Motivation and Emotion at Work - Essay Example

? Leadership Introduction Every organization is faced with problems which include leadership problems, economic constrains, low employee motivation, customer complaints and many others (Hassan & Shaw, 2012). These problems may arise due to competition, poor channels of communication, poor leadership and lack of information. Organizations operate for the purposes of making profits. The most significant thing to note is that no organization can succeed without their workers commitment towards work (Robins & Judge, 2010, p. 573). Employees are the organizational assets though they represent the large part of the organizations expenses. Leadership is the backbone of the organization. Leaders of an organization are given the mandate of seeing into it that all the organizational operations run smoothly to ensure organizational success. Barnard (1938) defines leadership as the capability of the superior to influence the behaviour of subordinates and convince them to follow a particular strategy. Leaders should inspire confidence to their followers. Various theories have been associated with leadership and have been applied to solve difficult management issues arising in organizations. Individuals in leadership positions must posses’ vast knowledge of social behaviour of individuals or teams within the organization (Robins & Judge, 2010, p. 597). Leaders are innovators and change facilitators. Leaders are concerned with the planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. Leadership Theories/Concepts There are several leadership theories that have been proposed. They include great man theory, trait theory, behavioural theories such as the managerial grid, theory x and y, contingency theory and many others. The various leadership styles include; participative leadership, transformational leadership, situational leadership and many others. Some leaders think more about their employees than themselves. Others are more committed to their work and have excellent communication skills. For every organization to be successful the leader should show commitment to his work, communicate effectively and motivate employees to perform their tasks (Hassan & Shaw, 2012). The trait theory assumes that individuals have natural traits that help them become leaders. They believe that these merits are inheritable. These traits include intelligence, conduct, sociability, commitment, devotion, determination and perseverance and other inherit abilities (Gorman, 2004). Situational theory argues that leaders arise from different situation in individuals’ face in life. The leaders are expected to adjust and adapt to new circumstances to be able to deal with the new situation. The path goal theory deals employees motivations so as to enable them achieve the set goals and objectives (Gorman, 2004, p.82). According to this theory leaders have the ability to improve employees’ motivation by clarifying the goals and providing the resources necessary to ensure improved employee performance and achievement of the desired goals. The contingency theories are an expansion of the situational theories. They are based on categorizing various components which can be used to foretell of the best and effective management technique to be applied in a given situation (Hassan, 2009). The Fiedler contingency model proposes that for effective group performance the leaders’ approach must match with the situation, which gives leaders some control. Fiedler tried to establish whether a person is task-oriented or rapport oriented using the LPC scores. He further identified three dimensions, which could be used to determine effective leadership (Robins, & Judge, 2010, p. 522). These include leader-member relations, which involves individuals levels of confidence, trust and respect individuals had in their leaders, task structure, which involves the structured and the unstructured degree of job assignments position power which measures the degree of influence a leader has in relation to issues of hiring, firing, discipline, promotions and salary increases. According to the behavioural theories certain behaviours are used to distinguish between leaders and those who are not leaders (Gorman, 2004). Behavioural theorists argue that behaviours can be learnt unlike the individual traits. Through teaching any person can become a leader. A study conducted by Ohio University students came up with two main factors through which one could become a leader. They two factors include the initiating structure and consideration. Initiating structure dimension refers to the level with which a leader is likely to define and structure their duties and those of their employees for the purposes of achieving the set goals (Hassan, 2009). Consideration refers to the extent to which a leader is able to establish mutual relationships with employees built on trust, respect, sharing of ideas and taking care of employees’ feelings. Analysis of the case in relation to the leadership theories Lee feels that the roles within the company should be clearly defined so that the employees are able to perform effectively and hence reduce customer complaints that have been on the increase. Lee feels that the people in the billing department are the ones who bear the wrath of the unsatisfied customers. She also tries to understand the feeling of other workers in the organization in relation to their workplace. The employees in the organization feel that there is no proper coordination since they are expected to perform some tasks that they are not aware of how they came about. As a result of the dissatisfaction employees have encountered in their line of duty, they have low morale and reduced levels of performance. Some plumbers feel bad when they are called to do minor jobs and when they are quarrelled by the clients for charging higher fees that had not originally been agreed. Therefore lee feels that there is need for the organization to redefine the organizational structure and the job design of the employees. According to Fiedlers model of contingency theory employees must be aligned to their jobs if the leaders are to achieve the set objectives (Robins & Judge, 2010, p. 687). Aligning the employees’ duties in relation to their capabilities and skills would help the organization reduce the time and cost spent in responding to a job since the right person for the job would be sent. Lee feels that employees can be motivated to perform their work better if they are given some monetary rewards (Gorman, 2004, p.72). Lee believes that the higher the rewards individuals get from better performance of their work will always drive them to perform better. Path goal theory proposes that leaders should motivate their employees by defining the employees’ roles and giving them rewards. Lee proposes that employees should be paid in relation to the results achieved from their work and those who achieve excellent results get more cash rewards. According to consideration one of the dimensions of behavioural theories a leader should be able to build mutual relationship and trust with employees (Robins & Judge, 2010, p. 571). This enables the leader to get the necessary information in order to solve the problems facing the organization. Lee has established relationship with her workers and they freely tell her of the difficulties and are able to share their feelings regarding their work and that of other employees. According to the trait theory, some leadership characteristics are inherited (Hassan, 2009, p.64). Lee could therefore have inherited characteristics such as patience, sociability, commitment and devotion. Though the company is on the verge she does not quit, but tries to establish the problem by socializing with workers and committing herself into reading past surveys that have been conducted in the company. She patiently listens to all the workers in various sections to understand their problems. Lee tries to understand what is involved in the performance of each employee’s tasks. She tries to establish the skills different employees have and their pay. Workers in DrainFlow are dissatisfied with their work and have developed negative attitudes towards work. According to Fielder contingency theory a leader should understand the structure of the job and recruit or hire people with the right skills for the job (Hassan, 2009, p.126). Lee feels that the company needs people who have the necessary skills. She feels that the hiring methods should be standardized for all the employees so as to be able to get the right workforce. According to the situation al theory a leader may arise from the situation facing the organization and the situation gives the leader the control to make decisions (Gorman, 2004). The company is losing a lot of money and customers. In this situation lee has to make concrete decisions which are aimed at maximizing he organizations benefits. She has the power to initiate a restructuring to ensure efficiency and efficient work performance. Conclusion Organizational success depends on the leaders. Leaders should learn to listen to their employees in order to be able to understand the problems facing the organization. This can only be achieved when leaders are able to build mutual relationship and trust and respect from the employees. Employees are the main asset of the organization and if there is no proper definition of roles and coordination among them the organization is bound to fail (Robins, & Judge, 2010, p. 534). Motivated employees are likely to perform their work better leading to the achievement of the organizational goals. Situations facing various organizations may influence the decision of the organizational leaders. Before making any decision a leader should be able to understand employees’ problems and devise various methods of solving them. Organizational success depends on the right pool of people with right skills, in the right numbers, at the right time and cost. Recommendations To be able to achieve success the company should ensure they have the right number of employees with the right skills to perform particular jobs. According to Gorman (2004) employees should be motivated through monetary rewards based on the achievement of the performance targets. The hiring procedure should be aligned with the organizational set goals to ensure that he organization get people with the right skills. Jobs should be restructured to ensure proper coordination among the employees. In order to implement the company should develop a policy which stipulates recruitment and selection of employees, rewards management, employee training, and task performance. The company should provide employees with the necessary resources for their task performance (Hassan, 2009). The company should appoint supervisors who overseas job performance and reports the progress to the immediate senior personnel. Bibliography Gorman, P 2004, Motivation and Emotion; London, Routledge, Pp.47-92 Hassan, G & Shaw, E 2012, The Strange Death of Labour in Scotland. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press. Pp.45-162 Hassan, G 2009, The Modern SNP: From Protest to Power, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press. Pp. 31- 143 Robins, S & Judge, T 2010, Organizational Behaviour, 14th Ed, Oxford University Press: Prentice Hall p. 502-720 Read More