Assignment Sample on Leading and Managing People In Organisations
Portfolio assignment 1
- Strength and limitation of two motivation theories
There are various theories of motivation that can help in order to understand the needs of self and others and drivers behind the behaviours delivered by the individuals. Those theories can be regarded as essential because those can help people and organisations in order to provide incentives for maintaining motivation to the employees. Two theories have been discussed below:
Maslow’s hierarchy needs theory of motivation
Strengths
This particular theory can help people in order to understand the needs of humans so that the knowledge can be gained regarding human nature. As opined by Bland and DeRobertis, (2020), this theory can be beneficial for people in order to analyse and interpret the basic pattern of behaviour and motivating factors of others. In the modern days, the management of organisations can be benefited by this theory as it can help them in order to gain knowledge regarding basic needs of their employees. This theory identified various needs and it suggests that people are trying to fulfill their needs on the basis of hierarchy or one by one. As stated by Ghatak and Singh, (2019), the needs that have been identified in this theory can be mentioned as job security, friendship and belongingness, recognition and respect in professional and personal lives. This can also help people in order to make a situation in their lives in order to meet the requirements so that they can reach the phase of self-actualization. This stage can be considered as the ultimate phase of motivation in one’s life and it can be achieved after all the other needs have been met.
Limitations
One of the major disadvantages of this theory can be mentioned as the meaning and usage of the terms “self-esteem”, “security” cannot be observed as the same in the context of different cultures around the world. Therefore it is difficult to generalise the needs of the people of different cultures in the world. As per the view of Bridgman et al. (2019), this theory failed to identify the individual differences among various people and the needs can be changed on the basis of personality structure of the individuals. It also could not be able to establish the definite and direct cause and effect relationship between various needs and behaviours of the individuals. Different individuals may deliver different types of behaviours in order to fulfill the same needs in their lives. On the other hand, needs in human lives may not follow the principle of hierarchy, more than one needs can play at the same time (Osemeke and Adegboyega, 2017). For example, when an individual has strive for the fulfillment of self-actualization needs they cannot forget to have food and shelter.
McClelland’s need theory
Strengths
In this theory, three needs have been identified and those needs are responsible for driving people to achieve those needs. Those needs can be mentioned as need for achievement, need for power and need for affiliation. This theory can help people in order to understand the needs of other people or employees so that the management can assign the work according to the needs. On the other hand, different types of needs can be beneficial for people in order to set goals and objectives in their lives so that they can make efforts in order to achieve those goals. As opined by Rybniceket al. (2019), this theory can also help the management in order to understand the importance of providing proper incentives to maintain the level of motivation in their employees. This theory can also help people in order to develop various leadership qualities within them so that they can drive people and take control over them. The strength of this theory can be mentioned as it talked about the fact that some people have the needs for approval and appreciation from others regarding the task done by them especially from the people they admired.
Limitations
The major limitation of this theory can be mentioned as this theory did not give emphasis on the basic needs of humans. In this theory there is no mention regarding the physiological needs and safety needs of individual’s lives. The primary needs should be included and then needs for affiliation, power and achievement should be considered. It can be seen that if people give emphasis on their need for affiliation and achievement then they can find it difficult to get a job according to their needs. Apart from that, the organisations cannot be able to assign jobs to their employees on the basis of their needs. As per the view of Wang, (2020), on the other hand, if an employee has the need for power then they may try to take the control over other employees that can create a conflict in the internal environment of the organisation. People cannot always get the appreciation from others but they should continue to deliver their best performance in their lives for their own benefits.
- Reflection of application of the appropriate theory
In my own life, the more appropriate theory of motivation from the above mentioned theory can be mentioned as McClelland’s need theory. This theory can help me in order to set my goals as my needs for achievement is high. This theory also helped me in order to identify the major needs in my life so that I can be able to make strategies in order to fulfill those needs. I also have the need for power so that I can manage people in the proper way. This can help me in order to increase the level of self-awareness within me so that I can be able to decide the realistic goals that can be achieved by me. This theory can also help me in order to maintain the level of motivation within me in my professional life as well as I can be able to understand the factor of motivation of my employees later in my life.
Portfolio assignment 2
Compare and contrast between two leadership theories
There are different leadership theories that have been developed in the past years, these theories help people to learn all the activities that are needed to be done by a leader. The approaches of each theory are not similar but the actual aim of theories is to help people to be efficient as well as effective leaders. There are a lot of responsibilities that are needed to be performed by a leader so that they will be able to influence other people that are following them. The approaches of two particular leadership theories are going to be compared as well as contrasts here, the two theories are the great man theory and The Transformational theory.
As stated by Bendellet al. (2017), the great man theory is one of the most popular theories that is followed by people that are having the aim to be a leader and influence people by their thoughts and beliefs. This particular leadership theory states that generally an efficient, as well as excellent leader, is not the one who is developed, this is the one who is born with the qualities. On the other hand, as stated by Builet al. (2019), the approach of the transformational theory mainly states that the best leader is the one who is transformed in that by taking different lessons. In this particular type of leadership, there is a positive relationship between the team members as well as the leader. There are many leaders out there that follow transformational theory in order to transform themselves in a leader that motivates people and are respected by them (Cao et al. 2020). For example, Barrack Obama, the former president of America and Mahatma Gandhi, one of the biggest leaders of India are the ones that have followed this theory and implemented them in their leadership styles. This particular theory is also known as “the relationship theory”.
As per the article by Coetzeret al. (2017), it is stated that as per the approach of the great man theory leadership is considered as an inherent quality. The leaders that belong to this particular type of theory are the ones who influence the natural attributes of charm, intelligence, confidence, courage and intuition among their team member or the other people who follow them. In contrast, the approach of the transformational theory states that the leaders that belong to this particular type are the ones who are able to motivate as well as inspire people by their passion as well as enthusiasm. As per the article by Connolly et al. (2019), it can be observed that these leaders are generally chosen by the team members or the people that are needed to follow them. Furthermore, transformational leaders get utmost respect from their team members and hence; they are able to build a positive relationship with their team members.
As opined by Cortellazzoet al. (2019), the approaches of this great man theory help to raise a great leader when there is the ultimate need for them. In this world, there is always a need for a great leader that can motivate people to do something that can be utilised. On the other hand, as per the transformational theory, transformational leaders take time to be developed as they are needed to learn everything such as how to motivate people, how to react in any hard situation and many more things that can be faced by them while handling a team. There are main 4 elements of this transformational theory: Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, Idealized Influence and Individualized Consideration. As stated by Daniëlset al. (2019), there are certain transformational leaders that consist of a clear mission, vision as well as a definite objective that helps them to motivate their team members. For example, Mohammad Ali Jinnah was one of the leaders of Pakistan who followed this particular theory and has been able to motivate the people of the country as the vision was clear to them. In addition to that, the vision of the leaders is so compelling that they know what can be the result of each interaction with their team members (Fotiet al. 2017). The team members are guided by the team leaders by providing them with information regarding the challenge that is faced by the organisation.
On the other hand, as per the views of Fotohabadi and Kelly, (2018), transformational leaders consist of intellectual stimulation that let the leaders encourage their followers to be creative as well as innovative. These leaders always encourage their team members and their ideas and never ever criticize them. This motivation helps the team members to try out different things without having the fear of getting criticized by the leader. In contrast, the followers of this great man theory think that their great leaders are their heroes and they follow each and everything that is said to them by the leaders (Furuneset al. 2018). The characteristics, as well as traits of these leaders, are transferred to each member of their team. On the other hand, transformational leaders consist of idealized influence that shows that a leader that follows this theory believes in the philosophy where a leader can inspire their team members only if they follow what they are asking people to follow. Transformational leaders as the role models for their followers hence; they need to show people by following the values they are teaching them so that they get motivated to follow them by themselves (Guenziet al. 2019).
As opined by Hadadian and Sayadpour, (2018), the transformational leaders also consist of individualised concentration where the leaders are the ones who are admired by the followers as the mentor and they are needed to reward their team members for the innovativeness as well as creativity they implement in their work. They are having the empowerment to make any decisions but they will always need their team members to be there by their side and support them in the decision that is taken by them (Khan, 2017). On the other hand, the great leaders that follow the great man theory do not need to learn anything as they are already born with the natural attributes and that is what helps them to make a decision.
Portfolio assignment 3
“Is conflict always dysfunctional in the workplace?”
In any kind of organisation there is always a chance to face conflict and most of the time it is bad for the business as it can lead the organisation to slow down their productivity as well as increases absenteeism in the employees. The conflicts that take place in the organisations can be both positive as well as negative. “Conflict” can be defined as a competitive as well as opposing action of people as well as ideas that are not compatible with each other (Martin et al. 2018). There can be a difference in ideas, interests as well as the perspective of the people that are working under an organisation. The conflicts that happen in the workplace can be dysfunctional at several times. There are different consequences that can be faced by the people that work under an organisation that is having many conflicts. As stated by Mayer et al. (2018), it can affect the mental health of people as they can really struggle due to not being able to make people understand what they actually think regarding a particular thing and how they can raise their point of views in the meetings that take place in the company.
As stated by Miles and Scott, (2019), conflicts at the workplace are always difficult but they are not always bad. Conflict can lead an organisation to grow ad make changes for the good in order to mitigate the conflicts. There can be different types of conflicts such as conflict over the different actions, decisions as well as ideas of business. In addition to that, another type of conflicts is when a different type of personalities clashes at the workplace. There can be a conflict regarding the difference of point of view between the employees as well as the management of the organisations. Conflicts at the workplace affect the work culture and make the employees less interested in their jobs. As per the article by Pitafiet al. (2018), states that there is a theory of conflict that was invented by Karl Marx. As per the approaches of this theory, there is no such thing that the conflict that happens in the workplace will always be dysfunctional. Dysfunctional conflicts are the ones that happen in the organisation and lead to a decline in the communication process or the entire performance of a particular group.
This particular theory states that all the conflicts in the workplace do not occur due to the ego of the employees that are having a competing ambition. It can occur due to differences in the idea as well as actions and point of views of the people that are working under a particular organisation. Hence; it is quite evident that it is not important that all the conflicts that take place in the organisation are not always dysfunctional (Smith and Fredricks-Lowman, 2020). There are generally four stages of dysfunctional conflicts that take place in the organisations are generally early level conflicts, mid-level conflicts, senior-level conflicts and executive-level conflicts. In the early level conflicts, it provides general and very basic information in order to resolute the conflicts. In the mid-level conflicts, it recognizes the potentials of the employees and the issues in their relationship with the hierarchies. As stated by Stevaninet al. (2018), it gives information regarding the issues that are faced by the people in their company and the issues with the management of the company. In the senior-level conflicts, it mediates all the conflicts in the relationship of the employees and the issues regarding their ego as well as behaviours in the office. Furthermore, in the executive level conflicts, this is mainly created regarding the resolution strategies as well as processes that take place throughout the company.
As per the views of Torpet al. (2018), in order to identify if the conflict that is taking place in the organisation is dysfunctional or not then the management of the company will be needed to monitor their organisation. One of the most important characteristics of a dysfunctional conflict is that it increases the tension in the workplace. In addition to that, the organisation that is having a dysfunctional conflict must have a high rate of employee turnover. The organisation that is having a dysfunctional conflict make the employees leave the company hence; the employee turnover will decrease automatically (Vignoliet al. 2018). As per the Conflict theory by Karl Marx, it can be observed that absence of trust is considered as one of the biggest reason of the dysfunctional conflicts that takes place in an organisation. If there is no trust or any kind of distrust between the team members as well as the employees of an organisation then they can face dysfunctional conflicts in their organisations.
On the other hand, as per the article by Williams et al. (2017), it can be seen that if the number of dissatisfaction increases among the employees then it can be considered as one of the reasons for the conflict that takes place in the organisation. There are a few ways that can be used by the organisation in order to stop these conflicts in the organisation. One of them is negotiation if the management of the company negotiates with their employees and assure them that their perspectives as also as important as others it can help the company to mitigate the conflicts.
Portfolio assignment 4
Organisational change invariably prompts an emotional response. Usage of organisational development model to ensure positive outcome in organisation
Organisational development can be described as a process that includes implementation of planned and systematic changes in the organisation This can help the business organisations in order to ensure growth and development of their organisation along with improvement of the performance of their employees. There are various factors that can be seen in organisational development and the improvement should be done on the basis of those factors. The factors can be mentioned as a continuous process of improvement, ensuring effective communication, enhancement of performance of the employees, improvement in the quality of products and services so that the profit margin of organisations can be increased. There are various models of organisational development that can help the organisation to assure growth in their organisations. Those models and their benefits can be described below:
The three step model of organisational change
This model had been proposed by Kurt Lewin and this theory can help the organisation in order to implement changes so that the balance can be maintained in the organisation. There are three steps those can be responsible for incorporating changes for improvement in the organisation. Those steps can be presented as unfreezing, moving and refreezing. As opined by Hussainet al. (2018), the first step Unfreezing includes decreasing a status quo in terms of organisational behaviour so that the changes regarding organisational behaviour can be introduced in the organisation. The second step moving can be responsible for introducing the desired changes in order to ensure the organisational development.
This stage should include that the employees need to understand the present organisational behaviours are not beneficial for the present situation of their organisation. In this stage, the leaders and employees are required to plan and strategies on the basis of identified problems so that they can introduce necessary changes in the organisational behaviours and operations. As stated by Burnes, (2020), the organisation should consider various psychological factors within their employees so that they can change their organisational behaviour according to that. In the stage of refreezing, the organisational changes that have been planned needs to be integrated with the organisational values and tradition so that the organisational stability can be maintained.
The action research model
This model can help the organisation in order to solve problems of the organisations as well as gain a detailed knowledge regarding organisational development that can be employed in the next problem solving activities. In this model, there is a cycle that can guide the process of organisational changes. The cycle includes problem solving, knowledge gathering, and implementing those knowledge in order to implement changes of organisational development. As opined by Wu et al. (2017), the knowledge can help the organisation in order to introduce desired changes in the organisation and learning regarding the various problems faced by the organisation. There are various steps in this model that can help the organisation in order to make plans and incorporate changes in the organisation.
Those steps can be mentioned as identification of the problems, consulting with experts in the field of behaviour, diagnosis of the problems, feedback from the expert, planning the actions of implementing change, and finally action phase. As stated by Kong et al. (2017), the organisation and management requires to recognise the problems related to organisational behaviour at first then they need to consult with behavioural experts regarding that. After that, they should find the causes of the problems so that they can make strategies to solve the problem. Then they require formulating effective strategies with the help of the experts hence they can be able to minimise the problems and can ensure the organisational development. The final phase can be included taking actions on the basis of the planned strategies so that organisational development can be assured.
General model of planned change
This model of organisational development suggests that the organisational development can be implemented in a business organisation in four different stages. Those stages can be mentioned as entering and contracting stage, diagnosis and feedback phase, planning and implementation phase, stage of evaluation. In the first phase, the management of the organisations should be engaged in activities which include identification of the areas in which they can implement changes in order to ensure organisation growth and development.
They should gather data and information regarding the problems so that they can formulate the strategies further. In the second phase, they should diagnose and priorities the area related to the problem. As opined by Bakariet al. (2017), in this stage, they should consider the culture of the organisations and employees. After that, they are required to formulate strategies in order to implement changes in the organisation. In the final stage, the organisation should make evaluation on the basis of effectiveness of those strategies. In case they found that the strategies are not effective than those strategies need to be improvised in order to assure organisational changes.
It can be seen that the organisational development models tend to be guided by various theories of organisational changes, those theories can help the organisations in order to gain more amount of knowledge regarding the implementation of organisational changes that can be responsible for organisational growth and development (Marshak and Bushe, 2018). The organisations should use the models of organisational development according to the theories of the organizational changes. Those theories can be mentioned as change process theory and implementation theory. The concern of these theories can be mentioned as addressing the problems and generating strategies to overcome those problems.
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