Performance management helped in checking the flaws that cause disunity in the group
Introduction
Managers should realize that employees choose to perform the way they do because of some internal or external motivation. To ensure greater participation, managers must understand this simple motivational principle. Employee motivation can be greatly enhanced when managers understand the seven assumptions that underlie change behavior (1999). First, employees are motivated to change their behavior when given clear, sharply focused objectives. Second, employees need to thoroughly understand how to perform their jobs correctly. Third, employees are more likely to change their performance behaviors when they are given opportunities to participate in problem solving and decision-making activities that directly affect them Fourth, change requires personal commitment for action, which obligates managers to secure employee buy-in prior to the creation of growth and development plan. Fifth, managers must clearly communicate positive and negative rewards that are linked directly to performance improvement. Sixth, managers must demonstrate patient, persistent follow-through when providing positive feedback and reinforcement. Seventh, managers need to be realistic regarding the types of rewards offered, while acting within their discretion and authority ( 1999). Management of a group requires the leader to have an idea on how people are motivated. The success of a group activity will rely not only on an individual but on how the group works together. This paper intends to analyze the classroom group work together and whether they achieved their goals.
Main Body
Background
A group was formed to compete in a team building exercise in class. Each group was given a pile of A4 photocopying paper, a stapler and some sticky tapes. In each group that composes of 4 to 5 people the members are required to build the tallest structure they can in about60 minutes. The structure can be in any shapes or sizes. It may be round, or square. What is important is the height of the structure. The structure must be strong enough to stand up at for 5 minutes after the one hour building time.
Group formation
Group formation did not seem to reflect but to cause attraction between people: People liked others not as individuals but as members of the same group. The fundamental principle that follows from self-categorization theory is that psychological group formation is an adaptive process that produces socially unitary, collective behavior and makes possible group relations of mutual attraction, cooperation, and influence between members. Factors in a given social setting tend to create and make salient shared group membership, shared social identity, tend to produce a mutual orientation of attraction, cooperation, and influence as members define and react to each other in terms of their common social category membership rather than as differing individual persons (2001). Group formation is not merely an effect of interpersonal relationships; it actively determines people's attitudes and behaviors toward each other. In focusing on the group as a process rather than a riffled thing, it integrates concepts of interdependence, cohesiveness, common fate, proximity, and so forth as bases of group formation, with more recent research on the social categorization of self and others. It shows how the awareness of a shared social identity arises in specific social settings and how it produces mutually positive social orientations between group members and facilitates the acceptance of organizational norms, values, and goals as one's own (1996). The group was chosen through determining individuals who have good behavior. The members of the group were chosen in terms of their willingness to succeed and the kind of relationship they had with the leader.
Decision Making
All human activities involve decision making. Everyone has problems at home, at work, and in social groups for which decisions must be made. Thus, decision making is a normal human requirement that begins in childhood and continues throughout life. In work settings, when asked to define their major responsibilities, many managers respond that solving problems and making decisions are the most important components of what they do on a daily basis and throughout their ongoing management tasks (2002).Decision making process is done when a company wants to make new, polices, goals, and strategies. All of companies have this and it is the best way to settle problems in the company. The decision making process must come up with the best result to prevent more problems to come. The decision making process should be done accordingly and with so much care. When companies need to make decisions on certain issues they use strategic decision making process to make the best decisions. Decision makers must make decisions and take actions in this rapidly changing world. The ability to view the current situation through the good judgment viewpoint is weakened through increasing external noise and changing epitome of how people think about social, cultural, organizational and economic issues. The different decision making styles assist in dissecting the information that can be acquired from the different situations in the company and in the end it guides in discerning what action should be done. The different styles of decision making helps not only in finding solution for the problems in the company but it assists in determining what actions should be done so that the company can improve its operations and have sustainable competitive advantage. Decisions will always be a part of running the business. Decision making was not a solo effort. All members gave their comments on how the tower would look like and what would be the physical characteristics of the tower.
Leadership
One of the best ways that managers can increase the level of motivation among subordinates is to be effective leaders. Leadership can be defined as a process of influence in which the leader is able to get the follower to stay on a prescribed path toward the attainment of specific goals that are desired by the leader. Thus, by definition the art of leadership is an important part of effective management. The art of leadership may be inherent within the individual. If leadership can be acquired through education and training it may be the most difficult thing to learn (2003). Managers in the professional environment are likely to have specialized training and are often preoccupied with the technical or scientific aspects of subordinate jobs. Consequently, they may pay little attention to the development and application of leadership skills (2003). When overall organizational success is related to leadership qualities, it is clear that effective leadership can and does make a difference Leadership qualities assume great importance in the professional work environment because professionals are highly sensitive to how they are managed (2003).
A categorization of leadership types can be established relating to the institutional settings within which leadership is exercised and which allow or prevent feasible leadership action. Leadership styles by contrast can be categorized according to the actual behavior of leaders faced by particular situations. The leadership component is not much easier to identify. Traditional organizational culture is sometimes expressed in terms such as risk aversion, inertia, hierarchy and sometimes political clientelism (2004). Leadership styles associated with this kind of political culture are far removed from the values and expectations which might be linked to an effective complementarily between leadership and community involvement. A range of leadership styles may therefore be appropriate for joint working dependent on the personal characteristics evident in the leaders reflecting the degree of charisma, commitment, persuasion, ambition etc. which rest within any individual ( 2004). There are different leadership approaches. The leader of the group used a democratic kind of leadership. The democratic leader listens to the personnel’s ideas and he uses the ideas to make decisions regarding the performance of the firm. When changes arises, this type of leadership helps the personnel adjust to the changes and the democratic leader helps the personnel adjust more rapidly than in other styles. In this type of leadership style the personnel know that they have been consulted with regards to the decision making process, this minimizes resistance (1998). Democratic style of leadership was used to ensure that each member is free to discuss their ideas and beliefs.
Membership roles
Organizations mean different things to different people. Founders and managers treat organizations in a variety of ways. Some founders and managers act as though the organization is an extension of themselves. The organization's success is their success; an attack on the organization is a personal attack on them. Such leaders tend to treat other members of the organization as part of the family. All members of an organization or other social system are part of its decider subsystem, so long as they make decisions based on the values, purposes, and goals of that system. When they make decisions based on their own values, however, they become deciders for themselves (1994). Critical questions for social systems, therefore, are whether and when members are acting on behalf of the system rather than for themselves Members of the organization perform most of the acts involved in protecting the organization from environmental stresses and excluding or receiving information. Most of the members who engage in boundary processes are involved with other critical subsystems as well. Member roles change as functions change in an evolving organization ( 1998). Each member had various roles for the success of the tower. One member was designated to build the base of the tower; two members were assigned to construct the middle part of the tower. The rest of the group members constructed the topmost part of the tower. The role of each member of the organization contributed to the success of the tower.
Communication
Over the recent decades, a number of philosophers have attempted to describe the conventions that seem necessary to the maintenance of a conversational exchange. Simultaneously, research in ethno methodology, relying on that wonderful mnemonic invention, the tape-recorder, has turned up a list of features characteristic of the turn-taking mechanisms of conversation. Thus, ordinary language and casual conversation, once almost unnoticed in analyses of communication, have by now gained huge ontological respectability. For this reason, the task for a theory of human communication today may well be to explain the striking similarities in the norms of conversation that appear to have evolved across cultures ( 2003). Over the recent decades, a number of philosophers have attempted to describe the conventions that seem necessary to the maintenance of a conversational exchange. Simultaneously, research in ethno methodology, relying on that wonderful mnemonic invention, the tape-recorder, has turned up a list of features characteristic of the turn-taking mechanisms of conversation. Thus, ordinary language and casual conversation, once almost unnoticed in analyses of communication, have by now gained huge ontological respectability. For this reason, the task for a theory of human communication today may well be to explain the striking similarities in the norms of conversation that appear to have evolved across cultures ( 2003). Communication involves the active exchange of information between two or more members of the team, as well as an individual team member providing information to others in the appropriate manner. In general, communication is a mechanism that links the other components of teamwork. For example, communication is the important link between monitoring other members' performance and providing feedback about that performance ( 1995). The members of the group made sure that they communicated well with each other to achieve the goals. Each member asked first before taking any measures that will change the outcome of the project. The members of the group were free to communicate any issues they have with the leader and other members of the group.
The performance of the group
Most organizations already have the building blocks in the form of management approaches and capabilities; they just stop short of linking what they have into a continuous cycle, which can amplify the performance of the whole. It is this connecting the dots and getting all parts working together that permanently boosts management effectiveness and business performance ( 2002).The role of performance measurement is to help keep the organization on the operating on a straight and narrow track. The measures are used primarily by business specialists, and the action taken as a result of such analysis may also be exclusively good for the business. Nevertheless, it is also clear that evidence of business problems may occur because of deficiencies in other areas of business operations. In this case, the ratios can provide the company’s director with the information necessary to convince other managers that operating action needs to be taken in order to avoid any company problem. However, the primary role served by this type of performance measurement lies within the province of the business function, and is concerned with the effective and efficient use of the company’s resources (2002). Performance management was designed for members of the group to work well together. Performance management has the tendency to make it easier for all the members of the group to work together. Performance management uses various strategies and techniques to determine the problems of various institutions and then solve it for them to be united. Performance management helped in checking the flaws that cause disunity in the group, it then checks for the probable actions that can be used to initiate unity the class organization. The use of performance management opened up the lines of communication and it was used by the group so that they can work as one unit. Performance management gave the opportunity for members of the business institution to discuss issues that cause dissension and failure to reach goals.
Conclusion
The group was chosen through determining individuals who have good behavior. The members of the group were chosen in terms of their willingness to succeed and the kind of relationship they had with the leader. Decision making was not a solo effort. All members gave their comments on how the tower would look like and what would be the physical characteristics of the tower. Democratic style of leadership was used to ensure that each member is free to discuss their ideas and beliefs. Each member had various roles for the success of the tower. The role of each member of the organization contributed to the success of the tower. The members of the group made sure that they communicated well with each other to achieve the goals. Each member asked first before taking any measures in the project.
Recommendations
For any other consequent activity with the same group the leaders and members should make sure that they make use of the strengths of all the members. The strengths of al members will help in speeding up performance and reducing errors. The group should learn how to observe how the others perform, this would help the group analyze their own performance and improve it accordingly. Moreover the group should learn to listen carefully to instructions carefully. Any misheard instruction can cause the failure to reach the goal in any activity. Lastly the group should know their weaknesses and find means to change it. This would make the group more efficient and effective.
Custom Essay Writing
Australia
Send us your essay instructions. We write
it for you.
Only AUD$27
per page.
www.ivythesis.com
Malaysia Essay Writing
Send us your essay assignment. We write it
for you.
Only
RM
40/ page.
www.ivythesis.com
Singapore Essay Assistance
Have a hard time finishing your
assignment.
We write it for you. Only SG$
25/ page.
www.ivythesis.com
Comments