MN7401 Organizational Behavior Assignment Sample
Module code and Title: MN7401 Organizational Behavior Assignment Sample
Introduction
Leadership has a wide role not only to reduce the complexity of a particular situation but also to generate new opportunities. It is seen that a good leader always has good prediction power about a particular situation. Further, it is also witnessed that successful leaders always come up with a backup plan for the risk scenario. It is witnessed that leadership is very much crucial in such situations when an organization faces barriers because of the change in a business environment.
The modern world witnessed two major issues in recent times one is covid 19 pandemic and another is the “Ukraine-Russian war”. In order to find a better solution in this context it needs to find “far-sighted leaders”. There is a general question among the organization members about putting all of their faith in the organizational leaders or solely depending on individual efforts to survive. In this study therefore a major focus is given to finding the answer to this question based on the “Ukraine-Russian war” and pandemic complexity.
Discussion
The role of leaders in the pandemic times
During the pandemic times, it is seen that the majority of the organizational leaders are totally unprepared for the pandemic outbreak. In order to address this condition therefore the leaders in various organizations all around the world create some temporary responsibility to manage the organizational hierarchy (Mckinsey, 2022). However, there is also a need to take some steps that can help empower the employee of the organization.
Further, organizational leaders also talked about some actions that will support the different levels of people. It is seen that in an organization people come from different backgrounds and with different experiences. Therefore, it is not possible for all the employees to better understand the changing environment (Ahern and Loh, 2020). Most organizations are dependent on business leaders in the decision-making process. In decision-making, it is seen that the leaders quickly analyzed the overall conditions of the situation and make quick decisions.
Therefore, it can be assumed that most of the decisions were not taken effectively. There are some circumstances in which it is seen that leaders decided to reduce the “number of employees” (Dirani et al. 2020). It is useful for those organization that has a limitation on resources and funding. Some scholars believe that it is an effective decision to focus on the risk-taking capability rather than complete destruction. It is not only the SME business but also various larger businesses also followed the tradition of reduction of workforce.
It is not only the pandemic but in an uncertain environment, the “basic management training” and normal human instinct made the leaders conduct mistakes in the decision-making process. The growing uncertainty by the prolonged pandemic period also impacts the stable decision-making process of business leaders. It is due to this that most leaders are unable to pass the leadership tests.
The same happens in the pandemic situation also. In order to better perform in this test business leaders, need to act in an honest, iterative and urgent manner (Hbr.org, 2020). In addition to this, the leaders need to address to identify the mistakes that are impending. However, in the pandemic condition, it is seen that most of the leaders start blaming the members rather than finding an effective solution to the issue.
During a pandemic situation or time of crisis leader of the organization should be more active. The leader should be known to control the emotions as the situation evolve. In crisis time, the situation will have to manage by controlling the emotion of the leader of the company. A team leader should give support to the employees of the company in crisis time. During a pandemic situation or crisis time, a team leader cannot leave their employees rather than solve the problems.
The team leader should be able to solve problems by staying on the side of the employees and supporting the employees to recover from the pandemic situation. In any kind of pandemic situation or crisis time, all employees should help the team leader and execute the new and unique plan which is helpful for all employees of the company (Francisco and Nuqui, 2020). Team members should not avoid any kind of pandemic situation or time of crisis.
If they avoid or neglect the pandemic situation the pandemic time will not recover and they suffer from it and that affects their personal, professional, and cultural life. So, in any kind of pandemic situation, it is very important to execute new plans for solving the problems staying together and helping each other.
In any kind of pandemic situation or moment of crisis, leadership plays a very important role in surrounding the whole team. In this situation, know the power of a leader of the team in the company. Only good leadership skills are required to know how to recover from this situation in the company or execute the working plans related to problems. In a pandemic time, a leader should stay cool and not lose his or her control and patience (Dirani, 2020).
The leader should stay by the side of his or her team or team members and will continue to fight against the pandemic situation. Recovering any kind of pandemic period, some tricks should be known by the leaders or employees of the company.
Therefore, it can be said that the employees can rely on these leaders to reduce the burden of their burden of helplessness or mental stress. It is seen various IT industries are trying to shift their business operation completely to the digitalized platform (Bonilla-Escobar, 2020). Therefore, it was possible for the company to retain the total employee strength in the challenging period. However, the knowledge gap and the proper training session of the employee makes it hard for some of the employees to work in the new working environment.
Therefore, again the decrease in employee productivity causes job security questions. It is due to an increase in the number of clients finding the digitalized business solution the work pressure on IT employees increases (Zhouet al. 2018). Therefore, the innovative way of conducting the company work in place and providing benefits decreases the productivity of the employee. In the offline mode, the leaders were practicing a collaborative way of doing work.
However, it is not possible to maintain this collaboration in digital business platforms. Sometimes team collaboration is not maintained because conflicts can arise among employees of the company in this pandemic situation. Executing a new workable plan or a way of recovering from the pandemic situation, many negative conflicts arise in there by the employees of the company (Bag, 2021).
Team leaders cannot control the negative conflicts and he or she cannot manage the team. Some employees or leaders can lose their patience and belief in the company which is the main cause of disrupting the collaboration of a team. Sometimes team leaders cannot control their emotions as situations evolve, which is why the team cannot execute a new plan. Some employees leave the company in a pandemic situation, less employment is also responsible for maintaining the collaboration of the team in any kind of business company.
Sometimes unity of a team is disrupted because some seek news. Seeking news leads to destroying the collaboration of the company and sometimes can arise trust issues among employees in the digital business company. Sometimes team leaders show irresponsible behavior to the employees of the company. As a result, the employees are also getting exceptionalness or hopeless in the pandemic situation.
Poor communication skills and proper communication channels are not maintained, as a result, competitors spread many kinds of seek or false news to destroy the mindset of employees in the company (Yücel, 2021). This is why proper collaboration is not maintained in a digital business company and they face a critical situation in their life.
In the pandemic, the manufacturing unit of an organization suffered the most. It is seen that there was a significant delay in supplies of the raw materials for production and there is also a fear of getting infected by Covid (Miao and Cao, 2019). The lack of action taken in this case constrains the support of the organization in providing the necessary support to the employee and the workers.
It is after the analysis of the situation it can be easily understood that most of the organization followed the “Autocratic leadership style”. It is due to this that the employee voices are less prioritized in front of the organization’s development goal. The whole organization’s work is solely dependent on the performance of the employee but the lack of focus on the employee does not justify the sustainable growth of the organization.
Leadership role during the “Ukraine-Russian war”
The long terms war conducted between Russia and Ukraine due to the “NATO alliance” causes risks related to the commodity market, trade, and capital flows. It is due to the war various business location severely impacted by numerous crises. The sanctions it is imposed on Russia became a major challenge for the business forms in this country to continue international business deals (Moldoveanuand Narayandas, 2019).
The rise of the prices due to inconsistent supply and the change in demand causes a major disruption of the supply chain in both of these countries. It is seen that Russia is the major exporter of various Asian countries the strict restriction on the SWIFT payment process makes the company cut off its business dealings with other countries. As per some surveys it is witnessed that in Ukraine due to the war there is about a 46 % fall in the total amount of sales and about 47% fall in the annual earnings (Prohorovs, 2022).
There are all of these situations make it complex for organizations to survive their initial business function. It is like the pandemic situation the leaders of various business is not able to retain a larger number of employees in the company. According to a UN report, there are about 2.4 million people who lost their jobs (Kurapov et al. 2022).
It is also witnessed that about sixty per cent population of Ukraine fled to another country. The unable to find jobs in other countries, therefore, rises the complexity of the situation. Although there are possible signs that a war can happen between these two countries but many of the business leaders do not take any elementary actions so that the business risks can be reduced.
The unable to maintain the rising cost of production leads business leaders to face scarcity of demand. The leaders even practiced the salary cut for the employee during this period. Therefore, the insecurity of the employee is increased rather than reduced by the employee’s actions. In the Covid 19 pandemic, it is seen that there is an option to continue the business function through the help of digital platforms.
However, the business leaders in this war situation face the majority of the issues in the digital platforms as there is a ban on several areas. In the case of Russia, it is witnessed that most countries were forced to shut down the international outlets of Russian companies (Nikolovaet al. 2019). Therefore, there is less chance of getting support from the international markets. In order to restructure the business fracture and bring it back, the employee’s business leads need huge support from the fund.
There is no way to get financial support from the government as the majority of the government funds are spent during the war (Leon et al. 2022). Russia’s condition is most severe as there the government is not able to get the necessary support from international organizations like IMF, the World Bank and various other organizations. It is before the war both countries faced huge challenges during the pandemic. Therefore, it is not possible to recover the situation of the company without giving any attention to effective leadership skills (Mbahand Wasum, 2022).
It is seen that not only Russian companies are forced to shut down their business operation in other countries, but other countries also shut their business in Russia. It is seen the American company McDonald’s shuts down its business operation in Russia after 32 years of service (CNBC, 2022). However, it is not good for the economy as foreign investment in the country decreases because of this event. Russian business leaders can take this crisis to be an opportunity to increase their business firms in the relevant business sectors to satisfy the customers.
The drawback of the used leadership practices in both the situations
The above analysis of both of the complexity indicates that there are several drawbacks to the leadership approach taken by the leaders. The main focus in this case is on providing benefits to the organization in a speedy manner rather than focusing on future opportunities. Therefore, it is evident that the leaders will face more severe business issues in the upcoming times. The lack of focus on the business leaders on employees can cause demotivation of the employee towards the organizational work. It is noticed that employee satisfaction is very much related to the productivity of the work.
Further, unsatisfied employees are not able to do specific work creatively. Less productive work can reduce the satisfaction level of a company (Nilasari et al. 2021). Therefore, there is a greater chance that the customers will find alternative companies that are able to provide more productive work. It became hard for the company to generate new business possibilities to increase its income of the company. Further, it is also expected that the companies are not able to return the promised amounts to the shareholders.
Businesses that are focusing on digitalization of the business can get more positive reviews of the employee towards the company than a business that does not use this. However, there is a lack of focus given on each need to “work from home” can create some mental pressure among the employees (Wiradendi et al. 2020). The unable to balance work-life culture is an example of this problem. It is after the pandemic period there is a greater chance of bouncing back the demand in the market.
In order to satisfy these demands companies, need the help of talented employees. As the company removes most of its employees during the pandemic, therefore, it is expected that it is not easier for the company to return the employee to the work (Kulikowski et al. 2021). Further, the retention of the existing employee will become a challenging task for various companies.
In “Russian Ukraine Conflict” the mental stress faced by the employee about the insecurity of their jobs are like the complexity witnessed during the pandemic times. Business leaders need to develop their business ideas in such a way that is possible to make the business services and products lucrative for domestic customers (Mbah and Wasum, 2022). More acceptance of domestically manufactured “goods and services” can create a better impact on increasing the demand of the company.
However, the lack of action taken in this case increases the severity of the condition. The lack of potential in keeping most of the talented employees can increase the chance that various employees find job opportunities abroad (Anikina et al. 2019). Therefore, the normalization of the situation can create a scarcity of employees. In case the business does not find any alternative business strategy the next business challenges can compel the business to shut down its operation.
Motivation assisted through the leadership role
Business leaders through their actions can create business motivations at different times. The leaders in “action-centric leadership” are always motivated and are working on creating motivation at three different levels. These three levels are task-based motivation, team-based motivation and individual motivation. In the case of tasks, it is witnessed that the leaders of an organization set a mission and vision for the particular task (Badura et al. 2020). During the formation of the task, the leaders not only prepare the objective for the task but also identify the resources for that particular task.
Further, one can also see that there are some circumstances in which the leader adjusts their business plans as per the changing requirements of the task (Chauhan et al. 2019). Once all the identification process are completed the leader, therefore, specify the roles of each employee in the competition of the task. It is a focus on all the aspects related to a task that can reduce all the barriers related to the understanding of the task (Budieet al. 2019). Further, the employee does not need to worry about the skills and knowledge for the task as all these are provided by the business leader.
In order to motivate the team members, the focus of the leaders is on the ethics, integrity, soft skill and behaviour of the employee. An ideal leader always prefers the collaborative way of doing work. It is because the collaborative environment gives more freedom to the team members to work with one another. In order to further improvement of the performance of the team leaders continually provides feedback to the organizational teams (Stam et al. 2018).
In the case of individual-level motivation, the focus of a leader is on the individual’s weaknesses, strengths, development goals, needs and fear. In the case of leaders in all challenging times following these actions to address the challenges related to employees, it can increase the chance that employees can solely depend on the business leader to the reduction of their complexities.
Recommendation for creating a far-sighted leadership role
Modern business leaders in order to shift their business focus from “short-term leadership” towards “far-sighted leadership” can take the help of the below recommendations:
- It is seen that in the pandemic period most the organizations focus on the speedy decision-making process in order to survive the organization in the most possible ways. In order to take an effective decision a leader has the ability to take decisions maintaining speed as well as precision (Crane and Hartwell, 2018). In this case, the leaders first work on selecting the business priorities by communicating with all the organizational members. Once the priorities are recognized leaders need to document the challenges that the business faced. It will help leaders to create an effective business goal in creating the normalization of the business environments. It is expected that following this strategy businesses need to depend only on prediction of the employee strength. A business leader can also appoint some persons to “the board of directors” to make effective decisions by analyzing the pros and cons of that decision (Singh, 2019). Once all these steps related to effective decision-making are confirmed the leaders can turn that business decision into an ultimate action.
- It is seen that a successful business leader has the capability to face the chances. Successful leaders believed that changes are a sign of growth and therefore all leaders need to follow the change requirements (Kammeret al. 2022). in order to include the changing environment with the work culture leaders can gather effective information about the changing environment and acts boldly for implementing the need for changes. However, in the adaptation process, business leaders should focus more on “what not to do” rather on “what to do” (Thun and Bakker, 2018). In order to create long-term development opportunities in challenging environments business leaders need to come up with strategic planning of the function of the business from the next day of the decision. The leaders need to strengthen the collection with the business members that will be affected mostly after the changes. In case it is found that the business supply chain is the issue the focus should give to SCM and in case it is skilled employee skilling process is prioritized (Asbariet al. 2020). All these actions taken by leaders can match them with the requirements of a “Transformational leadership”
- In the above analysis of the two issues situations, it is found that the leaders are busy blaming others in the prediction of productivity. However, an ideal leader takes the burden of the crisis on his own. The leaders in this case keep informing their employees about the changes (Kurdiet al.2020). Further, it is also necessary to create KPIs to understand the performance of the planned strategy in the business environment.
- Leaders can also focus on the engagement process by connecting with the team members both in offline and online forms. In case it is mandatory to follow the remote work environment leaders will ensure that all team members are collected through a strong communication channel.
- It is recommended to know the right and current news, proper communication channels, and take an initiative very fast maintained by a team leader, then the team may suffer less during a pandemic situation or crisis period. The following tricks are not spread attention to any kind of seek news that is related to the pandemic situation or crisis period. The seek news can divert the mindset of the team members (Kuknor and Bhattacharya, 2021). Team leaders or members should know the right and current news related to the pandemic situation.
- Make proper and believable communication channels for getting the proper information about the pandemic situation. Making believable communication channels with suppliers, and well-wishers of the company leads to some economic help for the company in this pandemic period. Time is very compressed when any types of pandemic situation or crisis arise. So, if want to recover from this crisis moment, then a team should take the initiative very fast, and the team leaders of this company are very active in taking any helpful decision during the crisis period. A team can recover from any kind of pandemic situation by using these ways.
Conclusion
On the concluding note, it can be said that leadership roles in employee satisfaction are increasing over time. The example of the “Ukraine-Russia War” and the pandemic situation is an indication that modern leaders are not prepared enough to better satisfy the employee. However, challenges come to destruct the business function it has a positive side also. The role of a leader is to identify this opportunity and better utilize this opportunity for employee development. In the drawbacks of the present situation, it is founded that ignorance of employee needs can cause vital business issues and restrict business functions.
The study indicates that employees can motivate the workforce by targeting the team, individual and task. The specific action taken in ensuring the need of each element automatically creates a positive impact on employee satisfaction. In order to reduce the barriers, relate to employee development the provided recommendation can take an effective role in forming effective business leaders. It is expected that by implementing all the actions mentioned in this study it is possible to create more robust actions so that the employee burden can be reduced during challenges.
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