Ideas for Implementation in the Workplace

QUESTION

Choose any two sessions where the topics interest you the most. For each session, you choose,

(1) List 5 ideas that you can use in your workplace based on the concepts discussed in class/readings. Alternately, some or all your 5 ideas can be critiques of ideas discussed in the class that you feel will not be useful in your workplace. Please elaborate in a couple of sentences.

(2) Choose one theory/major concept/article and briefly explain the important aspects in your own words (no more than 1 page).

(3) Following this summary, discuss in some detail how you might be able to apply this theory/concept in real life. To do this,

(a) identify the problem that you are going to use in a couple of sentences (i.e., my department faces a high turnover of entry level employees)

(b) provide the context or background information.

(c) how the theory/concept applies to your problem and how you plan to use it

(d) limitations or problems that you foresee in trying to apply it. You need to turn the reflections in the session following. (For example, if Managing Teams was discussed in Session 3, the reflection paper on that session is due the following week, i.e., Session 4). You must demonstrate the use of theory and concepts discussed in class for a good grade (page limit: 6 pages). Chapters 16 organizational design, chapter 14 decision making, chapter 2,17 organizational culture, management of organizational change, chapter 12,15 power and politics and leadership Read chapter 16,14,2,17,12,15 cite the textbook and follow the instructions. APA style. feel free to cite other articles.

ANSWER

Ideas for Implementation in the Workplace

Chapters 12, 14, 15, and 16

• Designing organizational structure based on environmental considerations and incorporating ethical considerations.
• Aligning organizational structure with the organizational goals and purpose.
• Adoption of the organic model of organizational design.
• Utilizing the rational decision-making process in departmental decision-making.
• Fostering employee-centered leadership.

Chapters 2, and 17

• Creating an organizational culture that is ethical and customer-serving.
• Utilizing organizational socialization to sustain organizational culture.
• Using organizational culture and values to motivate employees.
• Managing resistance to organizational change to minimize employee turnover.
• Proper management of change, involving employees, to minimize turnover and ensure a positive attitude.

Employee-centered Leadership

There are two major orientations in leadership: task-orientation and employee-orientation (Ivancevich et al., 1990). Task-oriented leadership focuses on the completion of tasks, delegation, and improvement of efficiency in operation. Employee-oriented or employee-centered leadership focuses on ensuring that the subordinates or employees have the best and most conducive environment to enable them to conduct their duties smoothly and comfortably (Dale & Fox, 2008). The two orientations are interrelated, as they involve some similar leadership methods. However, leaders tend to emphasize one of the two styles. Employee-centered leadership supports and empowers subordinates and employees in the workplace. Leaders who are employee-centered show respect and concern for the personal needs of their employees, and care about their welfare or wellbeing.

Employee-centered leadership combines participative and affiliative leadership with coaching, in an attempt to build healthy relationships with subordinates and involve them in the operations of an organization (Dale & Fox, 2008; Ivancevich et al., 1990). Employee-centered leadership helps employees to identify their strengths and weaknesses, in order to come up with strategies for improvement. It also seeks to involve subordinates in decision making. It seeks the input or contributions of employees before reaching any decision or taking action. Employee-centered leaders seek to become part of team-building, open communication, and dialogue. They establish a working environment where everybody treats the other as their co-worker, and not like a boss or superior. Employee-centered leadership is a great way of ensuring that every employee feels valued and a part of the team.

Through the application of employee-centered leadership, merging it with task-oriented leadership, organizations would be able to ensure that their employees remain positive-minded, motivated and that they are happy with their work and the management (Lok & Crawford, 2004). Happy employees are highly-productive and loyal to their organizations (Ivancevich et al., 1990). As a result, adopting employee-centered leadership approach is a good way of minimizing employee rate of turnover. This is because the approach seeks to build a good relationship with the employees, build rapport, and improve their morale, as opposed to task-oriented leadership that leaves subordinates feeling like they are being criticized, bossed, and undervalued (Lok & Crawford, 2004). When employees do not feel valued, supported, and respected, they develop a negative attitude towards the organization and their leaders, which contributes to an increase in the number of employees looking for better organizations to work in.

Application in Real Life

Currently, I work in an advertising organization. The advertising industry, just like any other industry, faces various management challenges and developments. The dynamic changes in the business environment, including disruption by technology and globalization, have affected the industry in many ways. The increasing need for experienced and talented employees has made it difficult for organizations to hire and retain talented workers. Increased competition for talent has made it very difficult for companies to retain their talented employees and keep them motivated. In addition, the increased competitive rivalry has resulted in organizational leaders focusing mostly on the completion of tasks, meeting of targets and deadlines, and delegation of tasks to improve efficiency. The results of these conditions are that companies are experiencing high rates of employee turnover and adopting a task-oriented leadership approach.

In my organization, these challenges are quite prevalent, with the department that I work in experiencing a high rate of employee turnover. The rate of turnover of entry-level employees is very high, and the department suffers from the lack of talented employees to replace the old talented employees nearing retirement. There are various reasons for the high rate of entry-level employee turnover. The company has been facing increased competition from the rival companies in the market, as a result of the increase in the number of new entrants in the advertising industry. This has resulted in a decrease in the level of performance of the company, which has prompted the management of the company to increase pressure on the employees. In addition, the company cannot afford to pay higher than market average salaries, as a result of poor performance. This is a disadvantage, as companies with stronger financial muscle are able to attract talented employees with higher salaries.

The increased demand for performance improvement has resulted in the managers at the company adopting a task-oriented leadership approach, focusing on task completion, delegation of duties, and performance. The managers are only concerned with the output from the employees, not paying attention to the needs or weaknesses of the employees. Employees work under constant pressure, a situation that has left most employees feeling undervalued and bossed. Even though some employees leave their job positions in pursuit of better-paying opportunities, a majority of employees leave work out of frustration and the development of a negative attitude towards management. When employees feel that they are not treated with respect, provided with the support that they need, or when they feel that their needs are ignored, they become demotivated and may end up quitting their jobs in pursuit of positions in organizations that meet their needs and value them.

The leadership approach adopted by the company has largely contributed to the exit of many entry-level employees, who feel that they are not appreciated for their effort or work. Many entry-level employees complain of not being treated with respect in the company, with managers shouting at them and commanding them when they fail to meet deadlines or targets. They feel manhandled and that the management only cares about their output and making profits, while ignoring their needs. In order to address the high rate of employee turnover in the company, the employee-oriented leadership approach should be adopted. There is a need to address a high rate of turnover in an organization, as it affects the performance of an organization. Every organization hopes to retain talented employees so as to optimize efficiency and maintain a high level of performance. Loss of talent to other organizations, which are competitors, is detrimental to the market performance of an organization.

Even though they are a strong motivating factor, salary increases can only be awarded once or twice a year. The motivating effect of salary increases fades fast. Therefore, recognizing employees for their efforts usually goes a long way in keeping them in an organization. All employees want to feel valued and special. When an organization values its employees and treats them with respect, they become motivated to improve their performance. With the size of organizations increasing, the employees tend to get lost and become cogs within an organization. It is only through employee-oriented leadership that leaders or managers can appreciate the efforts of their subordinates and involve them in operations and decision-making (Hornung et al., 2011).

Employee-oriented leadership ensures that managers and supervisors avoid micromanaging employees. Employees despise being micromanaged. To them, having a boss that looks over their shoulder means that the manager does not trust them to fulfill their roles. Employees do not want to work in an organization where the management has no confidence in them or waits for them to make errors (Madlock, 2008). Through employee-oriented leadership, employees will not be micromanaged but will be challenged, trusted, and supported to improve their performance. Through the task-oriented leadership approach, the managers of the organization will look at things and problems from the employees’ viewpoint. It is important to look at issues from the standpoint of the employees, as this enables the manager to consider the employees as coworkers that have needs and weaknesses.

Looking at things from the perspective of employees enables a manager to identify ways of supporting the employees and helping them to improve their performance. When employees feel that the leaders care about their wellbeing and help them grow, they become motivated and develop loyalty to their organization (Lok & Crawford, 2004), which minimizes employee turnover. Employees should be supported to reach their long-term goals and improve their strengths while addressing their weaknesses. They should also be assisted to improve their skills and stretch their talents, in order to become better people, to improve their career growth, and to improve their performance. Implementation of the employee-oriented leadership concept will involve the provision of training to mid- and top-level managers within the company, to enable them to change their mindset and how they handle their subordinates. The employee turnover rate will go down with the leadership approach change.

While the implementation of the employee-centered leadership concept has the potential to motivate employees and minimize the rate of turnover, there are various challenges that may arise with the implementation. The closer the managers become to the subordinates, the more the authority lines become blurred. When employees view their manager as a friend, the manager may have a lot of trouble holding an employee accountable for meeting targets or even reprimand them. It may become difficult to fire a non-performing employee (Hornung et al., 2011). It may also take a lot of time to train leaders and build a company culture that supports employee-oriented leadership, especially with the organization depending on results or performance. Making any change in an organization takes times and may result in resistance and confusion, with many people not knowing what road to take or what is expected of them.

Conclusion

In order to ensure that the company benefits from the employee-oriented leadership approach, it is important that the management of the company understands when to switch between the task-oriented and the employee-centered leadership approach. Training provided to managers should include information on how to strike a balance between the two approaches. While an employee-centered approach is helpful in goal setting and motivating employees (Madlock, 2008), the task-oriented approach enables managers to measure performance and identify the low performers that need training or reprimanding. A balance of the two is, therefore, the only way to achieve improvement within the company and deal with the challenges of implementing the new approach.

References

Dale, K., & Fox, M. L. (2008). Leadership style and organizational commitment: Mediating effect of role stress. Journal of Managerial issues, 109-130.

Hornung, S., Rouseau, D. M., Glaser, J., Angerer, P., & Weigl, M. (2011). Employee-oriented leadership and quality of working life: Mediating roles of idiosyncratic deals. Psychological Reports, 108(1), 59-74.

Ivancevich, J. M., Matteson, M. T., & Konopaske, R. (1990). Organizational behavior and management.

Lok, P., & Crawford, J. (2004). The effect of organisational culture and leadership style on job satisfaction and organisational commitment: A cross-national comparison. Journal of management development, 23(4), 321-338.

Madlock, P. E. (2008). The link between leadership style, communicator competence, and employee satisfaction. The Journal of Business Communication (1973), 45(1), 61-78.