Organizational Behavior Essay example

Introduction

Leaders are responsible for motivating people to do their work effectively and achieve common objectives. Some believe leaders are born but some of the qualities can also be embedded in leaders through training and learning. (Northouse , 2006) Communication is the process when one person conveys thoughts or feelings to another individual or collection of people. The effectiveness of the communication process can be measured by message intended is equal to the message extracted. Feedback is essential for the communication process as this provides a response to on how successful we have been in transferring our message as originally intended.  (Robbin, 2004)

Teams focus on a collective style of working where the team members work together to achieve common goals. In teams the synergy level is positive, that is the performance of the team is greater than the individual efforts. The self managed teams discussed in this case are linked with empowerment, empowering employees enables them to participate better in team decision making processes. Leaders should facilitate and gain the trust of these teams rather than try to control and dictate to them. This allows instant action to be taken against a problem leading to valuable solutions. (Woods, 2005)

Order custom essay Organizational Behavior Essay example with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

Organizational Behavior Analysis

FMC is a thriving corporation for the last 56 years. FMC Aberdeen is situated in South Dakota and is a victorious subsidy of FMC. It has one hundred employees who manufacture one product that is the missile container for the U.S. Navy. FMC Green River is administered by Mr. Dailey it produces a range of chemicals. It has over 100 local and global customers and 1,150 recruits. Moreover it produces a several products.

Roger Campbell who was the third plant manage at FMC Aberdeen  was firstly an autocratic person, he  changed to a people’s person because he understood that to effectively lead people at Aberdeen he had to have trust in them and give them responsibility. He now believes that it is important to pass on responsibility to the lowest level. At Green River the organizational structure is not flat like Aberdeen but has a huge chain of command that restricts participative style of management. Although Mr. Dailey thought that his management style was interactive but as at FMC Green River the participative style of management is not present that shows that Mr. Dailey’s management style was not truly interactive.

Campbell understood that the communication process could only be made simple if fear was removed from the minds of the employees. As fear restricted the employees to speak their minds out which was a negative factor for the organizations as feedback from the employees is essential for the prosperity and betterment of an organization. While at Green River the communication process amongst employees was limited as people worked in an individual style rather than a collective one. Mr. Dailey of FMC Green River says that high level of trust is present for his employees but it’s not to the extent as that of FMC Aberdeen that they feel free to do anything for the betterment of the organization, unless it is not against ethical standards.

Instead of focusing on individual manner of working as in FMC Green, Campbell focused on collective ways of working. This meant that he arranged his employees in teams so they would collectively work to attain common goals. These teams at Aberdeen are self managed and are empowered to make the decision then and there. At Aberdeen the small teams created select their own boss; they pool in their ideas and figure out a solution to a particular problem. After reaching to the solution the team disperses. As Aberdeen is a small company the employees are treated as part of a family unit and an emotional bond is created between the employees. While at Green River as the company is large it is difficult for the emotional bond to be created, further more the infrastructure does not allow a great deal of interaction to be present amongst the employees.

Alternatives and Recommendations

FMC Green and FMC Aberdeen have some differences but the practices of Aberdeen can be implemented at Green River with some modifications. At Green River, Mr. Dailey can implement a leadership style of trust and security by assuring his employees that you will not be fired if you make mistakes. Additionally he should tell the employees to make decisions as if Green River was their own factory, exactly what Campbell does. (Northouse , 2006). The vision he builds on to should be so influential that the employees are motivated to fulfill Mr. Dailey’s expectations towards the organization. The leader should be flexible and understand that each individual is unique and should be treated differently. (Robbin, 2004)

To promote participative management people should work in teams at Green River, the team structure can be promoted by providing employees with task that are wide-ranging and need people of different skills for them to be completed. Then, the employees will understand the importance of people working together, as not every task can be successful when done individually. The change in the structure of team working should be bought slowly the team leaders should answer all the queries of the team members so there wont be any doubts in the minds of the team members. Teams have higher enthusiasm and dedication towards the organization and are better at dealing with productivity and quality issues hence I would recommend a fully team based structure. (Woods, 2005)

People should communicate their entire feelings to their coworkers and leaders, since the infrastructure doesn’t promote employees communicating openly, the plant should be redesigned to provide space where staff members can meet regularly and discuss problems. Moreover informal communication should be promoted by the organization so the employees develop better mutual understanding amongst each other that will assist people in working in teams as well.

Also the plant should have computers that are interconnected so that computer aided communication can be made possible. As the organization is very huge and the plant size is also extensive as compared to Aberdeen hence it is difficult that everyone can communicate but with the help proper developed computer network the communication process will be eased.

Green River should promote more open communication, as when the employees engage in open discussions they become truly concerned with the organizations troubles which improves the decision making process by the teams and strengthens team consensus. Hence even if disagreements arise they can be tackled through communication, where the team members exchange their entire feelings instead of creating opportunities for misunderstandings to emerge. (Robbin, 2004)

Implementation with a Contingency Plan

I believe that the Mr. Dailey should prioritize on the trust building factor, if the employees feel that they are being trusted upon and the organization relies on their outputs, this will not only motivate the employees to but on their best efforts but will also retain the employees in the organization for a longer period of time. Once trust is developed it is easier to implement other changes. The contingency plan that the organization should have in mind is that if the corporation is unable to develop a computerized system or appropriate infrastructure for communication to flourish. It should at least give employees time and allocate some space where they can have formal and informal discussions. Additionally if the team structure does not work out the company should send there employees for training and prepare them in such a manner that they take pleasure in participating and taking authority.

References

Northouse , Peter G. (2006). Leadership: Theory and Practice . Sage Publications, Inc; Fourth Edition edition.

Robbins, Stephen P (2004). Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition .Prentice Hall.

Woods, Edward (2005). Employee Development at the Workplace: Achieving Empowerment in a Continuous Learning Environment . Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer