Managing People and Organizations, Essay Example

If employees are happy working in the traditional boss-hierarchical organization, why should a manager even consider changing to a team-based organization?

When employees are satisfied with the current working arrangement within their organizations, it is important to maintain the status quo as much as possible. This will ensure that employees possess the knowledge and skill that will be useful in contributing to the organization at their current level. Although current trends demonstrate that there are significant challenges associated with shifting an organization’s direction through a new team-based environment. Rather than supporting the organization, this could deter progress in a significant manner, and is not the most feasible choice. In other words, changing an organization’s overall direction and structure for the sake of keeping up with trends is not a productive option for an organization. Conducting business in the manner that is best suited to organizational growth is optimal for all employees and managers.

Have you ever worked in an organization in which communication was a problem? If so, what were some causes of the problem?

In my work experiences thus far, I have been employed in organizations that have faced very difficult problems with communication, due in large part to the lack of a cohesive structure that supports effective communication amongst members of the organization. Therefore, it is important to examine some of the problems that prevail in these organizations, and how these concerns are represented in different ways. For example, the level of diversity within the population, lack of efficiency in communication, and lack of communication between management and employees (McNamara). These findings suggest that organizations suffer from communication breakdowns as a direct result of their lack of understanding of individual communication styles and basic requirements with these exchanges. In this context, it is necessary to develop new challenges and approaches that will expand existing communication channels, and that will support the desired outcomes in an efficient manner to expand organizational productivity and progress.

What methods were used, or should have been used, to improve communication in the situation you described in question 2?

There are many different alternatives that are designed to promote effective outcomes when communication is lacking in the workplace environment. These tools are of critical importance in order to demonstrate that individual employees and managers recognize their own strengths and weaknesses in communication, and will work to ensure that the organization puts forth its best effort to provide the best possible outcomes to promote organizational success and achievement. In this context, it is necessary to develop a more comprehensive approach to managing communication so that these channels are opened to bring out strengths and to minimize weaknesses. Therefore, by using an open dialogue in all areas of organizational operations, it is possible to develop and to sustain a unique level of progress that will support organizational growth and development at all levels. Managers and employees that face communication barriers amongst themselves will largely benefit from circumstances that will open these barriers and that will identify weaknesses so that these elements are improved upon over time. It is important to convey a greater understanding of these challenges in an effort to overcome existing problems, and to improve dialogue in an effort to promote organizational growth and positive outcomes under a variety of conditions.

References

Griffin, R.W., and Moorhead, G. Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

McNamara, C. Basics in internal communications. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/mrktng/org_cmm.htm