory. It is the most widely accepted theory today (Bass and Bass, 2008). The Two Most Important Keys to Effective Leadership According to a study by the Hay Group, a global management consultancy, there are 75 key components of employee satisfaction: Trust and confidence in top leadership was the single most reliable predictor of employee satisfaction in an organization. Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas was the key to winning organizational trust and confidence. 1. Helping employees understand the company's overall business strategy. 2. Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives. 3. Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee's own division is doing - relative to strategic business objectives (Lamb and McKee, 2004). Environment Every organization has a particular work environment, which dictates to a considerable degree how its leaders respond to problems and opportunities. This is brought about by its heritage of past leaders and its present leaders. Goals, Values and Concepts Leaders exert influence on the environment via three types of actions: The goals and performance standards they establish. The values they establish for the organization. The business and people concepts they establish.

Successful organizations have leaders who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership, plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability. Values reflect the concern the organization has for its employees, customers, investors, vendors, and surrounding community. These values define the manner in how business will be conducted.

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Concepts define what products or services the organization will offer and the methods and processes for conducting business. These goals, values, and concepts make up the organization's personality or how both outsiders and insiders observe the organization. This personality defines the roles, relationships, rewards, and rites that take place. Culture and Climate According to Newstrom and Davis, (1993) each organization has its own distinctive culture. It is a combination of the founders, past leadership, current leadership, crises, events, history, and size. This results in the routines, rituals, and the way we do things. This impact individual behavior on what it takes to be in good standing and direct the appropriate behavior for each circumstance. The climate is the feel of the organization, the individual and shared perceptions and attitudes of the organization's members. While the culture is the deeply rooted nature of the organization that is a result of long-held formal and informal systems, rules, traditions, and customs. Climate is a short-term phenomenon created by the current leadership. Climate represents the beliefs about the feel of the organization by its members. This individual perception of the feel of the organization comes from what the people believe about the activities that occur in the organization (Ivancevich et al, 2007). These activities influence both individual and team motivation and satisfaction, such as: How well does the leader clarify the priorities and goals of the organization? What is the system of recognition, rewards, and punishments in the organization? How competent are the leaders? Are leaders free to make decisions?

Ethical Leadership In organizational communication, ethics in leadership are very important. Business leaders must make decisions that will not only benefit them, but also they must think about how the other people will be affected. The best leaders make known their values and their ethics and preach them in their leadership style and actions. It consists of communicating complete and accurate information, where there is a personal, professional, ethical, or legal obligation to do so. Being unethical in the

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workplace can include anything from taking personal phone calls while at your desk, telling someone the "check is in the mail", when in fact it hasn't even been written yet, and even taking office supplies home for your personal use. Most organizations create an ethical code, which is usually a list of rules that tells you what behaviors are right and what are wrong in the company (Stansbury, 2009).

Conclusion:
The central idea of the study of organizational behavior is that a scientific approach can be applied to the management of workers. Organizational behavior theories are used for human resource purposes to maximize the output from individual group members. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. Teams come into existence through shared attitudes about a particular sport. They may come together for a number of different reasons, but their goals are the same - to achieve peak performance and experience success. The ends may differ but the means by which one gets there is the same teamwork. Due to the nature of working in teams, group members can sometimes find that they

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are not working effectively, which negatively impacts on their progress, and their ability to be successful. Even employee absenteeism and turnover has a negative impact on productivity. Employee who absents frequently cannot contribute towards productivity and growth of the organization. In the same manner, employee turnover causes increased cost of production. Successful organizations have leaders who set high standards and goals across the entire spectrum, such as strategies, market leadership, plans, meetings and presentations, productivity, quality, and reliability. Finally the best leaders make known their values and their ethics and preach them in their leadership style and actions.

Reference:
Bass, B and Bass, R (2008). The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications. New York: Simon & Schuster. p68 Hatch,M and Cunliffe, A (2006). Organization Theory: Modern, Symbolic, and Postmodern Perspectives. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p34-56. Herzberg, F (1966). Work and The Nature of Man. New York: Wiley. p96. Ivancevich, J, Konopaske, R and Matteson, M (2007). Organizational Behavior and Management. New York: McGraw Hill Irwin. p87. Jago, A. (1982). Leadership: Perspectives in theory and research. Management Science. 28 (3), p315-336. Lamb, L and McKee, K (2004). Applied Public Relations: Cases in Stakeholder Management. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. p24. Newstrom, J and Davis, K (1993). Organization Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill. p50. Northouse, G (2007). Leadership Theory and Practice. 3rd ed. London: Thousand Oak. p43-65.

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Rowe, W (2007). Cases in Leadership. California: Sage Publications. p92-102. Ruderman, M and Ohlott, P (2002). Standing at the crossroads: Next steps for highachieving women. an Francisco: Jossey-Bass. p69-74. Stansbury, J. (2009). Reasoned Moral Agreement: Applying discourse ethics within organizations. Business Ethics Quarterly. 19 (1), p33-56. Sugarman, K. (2004). Understanding the Importance of Teamwork. Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching. 11 (3), p4. Upinder, D and Santosh, D (2002). Case Method In Management Education. New Delhi: Excel Books. p112-118.

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