Working with and leading others - Free Essay Example

Executive Summary Rationale The sole purpose for undertaking this assignment is to grasp a better understanding and develop the necessary skills and knowledge needed when working with and leading others. This term paper is structured based on team work and its benefits to the organisation and the individual. The researcher is a Senior Partner at Kerrà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Management Consulting Firm and was hired by City Top Corporation to help them build effective teams and working with it and leading it effectively, thus leading to better performance and success for the organization. This term paper is about the development of the workforce, ways in which the staff can be motivated to achieve objectives and the value of effective team work to the organisation. Objectives To identify the benefits of team-working at City Top Corporation. To determine how effective the teams are in achieving specific goals. To identify the necessary factors involved in work performance at City Top Corporation. To determine how the staff at C.T.C is motivated to achieve objectives. Methodology 3.1 Assess the benefits of team working for an organization. Effective team working skills are essential at City Top Corporation because a large number of team tasks are given. In order for these tasks to be done effectively team working skills must be present. Team work is being able to work with a group of people in order to achieve a goal. The benefits of team-working at City Top Corporation are: Synergy: This refers to the benefits that can be gained when people work together rather than apart (Campbell Craig, 2005). City Top Corporation benefits from synergy within teams because it promotes a higher level of productivity. Increased employee motivation: Team work is a way of enhancing employee involvement. They typically make jobs more interesting. They help employees meet their social needs. They also create social pressures on slackers to exert in higher levels of effort in order to remain in the teamà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s good graces (Robbins, et al., 2003). Expanded job skills: The implementation of teams almost always comes with expanded job training. Through this training, employees build their technical, decision making and interpersonal skills (Robbins, et al., 2003). This enables City Top Corporation to have more skilled workers that can be rotated at any time, thus increasing productivity. Increased employee satisfaction: Employees have a need for affiliation. Working in teams can help them meet this need by increasing worker interactions and creating camaraderie among team members (Robbins, et al., 2003). When the employees at City Top Corporation are satisfied they can be retained as the need to leave will no longer be there. Efficiency growth: Teamwork is an important key to developing efficiency at City Top Corporation. Tasks are finished quickly and with great effectiveness. It helps to reduce workloads and employees get a chance to share their ideas to each other and share responsibilities. 3.2 Demonstrate working in a team as a leader and a member working towards specific goals, dealing with any conflict or difficult situations. According to (Sanborn, 2013) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The greatest leaders are those able to achieve the enviable balance of interacting with their team while still maintaining authority. Simply stated, a great team leader must never forget that he/she is still a team player.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  At City Top Corporation the employees are faced with different situations on a daily basis and these tasks are solved in a team format. In order to successfully achieve a goal the team formation has to be intact. Tuckmanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stage of group development is used at City Top Corporation as well as Belbinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Team Role Theory for structure and interaction. The ways in which conflicts are handled will impact greatly on the performance of the team. The four general stages of group development are forming, storming, norming and performin g. This is used to describe the path that most teams follow on their way to high performance. According to (Tudor, 1999) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Forming is where orientation to the task and testing is done; Storming is where emotional response to task demands is done; Norming is where open exchange of relevant interpretation/discussion is done; Performing is where emergence of insight and solutions is done; and adjourning is where appreciation of the importance of groups and individuals takes place.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Some groups, however, hardly ever reach the adjourning stage. Belbin defines a team role as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular wayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Belbin, 2009, para 1). There are nine behaviours or team roles present at City Top Corporation, namely: plant, resource locator, co-coordinator, shaper, monitor/evaluator, team worker, implementer, completer/finisher and specialist. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Each team role has its parti cular strengths and allowable weaknesses, and each has an important contribution to make to a team,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Belbin, 2009, para 2). According to (Utley, 2011) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"plantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ team role is symbolized by a light bulb and represents someone who uses creativity and imagination to solve difficult problems. The shaper is symbolized by a whip and represents someone who is driven to overcome obstacles and thrives on challenge and pressure. The other team roles are clearly reflected by their titles.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Dealing with any conflict When a team is formed, disagreement or the need to express oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s differences will arise. Conflict tends to arise from short temper and tight deadlines. Therefore solutions must be made to suppress the numerous conflicts that may arise. When dealing with conflict you should listen to the opinions of others, acknowledge, respond and resolve the remaining differences. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Man aging conflict is one of the toughest yet most rewarding skills to acquire and it is a skill that does not come naturally,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (DeJanasz Schneider, 2001). 3.3 Review the effectiveness of the team in achieving their goals. The teams formed at City Top Corporation are not as effective as they should be in achieving goals. They need to have diversity of knowledge and experience so that they can overcome whatever challenges they face. The teams at City Top Corporation need to utilize the ethical code of behaviour when working with their group members. They should respect each other and try to eliminate conflict as best as possible. The goals that are set within the teams are always achieved but with continuous use o Belbinà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Team role model the team can be much more effective. Therefore eliminating all the negative things that affect the team, tasks can be done quickly and effectively. 4.1 Explain the factors involved in planning the monitoring a nd assessment of work performance. In order to monitor and assess the work performance of the employees at City Top Corporation several strategies have to be put in place. These strategies include performance assessment and surveying clients and customers. Performance assessment This is said to be the process by which the employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance at work is examined and evaluated. This assessment allows the managers at City Top Corporation to evaluate measure and assess the efficiency of their employees. This enables them to improve and optimize productivity as the factors affecting their performances will be highlighted and eliminated. Surveying clients and customers This is also used to measure employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance at City Top Corporation. This is mainly done when the manager wants to assess the performance of the employees in regards to their customer service skills. City Top Corporation makes a customer satisfaction survey that en quires about their service as a method of measuring the employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ performance. Several factors involved in planning the monitoring and assessment of work performance are: Effective goal setting: The goals set should be challenging but achievable. The manager of City Top Corporation has to track the progress of the goal against how well the goal is achieved. After the work performance is monitored and assessed the employee should be rewarded for their accomplishment. This increases productivity, job satisfaction and employee retention. Employee appraisals: This helps to identify the current skills of the employees and the skills that need to be worked on. Communicate and clearly defining tasks and goals. 4.2 Plan and deliver the assessment of the development needs of individuals Every individual will have the need to further develop their knowledge and skills. In identifying the development needs of the employees at City Top Corporation their learning styles have to be known, they should also part-take in individual learning that will encourage lifelong learning. Some of the development needs of the individuals at City Top Corporation includes: customer service skills, decision making skills, interpersonal skills, etc. In order to plan and deliver the assessment of the development needs of individuals, several procedures have to be put in place. Set Effective Goals: The goals set at City Top Corporation should be aimed at the employees developing a new skill. For example: Do a marketing research on the number of persons that prefer our services to that of our competitors and present your finding at a meeting. Communication: Ensure that the task given was clear and that the employees know what the expected result should be. Based on the previous example, if the task is communicated effectively and done correctly the employee could develop research skills and presentation skills. Support: The manager should provide the employees with the necessary resources to complete the marketing research given. Performance assessment: Suitable tools should be used to assess the progress of the marketing research. Documentation: Be sure to document the process and results of the assessment that was done. Feedback: Discuss the findings with the employees involved, identifying the strengths and weaknesses found. Ask about the challenges faced and suggest strategies for improvement. Training: Train the staff based on the skill that was needed to carry out the task so as to meet their development need. 4.3 Evaluate the success of the assessment process. After training the employees with the new skill set, the manager needs to evaluate the assessment of the training process. The result of the training must be evaluated in regards to the job performance or productivity. There were several pros and cons of the assessment process carried out, however it was relatively effective. There was an increase in productivity and communication within the organization and the employees became a little more satisfied with their jobs as they have now become more equip in a particular field. The performance of the employees was also improved because they have a better understanding of the task that should be done. However, if the goals of the individuals are not aligned with the business strategy, time and resources can and will be wasted. 4.4 Explain ways to motivate staff to achieve objectives. Motivation can be defined in a number of ways. The most known meaning is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"so mething that drives us to do what we do.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ According to (Daft, 2008) motivation can be defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the forces either internal or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Staff can be motivated to achieve objectives in more ways than one. City Top Corporation use various types of motivational approaches/ theories to motivate their employees. These include Abraham Maslowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hierarchy of needs and Frederick Herzbergà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s two-factor theory. Maslowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hierarchy of needs This suggests that people are motivated by five sets of needs in ascending order of importance. These motivators are physiological, safety, social, esteem and self actualization needs. People are motivated by the lowest sets of needs that remain unfulfilled. As needs at one level are satisfied, people try to satisfy needs at the next level (Pride, et al., 2014). City To p Corporation uses this theory to motivate staff by ging them reasonable pay which satisfy their physical needs. The employees are all treated with respect and this allows them to satisfy the social need. Herzbergà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Two Factor theory Based on (Pride, et al., 2014) this theory states that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are influenced by two distinct set of factors. Motivational factors including recognition and responsibility and hygiene factors including pay and working conditions.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  City Top Corporation uses this to motivate their staff to achieve objectives by recognizing their success in the completion of a task as well as delegating responsibilities to them. C.T.C also ensures that the working conditions and pay given are suitable. Conclusion Recommendation References Belbin, M., 2009. [Online] Available at: https://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8 [Accessed 17 March 2015]. Campbell, D. Craig, T., 2005. Organ isations and the Business Environment. 2nd ed. Burlington : Elsevier Butteworth-Heinemann. Daft, L., 2008. The Leadership Experience. 4th ed. USA: Thomson South- Western. DeJanasz, D. Schneider, 2001. In: Conflict: Sources and Solutions in Interpersonal skills in the organization. s.l.:The McGraw-Hill Companies, pp. 241-256. Pride, W., Hughes, R. J. Kapoor, J. P., 2014. Business. 12th ed. USA: South Western-Cengage. Pride, W. M., Hughes, R. J. Kapoor, J. R., 2014. Business. 10th ed. USA: South Western Cengage Learning. Robbins, S., Odendaal, A. Roodt, G., 2003. Organisational Behaviour: Global and Southern African Perspectives. 1st ed. Capetown: Pearson Education South Africa . Sanborn, M., 2013. [Online] Available at: www.marksanborn.com/blog/how-to-be-a-great-team-leader-and-team-player/ [Accessed 18 March 2015]. Tudor, K., 1999. Professional Skills for Counsellors: Group Counselling. London: Sage Publications Ltd.. Utley, R., 2011. Theory and Researc h for Academic Nurse Educators: Application to Practice. USA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.