The challenge of a growing organization

Last Updated: 12 May 2020
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Listo systems was doing very well before it even took the decision of employing more individuals in managerial and supervisor positions that linked the line staff and executive management. Lack of training in good management is the root of all the problems that are being experienced by the organization. Refining implies making changes in the way the company operates. Change is very vital for organizations that seek to develop. It enables them to identify their weaknesses and correct them hence increase productivity. The company hence needs to refine the way it carries out its operations especially in terms of employee relations.

Employee relations which describe the way an organization relates with its employees is very crucial for the success of that organization in terms of meeting its goals and vision (Huczynski & Buchanan 53). The organization needs to refine the role of managers and how they operate. The management has to include programs that motivate employees so that they develop a form of ownership of the company. This would make them to be committed and work hard as they feel part of the organization understanding that its success is theirs as well. One way of motivating employees is by involving them in decision making of the company.

This is achieved by using teams formed by employees from various departments in making decisions that require multiple judgements (Huczynski & Buchanan 53). The suggestions they come up with should be implemented by the management for the employees to feel involved. Apart from encouraging team work, the organization needs to empower the employees such that they can be allowed to make their own decisions which are in accordance with thee organization’s mission and vision without much interference fro the management. This increases interpersonal competence amongst them increasing the quality of their work hence the organization’s productivity.

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Listo systems need to refine its management practices and focus on its employees. It needs to ensure that the vision and mission statements which encourage team work, innovation and leadership are designed into a work model. Its practices are not goal oriented and need to be refined if the company wants to get back to track and resume the growth and success it was enjoying before. Considering organizational level 2 of Entity (culture) and strategy (mission), the most appropriate leadership challenge response would be defining. Using the theories discussed in chapter 1-4, the reason for choosing defining as response is;

For any organization to operate successfully, the vision and mission statements must be clearly defined and the organization’s goals and objectives be made clear to all the employees. This is done in to ensure that employees work towards fulfilling the vision and mission. The employees also need to know the culture and values of the organization. This acts as guidance to the decisions and strategies they come up with. It ensures that all the strategies made do not deviate from the organization’s culture which is usually structured in a way that points towards the vision.

This implies that strategies made in accordance with the organization‘s culture are goal oriented and work towards achieving the vision and mission. In the above case study, Listo systems in spite of having vision and mission statements, it had not defined them to its employees and especially the new ones it had employed to managerial and supervisor positions. The fact that these individuals had not been offered any training on the company’s culture resulted to them coming up with strategies that were not directed towards the organization's mission.

The case shows that the organization's goals and objectives had become unclear because of the way the new employees who occupied leadership positions were running the organization. It seems that the strategies they adopted did were not in accordance with the organization's culture. This can be explained by the fact that the managers were only interested in increasing the organization profits and did not care about the methods the employed to meet their targets. The implemented strategies were not goal oriented resulting to the organization's declining productivity.

Defining the vision, culture and mission of the organization to the managers would have guided the way strategies implemented and decisions made ensuring that they were goal oriented and in accordance with the organization's culture. As such they would be aimed at the vision. The organizations growth and productivity would have increased instead of declining as it is. Considering organizational level 3: Departments (units) and key results (success factors), the most appropriate leadership challenge response for this scenario would be involving.

Using the theories discussed in chapter 1-4, the reason for choosing defining as response is; The human resource (employees) are a very vital invest fore any organization. Employees of an organization are the ones who determine whether the organization will be successful in attaining its goals and vision or not. As such, the management has to take precaution of ensuring that they are well motivated and committed to working for the organization. Involving employees means that they are allowed to participate in making the organization's decisions especially those that are related to their work.

A good way of involving employees is by empowering them. This is achieved by training them on how to make good decisions and defining the organization's culture and vision to them. Armed with the two, the employees are then left to make decisions in their work without much interference from the management. The employees have to ensure that whatever decision they make are goal oriented, market based and directed towards meeting the organization's vision. Teams could also be created to provide solution for company problems that need multiple judgements.

The teams should comprise of individuals from all departs so that all units are well represented in the decision making. Involving employees is important as it makers them feel appreciated. It also instils in them a sense of belonging which makes them develop a form of ownership of the organization. This increases commitment to their work as they feel that success of the organization is theirs as well. Involving employees is the best tool of motivation and always guarantees success as it increases work output hence productivity which increases the organizations competitive advantage.

The moment Listo systems stopped considering its employees opinions, its productivity decreased. The increase in rate of turn over and absenteeism is as a result of lack of motivation on the employees part through involvement. Considering organizational level 4: Teams (groups) and Goals (objectives), the most appropriate leadership challenge response would be focusing. Using the theories discussed in chapter 1-4, the reason for choosing defining as response is;

Most successful organizations have identified the value of using teams to solve problems and in achieving of their goals and objectives. Focussing on developing of teams and on the organizations goals would be the best response for Listo systems to the scenario. The organization does not seem to involve employees in decision making . All the decisions seem to be made by the managers without consultation of the other employees. Focussing on development of teams to meet the organization's goals and objectives has several advantages.

Teams usually comprise of individuals with different experiences and skills, working together in a team enables employees learn from each other hence develop skills that they did not initially have and are important in performing of their tasks. Applying the acquired skills in their work increases the quality of the output hence the productivity of the organization. Teams also offer a variety of decisions that are diverse which makes it possible for the management to have other options in the event one solution is not effective.

For effective team development, the organization must ensure that its norms allow for freedom to the teams, the employees should be encouraged to assume ownership of the organization, the teams have to be supported by being availed the required resources for any task being under taken, commitment by the individuals to the team should be cultivated by both the company through its policies and the individuals and finally, there has to be empowerment of the team members by way of regular training (Albrecht, 113).

Apart from increasing the quality of the solutions to problems, teams also motivate employees as they feel that they are part of the organization. Working in teams also increases interpersonal competence as individuals working together are able to recognize their weaknesses hence do some self development which increases their competence. The fact that the members are drawn from different departments implies that teams are representative of the entire workforce. Focussing on development and use of teams in problem solving is the best response in addressing Listo systems' situation.

Considering organizational level 5: Individuals (people) and Tasks (Jobs), the most appropriate leadership challenge response would be empowering. Using the theories discussed in chapter 1-4, the reason for choosing empowering as response is; Employee empowerment is one of the strategies that all business oriented organizations must adopt. Empowering employs literally means the management giving power to employee. In the discussed scenario, the company's management made the mistake of not involving he employees in its plans to increase its growth and profit margins.

The organization should have realized that it needs the employees in order to meet these objectives as the management can not do it on their own. The best way of getting the employees to help in achieving the goals and objectives of an organization is by motivating them. Empowering is said to be the best form of employee motivation. This is because apart from helping in achieving the organization's vision, it also enables the employees to achieve their career objectives.

Employee empowerment involves offering training programs to the employees on various topics amongst them decision making and management. The employees are then left to make their own decision as they see it fit in their tasks without having to wait for the management's approval. Employees however have to ensure that the decisions they make comply with the organization's culture in terms of rules and regulations. Employee empowerment encourages innovation and creativity in an organization.

This is attributed to the fact that it allows employees to think on their own of solutions to problems. It also increases the quality of work done as employees understand that they will be held responsible and accountable for every decision they make. This ensures that they are careful with the decisions they make only implementing the ones that give best results. Employee empowerment enables an organization to tap talent, skills and knowledge that the employees have hence use it to the maximum in achieving its vision.

It also increases interpersonal competence amongst the employees. Empowering is an employee motivating strategy that ensures that employees are involved in the running and decision making of the organization. Organization that employ it have increased productivity which has put them ahead of their rivals in the market. This would be one of the best responses for Listo systems to its current situation. ' Situational Approaches – Consistency The scenario presented by the case study represents many aspects of management and leadership.

First of all it portrays a leadership that is not effective, this is attributed to the fact that leadership has not been well defined in the organization. There is no hierarchy structure in this organization as one can not tell between who the leader is between Eileen and her boss, jack. The fact that she is allowed to carry out some of her tasks in his office and even chart about her personal life with the boss at working hours brings a weakness in the leadership of Jack. But then, good management involves taking care of the employees needs.

The problem with this scenario is that the boss is biased in the way he treats his employees. If he showed the other employees the same concern he shows to Eileen, his management skills would be said to be effective. Jack as a manager does not seem to involve the other employees in major decisions that affect them. This has created an enemity between him and the employees. He does not seem to have any relationship with them which is dangerous for the organizations as it decreases the commitment of the employees.

Major decisions especially those that affect employees and their work are best reached at through teams which are representative of the entire organization. This organization however has no team culture and its manager has not yet even realized the value of using teams as opposed to individuals in decision making. The fact that Jack as the manager sometimes leaves Eileen as an individual to make all decisions by herself lowers the quality of these decisions. It is important to let all employees participate in making decisions that affect them if a manager wants to get successful results from the decision.

The rest of the employees do not seem to be motivated by the manager. In fact they seem to dislike him. The system Jack uses to run the organization does not encourage interpersonal competence at all as no one is given a chance to challenge Eileen. Roles have also not been well defined. For example, the specific responsibility of Eileen is not clear. This is a weakness that could harm the organization in the event it grew. The case study generally portrays poor management skills and leadership that is not effective. It brings out an organization with poor employee relations.

Such an organization can not easily grow as weakness in management affects the entire organization. 3. Special Assignment Decision making requires managers to be ethical so that they make decisions that are objective and self centred. Most managers believe that they are ethical and fair in their decisions and that they do not let their personal interests affect what they decide upon. This has however been proved wrong by psychological research which shows that there exist some unconscious biases that influence all decisions made by humans.

These biases are however unintentional and one can not be judged for making unfair decisions based on them. These biases are said to undermine manager's roles such as recruitment, boosting employees' performance through rewards, promotions amongst many other roles. These unconscious biases cause managers to be unethical such that they favour their own groups, cause conflicts of interest increases cases of managers over claiming credit. The research therefore asks individuals to stop believing that their decisions are always ethical and offers solutions on how managers can reduce the impact of these biases.

The research article explains that these implicit biases have negative effects on organizations. The most fundamental impact is that they be costly to the organization such that they cause the manager during recruitment to exclude qualified individuals whose talent, experience and skills are needed by the organization. The research proposes that one of the ways of dealing with the unconscious biases that are unintentional by the managers first identifying and revealing their presence by collecting data on them.

Managers should then expose themselves to the objects they are biased against by shaping their environment so that they can learn more about them. Managers are also recommended to broaden the way they make decisions as being narrow encourages the biases to manifest themselves. Managers should also practice unpacking whereby the considering why some employees qualify for some things that other employees are not getting. Implanting these practices are said to help managers reduce cases of implicit biases which are not only pervasive but also costly to organizations.

In my opinion, it is true that the unconscious biases do exist and affect every aspect of our decision making. I concur that they are costly and have caused several organizations to miss out on talent and skills that would have helped them grow. They also have social effects as they have led to some communities to be underdeveloped as their members are always discriminated against when they seek employment. However, I do not agree that the suggestions made would be effective on their own for managers. This is because humans have no control over the unconscious part of their mind.

I feel that the best suggestion would be to have the manager either resign from the decision team whenever it involves subjects that he is biased against or seek opinions from other individuals who are neutral so that the decision is not made by him alone. Works Cited Albrecht, Salai. Information, involvement and trust in senior management as determinants of cynicism toward change, Australian Journal of Psychology, (2003): 55, 113. Andrzej Huczynski, and David A. Buchanan, Organizational Behaviour: An Introductory Text. Old Tappan NJ. Pearson Education, 2007,

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The challenge of a growing organization. (2018, Mar 04). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-challenge-of-a-growing-organization/

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