Research Korner: Contingency Theory

CASE STUDY

Case Study 2.1 Choosing a New Director 1.                  Which candidate should Ms. Coke select? I believe the rightful person to be picked as the new director should be . He possesses honesty and integrity, and most of all; he puts the values and goals of the company first and foremost. However, this doesn’t mean that the two other candidates are far behind; they possess, in their own right, qualities that could possibly make them good leaders. Alexa, possesses creativity, insight and persistence which are great assets to the company, and Kelsey, who possesses intelligence and sociability also present great assets to the company. However, in my assessment, I believe that Thomas possesses the abilities that a great leader must possess. Furthermore, it has been noted that far greater intelligence would create an adverse effect on the undertaking. Having a great gap on intellectual and cognitive ability (), would make it difficult for people working under her to catch up with her views and desired undertakings. Furthermore, in Alexa’s case, though it should not be taken personally, I believe she lacks credentials that should be possessed by a director. However, I believe  is balanced on all the traits mentioned which should be possessed by a leader. 2.         In what way is the trait approach helpful in this selection? Leadership is not simply an idiosyncratic characteristic of some individuals. It is a systemic property derived from the interaction of the requirements of critical organizational tasks, the critical functions those tasks serve, and the problem-solving characteristics of the actors in "leader" roles. The nature of the critical functions and tasks is related to organizational level.  and  (1992) expanded those concepts and incorporated them into a multilevel model of leadership. His model provides an integrative perspective on the type of leadership required, critical tasks, individual capabilities needed, and the importance of organizational culture/subcultures at each organization level.             In this type of selection, the trait approach would be of great help since it highlights the traits and the capabilities many great leaders share. The trait approach could be pertained to as the shortcut method of choosing a leader with a pool of various traits that many leaders do possess. 3.         In what ways are the weaknesses of the trait approach highlighted in this case study? The trait theories focused their attention on determining what attributes and qualities differentiated leaders from followers. Theorists concentrated on the personal attributes and characteristics of 'good' leaders-extraordinary individuals who were revered by their followers. Subsequently, style theorists explored the idea that the leadership qualities could be explained in terms of how leaders behaved. For instance, it has been suggested that the behavior of leaders could be grouped into two distinct styles. What is termed theory X was a directive style and theory Y was a supportive style; both styles achieve success in different circumstances. Contingency theories considered the possibility that there was no one best solution to every problem; extraordinary individuals have to lead by making the choice that is most appropriate to prevailing circumstances (, 2004).             In this case study however, the trait approach would seem robotic and much generalized. The trait approach is somewhat like a stereotype of traits many leaders possess. But being a great leader cannot be accurately predicted by just referring to a sheet of paper filled with “supposedly” possessed traits of many leaders. A leader may not possess some of these traits but still become a great leader. The general weakness of the trait approach is the fact that it creates a stereotype of a leader.             Case Study 3.1 1.         Based on the skills approach, how would you assess Dr. Wood’s leadership style and his relationship to the members of the Elder Care Project Team? Will the project be successful?             Dr. Wood’s relationship to his research team is truly strained, as the title suggests. One cannot blame the team or Dr. Wood if they feel the way they do. The situation- lack of funds, time pressure; and the difficulty of the task also played a major part on their predicament.  However, the Dr. should have not taken the situation personally, since all of them were experiencing the same thing. He, of all people should have understood their situation and should not take things negatively. Since all of them are strained and pressured, he should at least acknowledge the fact that his research team is working pretty hard despite the fact that they are underpaid. At the rate they are going and the way that he is handling the situation, it is not unlikely that the project will fail. 2.         Does Dr. Wood have the necessary skills to be an effective leader of his research team?             Dr. Wood, as mentioned, is a very effective researcher. He has completed many works and is considered a genius in his craft. However, I believe he lacks the skills that would have made him an effective researcher. For one thing, he should be able to empathize with his colleagues and should not spit out bitter comments about having to do much of the load, without thinking that his researchers are also working hard despite being underpaid. Furthermore, he lacks sociability, making it more difficult for them to work together. 3.         The skills model approach describes three important competencies for leaders: problem – solving skills, social judgment skills, and knowledge. If you to coach Dr. Wood using this model, what type of things would you address with him?             Since Dr. Wood is already highly polished in the aspects of problem-solving skills and knowledge, I believe that the only area needed to be addressed is his social judgment skills. Dr. Wood needs to further develop these areas in order to work harmoniously with any other team he would lead.   Reference:

CASE STUDY

Case Study 2.1 Choosing a New Director 1. Which candidate should Ms. Coke select? I believe the rightful person to...

SMALL TEAM MANAGEMENT

Small Team Management     PART A: Domestic and Commercial Building Company In the present day work environment, expectations exceed regarding the workloads and task requirements among employers and employees. Multi-tasking defines the current situation in most of business organizations as advances in technology especially in the use of the computer and the Internet continues.  (1992) claimed “the systems theory of management is built upon the tenet that ‘the whole is more than the sum of its parts.” For a quality improvement effort to truly succeed, such a whole must evolve.” According to  and  (1995), teams with “substantive” participation outperform teams where subordinate input is limited to “consultative” participation. A less direct control and new risk for the leader is called substantive participation. Hence, social acuity and interpersonal astuteness are factors needed to ensure leader effectiveness and subsequent group success.   In the article, the building and construction company is mainly composed of five (5) people who function for the internal and external operations of the business organization. Such functions include the administrative management of the firm as a business entity and the project-based accounts and responsibilities of the company as a member of the construction industry. Figure 1 below illustrates the (1) Organizational Chart for the company:   Figure 1. Organizational Chart for the Building and Construction Company       The (1) Owner/Builder initiates responsibilities such as (a) the holistic administrative management of the construction firm, (b) site supervision of the construction projects being handled, and (c) supplier relations management for the needed construction raw materials. In order for the Owner/Builder to undertake these tasks responsibly, he should have appropriate leadership skills to pilot each and every construction project, decision-making skills to efficiently carry out the responsibilities of the entire business organization and meet its goals and objectives, effective communication with all the members of the company for the dissemination of information and work loads, and competent business administration and management strategies and values.     The (2) Part-time Office Worker is tasked with (a) accounting management for the settlement of payable procurements of the company, and (b) customer relations management for inquiries, quotations, project scheduling, and possible clienteles. Hence, as the person mainly responsible for all the administrative work of the business organization, the Office Worker should be competent enough to meet clients and customers who may need inquiries regarding the performance and operations of the company as well as background in accounting and business management in order to effectively function his responsibilities. Good customer service training and auditing skills are needed along with effective communication skills for both the internal and external operations of the company.   The (3) Full-time Carpenters are responsible for the (s) completion of the projects on time, (b) raw materials inventory management, (c) project planning considerations, (d) selection of casual carpenters depending on the demand of the projects being handled, and (e) training of the apprentice carpenter. With these enumerated responsibilities, the Full-time Carpenters should be expert in the building and construction business particularly in the site duties they are required to undertake since their output sets the profit of the company. In line with their responsibilities at the site, they should be able to manage preparations to finish projects on time along with proper monitoring of the needed supply of raw materials including selection of additional manpower as dictated by the demands of the business. Moreover, since the training of the Apprentice Carpenter is likewise included in their responsibilities, they should have the experience and expertise to teach and lead the Apprentice to good project handling practices.   The (4) Apprentice Carpenter is tasked with (a) assistance for the full-time carpenters, (b) along with other responsibilities and duties expected as a project site worker. More than having the skills of a good and dependable carpenter, as a trainee, he should be open to new knowledge and skills that can be provided by the full-time and more experienced carpenters in the company to be able to exhaust all the possible training that he may need for future responsibilities in the company.              However, there are (2) tasks and skills that the current staff lacks. According to  and  (2002), credibility is the foundation of leadership. In addition, a leader should possess honesty, competence, aspiration, and a forward-looking approach. In the business point of view, good leadership proves to be quite beneficial. As the team leader in the building and construction company, the Owner/Builder should aid in effectively meeting job-related demands, in creating higher-performing teams, in fostering renewed loyalty and commitment, and in increasing motivational level of employees since effective leadership comprises the aptitude and ability to inspire and influence the thinking, attitudes, and behavior of other people (, 1997). But although this specification seems relatively simple, the reality of leadership is very complex. Intrapersonal factors such as ideas and emotions interact with interpersonal processes to have effects on a dynamic external environment and bring complexity to the leadership process.   Meanwhile, the most important asset of a business is the people in order to achieve sustained business success. Realizing this leads to a strategic management of people within the organization. It has been argued that through the workplace culture, management can have control in the hearts and minds of its employees towards making them more committed to the organization. One way of manipulating the workplace culture is implementing a “shared value” (, 1995). Through shared value, each and every member of the organization will work towards adhering to it, thus inappropriate behavior can be lessened. In the case of the Part-time Office Worker, higher morale will reflect in their work attitude and will gradually become more committed to the aims of the organization and to the organization as a whole.   The same is true for the Full-timer Carpenters with regards to higher work morale. Its philosophy is based on the simple belief that human resources are the most important asset in achieving and sustaining business success.  (2001) highlighted the importance of high work life quality through good supervision, working conditions, pay and benefits as well as challenging and rewarding jobs. She said that these conditions will provide opportunities for employees to contribute in the overall effectiveness of the organization as they become more motivated and productive members of the company’s work force with positive self-esteem and improved morale. Moreover, there are various training and development methods as part of training menus that are all accessible to utilize and relate according to individual training and organizational training needs. They should realize that training is also on hand far beyond and outside the classroom. Training and learning development includes facets such as morals and principles; stance and behavior; skills and knowledge and as well as leadership and willpower (, 1987).   On the other hand, the Apprentice Carpenter should be able to identify his position and functions along with the hierarchies that the work environment should follow since development isn’t constrained to training. Rather it’s anything that aids a person to nurture in aptitude, expertise, poise, broadmindedness, dedication, inventiveness, inter-personal skills, understanding, self-control, enthusiasm and some more (, 1992;  and , 2002). More prominently, it should be realized that training or learning, at the trainee’s view is anything offering learning and developmental experience.    If the Owner decided to replace the part-time Office Worker with a (3) Full-time Receptionist/Bookkeeper, the following should be considered and compiled for the new position: (1) Job Description and Person Specification, (2) recruitment alternatives, and (3) induction and training program.   Job Description Title: Receptionist/Bookkeeper   Scope: The Receptionist/Bookkeeper will be responsible for the operation of the company office, implementing customer service standards, and administrative assistant to the Owner/Builder.   Responsible to: The Owner/Builder   Main Responsibilities: Manage the operations of the company office including: Ø      Procurement of construction raw materials Ø      General accounting responsibilities Performance criteria: Minimal stock wastage and balance of account.   Customer related duties such as: Ø      Customer inquiries Ø      Project quotations Ø      Project schedules Performance criteria: Increase customer base and customer satisfaction.   As assistant to the Owner/Builder, work includes: Ø      General secretarial tasks Ø      Provision of supplier contacts Ø      Efficient schedule management thru appointments and meetings Performance criteria: Effective work-related time management for the Owner/Builder for efficient attendance to responsibilities.    Conditions of Employment: Award wages and superannuation. Annual performance bonus. Saturday work and some evening work required.   Person Specification Title: Receptionist/Bookkeeper   Essential Skills and Experience: Experience in general office management and bookkeeping. Experience in customer service roles. Demonstrated ability in secretarial duties.   Desirable Skills and Experience: Experience in construction industry. Formal qualifications in office management and bookkeeping.   Personal Qualities: Ability to work as part of an administrative team. Loyalty and integrity. Excellent customer relations skills. Accuracy and good organization skills. With initiative, a self-starter. Enthusiastic and energetic personality. Decisive. Ability to handle pressure.   Personal Circumstances: Able to late and on weekends if the work demands. Able to attend to management meetings and consultations after office hours.               Selection is a critical process for the organization because good selection decisions ensure the company of their financial investments in their employees ( & , 1993). The wrong selection process can lead to frustration, repetitive training, documentation, low morale and a waste of time and financial resources. For the recruitment of the receptionist/Bookkeeper, several choices are available in order for the management to select and hire the most ideal person for the position. These include the traditional job hiring process, the use of agency to look for the needed person, and promotion or appointment of the most qualified member of the organization.   First, the management can follow the traditional recruitment and selection procedures among business organizations. This includes advertising for the job vacancy along with the preferences of the management for the specific person they need. Once the applications come, the management could start the preliminary selection through the submitted curriculum vitae. Interviews will be scheduled to know the applicants more fully, thus narrowing the selection process and the eventual hiring of the best applicant for the job.   Second option is for the management to consult agencies that can provide the right person for the vacancy. This will minimize concerns on job vacancy advertisements of the management and could be the most efficient way to hire the needed Receptionist/Bookkeeper. Moreover, referrals from friends and acquaintances could also work as a means to identify and hire a new person for the administrative operations of the company.   A third option is for the management to review the performances of the very members of the business organizations who can be promoted for the needed administrative position. Among the advantages of this particular option include the personal knowledge of the person and his/her capacity to do the needed responsibilities as well as the lesser time needed to fill in the position.       Once the person is hired as the new Receptionist/Bookkeeper of the company, an induction and training program should be initiated by the office for the enumeration of expected work load and work output from the new person. The employers, in their goal to improve and develop aggressive and competitive business organization, may exhaust the potential of their human resources for the benefit of the company relative to total work output. This will also promote the positive working relationship and good communication channeling among the personnel in the establishment whether between the supervisor and the subordinates or employee to peers and colleagues.   The employee, on the other hand, should avail of the opportunities of developing their skills further and enriching their knowledge through the training programs and exercises. This will ensure their competitiveness in the fast-paced and ever-changing description and scope of their work and may also sustain their personal desire of improving themselves as productive individuals and will foster minimum stress level in the workplace.   Among the points needed for the effective induction and training program for the new Receptionist/Bookkeeper includes: A.     Meeting with the other members of the company and their respective roles and responsibilities. B.     Overview and briefing on the construction industry business and the industry sector the company belongs to. C.    Discussion on the history of the company and the goals, mission and values it upholds. D.    Explanation of the general operations of the company and the everyday routine of the members of the company. E.     Briefing on the tasks and responsibilities as the Receptionist/Bookkeeper of the company.    New issues about employment and management of people arise and the tasks and responsibilities of the human resources management of companies also increase. Hence, it is necessary to make the workforce of the company strong by making sure that they are talented, skilled, and bounded by effective regulations and organization policies. Aside from this, (4) unexpected situations should be handled with competence by the management through effective contingency plans since the adaptation and gradual acceptance of the company’s transformation posted difficulty among the employees and staff whose responsibilities, duties and positions in the organization were braved.   For those who were threatened by the changes, the transformation was, for them, immediate and unreasonable. The threats to their occupation in the company could be traced to their competence as quality work force of the said business organization. The new learning process that inevitably should take place within the company made the worries of lax employees to surface. But for the employees and staff who have the attitude of improving themselves with the changes that were being implemented in the organization, the transformations were faced as a challenge and opportunity for individual and personal evaluation improvement. Key staff absences can be resolved by (1) strict policies for attendance, and (2) incentives for highly responsible and performing members of the organization. Meanwhile, increased workload due to customer demand can be resolved by (1) consulting referrals and agencies for temporary or casual workers need, and (2) thorough project planning and preparations with regards to needed additional work force.    Information has always been a critical factor to a success of a business. For this reason, every company in this age must realize the importance of information technology. Not only does it play a role, but it must somehow, blend with the corporation’s business strategies and techniques. Among the (5) list of Staff Records that should be kept include (a) Personal Data Information of the Employees, (b) Benefits and Insurances, (c) Job Description and Responsibilities, (d) Contract Details, and (e) Attendance and Regular Performance Appraisal. The continuous advancement in technology gave way to inquisitive inquiries on the logic that governs information management, its importance and its drawbacks.   Information management is the administration of data with regards to its uses and transmission as well as the application of theories and techniques of information science to be able to create, modify, or improve information handling systems within a particular business organization. It is the function of managing the organization’s information resources which includes the creating, capturing, registering, classifying, indexing, storing, retrieving and disposing of records and developing strategies to manage records. It also includes the acquisition, control and disposal of library and other information products, items kept for reference purposes, and the provision of services to internal and external customers, based on information resources.   The modern age of digital electronics made it possible for business and corporate organizations to keep up with the demands of their industries. At present, most business organizations are equipped with the latest information technology (IT) systems that enable them to function fully and effectively in the efficient delivery of their products and services. It has provided every person with the ability to communicate and perform tasks which were impossible to do before the arrival of the 21st century. As such, modern information technology has been considered the result of a crucial connection between digital and communication technologies. It has been declared as the fundamental core of an information system, which involves various interactions between data, the users, software, hardware, business corporations and their environment.     PART B: Business Situation Analysis It is known that every organization’s primary purpose is to stay in business, so that it can promote the stability of the community, generate products and services that are useful to customers, and provide setting for the satisfaction and growth of organization members (, 1969; , 1985;  1986). The trend towards internationalization and increased global competition among huge and successful business corporations directed business executives to find ways and means to improve their products and services to clients and consumers. Every existing business company in this era of modernization have invested resources to enable them be successful in the local as well as in the international market competition. Quality and productivity are the common goals among business individuals.   In this regard, quality strategy if executed appropriately can make the company prosper not only through increased number of customers and the greater possibility eventual gained customer loyalty but also in fostering ideal working environment within the business organization. There had been a number of strategies implemented by various companies in order to practice quality customer service. From customer studies to the application of information technology, several international businesses have confirmed that putting quality into customer service results to positive outcomes (, 1997). While the benefits of quality customer service have already been recognized, it is important to consider that quality customer service is not dependent on the quantity of trainings or seminars an organization undergoes but on the level of collaborative effort exerted.   According to  and  (1997) (1) motivation is “the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human behavior toward attaining some goal”. This definition contains three key essential aspects: arousal, direction and maintaining. Arousal is to do with the drive/energy behind people’s actions such as their interests to do the things or they do it just want making a good impression on others or to feel successful at what they do. Direction means the choices people make to meet the person’s goal. Maintaining behavior could keep people persisting at attempting to meet their goal hence to satisfy the need that stimulated behavior in the first place ( & , 1997). In this regard, business organizations are aware of the importance and significance of employee motivation In order to meet the set goals through the human resources of the company.   Motivation can be assumed as the reason or the force behind why a person does what he or she does. Sometimes, it is also a means to make the person perform better and more efficiently. Basically there are three assumptions in human motivation established in research: (1) motivation is inferred from a systematic analysis of how personal, task and environmental characteristics influence behavior and job performance; (2) motivation is not a fixed trait; but rather it refers to a dynamic internal state resulting from the influence of personal and situational factors; and (3) motivation may change with changes in personal, social or other factors (, 1997). Moreover, motivation affects behavior, rather than performance (, 1995). As what  explained, “Initiatives designed to enhance job performance by increasing employee motivation may not be successful if there is a weak link between job performance and an employee’s efforts” ().   Performance appraisal is a process of assessing whether organizational objectives are met. It would evaluate how the employee’s performance has fared to satisfy the organization (., 2003). Evaluation seeks to monitor and improve effectiveness by giving the employee feedback on his/her performance. This process should be carried out at regular intervals and should follow specific protocols to maintain objectivity in the evaluation process. The company should have a clear set of evaluation or assessment tools that will be used in all levels of the organization. The process should either be carried out as an individual consultation or a face-to-face evaluation. Lastly, a standard review mechanism conducted by a third party should be commissioned for the reassurance of fair play and objectivity in the evaluation (, 2004).   This concept has its strengths as defined by  and  (1997) for it helps the manager to be able to identify individual present performance along with the employee’s future potential. Evaluation also assesses the weaknesses and the accompanying disciplinary actions. The third strength is that it can determine which training aspect should be developed for the particular employee. It also increases the communication line between the employer and the employee because of the feedback and evaluation process. According to  (2004), evaluation is also a way for the organization to assess the role of the manager as well for evaluation and supervision are interdependent because evaluation is a tool for measuring supervision. Moreover, another advantage is that evaluation aims to establish trust among the entire organization because objectivity and fair play are called into this task. Lastly, the evaluation process is a good way of providing employee satisfaction and maturation which will improve the performance in the future.   Conflict simply means lack of agreement in terms of beliefs, practices and in other human activities. It has different levels, which are: intrapersonal or intrapsychic conflict; interpersonal conflict; intragroup conflict; and intergroup conflict (,  & , 1999). The four types of conflict are: intrapersonal conflict; interpersonal conflict; intragroup conflict; and intergroup conflict.  Conflict resolution is important because of the fact that conflict is unavoidable. Conflict is inevitable in every organization because the business environment, both external and internal, experience changes constantly. When business processes are affected and an organization is forced to change its ways, the problem with human factors would then take place. Staff and employees are not passive individuals, but rather show reactions to such changes. Change affects many working processes that might have a direct or indirect impact on an employee. The impact might affect the way they work or might determine their attitude in adapting with the changes that took place. Furthermore, most likely there will also be problems on the capabilities of the employees to adapt with the change.   These are just some of the factors that should be considered from organizational change. Other human factors can also be considered as roots of conflict such as diversity, because employees have differing values and experience differing situations ( & , 2001). Through interaction, such characteristics are responsible for the development of tension among employees ( & , 2001). Changes intensify this reality, as employees are obliged to cope with them. Like the others, coping styles differ, making the need for a good management and leadership more essential. However, it can also be said that change could root from conflict. Proper management of conflict fosters understanding and the appreciation of difference ( & , 2001). Thus, conflict and change should be managed effectively, instead of being eliminated or halted.   Along with the roles and responsibilities of each and every employee and employer are the (2) rules, regulations as well as policies that govern the business organization in order to identify and enumerate the obligations of all the people in the company. According to  (1987) governments uphold employee rights as either mandatory or voluntary in which mandatory rights include the right to a safe and healthy working environment guaranteed by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, the right to compensation for work-related disease or injury granted by state workers' compensation laws, and the right to equal opportunity of employment set out in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.   In line with these government provisions,  (1981),  (1980), and other academic researches have provided framework that set the guidelines rules and policies concerning the business environment. Their framework incorporated fixed costs so that worker preferences and budget parameters directly relate to the packaged work hours. Others have emphasized the role of technological considerations, including startup costs, fatigue, and hiring and training costs that are fixed per along with nonlinearities in compensation that are induced by fringe benefits, payroll taxes, and overtime pay, as well as the costs of coordinating workers who work different hours employee (, 1971; , 1969; , 1969; , 1976). This resulted to the average output per hour and the average full cost per hour of employing someone depending on hours worked per week and weeks worked per year.     PART C: Work Group Evaluation Toyota Motors is an established company known for two supreme values: kaizen and respect for people. Our company prides itself for being one of the market leaders in every aspect of the business. Thus, it is only right that the Human Resources side of the company is continually developed to uphold these values which embody the Toyota Way. Toyota tries to preserve its home-grown economic model such as the values it practices in its business practices to be able to retain their competitive advantage. Indeed, it is a hard task for the company to preserve its locally conceptualized model while maintaining linkages with the global economy. However, because critical success factors are established as key aspects needed by a company, this has become easier in dealing with the issue of globalization. The latest developments in the company proved that it is stronger than ever, emerging victorious from otherwise discouraging situations.   Strengths. The Annual Report for 2004 has introduced the new management system which concentrates on making operations and decision making faster and easier globally (‘’, , 2005). The organisation also has a set of established in-house committees and councils which monitor all aspects of management and corporate activities using the perspective of several of the company’s stakeholders. This would ascertain the transparency of the organisation and the fulfilment of their social obligations. The unique quality of this system is that the managing directors would not solely focus on management because they would also act as the link between management and on-site operations. The result is a less-vertical decision making because the managing directors and officers will have the complete responsibility for the operations performed by their divisions. In addition as the highest authority, they would participate in companywide management processes as well as ensure that their “division-level decision making is firmly rooted in operational conditions on the ground” (‘’, , 2005).   Weaknesses. Even though there are strategic choice models that are available to base the company’s strategy in, it was deemed appropriate to incorporate the new system of Toyota with the traditional management model which focuses on increasing competitive advantage through development of human resources (, 2005). According to the model, the traditional ways of management focus on imposing strategies on the workforce without considering potential contribution which results to an underutilization of human resources while the new model focus on three key business enablers: people, knowledge and coherence (, 2005). Developing these three aspects together would also influence the financial performance of the company.   Strategies in addressing weaknesses. As the relationship between stress and performance is complex, several tried to quantify how stress affects an employee and his/her work performance. However, the rising cost of overstressed employees prompted investigation of the relationship as the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and other state laws hold employed liable for “all diseases arising out of and in the course of many employment” which means that it includes stress-related sicknesses (‘, 1985). It can result in physical, psychological and behavioural responses.   As such, the management need to enroll their staff in annual or quarterly training courses to upgrade their skills and enrich their knowledge so as to foster individual and personal development and improvement. Possibilities of promotion through their acquired knowledge and improved skills as competitive employees should always be reminded to the staff as a form of motivation to encourage productive outputs. Incentives in the form of financial aids like bonuses and other material compensations as well as intrapersonal rewards such as positive critical feedbacks and recognition should be endorse by the company to boost confidence and motivate the employees. This in turn will also be profitable to the organization itself due to increased output of the work force.   Communication within the group. It is also apparent that equal relations between the employer and the employees should be practiced to encourage productivity in the business organization. Enhancing good working relations among all the employees and preserving a good working environment and atmosphere ideally, will provide harmonious relationship inside the business organization. Maintaining such condition within the office will elicit productivity from the employees as they enjoy their duties of accomplishing their tasks and will help in reducing stress and eventual burnout in the workplace. Team building exercises wherein work peers as well as the supervisors will be participating should be regularly held. Bonding activities like out of town trips can be psychologically helpful to all the employees that will elicit bond among the people inside the company as well as for the employers to know their work team.       Team performance evaluation. Under Toyota, the pressure is exerted from within the team through three different ways. The first source of stress is the virtual absence of stock parts which the workers have to cope with because it is not easy to change the assembly line to suit the situation. The second source is that management does not provide enough resources to teams so the members work to minimise dead time. The last source of stress is the group pressure because if one member of the team is not up to par, the whole group is penalised. However, this situation has changed as there is a new report which speaks of the newly established Associate Support and Assistance Program. It is devoted to resolve personal and work-related issues which ensure confidentiality and trust. Employees are given assistance and counselling services which the company pays for. There is also a service wherein Toyota employees can avail of anger management services where an outside company which Toyota contracts with will design one-on-one training program for employees and managers.     References:

SMALL TEAM MANAGEMENT

Small Team Management PART A: Domestic and Commercial Building Company In the present day work environment, expectations excee...

DEALING WITH CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR IN CLASS

Introduction The field of developmental psychology traditionally has taken the position that behavior develops in the child through biological maturation, although the field involves little actual study of biological maturation. The field has made many important observations of the developing behavior of the child. Without studying the causes of the behavior development, the conceptions accounting for the many types of child behavior development are generally different and independent ( 1996). The weakest link in the child's cognitive development is that people leave the training of the various aspects of the basic behavioral repertoires in the hands of individual parents who have no special training with respect to what the child needs in his basic behavioral repertoire, or of the principles by which the repertoire is acquired, or indeed of methods to produce the learning. One of the purposes of the behavioral analyses is to produce information yielding training procedures appropriate for utilization by parents. It is suggested that the use of various training materials can be expected to constitute preventive treatment of central problems of child behavior and child development ( 1996).   Moreover, the materials can be used as behavior modification methods by parents whose children have already developed problems of development child behavior problems emphasized the importance of the child's language development, especially that of following instructions, an analysis based on how the child learns the verbal-motor repertoire. It was said the child learned such compliance by virtue of training involving reinforcement principles. It is important to recognize that the field of child behavior therapy and the field of developmental disabilities in behavior analysis have been based, in good part, on extending the basic level of study to analyses of children's behavior problems. With respect to simple behaviors for example, excessive crying, lisping, temper tantrums, refusing to go to sleep at night, acting-out in class, and aggressive or destructive behavior. Experts began its work with children employing the basic principles of conditioning and there are many important studies in the field of behavior therapy that have the same foundation. Methods of study and programs of training have been devised within this framework that is valuable to both practitioner and parent ( 1996).   The behavior of children depends on how they were brought up by their parents and the environment around them. If parents are not educated on how to rear their children and they did not use the appropriate parenting methods the child may end up having an inappropriate behavior. This behavior may be taken as the child goes to school or other places. The behavior of children can also be affected by the environment they belong to. If the child sees that the people around him/her has a habit of swearing he/she might imitate that and swearing will be part of his lifestyle. A child that grew from a refined culture may end up having a high degree of culture that he/she will use as he/she narrates with different kinds of people. The paper will evaluate a child that is presenting challenging behavior within the school context. Behavior management Occupational therapists have long considered personality to be composite of nature and nurture. In this conception nature represents those characteristics, both genetic and congenital, that are innate to the individual. Nurture consists of environmental influences, such as social expectation, opportunity, and mastery experiences, and the social and interpersonal behaviors that the individual uses to respond to the environment. All standardized pediatric tests reveal variations in the rate of skill acquisition ( 2001). Children also vary in the development of interests, habits, talents, and social competence. Therapists previously paid little attention to the range of differences in social and emotional development. Behavior management techniques are common in school and clinical settings. Among the techniques that therapists most often use are time out, performance contracts, self-management and personal responsibility training, and values clarification. Behavior management is based on behavior modification methods and is an effective tool for improving both social and academic behaviors ( 2001).    Behavior management includes the use of external controls and techniques to teach individuals to control their own behavior. The management of behavior is important with all occupational therapy interventions. Inappropriate behavior can limit the child's function and the child's progress on therapy goals. The therapist expects to manage the behavior of a child who is labeled emotionally handicapped, but most children seen for therapy need some degree of external behavior control during the course of therapy ( 2001). Children with disabilities do not always learn basic manners and social behaviors. These physically disabled, or ill, children who have no psychosocial disorders, often develop dysfunctional interpersonal behaviors that exaggerate their disability. Their behaviors often limit social interactions more dramatically than their disability ever would. Rude behaviors gain attention even though they isolate the individual. Children with disabilities need to be respected as individuals with feelings, ideas, and emotional needs. Likewise, children with disabilities need to respect other individuals ( 2001).    Manners are a social tool reflecting respect. The occupational therapist needs to model and expect developmentally appropriate social interactions in the therapy session. The theory and intervention models presented in this chapter provide specific approaches to this type of intervention. Society does not deal well with long-term disability, often allowing the individual who has a disability to break social rules. Society may inadvertently foster over dependency and passivity ( 2001). The behavior of children can be modified to the use of techniques such as behavior management. Behavior management makes sure that a child will act appropriately at a given place. It helps minimizing the unwanted characteristics of a child that prevent him/her to be good member of society. Behavior management also helps the child to subdue his/her behavioral problems. The behavioral problem is one of the causes of a child’s poor performance at school. Aggressive behavior Aggressive behavior at very young ages has been found to be highly predictive of aggressive behavior in adolescence and adulthood. A process by which difficult temperament might be linked with later aggressive behavior disorder could involve the interaction of a child constitutional tendency to be demanding of social responsiveness interacting with parental tendencies to be depressed or otherwise unresponsive to mild initiation attempts by the child, and consequently, coercive process and system-maintaining cognitive and affective biases ( &  1991). Aggressive behavior leads to rejection, but in the long run peer rejection may function as a determinant of who drops out and who stays in the antisocial process. The transformation of the child's initial aggressive behavior into habitual aggressive behavior may depend as much on the responses of the child's environment to the aggression, the continuance of precipitating factors, and the convergence of other causal factors as on the initial exposure to violence ( &  1991).   Parents can provide critical input into both the enactive and observational learning processes. The parents' aggressiveness, punitive ness, and rejection serve both as reinforcements and as models of behavior for children to observe and incorporate into their own behavioral repertoires, especially when children observe the rewards that such behaviors provide. Furthermore, children's cognitive processes may well be influenced by the parents' own cognitive processes. Experiences are ones that enhance the child's repertoire of aggressive tactics, limit the child's repertoire of competent non aggressive tactics, and lead the child to evaluate the outcomes of aggressive behavior in positive ways. A child who has been exposed to high rates of violence on television, in the neighborhood, or among family members, will develop a large repertoire of aggressive responses ( &  1991). When these responses are endorsed either explicitly or implicitly by the environment, the probability is even greater that they will be easily accessible in problematic situations. That is, they will be at the top of the memory storage bin, ready to be called into action. Thus, parents who teach their children to value aggressive heroes and to hit back when pushed around will be likely to have children who develop proactive aggressive behaviors ( &  1991).   It is important to point out that these parents rarely explicitly teach their child to be proactively aggressive; they feel that they are teaching appropriate reactive aggression ( &  1991). One of the challenging behaviors within the school context is when the child has an aggressive behavior. When a child has an aggressive behavior he/she tends to hurt another child by hitting, kicking or biting him/her. Another sign for aggressive behavior is when the child does certain things without much thought. The aggressiveness of a child can be brought about how he/she is raised up by the parents.  It can also be due to the child’s exposure to violence in the environment. The aggressive behavior should be minimized before the child grows up. The aggressive behavior can be minimized by strategies such as behavior modification. Behavior modification Psychologists are not likely to solve the problem of detrimental environmental change, but they can make important contributions to this effort. Inasmuch as many aspects of the problem are the consequences of human behavior, a primary approach to their solution or amelioration must be efforts to modify that behavior. Psychology should be uniquely well positioned to contribute to an understanding of environmentally detrimental behavior and to its modification when that is what is required. Inasmuch as behavior is influenced by knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, values, and desires, efforts to change behavior in ways that would benefit the environment will have to take cognitive and affective variables into account. Beyond the objectives of understanding behavioral causes of environmental change and finding ways to modify environmentally destructive behavior to make it more environmentally beneficial or benign, there are other opportunities for psychological research to contribute to the general goal of managing environmental change ( 2003).   Some of these fall within the mainstream interests of engineering psychologists and human factors specialists because they have to do with equipment design and the interaction of people with machines; they relate not so much to the goal of modifying behavior through persuasion and attitude change, but to that of designing equipment and products that effectively meet users' needs without doing so at the expense of environmental damage. It seems natural to assume that beliefs and attitudes are major determinants of behavior that people tend to behave in ways that are consistent with their beliefs and attitudes. On this assumption, if one is interested in modifying behavior, it makes sense to try to change the beliefs and attitudes from which the behavior is assumed to flow. The position can be argued, and it has been argued, that it is sometimes more cost effective to try to change behavior directly than to do so via a change in attitudes, and that attitude change is likely to follow the change in behavior ( 2003). The fact that changes in attitude sometimes do follow changes in behavior that have been induced by persuasion or coercion has been a focus of experimentation and theorizing among social psychologists and supports the belief that attitudes are as likely to be the consequences of behavior as to cause it. Much of the work in this area has been done by psychologists who use the techniques of applied behavior analysis, or behavioral engineering, to study the possibility of modifying behavior in specific ways by the use of incentives or disincentives and rewards or punishments ( 2003).   There are many ways to attempt to effect changes in the behavior of individuals and corporate entities in addition to that of doing so indirectly through the change of attitudes: legislation and governmental regulations backed up by the threat of civil or criminal sanctions; incentives in the form of tax deductions for the costs of environmental preservation or cleanup activities; disincentives in the form of taxation of pollution-producing activities; public recognition and awards for noteworthy environmental activity; persuasion, as represented by appeals to moral responsibility or altruism; and the dissemination of information designed to make people aware of problems and what can be done about them (Nickerson 2003). Education must be a major component in any approach that has as its aim the influencing of people to behave, intentionally and intelligently, in environmentally beneficial ways. People cannot be concerned about environmental issues if they do not know about them, and they cannot be faulted for behaving in environmentally detrimental ways if they are unaware of the implications of specific forms of behavior ( 2003).   One factor that causes the aggressiveness of a child’s behavior is the culture of the environment. The nation’s cultural environment dictates what are the possible events and situations in the society with regards to the way a nation works for its betterment. The nation’s cultural environment leads a certain country into doing what it thinks will be the best action for its future and avoiding any action that will result into problems. It creates models that the children follow without them knowing whether the action is acceptable or not. To counter the effects of the cultural environment to a child, they must undergo behavior modification while they are little.   Behavior modification intends to change the child’s behavior by various means.  Behavior modification has been used by psychotherapists, parents and guidance counselors to try finding ways to alter the human behavior. Behavior modification can be done through methods such as positive or negative reinforcement and the extinction of maladaptive behavior through positive and negative conditioning. With proper use behavior modification can help a child to grow up with lesser instances of aggressiveness. Reinforcement A fountain usually produces a stream of water; flipping a light switch usually results in increased illumination; and pressing keys on a keyboard results in letters and words appearing on a monitor. These relations between acts and consequences are called operant contingencies, because the act operates on, or changes, the world. Principles of selection describe the functional relations between acts and consequences or the operant and the subsequent frequency of the act. Relations of that kind have the name contingencies ( &  1997).  As it turns out, some act-consequence relations result in increased or sustained frequency of the act that is part of that contingency, and other act-consequence relations result in decreased frequency of the act that is part of that contingency. Some act-consequence contingencies have no effect on future frequency of the act. When the contingency accounts for increased frequency of an act, the reinforcement principle is being described. When the contingency accounts for decreased frequency of an act, the punishment principle is being described ( &  1997).   Reinforcement and extinction principles are considered scientific principles because the functional relations they describe do not pertain only to single occurrences: not just to someone's behavior, or to button pressing, or to tones as consequences. They pertain to any and all relations where the frequency of an act can be shown to increase and decrease as a function of the presence or absence of an operant contingency ( &  1997).  The effect of the antecedent reflects the effect of the consequence it signals: The antecedents of reinforcement evoke the behavior reinforced; the antecedents of punishment and extinction suppress the behavior punished or extinguished and often evoke any previously established avoidance, escapes, or counter controls.  The probability of an individual's learning at a given developmental point varies not only as a function of reinforcement, but also as a function of the historical and contemporaneous contextual variables interacting. Knowledge is not just a group of responses; it is a group of responses to the stimuli defining the problem that gain the reinforcers programmed only for correct solutions to the problem. A problem's solution is correct if the agency programming reinforcement of its solution presents the reinforcer systematically enough ( &  1997).     One way to minimize and guide the child who has aggressive behavioral issues is to provide reinforcement to the child.  Reinforcement can be done in both a positive and negative way. Positive reinforcement focuses on giving kind words and ideas to a child who promises not to commit any aggressive acts. Positive reinforcement can also be in the form of tangible rewards that they child want. Negative reinforcement is when the child is warned about punishment when he/she commits any aggressive act. Negative reinforcement can also be in the form of reduction of certain things the child likes. Reinforcement tends to make the child try to refrain from showing compulsive behavior. Together with proper medication and clinical sessions reinforcement can help bring out the best in the child and reduce instances of aggressive behavior. Conditioning Evolution is not the only thing that determines a being’s behavior it is also determined by learning gained from the being’s experience in its environment. In psychology learning refers to a relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as the result of reinforcement. One type of learning is conditioning, of which there are two explanations: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Both classical and operant conditioning attempt to explain exactly how humans learns such new behaviors; thus they are learning theories. Furthermore, both classical conditioning theory and operant conditioning theory are based on behaviorism ( 2002).  Behaviorism is an approach in psychology that argues that the only appropriate subject matter for scientific psychological investigation is directly observable and measurable behavior. Therefore behaviorists claim that internal mental processes are not appropriate subject matter for scientific psychological investigation as they are not directly observable and measurable ( 2002).  Conditioning is the use of strategies to make a child follow the teacher or any other adult without using force or other method to motivate the child. In conditioning the mind of the child is set into doing the things instructed by the one who stands as his/her behavioral coach.  The coach doesn’t have to tell him/ her to do. This creates minimal occurrence of aggressive behavior because the child thinks twice before doing aggressive actions. The focus of the child shifts from the aggressive act into what the behavior coach instructed him/her to do. In this technique the child gains more drive to do things approved by the behavior coach. References

DEALING WITH CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR IN CLASS

Introduction The field of developmental psychology traditionally has taken the position that behavior develops in the child through bio...

MANAGING ORGANIZATION AND PEOPLE - LEADERSHIP

Introduction             Interdependencies exist among several factors of an organization. As major determinants of organizational success, these are the structure, style of management, shared values, staff, strategy, skills and systems (, 2000, ). When one element is changed, the whole organization is affected. The dynamic nature of the people within an organization dictates the organizational environment and employee performance.  Thus, managing people’s behaviour within an organization is a real challenge (, 2002, . ). Case Background Based on the given scenario, the company lacks strategic planning and communication. Strategic planning is defined as the development of necessary procedures and operations to achieve organizational success (, ). In lieu, we can assess the case of the manufacturing company through a chaos and complexity theory. Organizational chaos theory refers to deterministic processes that can generate complex behavioural patterns in organizations. Identifying and managing chaos or lack of structure or order in an organization have managerial impacts (, ). We can consider the appointment of Ada and the attitude and the questionable decision-making of the managing director, , as chaotic. Combined, both underpins the professional jealousy, poor discipline among the employees, lack of teamwork and less productive workforce as evidences of complexities in the organization.             Leadership-wise, both Roddy and Ada proved to be less effective. There are four types of leaders – the dominant boss, the ambitious professional, the informal influencer and the reluctant leader.  Roddy falls under the dominant boss category and Ada as the ambitious professional while both are informal influencers and reluctant leaders.  Leadership can be distinguished as explicit and implicit and formal and informal. Explicit leadership is base on leader’s actual behaviour (overt) that are measured and evaluated and implicit leadership theory is founded on conceptual structure, definition and expectation of the people on how a leader should behave (covert). Based on explicit and implicit leadership theories (ILT), we can analyze the personality of Roddy and Ada. Assessing the implicit leadership theory always incorporates explicit elements (, 2005, ). ILT is also known as attribution theory whereas if the leader is perceived to be charismatic, the perception is actually an attribution of charisma (, 2004, ). We can claim that Roddy is a strong-minded leader. His decisions are more important to him than the quality of his decision-making. In effect, Roddy implicitly create a tyrant leader in Ada. Ada’s autocratic treatment of her work and her subordinates leads to objections to her credibility and professional jealousy among her workmates as well as putting the company’s reputation at stake.             There are other ways to examine the leadership structure in the manufacturing company through transactional and transformational leadership theories (, n.d., ). Transactional leaders are viewed as the traditional manger who is concern with day-to-day operations of the company while the transformational leaders are those who are able to inspire, influence and empower others with long-term visions (, 2001, ). Roddy and Ada are both transactional leaders. They are both task-oriented that underpins the dependence of their subordinates. In effect, the sense of altruism within the workplace was not developed and employees exhibited irrational judgments toward both Roddy and Ada (, 2006, ).                Expert power model also exists in organizations since there are specific skills necessary for a particular organization. Acquiring power expertise necessitates physical, mental and interpersonal skills in order to maintain the skill level, to ensure dependence relationship between the organization and the individual and to maintain personal control. As such, the position given to Ada requires an expertise that she does not possess (, 2000, ). Ada falls short of the expectations of her subordinate, same way with Roddy. Her questionable expertise does not give her the legitimacy to exercise power among her subordinates and Roddy did not even bother to institutionalize Ada’s skills; thus, power remains with Ada of doing things on her way and not from an organizational perspective. She never met with her subordinates, there were no established workflow and standards and she did not address corrective measures while Roddy did not employ appointment standards in the first place.             Different motivational theories also explain the behaviour of the employees. These are content theories, cognitive-choice theories and self-regulation theories. The first theory emphasizes the role of personality, values and motives (, 1995, ). Job characteristics theory and self theory employs the need-motive-value approach. As a single psychological motive, job characteristic theory concerns the effect of characteristics or the work with motivation. Only organizational members with strong personal needs are more likely to develop strong internal motivation and won’t take advantage of the opportunities. Further, self theory deals with the fundamental needs to maintain and enhance the phenomenal self ( ). The cognitive-choice theories focus on the cognitive processes that involve choice. Vroom’s valence-instrumentality- expectancy theory and Weiner’s three-dimensional attribution theory (locus, stability and controllability) are examples of this. The former emphasizes that successful performance is the direct result of effort and the latter explains that motivation is the influence of attributions on behavior (, , 2001, ). Self-regulation theories are goal-oriented. Such theories answer implementation problems within the organization. As entity or incremental theories, an organization analyzes goals based on autonomy needs, conflict and self-actualization ( and , 2000, ).             To assess, the leaders, managers, teams, and employees of the company has psychological ineffectiveness. The lack of workplace motivation is based on several factors such as: the reward system (appointment), poor communication, lack of sense of ownership, employee participation and the gap between the top management and employees. The organization has to overcome particular implementation problems. The company tried to compensate failure to designate a well-skilled individual in the position; hence, Roddy resorted at various control strategies through appointing Ada as the IT Service Manager and employing ‘I-am-the-boss-here’ attitude. The effects are psychological as employees start to feel their effort is not being recognized, lost of trust to the leaders and the employees might have a notion that the company is really incapable to hire well-skilled workers; therefore, the company might experience turnover in the months or years to come. Ada, on the other hand, grabs the opportunity without any efforts of self-assessment and, in return, the perception that she did not really fit the job role was proven. While also the employees proved that they lack initiative as workers since they let the characteristics of Roddy and Ada and their strong personal motives dictate their productivity and efficiency. Instead of setting their goals in a more productive way, they dwell into objecting at Roddy’s decision, finding faults at Ada’s expense and professional jealousy. Recommendation             Strategic planning can be viewed as a systematic approach. As  put it, contingency theory is a subset of systems theory that provides a clear linkage towards strategic planning.  The theory determines which managerial practices and techniques are appropriate for “specific situations”. Three characteristics of contingency theory are: an open system wherein organization interacts with social, political and economic systems, practical research that leads to effective management and multivariate and capacity analysis (2000, ). Contingency is applicable for organzaitional and leadership perspectives.             The company should have a well-established open system of interaction and communication to build connections and rapport (, ). The company must also inhibit a strong standard of human resource processes such as hiring process and people empowerment.  Furthermore, Roddy and Ada must adjust their leadership styles to the maturity level of their subordinates. While since both leaders lack positive interventions towards their subordinates, from being transactional leaders, the two must be converted into transformational leaders that provide vision and sense of mission, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized considerations (, 2006, ). Organizational characteristics, in addition, must be aligned with self-concepts because organizational psychology overlaps with personnel psychology. These conditions spring to training needs identification, employee performance and job satisfaction, group processes and dynamics, career development and organizational decision-making (, 2001, ). Conclusion             There are so many factors to consider in assessing the leadership and employee behaviours – management style, communication, commitment to standards, empowered employees, customer relations and motivation among others. These are evidently lacking in our company and succeeding over organizational failures and shortcomings are not an overnight process. Organizational changes also involve a top-to-bottom approach for a more effective leadership. Along the process, attitudes and personalities that must be strategically aligned with the overall purpose of the company. The leaders and mangers must be keep guarded on their decisions, capabilities and knowledge as this has profound effect on motivation of the employees. In our case, Roddy and Ada must not neglect the fact that they are being closely watched by their subordinates; in essence, they must act as real leaders for their subordinates to follow. Roddy and Ada must be of good examples to their subordinates. References

MANAGING ORGANIZATION AND PEOPLE - LEADERSHIP

Introduction Interdependencies exist among several factors of an organization. As major determinants of organizational succ...