Task Coordination, Problem-Solving, Information Sharing and Conflict Resolution - Assignment Example

Organizational behaviour Student Name Course code and Name Professor University State Date Organizational behaviour exam Q1 The four purposes of interactive communication are; Task coordination, problem solving, information sharing and conflict resolution. Task coordination is vital as it helps organizational leaders to discuss the progress and contribution of each unit in the organization to the overall goals of the system. Moreover, problem solving helps in solving threating problems in the organizations and assists the teams brainstorm to come up with best solutions to avert these problems. Information sharing on the other hand, is essential in sharing ideas in an organizations, for instance the accounting department can share information on cost cutting and effects of reduced prices to the marketing team to help it come up with robust marketing strategies that do not affect the profitability of the organisation. Finally interactive communication is vital in conflict resolutions, conflicts exist in our organizations and thus, members of different departments can meet occasionally to discuss the various problems inherent in the company and forge a way forward together to minimise risks. To effectively communicate the organisation utilises various methods: departmental or interdepartmental meetings, teams and videoconferencing. Meetings between departments and interdepartments have always been used for a long time but with advancements in recent years videoconferencing and teams have been actively used as methods of interactive communication in organizations to solve problems. Q2 The four major decision making styles constitutes of directive decision making, analytical decision making, conceptual decision making and behavioral decision making. Directive decision making is where the leader makes the decisions in his own knowledge and experience and have his subordinates abide by them, it is autocratic in nature but very effective in urgent situations. Analytical decision making is where parties concerned get actively involved in gathering information before embarking on decision making. It has high tolerance to ambiguity though slow. Conceptual decision making is a strategy used in long-term planning and change processes. It is highly institutive in nature though exposed to high levels of risks. Behavioural decision making is where the management engages the team or organizational members in the process. It results into high quality of resolutions though slow. Q3 The major sources of interpersonal conflicts in an organization include interpersonal interactions since people have different interests, organizational structures especially office hierarchy, change since it causes confusion and stress, and external factors such as economic factors and government regulations amongst others. The major source of interpersonal conflict is the interpersonal interactions. Since people have unique interests, attributes and behaviors shaped by their personality, culture, moral values, and experiences, they shall always act in a manner that is different which in the long-run results into conflict. In my organization, change conflicts arise all the time we restructure. Q4 Stress is the detrimental physical or emotional response of the body with respect to expectations and experience mismatch. To cope with individual job stress, there are numerous coping strategies that can be put to use including the victim being positive, enhancing communication capabilities, making effective choices, dealing effectively with stress and developing self discipline and control. The individual should consider an obstacle encountered as a learning experience and avoid over-reacting to stressors. The person should avoid keeping his emotions to himself but share them with a trustable person for advice hence socialization is key in dealing with stress. Q5 Power is the ability of an individual or group of individuals to change people or alter the way they do specific things using a specific means. The powerful persons do not change people directly but through influence. Influence is conventionally the specific wordings, catalysts, or force or urge that the influencer, known as the person with power, uses to convince the other people to embrace a specific line of thought or change. Authority is the legitimate power conferred upon the influencer voluntarily or under duress. The legitimate power may be conferred by the people themselves or a superior initiative or person or institution. Q6 The five types of power consist of coercive power, legitimate power, expert power, referent power, and reward power. Coercive power is where the person in authority leads through threatening and punishment. I experienced coercive power when my organization was implementing budget cut where numerous employees were forced to quit as others had to accept salary cut. Legitimate power is where subordinates comply with the orders imposed on them by the person in authority who they believe has the right to do so. My organization emphasizes on hierarchical management which is built on legitimate power. Reward power is where person in authority leads through motivating the stakeholders through various means such as incentives, promotions, trainings, and public praise amongst others. Referent power is the power earned by being liked by subordinate employees. Further, expert power is the power gained as a result of personal experiences, training, and knowledge. Q7 In one of the organizations I worked in, I worked closely with the organization’s chief financial officer. Mr. Watkins, the CFO was an expert leader who believed in robustness, integrity, and accuracy of organizational processes. He was previously the organization’s budgeting director but because of his expertise he earned the CFO position. His leadership was marked with effectiveness, accuracy, and time responsiveness granting the leadership a success. I have also worked in a different organization where I was supervised by the Treasury Director who was, according to me, a coercive leader. He could set limits for all his subordinates and demand that every person meets limits failure to which he would get livid and petulant. Employees had to work long hours though unwillingly to meet demands and avoid punishment from the leader. Q8 I wish to be strong on expert power which emphasizes on leadership where people respect you in accordance to your developed expertise. Such a respect shall grant a leader a robust power base from which they can manage people with outstanding confidentiality. Expertise leadership is built on skills and experience hence it is highly dependent on the organization a person works in. The skills, knowledge, and experience required in a particular organization are highly dictated by organizational processes which ideally vary amongst organizations. For instance, companies in the IT sector would expect leaders who are of high expertise on IT related knowledge while charitable organizations expects leaders with outstanding expertise on human relations. Expert power is of necessity in developing one’s skills and using the skills in serving the best interest of people to the best. Q9 Theodore Newcomb in his balance theory on group formation asserts that the attraction of people to one another is based on the attitudes they share towards an equally significant objective. The similar attitudes would result into relationships which thereafter strive to exist in a symmetrical balance between the attraction and the attitudes. In a scenario where imbalance emanates, the involved persons shall make attempts to restore it. Exchange theory however maintains that people would be attracted to group by what they expect to get as an exchange of interaction in the group. For a person to remain in a group according to exchange theory, outcomes must not go below minimum positive level. George Homans in his classic theory maintains that groups are formed with respect to activities, interactions, and sentiments. Q10 Groupthink is a situation where groups make faulty decisions as a result of pressure resulting into deteriorating mental efficiency and individualistic moral judgment. A group is highly exposed to groupthink especially where members share something similar such as background. Symptoms of groupthink include illusion of invulnerability where the team becomes highly optimistic resulting into extreme risks. Members may also become collectively rational failing to consider prior assumptions. Members may also trust in the rightness of their cause failing to take into consideration ethical and moral consequences. I once experienced groupthink while working in one of the organizations where the resolutions made by a project team were never successful and the project failed due to the faulty decisions made. Q11 One of the basic and known theories on group formation is the propinquity theory. The theory explains that people would affiliate with each other because of spatial or geographical proximity. In that regard, employees working within the same plant or department are more likely to come together into groups that those from different locations. Homan’s classic theory maintains that people who share the same activities are more probable to form groups since they often interact and share sentiments. Another vital theory is the exchange theory which maintains that ability to form groups is built on reward-cost where people come in groups for anticipated rewards and shun away when cost arises. Organizational behavior emphasizes that ability to work together lies on the prevailing motivational factors hence exchange theory is more appropriate. Q12 The four major political strategies are censorship, compromise, discrediting, and fear mongering. Censorship is where a leader suppresses a speech or public communication for his/her own benefit. A leader may suppress others from disclosing some information about him that he regard confidential to the organization as a way of securing a leadership position. Compromise is where a deal is struck amongst various parties so that each party renounces a section of his/her demand and “better” terms are reached at. An individual may compromise others and convince them to give up part of their demands to come to power. Discrediting is where an individual, say a manager, devises a negative issue about the opponent, say contestant for the same position, and uses the information to pin him down. Fear mongering is where a leader uses fear, which might be exaggerated, to influence the opinion of others. Q13 Approach –Avoidance conflict is where a person has to make decision as to whether to pursue or avoid something that is characterized by both negative and positive facets to it. The person is torn between pursuing the decision and avoiding it. A company may devise an idea to acquire a heavy automating machine which according to their perception would boost product quality and quantity at the lowest possible cost within the shortest time. However, the machine is highly expensive as the company to acquire hence the need for long-term loan. If the machine breaks down, the organization shall be exposed to the risk of liquidation. The decision makers become torn between avoiding and pursuing the idea. Q14 The training department should make available the set of internal knowledge that every employee is expected to know such as organizational protocols and how the organization does its things. This shall boost understanding about the organization. Additionally, the training team should make the mission and vision clear for all employees as through this, the workforce shall be more unified through pursuance of similar goal. The training team should also address issues concerning connection strengthening amongst the employees themselves and the employees and management. The team should also emphasize on keeping the employees updated on organizational changes, future plans, and progress. Q15 Having joined an organization at an entry-level management position, communication becomes extremely vital in developing inter-personal relationship skills and in becoming acquainted with the organization’s processes. As such I would prefer talking in person to e-mailing. Physical interaction is undeniably of acute vitality in understanding others, their interests and behavioral aspects which. Enhancing personal effectiveness entails actively involving others, interacting with them, asking questions and seeking for assistance where applicable which best arrived at through face-to-face interaction. E-mailing does not support such an experience Q16 Herzberg in his Two Factor theory explains that motivation leans upon dissatisfiers and satisfiers where he devises six satisfies which he calls motivators and ten dissatisfies which he calls hygiene factors. Critics to Herzberg theory maintain that the theory lacks clear distinction between satisfiers and dissatisfiers and maintains that motivators and hygiene factor no longer exist on separate scales but are more of one thing. The critics maintain that in ideal scenario, all the factors presented in the Two Factor theory whether hygiene or motivational results into pure satisfaction. The theory also assumes that happy and satisfied employees are more dispensable to produce which in an ideal scenario is not the case. In the organization I work in, motivated employees seem more productive compared to subordinates and those employed on contractual terms they simply lack the satisfiers to push and motivate them. References Luthans, F., 2011. Organizational behavior: An evidence-based approach. McGraw-Hill Irwin Read More