Organizational Behavior and Teamwork, Essay Example

This course has completed changed my perspectives of what it means to be an organization. I used to assume that organizational cultures are formed out of the blue, depending on the behavior of the employees but never thought that forming an organizational culture is an active process. I have also become more aware of the impact of the actions of individuals on the entire organization and what steps could be taken to ensure a productive work environment for everyone. I also saw teams as a work formality but now I have a better understanding of how teams are formed and how they function and the knowledge is useful in ensuring that the productivity of team is greater than the sum of individual productivity. I have also learnt that there is no one-size fits all model when it comes to team leadership because members have different personalities and the leader has to take those personalities when determining best leadership style.

My work performance improved over time because I didn’t see the benefits of taking the course in the beginning and that also affected my work commitment. But as the semester progressed, I started seeing the logic in the concepts covered in the class and it motivated me to put more efforts. I consciously started applying concepts in real life and witnessed an improvement in my ability to perform as part of a team. There is always room for improvement and I could have improved through more open communication with team members. Communication helps clear misunderstanding and ensures everyone is on the same page.

One of the topics that confused me was team leadership. I could understand the concepts in the course but when it comes to teams where members have significantly different personalities, it is not always easy to choose an appropriate leadership style. One of the ways in which the course can be improved is inviting more business leaders and other employees who may talk about their personal experiences in the class and allow students to ask questions. Real world examples will help students better understand course concepts.

I am glad I have taken this course because I will not only apply these lessons to my other classes but these concepts will also help me in the real world. I will make sure to aim for organizations whose cultures are a good fit to my personality and career objectives and I will also use the course concepts to improve my teamwork skills. This course will also help me become better leader in real world because I have learnt the importance of understanding others and engaging in open communication to build rapport and productive working relationship.

After taking this course, I think no classes should allow students to form teams as they desire because most students will always choose friends. By ensuring that students are paired with those they barely know, students will have greater opportunities to learn about team dynamics and working effectively with strangers. These experiences will expose them to different personalities and better prepare them for the real world where they will not always be working with friends on the projects. I also believe this course should be taken by everyone, even students pursuing non-business majors because the concepts covered in this course apply to all kind of organizations and teams.