- Information
- AI Chat
MGT300 Mod 8 Final Draft Final Project
Principles of Management (MGT300)
Preview text
Running head: RESEARCH AND REFLECTION FROM A MANAGERIAL 1
Research and Reflection from a Managerial Perspective MGT300 – Principles of Management Colorado State University – Global Campus
Research and Reflection from a Managerial Perspective Managing a team or department is a goal that many professionals strive for. In my personal opinion, it is the reward for making the right decisions and keeping myself dedicated to giving the best performance possible. All of the times I worked harder than is necessary and did not give up or settle for less than as close to perfection as I can possibly attain is what brings me to a management position. Someone I work with who was recently promoted to assistant manager, Scott, said “It is because I consistently performed above expectation that I was promoted” (Personal communication, June 20, 2015). After all the hard work pays off and one is promoted to a management position, some may be thinking about ways to be the best manager they can be. There are many tools to be utilized to reach this goal. Many of them are valid no matter the career they are applied to. In all professional fields theories of motivation, the best management style, leadership traits, and how to best manage a team are present. There are also various biases present, decision making issues and different types of conflict that can cause problems in a workplace. I intend to show how these theories and practices are utilized in a practical environment and the type of biases, conflict and decision making pitfalls encountered in the workplace, and how to avoid them or use them to your benefit. I also will show the benefits of communication and different organizational structures and cultures in many of today’s organizations and how an employee’s personality has an effect on their work life. Popular Management Theories There are many theories and studies that are to help shed light on the qualities and best practices of good management. These theories are tools that managers can use to increase the productivity of their department. Among these theories are some that deal with the motivation of
One example of motivation theories in the work place is a coworker of my recently had a difficult divorce. He was one of the most efficient members on our team, many went to him for advice on the day to day issues in IT work. During the time he was enduring his divorce and had to relocate without much notice and was financially depleted from the court costs, his work suffered immensely. Our supervisor knew this was not a permanent change so she helped him where she could to keep the department running smoothly, and now his work is back and better than ever. It really shows how when one or more of your physiological or love and belonging needs are not being met, the need for them to be satisfied will overrule your thoughts. My understanding of effective motivation theories affects the way I communicate at work in the way of I am more likely to give coworkers recognition of a job well done. Not only do I give more kudos for good work, I am also very clear in what I liked about the work performed. I feel this is a good way to make sure people feel appreciated and it will motivate them to continue to perform above expectations. One of the tenets of motivation theory from this course that will stick with me forever is that happier employees lead to happier customers and potentially more profit (Robbins, De Cenzo, Coulter, 2015). Work Team’s Motivations and Pitfalls A work team is defined in Fundamentals of Management as “groups whose members work intensely on specific, common goals using their positive synergy, individual and mutual accountability, and complementary skills” (Robbins, De Cenzo, Coulter, 2015). The act of keeping a work team motivated is different than keeping an individual motivated in many ways. From looking at different motivation theories, managers can gain a better understanding of what pushes an individual to perform better at work as an individual. When looking at a team environment the motivations are similar, just applied differently.
Goals are one of the things that can be used to motivate a team. When a team understands a goal and its importance, they are more likely to see their contribution to the organization’s overall growth. It is also helpful to use the goals to help the team members recognize their responsibility to the team as well as the organization. This will help the team members to stay on track and meet deadlines (Deeb, n.). One of the most common pitfalls that teams have to be cautious of is the conformity of its members. It is a natural response of some people when in a group to follow the beliefs of that group and this causes them to abandon the ideas they might prefer or know are right, in favor of going with the group. This behavior is the exact opposite reason for the formation of teams. Teams are a good tool for a workplace because it brings many people from different backgrounds and situations together to determine a solution or a new plan of action for the workplace. When the team’s members are not using their individual experiences to determine the best option for the situation, the team is no longer fulfilling its purpose. There was a study done by Asch in 1951 that showed that people would rather choose the answer they know to be wrong rather than go against the group in a public way (Robbins, De Cenzo, Coulter, 2015 p 288.). Another common pitfall in a work team setting is negative conflict. Conflict in the workplace is a way of life, it cannot always be avoided and it is not always bad. Anytime people from different walks of life come together to find, what they consider, the best solution to a problem or a new plan, they will disagree. It is because of this that teams require more management than individuals, and they have the ability to bring many different solutions to a problem. As long as conflict is handled professionally, like no name calling or rude gestures, it will be beneficial to the team process.
that the telling style and giving clear and specific instructions is best for this team. This is the leadership style I relate to most. I see this one used most in my work life. There are no one size fits all approaches to a problem or a specific team. There may be many different leadership hats that a manager must wear in order to maximize productivity. During my information gathering process I spoke to a relatively new manager who told me she believed that management and leadership theories were only necessary because of Generation Y’s difficult managing style (personal communication, June 5, 2016). Personally, I believe managing a generation that you do not understand is the reason there are so many different management and motivation theories. Each generation is a product of the major influences during the time they were growing up. I feel that management style should change and be tweaked to better accommodate those from different generations. While I feel it is not a good policy to stereotype employees based on age, I also feel it Is beneficial to look at the different traits that are more common in different generations, and use them to the leader’s advantage. Organizational Structure and Personality Traits of Employees Organizational structure is how an organization is operation in relation to mechanistic, organic, or hybrid. A mechanistic structure is very rigid and has many rules, this type would be better used in an assembly line type environment. The organic structure is one that has few rules and is more informal. It is an adaptable structure that promotes collaboration. It is better suited to a dynamic environment. The hybrid structure is between the two. The work and tasks needed in an organization will determine the best structure, as well as the size of the organization. 2000 is basically the maximum an organic environment can handle before having to lean towards a mechanistic structure (Robbins, De Cenzo, Coulter, 2015 P. 161-162).
An employee’s personality can have an effect on an organization because it influences how they behave and communicate at work. Personality is described as being “A unique combination of emotional, thought, and behavioral patterns that affect how a person reacts to situations and interacts with others” (Robbins, De Cenzo, Coulter, 2015 P254). Some managers utilize personality tests to see if the person they are interested in hiring will be a good fit, personality wise. When conducting my interview with Samantha, she responded to this practice as it being flawed due to people being nervous or tailoring their answers to meet the expectations for the job they were applying for (personal communication, June 16, 2016) I feel this can be accurate, however some of the personality tests, like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or MBTI, have 100 questions (Robbins, De Cenzo, Coulter, 2015 P). It would be difficult to be less than honest for that many questions, however I am sure it can be done. With the personality test and the interview process, it should be sufficient for a hiring manager to determine if the applicant would be a good fit with the department. Because personality has such an impact on an organization, it is very important to make sure the people a manager brings in to do the work will contribute to the organization in a positive way. Conflict and Communication in the Workplace One of the major causes of workplace conflict is poor communication. In this digital age it is important for a manager to communicate the goals and the tasks needed to achieve these goals to their employees. There are many different ways to communicate, such as email, phone, texting, social media, face to face and inter office memos. The most widely used form in my industry is email. This is to protect the IT professionals from forgetting someone’s issue as well as to leave a digital trail for the work they performed in case they have to leave suddenly and another technician takes the issue over. Email is also widely used in many other types of
it is not destructive. If the conflict has a positive purpose and the participants are remaining professional, then the conflict will serve a purpose to help in the brainstorming process. + Conflict in the workplace is not always among team members. Sometimes conflict occurs between members of different teams. In my experience, these types of conflict are usually related to a lack of information to all departments or a feeling of favoritism from the upper administration to one department. During my interview with Samantha she told me of a situation at one of her previous employers that was just that. It was a situation of one department getting newer equipment more often than the others. When the others would ask for newer equipment to do their jobs, they were told to perform better and they would receive it, however it was difficult to perform better using outdated computers that frequently froze and did not have the capacity of the newer equipment the other team was using (personal communication, June 16, 2016). This situation is one of a negative conflict, in my opinion. It is not a good plan for management to reward good performance with better equipment because this gives the rest of the organization something to blame for their less than optimal performance. It does not create an environment of success for individuals of a team when they see their teammates performing less than they could because they are not satisfied in their work environment. Managing in Today’s Workplace In today’s workplace a manager has many tools to use to achieve success. The theories on motivation and management are very helpful and can be applied to a number of situations. Knowing the traits of a leader and making it a point to own those traits and nurture them within one’s self is a great path to success for anyone who wants to perform in their position. There are many pitfalls in management such as bias in decision making and employee selection, also negative conflict in the workplace. Using the tools given through self-reflection and
management theories can help to navigate through even the roughest situation. From the interview with my manager, Samantha, she had a few good suggestions for me in my career in management. Her advice was to surround myself with the best people, utilize all means to help determine the personality of my team members. She also suggested to keep and open communication with those who work for me and with me and to keep to the organizational structure of where I choose to work (personal communication, June 16, 2016). I find this advice helpful because these traits are what I like to see when going to work for a manger. I will take the knowledge I have gained in this course to be the best manager I can be. I will endeavor to not let negative conflict cause me to forget my character and influence my decisions.
MGT300 Mod 8 Final Draft Final Project
Course: Principles of Management (MGT300)
University: Colorado State University - Global Campus
- Discover more from:
