Leadership, Team Building and Communication at Apple Inc - Essay Example

Leadership, Team Building and Communication at Apple Inc Apple can be ified among the top organizations, which are involving many workers, and employees who work in different teams and groups. Therefore, it is matter of fact that they may face certain conflicts and issues when they work in a group along with other people having different mentality and thought patterns. The role of leadership is very important when any organization involves different people and different teams. Traditional, Contemporary and Emerging Leadership Theories: As the time passes, many things and concepts are modified according to the situation. Same is the case with the leadership style and theories. Leadership theories are modified according to the need of the hour. Traditionally there were trait leadership model, behavioral leadership and the situational leadership theories. Then there comes a difference in the thought pattern of leaders and the organizations also. The contemporary theories may also include transactional leadership, transformational leadership and the charismatic leadership. In the 21st century, there are also many new concepts, which are emerging according to the situation and the issues, which any leader may face. This may include expansive leadership, emotional intelligence and the system thinking form the leader perspective Interpersonal Forms of Power: Different types of powers can be classified based on interpersonal communication (Geller, 2011). This interpersonal power actually assist people and very much helpful for the people who are in leadership positions. Expert power, legitimate power, referent power and the most important information power, these are all kinds of interpersonal powers which actually help any leader. Profile of Ideal leader for Apple Company: If we talk about the profile of any ideal leader for the Apple Inc. then there can be certain traits and characteristics, which can help a leader to work in company like Apple. The leader should be emotionally intelligent because in this way he can handle all the group and team members easily. There should be system thinking because it will help to take the whole team and the organization in a good manner. The leadership should be charismatic for the employees so that he can make them indulge in the work by impressing them. The leader should be up to date so that he can change the systems according to the market demand. There should be legitimate power in the hand of the leader so that he can force all the team members to change themselves according to the situation, Organizational Stressors: When working in an organization where there is highly competitive environment then it is definite matter of fact that many of the team or group members will face certain factors which may cause stress for them (Hansel et. al., 2013). These organizational stressors may be task related, physical environment related or may be role clarity and responsibility related. All of these factors or issues are very much important for the organizational and due to their importance, they can cause stress for the group members. The task related stress can be occurred if the job schedule is very tough and hectic and the members have to work for many hours. Job roles can also be stress factors if there is over workload and responsibilities. Improper working conditions and the work place environment may also cause stress for the working people. The group people may suffer anxiety if they think that the group leaders do not properly utilize their skills. There is another important factor, which is the organizational politics. Here it is important to note that all the types of organizational stressors may affect the organizational and individual performance in a bad manner. Strategies to Overcome Stressors: Every member should do a SWOT analysis of his own so that he may get about himself and then mould according to the whole team. Every member should think positively about the group or the team so that he may not feel any conflict with others. In this way, he can avoid any kind of stress. Group or team leaders should also schedule the activities in a manner that no member should be over loaded with responsibilities and activities. Critical Elements Required for Effective Group and Team Work: Any organization working in a competitive environment needs some critical success factors, which actually makes its output productivity very much effective. In the same manner, any team or group also needs some elements, which are very much helpful for making it successful and effective (Carlock, 2012). These critical factors include an effective leader. An effective leader can help his team or group members to work and devote themselves for the achievement of the organizational goals. After the effective leadership, there comes the shared vision. When all the team members are exactly working in the same direction and on same values then the output productivity will be more effective. All the team members should be committed and fair to all the other team members and the whole team also. There should be an environment of trust and respect between the team and group members. Every group member should be clear about his part or role within the organization. Potential Sources of Conflict within Team and Group: When two or more persons work anywhere, in the form of a team or a group, then the occurrence of conflicts is a common matter of fact. However, sometimes these kinds of conflicts are healthy because they may help to create new ideas. The difference of opinion is always good and healthy unless it is accepted. When people do not accept the difference then the conflict may ruin the performance and the effectiveness of the group or team. These conflicts can also be source of time wastage. People may indulge in unnecessary conversation and thus waste their valuable time in non-productive activity. Overall, we can say that these conflicts can slow down the team or group performance. Five Conflict Management Styles: An effective team or group leader can easily resolve the conflicts using his skills and abilities. The management professionals have defined five conflict management styles, which can be applied in different situations. These conflict management styles can be good and effective for the conflict resolution. These styles include Competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. Competing may end with a win-lose situation. This conflict management style can be used in the situations where there is a need of quick and urgent decisions. In this situation, the managers may take decisions on their own opinion without any other consent from any other member. The second style is collaborating which means the collaboration of two parties to meet the end goal or the objective desired by the team or the group. This style is entirely opposite to the competing conflict management style. At third, there comes the style of compromising which means the lose-lose situation between the two parties. Both parties may have to leave their own point of view and then agree on the third option. In the avoiding approach, the parties simply avoid the conflicting issue and may continue with their routine work. At the last, there comes the style of accommodating which means when one party may facilitate another party on its own expense. All of these conflict management styles are different from each other and thus can be applied in different situations. Potential Barriers to Communication and Their Impact on Group and Team Performance: Communication is the best tool to share and create ideas and information within the team and group members. The organizational and specifically we can say the group and team performance can be more effective and enhanced if the communication is at its peak between the members. Contrary to this, the performance can be disturbed if there is a communication gap between the group and team members. There can be some potential barriers to this communication tool and thus creates problems for the team and group members. Among the barriers, the top most barrier is the cultural problem. There are many small factors, which collectively constitute a whole term of culture. However, the most important factors are the attitudes and the beliefs of the people, which make them different from one another with respect to their cultures. Usually people are very much committed to their cultural beliefs, norms and values and they cannot bear it to hear any single word against it. There is a strong impression of the beliefs on any person’s perception. Because of the difference in the perception power, any person can perceive the same message in an entirely different manner and thus the difference in the perception may cause any type of conflict within the team and group. Another important barrier to effective communication is the language difference. This can create problems in the understanding of the message. Some authors write that personality can also be a barrier between the communication of group and team members. Some people are shy that they cannot convey their message properly. When we talk about cultural barriers then another problem can be the use of jargons i.e. specific terms of any specific area or field, which might not be understandable for the other persons, which are related to that particular area or field. Recommendations: There can be a standard language for the whole group or the team so that the use of jargons can be avoided. There can be variety of language courses, which can help to overcome the language problems. Individual participation can build confidence in the person so that he may not feel shy to convey his message. Reference list: Carlock, R. (2012). ‘Assessment Tools For Developing and Leading effective Teams’, Faculty and Research Working Paper, The Business School For the World. Hansel, J., Finney, C., Bonato, S., Dewa, C. (2013). ‘Organizational Stressors Associated with Job Stress and Burnout in Correctional Officers: A Systematic Review’, BMC Public Health, US National Library of Medicine Geller, S. (2011), ‘The Power of Interpersonal Communication’, Differential Impact, Safety Performance Solutions, ISHN06, Read More